A/N: No, I haven't given up on the story, but being a victim of down-sizing and having to find a new job does put a crimp in the time available for writing. Hopefully this is all behind me now (I'll keep my fingers crossed) and I can resume regular updates.
My thanks to both MakuhariFan-01 and DragonKnightSevus for their advice and for just being there.
Negima and its characters are owned by Ken Akamatsu. Likewise, Gundams don't belong to me either (but considering that they've generated over 50 billion yen in revenue, I could wish). Cabot, Hi'ki and Momo Zosho were created by MakuhariFan-01 and are used with his permission. Other characters are my creations.
The following conventions are used: "words", 'thoughts', reading, lyrics and "spells".
Good Intentions
Hell is full of good intentions - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Great Library, Mahora Japan
Bangs fell across eyes as Nodoka pushed away from the table with a sigh. Markham-sensei had tasked her, Yue and Haruna to track down any references to battling demons. Although the trio of library explorers had enthusiastically tackled their assignment, they had little to show for it. While many authors had written about demons, most accounts were either too vague or too fantastic to be of much use; and there were so many books left to check through.
A flash of resentment caused her pulse to quicken. Why did sensei have only these three students searching? Was he trying to get them, or Nodoka in particular, out of the way? Could this be an elaborate plot to give Ku Fei more time with Negi? Images of the boy and her classmate kissing brought heat to the dark-haired girl's cheeks. Open hands slapped down hard on the tabletop, prompting a worried "Are you okay?" from Yue.
Nodoka glanced over at her best friend's anxious face as anger transformed into embarrassment. "Um … no," she lied while carefully closing the book in front of her. "I, uh, guess it's frustration over not finding anything useful."
"Well there are plenty more to look through," Haruna announced as the recently arrived artist placed a new stack of books upon the table.
Nodoka removed another tome from the heap. Leather bound covers creaked as she opened to the title page and read The People of the Monolith by Justin Geoffrey. Cautiously, from fear of damaging the yellow-tinged pages, she flipped through the introduction to the opening lines.
They say foul things of Old Times lurk
In dangerous forgotten corners of the world.
And Gates still gape to loose, on certain nights,
Shapes pent in Hell.
'It's a poem,' she realized as Yue and Haruna began their own conversation over a passage the shorter girl had discovered.
"I found this book by a British Occultist named Titus Crow," Yue explained. "Crow-san claims to have fought and defeated several demons."
"We've seen that claim before," the mangaka remarked. "What makes his different?"
"For one thing, he uses plain terms instead of obscure when writing about magic," the other girl responded. "See here?"
With her attention half on the other's conversation, Nodoka glanced back at her book. Words shimmered before her gaze and writhed in serpentine fashion across the page. Lines of text coalesced into solid form and shot out towards the stunned girl. A tentacle, cold and slimy, wrapped about her head as others twisted around her arms. Suckered tips clamped painfully onto flesh and then the limbs began to pull.
"When banishing demons, the simple spell of banishment will work," Haruna, ignorant of what was happening nearby, read aloud. "However, to overcome a high class demon's natural resistance to magic requires a correspondingly greater amount of power applied to the spell rather than greater complexity."
Nodoka frantically gripped the edges of the book to keep from being drawn in as her friends continued blithely on with their discussion.
"Providing this is true, how can we use it?" Haruna asked. "I don't see that we can teach everyone a spell, or that they could cast it in the middle of a pitched battle."
"I don't either," Yue agreed. "But what if we could set a banishment spell in an item, like what we used against Chao's robots?"
Closer and closer Honya-chan was pulled towards the book. Like in one of those anime she had heard about, the tip of one tentacle rubbed obscenely against her lips. In desperation she bit down on the offensive member; teeth sank deeply into gelatinous tissue. When the grip relaxed in response, Nodoka slammed the pages shut. The tentacles vanished as the girl's strength gave out and she collapsed against the table.
"That might work if we can reprogram those weapons," Haruna said. "But how do we deal with the more powerful demons?"
"There might not be that many powerful demons," Yue answered. "Remember that Graf Von Hermann said he was the only high class demon out of those that attacked Negi-sensei's village."
"If we can believe what he said," the class gossip commented. "What do you think Nodoka?"
Her classmates turned and gasped at the disheveled girl who had grasped hold of a chair to keep upright.
(-)
Clip, clop, clip, clop. Footsteps echoed off the surrounding book shelves that rose canyon-like on either side. Still shaky from her recent encounter, Nodoka's eyes darted about, searching for the least sign of danger. A glow of light was visible ahead and the library girl heard voices talking. Thinking it might be Yamada-san, the library's ancient watchman, she was about to turn away until hearing the word "Negi." Peering around the corner, she saw Negi seated at a table with Asuna standing nearby.
"So what happened?" the boy asked.
"Ayaka collared Haruna and some of the others," Asuna answered. "They put out a story about how the marquis is a distant cousin of hers and the titles were part of a game we all played as children."
"That was pretty quick thinking," Negi observed. "Where is the marquis now?"
"He's over at the Yukihiro mansion," the teen replied. "Her family's servants should be able to handle him. Watcha' doing and what's with the lantern?"
"I've been trying to find more information on that artifact I brought back from Hawaii," he replied. "And not having much luck. As for the lantern … it reminds me of home."
Both Negi and Nodoka saw a pained expression cross the other girl's face. "I wish I had never heard about Ostia and all the rest," Asuna sighed. "I don't know how to be a princess … I'll just mess everything up."
Rising, Negi took the distraught teen's hands in his. "I felt the same way when told I would be going to be a teacher," he confessed. "But that was the path I had to travel to become a Magister Mage."
"This is totally different," Asuna countered. "I'm not working towards a goal; this was thrown at me."
"But you do have goal," the youngster insisted, "to discover who you are."
It was all Nodoka could do not to rush out to add her own encouragement. She had decided to slip quietly away when Negi asked, "Why exactly did the marquis want to see you?"
"He delivered a summons from the Empress of Hellas; I'm to present myself to the Imperial Court by Mid-Summer's Day," the girl answered. "As my … my partner, you've been invited too."
"Of course I'll come along." Those words took Nodoka's breath away. Without even being asked, Negi was prepared to drop everything and run off to the Mundus Magicus with Asuna. Responsibilities to his classes, the defense of Mahora and even their relationship didn't mean as much to the boy.
Not caring who heard, Nodoka broke into a run, not slowing down until she found herself in an unfamiliar section of the library. What should she do? Should she try to stop Negi from going? No, he was Asuna's protector. Should she borrow a page from Haruna and force them to take her along? Again she answered no as Markham-sensei was counting on her help.
Not knowing what else to do the bewildered girl summoned her artifact. Opening the Diarum Ejus to a blank page, she stared expectantly as lines appeared. A picture, drawn with a child-like simplicity, showed a smiling Negi and Asuna holding hands as the pair faced each other. Scrawled above each figure were the words 'I'm happy'.
(-)
Sunny Hill Lane, Mahora Japan
"Can we stop here Izumi-san?" the child asked.
Ako's gaze followed the path up to a public washroom. "But your dormitory is on the next block," she pointed out.
"I don't think I can wait that long," Mihai replied and then started dancing from foot to foot. At her nod, the white-haired boy bolted up the cement ramp and disappeared behind a bright blue door. Despite her mood, the youngster's antics brought a grin to Ako's face.
'They're all so cute at that age,' she thought. 'Even Negi-kun.'
During the diminutive teacher's first few months at Mahora, Professor Springfield was more like everyone's little brother rather than their instructor. How many times did sensei seem so clueless, so helpless? But in truth, the child turned out to be a powerful wizard who saved a fairytale world. And now he would save a former enemy too.
"I guess I'm still just a secondary character," the teen sighed as hands pressed down on the walkway's railing. "I wonder if Mihai-kun's nearly done."
Glancing at the washroom's door, Ako saw water trickle out from underneath. Quickly the trickle grew into a sheet. "Mihai!" the girl frantically called out. "Are you okay?"
Not hearing an answer, Ako looked about for help and then stepped inside the boy's room. The youngster stood in a pool of water, his head held firmly by an older boy. "What are you doing?" she demanded of the apparent bully.
"Be quiet or I'll crush his head," the stranger warned. "I am called Fate Averruncus."
Recognizing the name of Professor Springfield's enemy, Ako held a hand up, gesturing for calm. "Don't hurt him," the girl pleaded as her other hand inched towards the pocket containing her pactio card. "Nobody needs to be hurt."
"Then refrain from trying to contact Springfield-san," Fate coolly replied.
"Only if you'll stop pretending to threaten the boy," she countered. Fate released his hold on the captive and took a single step to the side. "He was the short, robed figure at the gateport wasn't he?"
"Yes," the white-haired mage readily admitted. "You are more perceptive than many of your classmates."
With how much the two boys resembled one another the teen didn't think much perception was called for. 'But considering that we didn't pick up on the existence of magic, even with it staring us in the face,' Ako thought, 'that fellow might have a point.' Aloud she asked, "What do you want?"
"I wish to speak with you," the mage answered. "I need your help to save the Mundus Magicus."
"Save?" Ako wanted to laugh. Fate and his minions had brought that other world to the brink of destruction just months before. "Do you expect me to believe that?"
"No," he responded. "But only because you've heard a single side of the story."
"You should know that the Life Giver created the Mundus Magicus," he related, "bringing forth life from the lifeless dust of Mars. However, the Life Giver never intended for the world to last. Even as we speak the strands of magic that sustain the Mundus Magicus are unraveling. And when they fail, as they inevitably must, all will revert to lifeless dust again."
Ako stood in mute shock.
"Over a billion inhabitants will disappear as if they had never been," Fate said with a snap of his fingers. "Gone like that while those descended from the Old World immigrates will be stranded on a barren planet; think of the millions doomed to an agonizing death. And you Izumi-san, you and the others will be the authors of this terrible calamity."
"No!" the teen hotly denied. "You're … you're lying!"
"Am I?" Fate challenged. "Then depart and see if my words are proved true or not. But if they are true, can you live with the knowledge that you could have prevented this destruction?"
His words rooted her to the spot as she did imagine the cruel death of being suddenly shifted to the Martian wastes. If the lack of an atmosphere didn't kill them instantly, exposure to intense cold with no food or shelter would soon enough. "But you tried to destroy them too."
"I was fashioned to be a dutiful servant," Fate replied. "Only with the destruction of the Mundus Magicus can enough magic be released to achieve salvation. The Life Giver's true plan is the creation of a world free from strife and suffering, where all stand equal and can live according to the dictates of their free will."
Familiar with the term utopia, Ako understood what the other was talking about. "That sounds good, but it will never work."
"Not with the way the world is now," he agreed, "but when Kosmos Entelechia is implemented, it will be different. Each person will shape their own world, living the life they most desire."
"Still skeptical I see," Fate observed and then made a gesture too rapid for her to follow. As the room darkened, Ako heard, "Let me show you how it will be."
(-)
Ako snuggled deeper into the covers, savoring their warmth. Considering that her roommate's behavior often resembled that of a hyperactive chipmunk on a sugar binge, sleeping in late was a rare treat. Fabric crinkled as another body settled onto the sheets behind her and eyes snapped open wide as a voice far deeper than Makie's said "Morning sleepyhead."
Swiftly Ako shifted from side to back and stared straight into a young man's face. 'Nagi!' she thought and then reminded herself that Nagi was only an illusion of Negi-kun as a teen. An annoyed frown spread across her face as hands clutched the bedcovers tighter. "What are you doing on my bed?"
"A fine greeting that is," the mage replied, feigning a tone of hurt. "And after I came in to ask if you were ready for breakfast."
"Of course, if you'd rather," Negi added with a smile so roguishly out of place on his otherwise innocent face, "we could continue what we were doing last night."
"What we were doing last night," Ako repeated and then blushed as the implication of his words sunk in. "What were we doing last night?"
"Only what couples have been doing on their honeymoons for the past several centuries," he answered. Ako's mouth fell open as he tenderly kissed the side of her face. "Let me see about breakfast darling."
When he stood up, the heat in her cheeks grew even hotter. "Your … your clothes," she stammered while mentally grappling with the image before her.
"They're in the closet along with yours," a definitely grownup Negi responded before leaving the bedroom.
Sheets settled about her waist as Ako sat up. Thoughts tumbled over each other in a torrent. Honeymoon … last night … we … and Negi-kun looks like that. The confused girl glanced down and received a further shock. Slowly hands cupped and lifted a pair of unfamiliar breasts. "When did this happen?" she whispered and then stared as sunlight glinted off the smooth gold band encircling a finger.
She had composed herself when the door swung open again. The aroma of buttered toast wafting from the tray went unnoticed as the newlywed gawked at her husband, clad in naught but a baby blue apron. "I couldn't decide on rice or bread," Negi announced. "So I fixed both."
The petite fist shoved into a dainty mouth did nothing to stifle laughter as it convulsed the young bride's sides. "Negi …"
The apron wearing man's face looked at her quizzically in response. "What about my little cousin?" he asked. At that, Ako's expression turned as baffled as his.
"Cousin," she repeated. "But you're …"
Worried, the young man set the breakfast tray aside and placed a palm against her brow. "Are you feeling alright darling?" he asked.
"No fever,' the man declared and Ako realized that something was horribly wrong, but the memory of what it was slipped away like so many grains of sand escaping from between her fingers.
"It's nothing," she said. "What is your cousin Negi up to?"
"Last I heard Negi and his father were still with the princess in Argyre," Nagi answered.
"That's good," Ako replied as arms wrapped around her husband and pulled him close.
"Not that I mind," he remarked, "but at this rate you won't have time for breakfast before you need to leave."
"Leave?" she replied while nuzzling against the fabric covered chest. "Why would I want to leave?"
"I don't suppose missing one performance will hurt," came the response, "however, you'll have a lot of disappointed fans."
(-)
The limousine stopped in front of the theater's rear entrance and Ako could see a crowd gathered around, a crowd that cheered loudly as she stepped out of the vehicle. "Izumi!" they shouted. "Izumi!
Security guards waded into their midst and the crowd parted yet the people continued to clamor for a sliver of their idol's notice. "Look this way!" "We love you Izumi!" "Smile please!"
She smiled and saw a red-haired man, who looked vaguely familiar, nudge his friend in the side. "See that Tosaka? Ako smiled at me."
"Oh stuff it Cabot," his friend, who also looked oddly familiar, retorted. "She smiled at me."
A moment more and she was through the door. "You're late," a familiar voice scolded.
"Sorry Shirabe," she apologized to horned girl who led Damashi.
"I suppose lover boy kept you up all night," a scowling Homura commented and Ako wondered if the other girl's face ever wore a different expression.
"No," she answered mischievously. "It was more I kept Nagi up all night."
"Never mind," Shirabe said before Homura could respond. "Just get ready."
(-)
Cheers erupted at the first chords. Shirabe's amplified voice carried over the din.
Tell the swine we will make it out alive. There's a note in the pages of the book.
So sleep tonight, we'll sleep dreamlessly this time. When we awake we'll know that everything's alright. And sing to me about the end of the world. End of these hammers and needles for you.
The audience quieted as the rest of Damashi's voices blended with the lead singer's.
Hold on to the world we all remember fighting for. There's still strength left in us yet.
Hold on to the world we all remember dying for. There's still hope left in it yet.
Music thundered from massed speakers as the song continued.
The snow on your face, and your razor blades; the twilight is bruised and there you lie.
And sing to me, about the end of the world. End of these hammers and needles for you.
We'll cry tonight, but in the morning we are new. Stand in the sun; we'll dry your eyes.
Hold on to the world we all remember fighting for. There's still strength left in us yet.
Hold on to the world we all remember dying for. There's still hope left in it yet.
Sing. Sing. Arise.
Arise and be, came the chorus, all that you dreamed, all that you dreamed.
Arise and be, sang Shirabe and the audience followed with all that you dreamed, all that you dreamed.
Arise and be, Shirabe sang again but a deafening silence rang in Ako's ears. She glanced about and found herself back in the boy's washroom. "That was it? That was Kosmos Entelechia?"
"Only a close approximation," Fate answered. "However, it should suffice to provide you with an idea of the Life Giver's intent."
"So we trade in the world for an idle daydream?" She couldn't believe the young wizard was serious.
"No," came his answer. "We trade in the world as it exists now for 1.2 billion worlds, each conforming to an individual's deepest wants and desires."
Fate surprised her by actually smiling. "Think of it Izumi-san, think if everyone could live in the world of their dreams. There would be no war, no disease, no slavery; none would go hungry or live in poverty. Can the Mundus Magicus, as corrupt as it is, ever achieve that?"
The picture the boy painted was seductive, yet still Ako hesitated.
"Imagine a world where nobody would be an onlooker or feel left behind," he continued to draw her in. "Everyone would be the main character of a story of their choosing."
"So what do you need me to do?" she cautiously asked.
"Realizing that the world had strayed too far from the path set down, the Life Giver created an artifact to bring about its rebirth," Fate explained. "It was called the Key of the Twilight and the Life Giver entrusted the Key into the hands of a servant; but the servant betrayed his master and hid the Key. If you can recover the Key, then the inhabitants of the Mundus Magicus can still be saved."
"What does this Key of the Twilight look like?"
"In appearance it resembles an old fashioned key, but a little more than a meter and a half long," he answered.
"Oh," Mihai, who had been silent up till then, exclaimed. "It's like a keyblade then."
"As I was saying," Fate continued, "a little more than a meter and a half long and surmounted by a crystal sphere."
"Where is this Key?" Ako asked. "And why do you need my help? Why not have one of your ministra retrieve it?"
"I won't reveal its location until you've agreed to help," he answered. "As for the other, the Key is warded, preventing the Life Giver's true servants from recovering it. But one who is of Ffyfnon's blood, or the ministra of such, should easily bypass them."
"I'll need time to think this over," Ako finally said.
"Take all the time you wish," Fate responded as his form turned watery. "But each minute you delay brings the Mundus Magicus closer to the point beyond which it cannot be saved."
The mage dissolved and water continued to flow under the door. "Are you going to help find the keyblade?" Mihai asked.
"I … I haven't decided," she replied.
"I hope you do Izumi-san," the boy said with an earnest expression on his face. "Then maybe I'd stop being a nobody."
(-)
Some days it didn't pay to get out of bed. This morning, for instance, Evangeline walked out of the bedroom to find Himiko up and flourishing the duster with more vigor than the demon was normally want to do. She didn't mind that at all, but was convinced the lilim's instance on humming "A spoonful of sugar …" was an intentional annoyance. Unfortunately, school did nothing to improve her mood.
Studies, never a high priority for the students in her home room, went completely by the wayside with the excuse of planning for the upcoming festival. And then the rumors started. A boy had snuck into the high school dormitory. He was the new boyfriend of, take your pick, Konoe-san, Sakurazaki-san or Kagurazaka-san. Evangeline found it amusing until the next rumor that Kagurazaka was secretly a princess surfaced. This was swiftly followed by the boy was really Yukihiro-san's distant cousin and the "princess" was a childhood nickname. She breathed a sigh of relief when speculation that Asuna was the unknown lad's promise girl started.
"I doubt Kagurazaka-san will even make it into a university much less Tokyo U," she had told a curious student. "Stuff like that only happens in stories."
The afternoon was wasted in one of Nitta-san's team building exercises. Seruhiko had to nudge her about halfway through when she started snoring. Honestly, the man could put a room full of insomniacs to sleep.
It was well past six when Evangeline trudged up the stairwell to the teacher's apartments. A heel that had snapped off earlier still wobbled uncertainly after a hastily cast mending spell. Markham-sensei answered the door in response to her knock.
"Can I help you Ishikawa-san?" the American asked without offering to let her inside.
"I heard Kagurazaka-san had a visitor this morning," Evangeline said. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Phillip answered.
"Are you mad at me Markham-san?"
"Why would I be mad at you Ishikawa-san," he replied with more than a trace of sarcasm. "Doesn't every man dream of being slammed into the floor and assaulted by a succubus?"
"I admit that Himiko was overly exuberant," she responded, not entirely sure why the man was upset, "but I was thinking of your welfare."
Phillip's expression grew skeptical.
"You seem to have been overly stressed recently," Evangeline explained. "I thought you could use some sort of, ah, release."
"I hope you're not expecting a thank you," he tartly replied. "I can understand a 12 year old not having a clue, but you surprise me."
"Of all the …" Evangeline started to say when the heel gave way and she pitched forward.
Reflexively, Phillip grabbed her by the waist. "Are you okay Ishikawa-san?"
"I'm fine," she replied. Her heart was furiously pounding as a deep blush spread across her cheeks. Memories of that moment in the hospital charged forward and trampled her anger. "I'm fine."
Confused by both the turn of events and her unexpected feelings, Evangeline apologized and swiftly retreated. 'Another miscalculation,' she thought and while not as dire a situation as falling into Nagi's anti-vampire soup, it left her in an uncomfortable position. In order to salvage things, she needed to act quickly. More than a gesture of good will was needed; whatever she did had to be something that would prove her sincerity.
(-)
Great Library, Mahora Japan
Light from the electric torch did little except reveal that the chasm beyond the span's railings stretched far beyond its illumination.
"What kind of place is this?"
"Near as I can tell Miyaki-san," his companion answered, "this is a part of the original structure built by the mages that founded Mahora."
It seemed to Koichi that he had spent hours crossing the bridge, but a glance at his watch assured the former yakuza enforcer only a few minutes elapsed. Roots, some as thick as the man's waist, snaked down the walls to either side of double doors. His guide pushed and the door swung inwards with a "kree-e-e". Light spilled out from the other side, temporarily blinding the gangster. When vision returned, he found rows upon rows of identical, spike-haired men standing upon a raised platform.
"Are those people?" he whispered.
No," the other answered. "Those are golems … robots if you'd prefer."
Past the lines of robots were large vehicles that reminded him of six limbed beetles. "Are these what we're looking for?" he asked, but his guide shook a head no.
"As impressive as they are, I was thinking of something with a bit more firepower," the other replied as they came to the shore of an underground lake. Koichi's eyes went wide with shock as he gazed upon a huge figure rising from the water as the man continued, "When I said we were visiting the armory of the gods, I meant it."
"Is that a gundam or what?" his disbelieving voice asked.
"I think the mages around here called it an onikami," the answer came, "but gundam works for me."
"And you can control that thing?" Koichi asked. "Mages are scary."
"I have to agree with you there," the other man remarked while pulling a spell tag from a pocket. "Place this on its forehead and say the name of the person you want to target."
"What? Why do I have to put that on its forehead?"
"You're the one who's supposed to take down those girls," his companion replied. "I'm just providing the gun; you have to pull the trigger."
With a muttered curse, the thug snatched the scrap of paper and began wading out into the lake.
Muscles trembled from strain as he hung from a projection above the gundam's eye. Koichi slapped the tag to gleaming metal and hesitated. As much as the thug would have preferred to choose another, he whispered a name and watched as a red glow filled the socket. The golem's sudden movement caused him to slip and down the enforcer fell.
Disoriented by the shock of striking the water and sinking, Koichi desperately clawed his way towards what he hoped was the surface. As his head emerged from the lake, he greedily gulped in a lungful of air. By the time his wits returned, the giant robot had vanished.
(-)
Granicus, Mundus Magicus
Air shimmered above the desert sands as a small group of weary travelers hiked across. Dirt-caked hoods pulled to shade from the sun, made them appear more like five wraiths haunting a hellish wasteland; however, their conversation though was far more mundane.
"Are we there yet?" Christian asked, smirking as he did so.
"Some shortcut," Aisha complained. "We should have followed the map."
"So you've said before," Craig responded. "I trust the librarian here. We'll find Rakan."
Hi'ki was beginning to wonder whether the tall man's faith was justified. The map was little more than a dotted line connecting various landmarks and hardly written to scale. But in Granicus the rabbit-eared boy had been informed that the reclusive hero's villa was but a day's journey out of town. He sincerely hoped that this wasn't somebody's idea of a joke.
A few kilometers later, Lynn reported seeing greenery and a white tower ahead. "Where?" Aisha asked and the dark-haired elf pointed to the distant horizon.
After a hastily recited spell, Aisha peered through a ring formed by her thumb and forefinger. "Looks like an oasis," she explained in a relieved tone. "Even if Rakan isn't there, we can get out of the heat."
Gently swaying palms provided shade for the dense vegetation beneath. Although the sound of water cascading down rocks tantalized parched throats, the hunters moved cautiously through the brush as if stalking a fugitive.
A tall, massively built man stood upon the shore of the reservoir. Even with his back turned towards them, there was no mistaking the famous Jacobius "Jack" Rakan, the Man of a Thousand Blades. Hi'ki could sense power radiating from the man who fought one of the Empire's sacred dragons to a standstill.
'How did my father know him?' the young librarian wondered as Rakan moved through practice forms with a flawless precision born out of a lifetime of repetition.
"You know," a voice boomed out, startling the party, "if I wanted an audience I'd have rented the arena at Granicus; could have charged admission to boot."
Craig motioned and stepped away from the concealing bushes. The others followed until they all stood upon the tiny beach. Sporting an ear to ear grin, Rakan faced the group. "I live in the middle of nowhere for privacy," the man informed them. "I don't appreciate it when fans stop by to ask for an autograph or to chat over tea."
"We're not fans," Craig announced with more calm than Hi'ki imagined possible. "We're here on business."
"I recognize you bounty hunter," Rakan responded as the ex-gladiator glanced at each of them in turn, weighing the threat posed by the potential adversaries. "What's your business here?"
"You have something that belongs to our employer," Craig answered as Christian gave Hi'ki a shove forward.
The teen quailed as Rakan's full gaze bore down upon him. "I'm Hi'ki Zosho," the boy managed to say, "head of the library at Dracogenia."
An expression of interest lit the other man's face at mention of the library, but was instantly replaced by one of shock as the librarian explained, "I'm here to collect an overdue book."
(-)
A/N: The chapter heading and title are from a proverb attributed to St. Bernard among others.
The People of the Monolith and Justin Geoffrey, as well as the poem snippet, were created by Robert Howard. Though better known for his barbarian swordsmen, Howard contributed several stories to the Cthulhu Mythos.
Titus Crow is a character created by author Brian Lumley who is also a contributor to the Mythos. Unlike Lovecraft's investigators, Titus doesn't faint at the appearance of an eldritch abomination.
The song performed in Ako's dream sequence is "Arise" by Flyleaf. I thinks its lyrics fit in with what KE is attempting to do. I am basing the working of Kosmos Entelechia on the translated scans of chapter 296. It is possible that these are incorrect (not like Del Rey ever makes mistakes) but they are the only source I have available.
The next chapter should contain the fight with the Gundam, er wrong fanfiction section, I mean the golem.