Disclaimer: The following story is a fan made work of fiction. Fairy Tail and Mahou Sensei Negima! are owned and written by Hiro Mashima and Ken Akamatsu respectively. Please support their official releases.
Chapter 9
First Meetings
Gray turned around in the mirror as he checked out his new threads. While he still hated both the vampire and her demonic minions, the girl's wardrobe had quite the selection for men. He had even been able to request new versions of the clothes that he had left back in Earthland. Clad in a new pair of dark grey cargo pants, black shoes, and a collared white shirt Gray felt almost normal. He had also thrown on a dark blue jacket with cream trim that had taken him forever to find to complete the look and could not help but grin.
Maybe it was a little silly of him, but wearing something that was almost an exact replica of his usual threads made him feel a little bit better. It was a tangible piece of home that he could carry with him wherever he went. And as he examined himself in the mirror one final time the ice mage could not help but grin.
The dolls may be psychopathic maniacs but they sure knew their way around needle and thread. The outfit fit him nearly as well as the spirit-made clothes he had picked up from his trip to the Celestial Spirit World.
He gave his sleeves a quick twist to straighten the cloth and turned around once more. The coat had just the right amount of flare to it as well. It moved just enough to make him look both cool and mysterious, while also being heavy enough to not move in the slightest of breezes. Which was just the way Gray liked it.
"Is the order to your satisfaction, Mr. Gray?" A cold and emotionless male voice inquired. "This unit can make further alterations should you wish it."
Looking at the bobbing wisp floating nearby made him shake his head. He had seen many types of magic, but a glowing ball which could manage a wardrobe and take clothing orders was a new one. Still, it was damn effective so he was not about to complain.
Gray held up four fingers in front of it. "I'll take four other outfits like this one, with an extra shirt for each, in the colors that we discussed. As well as a three pairs of black pants, two red shirts, and two dark green shirts as well."
Gray paused for a moment. He felt that he was forgetting something. Then he slapped himself in the head with one hand as he remembered one final modification. "Oh, and make sure to get the emblem right when you put it on the coats and the shirts. That's my guild's symbol, so don't go messing it up."
"Yes Mr. Gray. You wished for it to go on the back of the coats and on the left breast of the shirts, correct?"
"Bingo, glowball. Thanks again for your help."
The wisp bobbed in acknowledgment and flew away. He watched it leave with a bemused expression then turned to face the only other thing present in the room. His smiled faded away immediately.
The odd doll the vampire had called Chachamaru had stayed silent throughout his entire foray into the world of fashion. Even with his mission accomplished the thing still just continued to stare ahead with a blank expression on its face. He stared warily at it, but the thing didn't did not make any threatening move towards him.
Finally, perhaps sensing his mood through some form of magic, it started to move. The doll stepped towards the dark brown door behind them beckoned for him to follow once again. "This way Mr. Gray. My Master and the others are awaiting our arrival."
Gray gave a terse nod of his head and nodded for the doll to lead the way. He followed suit once there was a good five feet separating them from one another. While the vampire and her dolls might be trying to make nice with him now he had not forgotten the days of torment he had suffered at their hands.
Thoughts of the past few days ran through his mind as they walked through the building's great stone corridors. The hellish contraptions had attacked him without mercy and hunted him without rest. They had punched, stabbed, and almost killed him more than once. Gray had never been so close to death in his life, nor felt so powerless, since his foolish attempt to stop Deliora on Galuna Island.
A comparison he felt was apt given the nature of the dolls' master. The vampire girl had weighed heavily on hid mind since he had left her and Natsu squabbling in the room. When she had been fighting the pink-haired dragon-slayer in the room the girl's magical power had felt to be on the same level as Elfman or Juvia. Powerful, yes, but well within the scope of Gray's own abilities. Yet when she had fought Gray earlier the girl's power had been unreal.
The change in her demeanor had also been jarring. Her appearance in the room with Natsu, while threatening, had been worlds away from the last time he had seen her. When he had been at her mercy at the end of his struggle she had been both cold and brutal. As though he had been no more than a fly whose wings she would pluck for her own amusement. As he had stared into her eyes, his body broken and bloodied, Gray had seen his death reflected in them.
That was not something possible for a good person. Not as Gray understood it. Good people, even when they had to kill, did not look as though they were going to enjoy the act. They did not look at the one they were about to kill with nothing but disdain. Not unless there was some kind of history between them, and there had been nothing between the girl and Gray.
What it all meant for him was that he still did not trust the vampire more than the barest of inches. In spite of her healing his injuries and reuniting him with his friend. First impressions mattered and did not fade away so quickly. Maybe she would prove to be like Jellal and become a reformed villain, but Gray would wait to see.
Following the humanoid construct soon brought him to a large amphitheater. Including Natsu and the girl there were four people waiting for him.
The others were strangers Grad had never seen. One was a boy who seemed to be Romeo's age while the other was a man who looked to be a decade older than Gray. Both looked to be kind, but Gray would wait before jumping to any assumptions.
A closer look at the older one made caused Gray's eyes to narrow. Although the man's aura was kept tight around his body, the man radiated danger. He was powerful and probably experienced. Gray probed a little deeper with his senses and 'tsked' in annoyance at what he found. The guy was probably powerful enough to give Gildarts or Laxus a run for their money. The man would need to be watched.
As for the kid… well, from what Gray could tell at first glance as he looked at the boy, he seemed to have quite a bit of power to him for his age but not much else. His aura, while clear, was basic and rather simple. It was a feeling that Gray associated with people who had not yet found their path in magic. Finding ones path, whether it was towards an element like ice or something more esoteric like the Strauss siblings' Takeover magic, always seemed to leave a mark on a mage's aura.
Regardless, the kid would not be much of a threat and could be ignored for the time being. Gray turned his attention away from them and looked over to where he could see his fellow guild-mate. The pink-haired moron was lying on a stone bench with his white, dragon scale scarf covering his eyes and forehead.
Although the other man's hair was damp, and a few fresh tears were present in his ridiculous red shirt, Natsu's head was no longer encased in a block of ice. A significant improvement from the last time Gray had seen his friend, but one that was to be expected. For all of his faults the dragon-slayer was a powerful mage. A little block of ice was not nearly enough to stop him.
A quick look at the girl showed some newly charred areas on her uniform, but nothing serious by Natsu's standards. If Gray had to guess, it actually looked like she had gotten the better of his friend. That would be a first for a woman not named Erza or Mirajane. The undead creature held two pieces of paper bearing Natsu's face, with runic symbols covered its black and red surface. She stroked them softly as a dark smile lingered on her face.
Gray shuddered and turned away from her. The less he knew about what had happened, the better off he felt that he would be.
He moved towards his fellow Fairy and eased down beside the man. A few minutes passed before the dragon-slayer moved the scarf higher on his head and looked at the ice mage with one eye. "You cooled down yet Gray? Or do you still feel like going at it?"
Typical Natsu, Gray thought to himself. Just done with one fight and already spoiling for another. He thinks I'm just as big a moron as he is. What a pain.
Gray kept his annoyance from his face as he replied to the idiot. "I'm always cool, flame-brain. And while we can go whenever you want, let's keep it on hold for the time being." Things were too pressing to engage in a meaningless brawl at the moment, even if it was with Natsu. He nudged the dragon-slayer with one hand. "You have any idea what's going on with us? Because I have a few solid guesses and none of them are good news."
Natsu sat up with a grunt and placed both elbows on his knees. He looked Gray in the eye for a moment before looking away again. That caused Gray to sit up straight and run one hand through his black hair. That was not normal behavior for his fellow Fairy. And if Natsu was acting serious like this then things were really bad.
"Just like the tiny vampire said back in the room, the old coot's spell sent us to an entirely different world," Natsu spoke softly. "But it's not like it was in Edolas. No one here knows Fairy Tail or Fiore. And to make matters worse, you're the only familiar face I've seen since getting here. No weird fake versions like Knightwalker or Edo Lucy, and there's no sign of any of the others from the hot spring."
A bitter look passed over his face. "It might be just the two of us for awhile too. This is a pretty big world we're stuck in, and the others could be anywhere in it. We've got our work cut out for us if we want to find everyone else."
The two sat in silence as the other three wizards watched them interact with one another. Well, the other two male wizards. The vampire seemed content to just continue stroking her pieces of paper while smiling maliciously in Natsu's direction.
With the dragon-slayer's confirmation it seemed as though Gray's worst theory had come true. He and Natsu were trapped in an unknown world, with no knowledge of where their friends might have been sent, and no easy way back home. With no knowledge of the land and no idea where their comrades were they were well and truly screwed.
Judging by Natsu's face and the way he played with his scarf, the normally irrepressible mage felt the same.
Gray felt a rising sense of anxiety. He did his best to shove it down, placing it into a box and closing the lid on it. He would not fall apart now. He had not faced a demonic vampire or a horde of dolls to be beaten by some intangible idea. None of his previous trials had managed to break him either, and this would be no exception.
Because they were mages of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail stuck together and kicked the ass of anything that got in their way.
He slapped Natsu's shoulder, shaking the man out of his funk and grabbing his attention once more. "Alright Natsu. Let's swap stories and see what we can figure out. And trust me, we'll find a way to get everyone back together. It just might take us a little more effort this time around."
Gray held out his fist for Natsu to bump. Grinning fiercely, the dragon-slayer hit it with renewed fire in his eyes.
They spoke to one another for over an hour. When Natsu told Gray about how he had met the young Negi in a forest while naked, Gray had nearly fallen off his stone seat. Picturing a naked Natsu shocking four girls as he tried to speak with them, fighting some crazy swordswoman, and getting mauled by a bear only to end up trussed like a hog brought tears to the ice mage's eyes.
Natsu had not been nearly as amused and had almost begun fighting him once again, but it made Gray feel better to know that he wasn't the only one who had gotten his ass kicked in this new world. That, and he could now hold Natsu's status as a streaker over the other man whenever he tried to call out Gray's own habit of undressing.
The ice mage recounted his own story as Natsu's came to an end. How the first thing he knew upon waking up was that some little girl in a bath robe was sharing his bed and screaming at him like a banshee. How Gray had kicked her in the chest to stop the horrid wailing, only to then scramble out of the way as she summoned a horde of killer dolls and hit him with a giant iceberg. He saved some of the details of his struggle over the next two days but made to let Natsu know that Gray had been pushed to the edge of his limits and beyond.
Despite Natsu's seemingly relaxed relationship with the girl, Gray still did not trust her.
As the two Fairies spoke, the big man Gray had noticed earlier laughed when at some of the same parts that had amused Gray and Natsu. The kid, meanwhile, mostly blushed and touched the tips of his pointer fingers together at those same parts. Powerful for his age the kid might be, he was still just a little boy. Give him a few more years and he would probably be laughing along with the other men, but that day was not today.
For her part, the vampire rolled her eyes and shot the two Fairies a bored look, as though listening to a recount of the past few days was not worth her valuable time.
Their reunion complete, both Fairies then turned to the others and spoke of their home. They glossed over the world's structure – which neither one of them really cared about – as well as their respective childhoods. They mentioned guild-mates and missions, and the feeling of family that had flowed freely between one Fairy to another. Speaking of them like this brought to life the bonds they shared, making it seem as though the two of them would still see their guild-mates in only a few days rather than some unknown length of time.
It all felt bittersweet to Gray. An emotion with which he was all too familiar.
Bittersweet memories had accompanied him ever since Deliora killed his family. Then they were added to by the loss of his master to the same demon. The prospect of adding new ones to their ranks was an unpleasant feeling.
The ice mage scowled deeply and pressed Natsu to hurry through this portion of the talk.
The only battle they mentioned in detail was the final battle with Zeref that had brought them to this strange land. Gray was surprised to learn that Natsu's opponent had claimed to be a demon and had even talked to the dragon-slayer. Gray's own opponent had never once made an appearance and remained a mystery to the ice mage.
Added to Zeref's involvement and known reputation, it most likely meant that the enemy ice wielder had been also a demon. The thought brought a sour taste to his mouth that complemented the bittersweet feeling from earlier. Again Gray had failed to defeat an enemy who threatened the life and safety of those he loved. Again he had fallen short when it most mattered.
It seemed like his life's story summed up in a nutshell.
After they had finished describing the battle, both Fairies fell silent. Takamichi took their silence at the end of their tale to begin telling his own tale. With Negi's aid he spoke about their own world. To say that the this 'Earth' differed from Earthland would have been putting it lightly. The rules regarding magic and mages alone, and how magic was hidden from the eyes of the public, was enough to drive Gray insane.
The ice user felt his right eye twitch when both of the native mages emphasized that mages could not openly use magic in most public areas, and that violators of said rule could be turned into ermines if they gave away the fact that there was magic in the world. A whiff of smoke in the air told Gray that Natsu too was less than pleased.
What was wrong with this world? Magic was a wonderful and incredible ability that should be shared, not hidden! Even if not everyone could use it, hiding it away from them was not good. Gray had brought up this objection to them and only been slightly mollified by the reasons they gave. He let it go only because was not his place to tell them how to run their world. He was a traveler in it and did not plan to stay for very long.
From what they said, though, it seemed like the only place which seemed even somewhat normal by the standards of Fiore was some place called Mundus Magicus. In that world magic was a part of everyday life, and it was possible that someone there might even know how to get the Fairies home. Gray's hopes had been raised for a moment upon hearing that, but Takamichi had quickly doused that flickering hope with a bucket of cold water.
Mundus Magicus, though, came with its own set of problems.
It seemed as though the arrival of Natsu and Gray within this world had caused some kind of strange resonance to occur, changing the fabric of magic itself. It was too early to tell for sure, but Takamichi said that most of the nations in Magic Mundus were refusing to share any information in their possession. The big man had also seen signs of the various nations starting to move their military forces around, and tensions were beginning to rise as a result. For now, people like Takamichi and Negi had been dispatched by the various governments to gather data that would be analyzed at some later date.
The big guy didn't go into detail on the subject but Gray gleaned that the big man would try to keep the existence of Natsu and Gray a secret for the time being. Takamichi had intimated that there were some past problems in this world that were currently rearing their head once again and that the two Fairies might become falsely associated with this trouble were their existence to become known.
Natsu had probably failed to catch that part, but Gray was thankful to the older man for his discretion. Trying to learn and move about the world in an effort to find their companions would be hard enough without being labeled as high-value governmental targets. That had happened back to them back in Edolas, and it had been a dicey race towards the end of that adventure. If it was possible to avoid that in this new world, then Gray was intent on seizing the opportunity.
It was also mean that when a fight inevitably broke out, his opponents would know nothing about him. It would be nice for once to not fight against enemies who knew his every ability. The battles against Leon and Sabertooth, and their foreknowledge of his skills, had left a deep impression with him.
For a time the room was silent as each mage gathered their thoughts. To Gray's left, Natsu stood up and placed both hands in his pockets. The dragon-slayer then slowly made his way out of the amphitheater and into the areas beyond.
Gray ran his hands through his mussed up hair as he watched processed all of the new information they had been given. He tried to consolidate everything that he had just learned, but it was too much. Not being able to use magic freely, being stuck in another world, and maybe never being able to return home? Separated from Erza, Happy and the others? Gray could understand why Natsu had left on his own. It was all too much to take at once. Slowly, he stood up and found himself walking in Natsu's footsteps. He needed to think, and maybe get into a fight or to in order to sort things out.
His new boots clicked on the stone floor as he left the amphitheater behind.
Eva saw Negi's face crumble as Gray followed Natsu into the false night of her resort. Although the boy lacked her experience at judging people, he made up for this lack with the empathy of a child. Eva felt a twitch in her own heart as she watched him. He looked so similar to his father at that moment that she forgot how much she hated the man. This momentary feeling was swiftly crushed as she thought of the two Fairies and their reactions.
The pink-haired idiot had looked sad, but he would soon recover. It was inevitable. The man's fire was merely dimmed, and like a fire low on oxygen he would soon recover after he got some air.
She let out a slight 'tsk' and shook her head in annoyance. Idiots really were blessed with all of the luck. To be able to shrug off heavy thoughts so easily was almost unnatural to those without such a gift, and constantly irked those who were not so blessed.
People such as his companion.
Although he too seemed to be somewhat of an idiot, this little conversation had shown that her fellow ice mage could his mind outside of battle. The young man's thoughts would dwell and linger on the dark aspects of things, straining to stay in the light of hope. Perhaps someday she would be lucky enough to see him truly fall into despair.
Eva knew that it was this connection which Negi felt. It was written all over his face. After all, the boy was of a similar mind and attitude. He too knew of the darker side of life and the evil which lurked in the dark.
What remained to be seen was how he would react to this situation.
A thrill shot through her body at the thought. Would Negi react with the same hopeful determination as his father? Or would he fall into despair as he confronted a painful new unknown? Eva looked at him to gauge his thoughts. She saw his shoulders begin to shake and felt her initial thrill double.
Stifled sniffs reached her ears as he bowed his head to hide the tears Eva knew were there. Takamichi raised a hand to pat the crying boy on the back, but stopped at a hiss from the vampire. He locked gazes with her and spoke without words. The look on her face convinced him to drop his hand and light a cigarette.
"I want to help them." Negi's voice rang through the amphitheater like a bell, carrying clearly to her ears.
Eva weighed her response. This was the second real trial that he would undergo since coming to Mahora, and this time she could directly manipulate the situation to see how he would react. It was time to push the boy and test his mettle.
"Sorry, Boya, but could you repeat that?" She said with a slow drawl. "I had trouble hearing you just now."
Negi slowly raised his tear streaked eyes to meet her own. Eva felt her undead heart pulse as his gaze locked with her own.
With a voice horse from his tears and far more mature than his ten years would imply, the child grated a response. "Natsu saved my students. He is a good person, and I owe him." The kid's eyes sharpened as he refused to break eye contact with her. "His friend Gray seems like a good person too. And the two people are trapped here, separated from their friends, and might have no way to get home. Ever. Without us they have nothing. Which means that we have to help them!"
The boy's eyes blazed with a furious determination. They cried out he would not be denied. That this time, he would see his will carried out.
For the second time since her fight with the child the iron of his soul lay bared before her eyes. It was a heady feeling for the vampire. One that brought her hope that she might see her long period of imprisonment end.
Eva knew then what she truly wanted from him. But first it was time to push him again. She needed to confirm her feeling and right now was the perfect moment.
"That's all well and good, boya, but good intentions alone have never helped anyone," she said airily, with a wave of one hand. "It takes actions, and before you take action you need a plan made on sound information. Information which we do not fully possess since both of the fools were clearly withholding things that –"
Negi slammed the butt of his father's staff against the stone floor, cutting her off mid speech. Eva felt her voice catch out of shock.
"They told us what we needed to know and more, Eva." Sparks seemed to fly from the child's eyes as he held his ground before the ancient queen of darkness. "Not one word spoken here was a lie. We have received enough information, information that they volunteered. And I will come up with a plan to aid them or else I am not worthy to be my father's son."
As she looked at the young boy's face, Eva saw a flash of Nagi within them. The words sounded like something along the lines of what he would have said as well. Nagi would have helped these strangers from another world without blinking. He too would have stood before those he knew and asked for their aid.
He too would have stared into her eyes, hoping that there truly was a light hidden within the vampire's dark shroud that cause her to aid him in his plan. Eva grimaced at the thoughts and crossed both arms below her chest.
Damn the entire Springfield line to hell! She was Nosferatu. The Apostle of Destruction. Harbinger of the End of Days! Vlad Tepes had nothing on her when it came to cruelty, and she had earned each and every ounce of her fearsome reputation.
Yet as she looked into those determined eyes Eva knew what she had to do in order to get what she desired.
A grimace came over her face. She absolutely hated these sorts of deals. Deals where she got everything she wanted and gave away nothing in return were far better, but such was not possible this time.
Besides, Eva would get what she wanted in the end. It would just be mildly annoying for the near future as the kid would undoubtedly think she had been convinced by the kindness in his heart instead of cold, hard reasoning.
The vampire chose her next words carefully."Very well boya. You have made your point. You may cease your inane babble for the time being." She would be helpful, but her aid would not be without limits. "I will assist you in aiding them when the time comes, provided that I receive compensation of my choosing. Compensation that I will declare at a later date and time."
She held up one hand to forestall the boy's expression of gratitude that the vampire could just feel coming her way it was so palpable. "And only of my choosing as well, brat. Accept those terms, and we shall have a deal. Reject them, and I – oof!"
The kid's flying tackle took her completely by surprise, knocking the air from her lungs as he rode her body to the floor. His tears and cries of thanks were completely lost on the undead mage as she struggled to breath once more. The damn kid was killing her with gratitude!
"I accept, Evangeline, I accept. Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Off in the background the vampire heard Takamichi voice something, but whatever he was saying was currently irrelevant in light of the indignity the little Springfield was foisting upon her.
Eva cursed aloud as she tried to pry the kid off of her person. This is what she had been worried about! All she wanted was to get more information on the strange magic the two young men wielded and lure the kid deeper into her web. And how does he interpret it? By thinking that she is a nice person and thanking her with a hug. A hug!
It was utterly disgusting.
Once she was finally able to pry the boy off of her and shut him up, the three remaining mages spoke for a short time before splitting up to sleep in separate rooms. The kid's plan had been simple, even if parts of it were severely annoying. Eva had agreed to host one of the Fairies while Takamichi would take the other.
She had fought and struggled against the condition, curing their names and shaking her fists at them, but eventually she caved in to the boy's tearful face and Takamichi's logic. Or so they thought.
The two idealistic fools had bought her act completely, leaving her in the clear to pursue her own goals. All she had to do now was pretend to be suitably irritated in the morning with the whole situation, make the boya and Takamichi feel a little guilty over imposing on her, and then everything would go according to plan.
The vampire rubbed a thumb over one of her fangs in delight as she slipped into her newly rebuilt room. She placed the two Hell Tickets inscribed with Natsu's magical signature in a secure vault - she had plans for them, and refused to let them be destroyed – and shrugged out of her clothes.
Her dolls had done a wonderful job at restoring the room to its former glory. It was her sanctum, a place where only she or her minions were allowed to tread.
Eva settled down into her bed and gazed across the room at another one of her hidden prizes. The final shard of Gray's ice magic glittered coldly in the night air. Safely contained within a stasis field, the mysteries it contained were hers to look at whenever she wished.
With both it and unfettered access to one of the two Fairies to use as a test subject, the secret behind their strange magic would soon be hers. Surely it was worth a little bit of discomfort in the short term.
Dawn came in a glorious arrival of light. Alone in his bed, Negi woke with a great yawn. He sat up and blinked sleepily in the bright light which seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. He blinked sleepily, trying to figure out why it did not feel right. He looked around his room, trying to make out the blurry shapes without his glasses. It took him a moment, but he eventually did remember that he was not in his usual room with Asuna and Konoka. He had slept over in Eva's abode with everyone else.
The boy yawned once more as he stumbled out of bed. Waking up this morning was harder than usual for some odd reason. There has to be something wrong with the bed, he thought to himself as he reached for his undershirt and brought it over his head. Too soft, maybe? That had to be it. Everything else in the guest room was pretty much the same as the dorm room, so there were not that many factors which could have been the cause of his issues. He had even heard the soothing sound of booming magic shortly before falling asleep and listening to it as he fell asleep usually gave him peaceful dreams.
A knock sounded on the door. Negi grabbed for his clothes and called for the person to hold on for a bit. After a while spent fiddling with his shirt, since the blasted buttons refused to cooperate, he put on his pants and the rest of his normal ensemble. By this point he had the actions down to a science and was able to speed through the rest of the process.
Tying a tie was simple compared to getting those dang buttons through the tiny holes in his shirt.
When everything was on, and mostly in place, he put on a smile and opened the door. Chachamaru was standing there with her hand raised to knock a second time, her pretty face as unemotional as ever. Today she was wearing a ruffled white shirt paired with a black skirt. Her black knee high stockings were tucked into a pair of simple black heels. Overall, it made for a refreshing change from the normal school uniform in which he always saw her wear.
But seeing how clean and well pressed it look made the young boy feel self-conscious about his own wrinkled clothes. After all he had not had a chance to change or launder them since arriving back in Mahora from Kyoto.
Still, it would not due to be rude. Negi widened his smile and followed his sister Nekane's advice. Always compliment a woman when greeting them. "Good morning Chachamaru. Are you wearing a special outfit? It looks great on you!"
The only reply he received from her was a squeak. Negi blinked his eyes in . What could that be about?
"Chachamaru, are you alright?" He stepped in close so that he could take a better look at her features. The gynoid's face looked more flushed than usual and her pupils were slightly dilated. Did that mean the same thing a robot that it did for a human? Or maybe it just meant that something was wrong with her coolant flow. He was an expert in magic and basic education techniques. Not in magical androids.
"Your face looks awfully red. Should I call for Eva?" He reached for the girl in case she was in danger of collapsing. "Don't worry Chachamaru. I'll carry you to wherever she is right away!"
To Negi's surprise, Chachamaru dodged his arms and stepped back hurriedly. "I-I-I'm fine, sensei," she eventually managed to stammer. "It was only a momentary disruption in my air flow intake valves that resulted in a slight reddening of my upper dermal layer. You-you do not need to hold me at this time. My functions will soon return to normal."
Negi put his hands down to his side and stepped backwards. He had no idea as to how her body was able to function, so he would take her words at face value. "Okay Chachamaru." Knowing that his student was okay and not in danger was all that he needed to know.
The gynoid wrung her hands as the two stood in the hallway in peaceful quiet. She opened her mouth and shut it several times while Negi stood and waited patiently. He had grown used to such actions from many of the students in his class and had learned that waiting for them to approach him on their own was usually the correct course of action. Finally, after several minutes of this behavior, his robotic student seemed to settle down enough to speak.
"Um, sensei, my Master has asked me to bring you to the amphitheater before breakfast. She informed me that Natsu and Gray have called a meeting to discuss some of the items that were brought up last night. I believe that they are already present and are just waiting for everyone else to arrive."
"Ooh, really?" The thought of meeting the two strangers from another world again put a pep into Negi's step and cleared the remaining fog from his brain. "Excellent! That is wonderful news Chachamaru. Please, stay here for a moment. It won't take long for me to finish getting ready."
With a nod of her head, his android student walked down the corridor. Negi went back into his room and finished getting ready. Once he had washed his face and brushed his teeth – and thought about how Asuna would have yelled at him for doing that after he had already gotten dressed – the young boy closed his door and walked to where his robotic student was waiting. The two of them made their way in peaceful harmony, the taller Chachamaru shortening her long strides to make it easier for him to walk beside her.
The girl's kind gesture brought warmth to the young boy's heart. The gesture was both kind and considerate, and was something that those who were bigger and older than the boy often forgot about. It only cemented his image of the girl as a nice and thoughtful person and served to improve his already bright mood.
Today would be an excellent day. The young boy just knew it. He had been thinking of all sorts of plans during the night as he struggled to sleep, but he needed a better grasp of the two men before he could figure out the final form of his plan. The framework he had come up with and sold to Takamichi and Eva was a good start but the personalities of the two men would be key to determining which older mage they would accompany.
Skipping alongside Chachamaru, who gave him a faint smile at his actions, Negi tried to work things through in his head one more time. Splitting the two fairies up was a keystone part of his plan, but who went where was yet to be determined.
Whomever accompanied Takamichi would need to be calm and levelheaded. The older man had a demanding and secretive job. One which required him to meet with all sorts of people in all sorts of places. Calling him a spy would probably be going a tad too far, but Negi suspected it was closer to the mark than the young boy was comfortable with acknowledging. Pairing him with a person possessing the wrong temperament could cause Takamichi problems in that line of work.
Yet the same could be said for whomever lived with Eva. The vampire was frightening and had a towering reputation. Negi did not want to imagine what might happen if she was forced to host someone who did not respect her rules. If there was some kind of disagreement between her and the Fairy, then there was a very good chance that things could quickly get out of hand.
Negi would also probably get blamed for it by the vampire since it was his idea in the first place. She may have given her support to the idea, but she had stressed how much of an imposition it would be on her and had listed a long series of demands that would need to be met before she allowed anyone to stay with her.
The picture of a fully powered Eva on a bloody rampage came to mind, screaming his name as her horde of dolls pillaged the Academy in unholy vengeance. Negi shuddered at the vivid image. Yeah, on second thought the less aggressive of the two mages should definitely stay with her. Otherwise his dark student might one day decide to suck her teacher dry.
To distract himself from getting trapped in those thoughts Negi tried engaging Chachamaru in some light conversation. "So, Chachamaru, how did Eva give birth to you? Was it a long childbirth? Or was it relatively short?"
The android fell against a nearby wall. Negi could hear gears within her body whirring at incredible speeds as she turned a beet red face in his direction.
Had he said something inappropriate? He had just wanted to learn how such an amazing person as herself had come into being. While he knew that human babies were made from kissing and holding hands, and then a few months later a stork would bring a baby over to the house, Negi was not certain how one created or birthed an android.
Maybe he should rephrase the question. "Um, maybe I made a mistake in my initial question. Chachamaru, is Eva your mother? Or is she your father?"
If anything, Chachamaru's face grew even more red at this change in phrasing. The boy pressed on anyway. "I would love to know, not just out of curiosity but also out of concern for your own health in case you ever need a magic user to perform maintenance on your body. If Eva is not around then such a duty might fall to me, and I would prefer to perform to the best of my capabilities in any such situation."
Those words seemed to send the gynoid over the edge as Chachamaru collapsed to the ground in front of him the instant he finished speaking. A faint cloud of steam was leaking out from the girl's ears, and her mouth seemed frozen in the shape of an 'O.'
Negi rushed to her in a panic, holding his much taller student within his arms as he tried to get her attention. "Eh? Chachamaru, please come back to me! I'm sorry for anything I may have said." He had just been trying to make some simple conversation. How had that caused this situation to happen? "Don't die on me Chachamaru. Please! Oh my God, Asuna is going to kill me when she finds out about this, and I will miss you horribly too before she kills me. So don't die on me Chachamaru. Please wake up. Please!"
It took ten minutes of frantic talking on his part but Negi was somehow able to bring her back to consciousness. The android seemed rather skittish upon her awakening but had allowed him to help her stand with a faraway look in her eyes as he held her arm close. She then proceeded to dodge his worried inquiries and began talking about the subject he had initially raised.
Chachamaru haltingly explained that she was a combination of magic and technology and that Evangeline was something other than a traditional parent figure. Rather than being a mother or a father, it was more correct to call her Chachamaru's guide and caretaker. She looked after the gynoid and explained things to her, but expected to be served unquestioningly in return.
Negi's eyes had sparkled at this new information. Oh how amazing it was! Their complex relationship aside, that Eva had participated in such an experiment was beyond anything Negi had ever considered doing himself. To think that magic and science were capable of intertwining to such an extent was incredible. It was a whole field of magic he had never before thought possible!
As the two of them continued on their path to Eva's amphitheater, Negi tried to gain as much information from his student as he could with their limited time. It was a relatively short walk, but by the time they neared the end Negi had already learned quite a bit. Chachamaru had just finished explaining the fundamental basis for magical programming when they reached the building's entrance way.
"So you're saying that all magical hardware operates using base twelve as the numerical basis while the relative values of your software are changed in purpose and assignment according to Nordic runes?"
The female android nodded her head. "Indeed sensei. These two fundamental differences makes it quite difficult to bridge the gap between technological and magical programming. Master and the others had to create an entirely new language to ensure that all of my parts would operate correctly." A small smile grew on her face. "As such, I can smoothly integrate into any known form of networking – regardless of it being based in science or magic – while being nearly immune to infiltration from either."
Negi let out an 'ooh' of appreciation as he nodded in agreement. The range of powers and abilities Eva displayed constantly amazed him. This discussion on Chachamaru's creation was both fascinating and eye opening. He had not known anything about magical programming and was finding his lack of knowledge appalling. Just imagining the sheer complexity of the task Eva had undertaken to create Chachamaru made the boy marvel at the speed in which it was accomplished.
Chachamaru had been created two years ago while her initial research and development only took a single year. Such speed was beyond incredible. It was like something straight out of a fairy tale! He looked up at the tall girl in appreciative wonder. The results must have far surpassed their hopes, for Chachamaru was a fully functioning person. Someone who was a kind and gentle soul to those around her, and the world would be a lesser place without her in it. Thinking about it also helped Negi to make up his mind on a subject he had been considering since he had first fought against Chachamaru and her master.
The only way he could catch up to his father, and not forever be left in his wake, would be if Negi had a powerful teacher to call his own. One who possessed more knowledge and skill than any of his old teachers in Wales. Furthermore, it would have to be someone who was already at or near his father's level.
He wanted it to be Evangeline.
"You're a cheeky little dish, boya, making me wait before my breakfast." Eva's growled greeting made Negi jump. Looking up, he saw her looking down. She was floating in the air above the entrance way and was staring down at him with a hungry look in her eyes. "Morning. Now take a seat and shut up so we can get this over with quickly. I'm hungry, so you had better not do anything to make this take any longer than is strictly necessary. Otherwise it might be you who will end up being my new morning snack instead of one of the two morons that called this meeting in the first place."
Behind him, Chachamaru patted Negi's shoulder as she left his side and moved to stand by her master as the vampire floated down to a nearby seat of stone. Eva's simple black dress fluttered in the air, revealing ruffles of cream, red and violet as he watched.
"Well? Move it already! Let's hurry up and get this over with! I'm hungry!" She snapped.
The dress really seems to fit her mood, Negi mused to himself as he hurriedly chose a seat next to where Takamichi sat. The big man's suit looked even more rumpled than that of Negi's, and he greeted the younger boy with a nod of his head. Negi glanced at Eva one final time before moving his gaze away.
Ever since the trip to Kyoto had reached its conclusion, Negi had been thinking of asking the scary vampire to be his teacher in magic. The events of the trip had made the limits of his abilities clear to him. There would be little he could improve upon by studying on his own, and he had to improve. Negi would not allow himself to allow any of his students or friends to suffer harm in the future.
Still, he would wait a while longer before asking her to be his teacher. She was too scary at the moment and Negi had no desire to die before he accomplished all of his goals.
The boy turned his attention to Natsu and Gray. Both young men were close by and appeared to have gotten little sleep. Gray stood by a nearby pillar, dressed in an apparently fresh pair of the same clothes in which Negi had last seen him, with his arms crossed under his chest. Meanwhile Natsu just lounged on the floor. The pink-haired was wearing the same red shirt and khaki pants that Konoka's dad had scraped up for him and was running his ever present white scarf through his hands in what appeared to be an unconscious habit. Negi could sense a faint magic emanating from the item but could not tell what type.
Now was probably not a good time to ask about it. Both Faeries sported multiple bruises on their faces while deep bags lingered under their eyes. Thinking back to the magical booms he had heard last night, Negi connected their new appearance with Natsu's apparent gift of fighting anyone. This in turn brought his mind back to his earlier concerns about the temperaments of the two mages and caused the young boy to gulp. He could feel the pressure of the decision weighing down on him as a nearly physical sensation.
Send Natsu with Takamichi and possibly create a diplomatic incident. Or keep the fire mage nearby and thereby place Negi's own life, and that of his students, in danger from the vampire's retribution. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Neither option was good. Oh, why did Natsu have to be so violent?
Gray's voice brought Negi's mind back to the present. "You guys probably made some plans last night after we left. We'll hear them out in a little bit, but first, we wanted to thank you for leaving us to our own devices while we worked some things out." Gray gave Negi and each of the other two native mages a curt nod.
Natsu stood up and nodded his head in agreement as well. "Yeah, we just needed some time to think and work things out with our fists. I had to beat some sense into droopy eyes over there, and he cooled off some of my crazier ideas." Natsu closed his eyes and breathed deeply before waving a hand in his friend's direction. "Gray and I came up with some stuff while we were going at it, but I'll let him do most of the talking. He's better at explaining this boring talking stuff than I am."
The black-haired mage snorted and straightened his back against the pillar. "Thanks for the backhanded compliment, flamebrain But I guess that even a moron like you has a point once in a blue moon." He faced the other mages, looking at them with a chilly eyes. "Natsu and I have two requests that we'd like you to take into account with whatever plan you guys came up with. First, and most importantly, is this. The moron and I can't stay in the same place until we find the rest of our friends."
Negi adjusted his glasses in mild surprise as he looked between the two young men. He had not anticipated this outcome. According to what he had been thinking, the two mages from another world would first need to be persuaded of this fact. This was certainly a pleasant surprise. He might not need to convince them of the benefits of having one search while the other stayed stationary as a base of operations.
It also seemed to strike a cord with Takamichi as the big man was quick to speak up. "Although it fits with our plan, are the both of you really certain that you do not want to remain together? Is there some sort of bad blood between you that we should know about? Or some kind of magical condition?"
Natsu and Gray shot a complicated look at one another. Negi tensed as he watched them, wondering if the two were about to fight. Then the two older boys fell to the ground, laughing uncontrollably.
"Wahahahaha!" Natsu yelled out as he rolled around on the stone floor. "Bad blood? Ha! And magical conditions? Only in the sense that Gray's shitty blood has been completely frozen over for years and has turned him into a compulsive stripper."
Nearby, Gray's laughter cut-off and he aimed a kick at the laughing Natsu. "You're one to talk fire veins. You're dumber than a rock and have probably boiled that piece of crap you call a brain way beyond the point of no return."
The dark-haired man landed a clean hit on Natsu's face and pumped a fist in the air as the fire user's head smashed backward into the amphitheaters flagstones. "Ha! Suck it moron!"
With a roar, Natsu leaped up from the floor and pounced on his friend. "Don't kick me in the face, ya perverted stripper!"
Negi then watched as the pink-haired man proceeded to punch, bite, and kick any part of the other man within reach. Gray fought back just as hard and just as ugly, pulling Natsu's hair and slamming both knees into the fire mage's stomach over and over again.
As the two continued to roll across the floor in a screaming tangle of limbs, Negi blinked slowly and turned to the more experienced mages. "Takamichi? Eva? Are they okay?" The boy was confused. He had never seen anything like the two men before him. This could not be normal activity.
To Negi's left, Takamichi was chuckling while Eva gave the quarreling pair a flat stare. She turned to look at Negi and spoke in a tight voice. "They're as okay as they will ever be, boya. It's an incurable condition that only afflicts the particularly stupid. Your father was like this with his closest friends as well."
Then her eyes flashed, and Negi once more glimpsed the ancient monster which lurked underneath her cute visage. "But if those two don't stop soon, I may just kill them."
Negi nodded in absent minded agreement, only to blink again as her initial words fully registered in his brain. His father had been like the two men in front of him? He and his friends had behaved just like the same two men who currently looked as though they were trying to kill one another?
A corona of flame surrounded Natsu's fist and arced towards Gray's face. Gray blocked it by encasing his friend's arm in ice with a victorious laugh, only for it to change midway into a cry of pain. Natsu had ignored the fact that his arm was frozen and was now slapping his friend in the head with the icy appendage. Negi winced at the sound of the hits and Natsu's crazed laughter.
Their behavior made no sense. The boy looked at Takamichi for confirmation of Eva's words. Surely his father, the legendary Thousand Master, had not acted in such a way.
The big man nodded as he absently scratched his untrimmed beard. "Nagi never could act serious to save his life. The old days of Ala Rubra were filled with this sort excitement." He grinned and rotated one of his arms to light a fresh cigarette. "Looking at them having that much fun almost makes me want to join in for old times sake."
A piercing gaze came on his face as Negi looked towards the two Fairies. Looking closely, he could see that they fought in the most ineffective way possible. Vital points were ignored and their blows lacked any sort of refined technique.
Although snarls and curses were constantly thrown between them, somehow it felt as if they were actually happy. It was as though the two were acting out some sort of strange, demented bond that only made sense to the two of them.
A twinge of jealousy ran through him at that thought. It seemed as though his father's back kept getting further away. No matter how hard Negi tried, no matter what he tried to do, he always seemed to come up short of his father. The list of things his father excelled in kept growing longer as his back grew ever more distant.
Unfortunately for Negi, his morose train of thought had caused him to grow distracted. Thus he was unable to stop his body from flying off its seat when Eva's rage finally blasted forth.
"Enough!" Eva's voice roared through the amphitheater, sending Gray's pulse skyrocketing. The vampire's magical aura flared to life with a dazzling intensity and a blast of ice shot out at the two Fairies.
Gray did his best to block her attack but it came too fast. The rolling wave of ice pummeled the two men into a stone wall on the far side of the amphitheater, and Gray felt his half-healed body creak under the impact. With an effort, he managed to get his wits together long enough to dispel her initial assault. Then the next one came.
With a sudden crack, gigantic spears of ice flashed into being around the two men in a gigantic cage of death. Gray and Natsu dodged away from one another as the spears sheared through the floor by their feet, sending shards of ice and rock flying in a hail of shrapnel.
Gray made it to safety. He had never wavered in his observation of the girl and had sensed the attack coming a split second before Natsu. The dragon-slayer was not as lucky. He was able to dodge most of the girl's attack but took one to his side at the last moment and went flying into the air, cursing at the top of his lungs.
From where he landed, Gray pressed his hands to the ground and released a surge of magic. He canceled the girl's magic just before it could fully entrap Natsu. The pink-haired man fell out of the sky and hit the floor straight on his head.
The black-haired mage could feel his arms shaking from the effort it had taken to dispel the girl's magic. He wasn't sure how many more times he could block her attacks before his body started giving out on him once again as he still was not quite healed. Last night's brawls with Natsu had been tolerable, but the vampire was well out of Gray's league even on his best day.
Walking up to them was the ancient creature herself, her lips pulled back to form a snarling rictus. Her dark outfit flowing around her body, moving on the currents of magic pouring from her tiny body in a raging torrent. The ground froze around her feet as she came to a stop. Her brilliant green eyes narrowed.
"So long as you are both within my dominion, you will not fight one another." She finally ground out as she stopped in front of their cages. Ice crackled as she clenched both of her tiny hands into fists. "You will obey my words as if they were God's own law, jump when I say jump, and crawl when I say crawl. Or I shall carve my name upon your miserable little hides and turn you into whimpering shells of your former selves."
She turned to stare directly at Gray. "Now. Have I made myself clear? Or must we do things the hard way?"
Gray's eyes glittered in unspent rage. He had known that he could not trust her, and here she was proving him right. He had been hunted by this woman and her dolls for two days. She had ambushed him and beaten him to within an inch of his life, only to then heal him and act as though she had done nothing wrong the moment it was of benefit to her. Gray knew he was no match the vampire, but to let her insult him like this without hitting back was not in his blood.
"Ya know, I don't think you did make yourself clear." A torrent of flame burst into being at Natsu's words. It surrounded Natsu's body, roiling around him in a golden storm of magical energy.
The dragon-slayer made a fist with his fiery right hand and slammed it into the open palm of his left. "Let's finish what we started yesterday, vampire. Only this time with the kiddie gloves off." He then gave the vampire a toothy grin as his eyes shone with lightning.
"You've got me all fired up now."
END
A/N: A big info dump and all (and I'll be back to the long A/N's too for a bit, ugh), but with it another rewritten chapter bites the dust. The information that the two groups exchanged, though, really was necessary for the plot. I also felt that it would be good to show it in-scene rather than off-scene. That way you could see how it affected the various characters, as well as their varying perspectives and motivations. Eva plotting, Negi getting ecstatic over the goodness of others, Natsu and Gray wanting to punch things… all the usual fun stuff. It also allowed me to insert a few bits of foreshadowing too. Gosh I hope that I can make it to the Mundus arc.
And I just had to end things on a cliffhanger. ;-)
I want to give a big shoutout to Savaris, Raiyoukai, RizomataNyan, and Bobicus for their kind reviews on the last chapter. Readers like you four (and the ever so kind flamers who pop up once in a blue moon) help me to stay the course when writing. And if anyone has fic recommendations for me like Savaris did which you think might help me get into a character's head, then please send them my way. I can use all the help that I can get and greatly enjoy finding good new fics to read.
Now, on to my usual comments.
Negi Springfield: It's taken me some time to get him in the spotlight of my comments, but here goes. One of the two main protagonists of Mahou Sensei Negima (and also of this fic), he is a character cast in the heroic mold of many great heroes of myth and fiction. In my opinion, Negi is a classic example of a hero who is willing to go out of his way to help others. Even at the cost of his own health and happiness. This very trait caused him to succeed in Negima canon, but it also worried those who cared about him throughout Negima as they feared– for good reason I might add – that he might someday take on more than he could handle.
This is best exemplified by what has happened to him in UQ Holder (Ugh. I won't give away spoilers, but I really do dislike its story; even if it has given us a few gems in terms of supporting characters), and it is a trait which the characters will struggle with throughout my own story. Negi's behavior will drive the FT crew nuts once they figure it out, as FT's moral compass (while clear and consistent) is more localized. They go for their comrades first and the greater good second, whereas Negi is more of a greater good first and comrades second type of hero. These two concepts are not always in conflict with one another, but the periods when they do conflict cane make for some great reading. This difference between the two main camps of good guys will also introduce a conflict between them that will grow until their tempers boil over in one helluva explosion.
I also cannot change this basic character trait without ripping out the very core of Negi's characterization. An action that I refuse to take. Instead, I plan to show its pros and cons as I temper it over time.
Additionally, Negi will age in this story. I understand that he eventually became both immortal and eternally young in canon, but come on! The kid hardly changed in appearance from the moment the manga started till the day it ended. Growing boys at his age change constantly. And this is in spite all of the time warping stuff Negi did prior to becoming immortal too!
My best guess is that the author wanted to keep the whole shtick (if you don't know this word then look it up) of the 'child teacher/hero' going but that does not appeal to me. I prefer my heroes to be older and more grown up than a 10 year old child (which the original author cheated by using a deus ex machina magic pill that made characters look older/younger) and this story will eventually reflect my bias.
This chapter also saw my first stab at having Negi try to carry a scene. I'm keeping him close to canon for now, but expect for that to diverge as the story goes on.
Takamichi Takahata: Ugh. I'm sure that it came out in my writing but I truly do not like the man. He is boring, forgettable, boring, underwhelming and sooooo gosh dang boring. Did I mention that I find him boring? I'll do my best with him but I don't have high hopes. He will have a continuing role in my fic, though, as no other Negima character really has his connections and ability to pass between the mundane and magical worlds at will and I will not make a lame OC to fill the gap. I also want to grow as a writer, and one good way to do so is by tackling characters that give you a hard time so…. Yeah. I'll be tormenting myself and all of you with him for awhile. I have two special surprises in store that involve him.
Chachamaru Karakuri: What did you think of her conversation with Negi regarding her creation? I was always curious about it and wondered why Negi never tried to investigate it more in canon. Because being able to create a fully functional artificial intelligence – one capable of both rational thought and emotion – is a BIG DEAL.
Something like that doesn't just happen because a scientist or a wizard waves their hand and proclaims "Let it be so". Unless it's in a very old book or being done by either a) a crappy author, or b) one who just does not care about the topic beyond 'this would be a neat plot device.' Negi will be looking into both the how and the why during my fic as it will be a continuing subplot.
Chachamaru herself, while not a personal favorite, was always intriguing to me. I was raised on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and that show has definitely influenced my love of android characters who seek to be more human. Chachamaru is no Commander Data but she is a fun character to throw into the mix of things. Expect her to be a recurring and influential support character in this fic.
Jellal: If you're a Jellal fan then get out now. He is probably my least favorite character in FT and there will be very little positive that I have to say about him within my story. I won't bash him, but I honestly think that he should have died back in the Tower of Heaven and hate that he is paired with Erza. I'd rather see her paired with Happy or a semi-intelligent rock than with Jellal. Grrrr…
Recommended Reading: This time I would like to recommend Becoming Lífþrasir by Midoriko-sama. It's a completely AU take on the How to Train Your Dragon series. Based on the animated universe, it's a "what if" Hiccup felt like he would never be accepted on Berk and took off into the night with Toothless shortly after they first met. It's another fic which hits all the right notes: adventure, action, humor, romance, and more. It also has two excellent (and complete!) sequels which will probably make their own appearances in this area should I be lucky enough to get that far in my own story.
Until next time,
Elsil