Disclaimer: See Prologue

A/N: So here I am, back again. Fresh off, four days in the wilderness and ready to do some writing.

It seems I have no female readers. Or if I do, they don't take well to Authors Notes or reviewing. Which is a shame, because I really did want to know about the lemon, but from the reviews I did get, it seems the guys liked it. Thank you for reviewing as always.

Also I think I mentioned it before but just incase. I did very little description of the actual area but since it wasn't really important I didn't want to waste the time. Also if my spell names are corny, I really don't care but note for the few that I acctually have the man say I acctually went and translated them to Latin so please cut me a little slack.

And please have patience. I'm a little out of it today so if the start to this chapter is a little off, I'm sorry. Just flame it horribly in reviews if it's too bad and I will revise. So without further ado…

Chapter 5

The Great Escape

Just as they'd planned, Negi and the girls were right outside the village just before dawn. They were waiting for Mana to signal them that she was in position. It had been a quiet morning among the group. Everyone was preparing to play his or her part. Of course, everyone had their own ways of doing so.

The Hanyo swordswoman was no longer ashamed of her wings, so she'd become much less reserved. While she was still quiet and stern most of the time, she had learned to open up and she no longer thought of herself as worthless or dirty. Mostly thanks to Konoka and Negi, but the whole group had a hand in her transformation. It only took about 15 people telling her non-stop that she is amazing, beautiful and that they wouldn't be alive without her, in order to make her finally believe it. She also has become one of the greatest sword wielders in the world. Asuna outmatched her by sheer physical prowess. But in a contest of straight skill, Asuna wouldn't stand a chance.

Earlier that morning Setsuna was intensely focused on her sword. Sharpening and polishing it from the second she arose until the second they had left. Her eyes maintained a hardness to them. But deep within, if you really knew her, you could see how nervous she was. It bothered her that Negi was taking this so seriously. Not that he was ever carefree, but Negi seemed worried about this. For the first time in a long time she wasn't completely sure that everything was going to be fine. That really bothered her.

Konoka didn't like the idea of being left behind. She felt powerless and useless. But she knew why she was staying and knew why she had to be there. She had to activate the teleportation runes from her side, otherwise the whole plan came crashing down. And even thought she wanted to be there in case anyone got hurt. She knew if they were in a position where they had to fight she'd only be a liability. Even though, Konoka's powers had grown far more than anyone else's.

Back in middle school, she had first learned of the existence of magic and her inherited power. Now as a young woman, she was unanimously considered the most powerful healer in the world. She once did a spell for healing people who were infected with a magical poison that required a lengthy ritual. Except, she did it without any preparations at all. She didn't even have the 'necessary' catalysts. Theoretically, what she did was not only unusual but simply impossible. However, there were far too many witnesses for it to be questioned and people were forced to accept this girl as the real thing.

She had been offered every high profile position available to a healer. But one thing hadn't and never would change, she answered each one of the countless offers with the same response, "I'm sorry but right now I have to help my friend." Even after Negi told her that she should accept that she didn't have to help anymore. All she said was, "Don't be silly, I'm not going anywhere without my friends." One of the many reasons why Negi had always been drawn to Konoka, she didn't have it in her to be selfish.

Nodoka was about ready to shit herself. Over the years she has learned how to stand up for herself. Her new found courage partially due to the fact that thanks to her artifact she has a road map to peoples fears and insecurities. During every battle she realized that almost everyone was as scared as she was but they all still fought. It gave her strength, not to mention has made her somewhat the group's counselor. The girl who once needed two people pushing her just to make a decision was now the most self assured person in the group. It's amazing how much you can learn about yourself while watching other people.

Yet still she couldn't stop shaking. Normally she wasn't in harms way, standing off to the side yelling out directions and encouragement. The last place she ever wanted to be was infiltrating an enemy camp. She was so worried that her clumsiness would get them all killed. She felt so pathetic. All the strength she'd worked so hard for was failing her when she needed it most. She was feeling so weak until she looked over at Negi.

Despite all the mixed emotions that she felt, he was still the most comforting thing in her world. His face locked in concentration, Negi was going over the plan again and again in his head. Yet despite how steady he looked, Nodoka could see his hands shaking. So even he's worried. I guess this is normal. And it certainly was, the only problem was it wasn't very reassuring.

Evangeline and Chachamaru were also waiting for Mana in their own respective position. Except their preparations were slightly different from the others. Eva's job in the plan was basically to be the clean up hitter. If anything went wrong and they were forced to retreat, she was supposed to level the entire village. And she was preparing for what could be considered a massacre, by drinking a cup of tea. Then again, when it came to senseless killing, Eva had extensive experience. Plus, she had the added advantage of having a Vampires lack of a morale compass. It would've been more of a mental conflict for her to leave them alive. Or at least that's what she made people think.

A lot had change for Evangeline A. K. McDowell. Negi had kept his promise, eventually finding a way to break the curse on Evangeline. There were however, some side affects; such as she could no longer live off just anyone's blood. She didn't need to do it very often anymore but when she did feed, it could only be Negi's blood. Something, which came with more than just the obvious drawbacks. But that was only one part of the story.

When surrounded by the changing and growing of the group, Evangeline… didn't change a bit. Well that's not entirely true. She was still the condescending, and compassionless brat she had always been. Not to mention her sadism was still in full swing. However, something fundamental inside had changed. She had found her Jiminy Cricket, or conscience if you will. She called it a byproduct of spending too much time around overly perky do-gooders. As much as she hated to admit it, being with the group gave her something she hadn't had in a very long time. A place she belonged. Not like at the school where she had been forced to stay in one place. Here with these people, she finally felt (even if she'd die before admitting it) for the first time since becoming a vampire that everything was exactly how it should be. And the thought of losing this pseudo family was enough to keep her in check. So maybe not so much a conscience as a good deterrent. But either way, it worked.

Chachamaru just sat quietly watching the village. The only time she moved at all was when Eva wanted more tea. Despite her master's nonchalant attitude, Chachamaru was keenly focusing on the task at hand. She needed to make sure everyone was ok. The force compelling this need was as powerful as her programming had once been.

Of coarse she didn't know it, but this driving sensation she had was fear. What she did know however, was that she didn't like it.

It was just a few minutes before dawn when Mana's voice broke the silence in Negi's head. Over the telepathic link, she said "Okay I'm in position I have 12 targets in the open give me 4 seconds from the end of this message. Move exactly at that moment towards the closest building to you. Once you get there wait another seven seconds and then move towards the guard you want to capture. At his current pace he will be rounding the corner to the side of the building they can't see about five seconds after you get there. So you only have a five second margin for error. If you aren't there to meet him when he rounds that corner, he'll see you coming and it's game over. Start your count.. Now."

Negi did what Mana said to the letter. Mana's aim was amazing, but her eye for strategy and tactics was uncanny. It was one of the reasons he had her on this mission. She was one of the few people Negi could trust to keep up with an ever changing plan without even being told what to do.

And just like she said and not even a second late was the guard coming around the corner. Negi quickly elbowed him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the man so he'd be unable to scream.

Normally when interrogating a prisoner, winding them isn't the best option. It's rather hard to get information from someone when they can't breathe. But thankfully with Nodoka around, the man's inability to speak was not a problem.

Negi grabbed the man by his collar and threw him against the wall. In a low voice that promised a horrible death if it didn't get what it wanted, he asked simply. "Where is Kotaro?"

Now the man he was threatening was a dog demon so it would take more than that to really scare him. But this would be enough to make him think about it. And sure enough within seconds Nodoka was looking at a layout of the camp in her book. There was a big red arrow pointing to a building and saying Kotaro is here.

Since they were done here Negi had Mana shoot the guard they'd just talked to, the cloaking bullets making sure no trace of their presence would be found. (I didn't think to say it before but these cloaking bullets are non-lethal they're just knocked out and made invisible.)

Mana took out a couple more guards for them as they made their way to the building that Kotaro was in. Coming to the door Negi and the others prepared themselves. Just like they'd planned Setsuna went in first and using her speed had gotten the four guards inside the first little area.

Once they were all inside they started dashing from hallway to hallway looking for their lost friend. The inside of the building was a maze of stone and metal. Grey walls looked back at you no matter where you turned. This was not a pleasant place. After searching the whole first floor they came up empty, and since it was a one story building that only left one possibility. He was being held underground.

Negi wasn't in the mood to waste time looking for the entrance. So instead he silently casted the Light of the Unseen spell. A spell that illuminated any hidden entrances. It took them a second but in one of the hallways right inside the main door was the secret entrance.

Setsuna went down and incapacitated two more unsuspecting guards. As they fell to the ground Setsuna realized something intriguing. "For a place that seems to be very secretive it's surprising that the Dog Demons would use regular humans to guard it."

Nodoka follow Setsuna into the dank tunnel. "They must really not like him to keep him in a place like this." She said as the lower chamber opened out in front of them. Torches on the walls barely lit an cavern that couldn't be called anything but a cave. The walls were all jagged stone and the floors were dirt. But as they began moving through Negi could see that there was more to this.

The sharp rocks had a strange gleam to them, the flickering of the torch light camouflaged it. You could only tell if you were looking very carefully. Negi wasn't sure what it was but as they continued on the bad feeling in his stomach was growing fast.

Finally they got to the end of the cavern. Here you could easily see the glittering of the stone walls. The dirt covering them was washed away here. Or maybe it was never packed on. Negi was almost sure he knew what they were looking at now. "I think this is Wolf's Bane Ore. It's a synthetic stone that is harmless to normal people but torturous to any form of wolf or dog. Even demon breeds and hanyo. It must be driving him mad. Being constantly tortured all the time

Up ahead he saw a door and before he knew what was happening he was running towards it. He reached the door his hands grabbed for the bars of the small window, his eyes were able to peer through the hole and see a figure inside for just an instant.

Then his hands met with the door and thousands of volts of electricity surged through him throwing him several feet back down the hall. He'd been so excited he didn't even think of magical barriers. After shaking off the initial jolt, Negi got to his feet.

He looked through the door, this time without touching it. There laying on the ground, looking half dead was Kotaro. Negi could feel his insides burning. He knew it wouldn't work but he tried an unlocking spell. After it failed he turned around.

"Setsuna you're turn." He said looking over at her. She nodded and broke down into a stance. After mumbling a few words she swung her sword, a streak of light followed behind it and it created a wind inside the small tunnel. But when all was said and done, the door still remained.

"Okay then, Setsuna Listen carefully." He turned and looked her dead in the eyes, she was taken back for a moment but quickly recovered giving him an understanding nod. "You're going to take Nodoka with you and wait just inside the front door." As soon as you hear the boom, I want you to take her and run."

"What?" Nodoka attempted to interrupt but Negi was still staring at Setsuna telling her what to do.

"Head directly to the south of the camp." He said everything with a calm that betrayed his inner turmoil.

Nodoka didn't like this at all. "What about y…"

Negi hastily cut her off. "Listen, you run to the south as fast as possible and don't you dare look back or slow down for anything. They're going to be on you in seconds I need you to get as far as you can as fast as you can."

"Negi!" Nodoka had enough of being ignored. "How are you going to escape?"

He smiled his trademark 'don't worry' smile. "I'm going to be trying out a new trick. Now you two get the hell out of here and like I said as soon as you hear the boom. " Then his face turned to stone and he walked back towards the door.

Setsuna had to drag Nodoka away but once she did Negi began to prepare. Now it's common knowledge (thanks to Asakura) that Negi's specialty is wind magic. What's not so common knowledge, is that wind magic when combined with other forms of magic it can bring forth incredible results.

In Negi's case, he was about to use 3 spells at once. First he casted a spell called 'Skin of Stone' which did exactly what it said, as a thin layer of stone covered Negi's body. Second was the 'Heart of the Flame' similar to the first except this time Negi was engulfed in flames. Now covered in stone and fire Negi was ready to go. He prepared himself and with determination in his eyes he chanted "Promotum Ventosus iussu Hermes" (Spell name: "Tail Wind of Hermes." Actual translation "pushing forward wind under the command of Hermes" But since 'penis' is the latin word for 'tail' I decided to take a little liberty in the translation.)

Suddenly, what had been a man covered in stone and fire was now a meteor. Half running, half flying Negi went through the door like it was paper. Without so much as slowing down, he scooped up Kotaro. Negi displayed excellent control of his magic, managing to extend the rock and fire casings around his unconscious friend without hurting him. Before the sound of him crashing through the door had been heard, the Negi comet was literally blasting it's way out of the back of the building. Other then the smoke and fire you'd think the entire side simply disappeared. And out of it came burning hot a ball of fire.

This was the flame that set the world ablaze.

Setsuna lifted Nodoka in her arms and with all her speed dashed to the South. She could hear the confused screams of people in panic and rage behind her. She spread her wings and propelled them forward even faster. She didn't want to be anywhere near here when Eva's spell went off.

Mana packed up and left immediately. At this point she just hoped Negi knew what he was doing.

Eva looked on with lust in her eyes, she could feel Negi's anger. She knew in an instant, "I'm not going to have to lift a finger here." She could've just teleported right then, but the anticipation of what was about it happen had her seduced. She wanted to watch it.

Eva herself, didn't even know how right she was.

Underneath the stone armor, Negi got a good look at Kotaro. He was only wearing a pair of tattered pants ripped and bloodstained. His body was beaten and bloody. It looked like all the bones in his hands had been broken over and over again. His entire body was unkempt and emaciated. Scars formed crisscrosses across most of his body. Kotaro was a shell of the person Negi once knew. With every horror noticed, Negi became more enraged.

What these... things had done to his friend was unforgivable. With tears in his eyes, still on fire, Negi was quickly surrounded. No one attacked because no one was quite sure what they were looking at.

Negi let out a primal scream and the stone that was once his armor shot out in every direction covered in fire. Like little pieces lava, they shredded through everyone who'd gathered around Negi. Almost 40 people dropped to the ground, with burning holes all over their bodies.

"Parietis ConsistoVentosus" ("Wall of Wind") A tornado began to form around Negi as he started walking slowly out of the village. The dog demon warriors began attacking, but with zero success. Each person who tried to get close was thrown away by the wind almost as if it had hands. They were thrown into walls, each other, but one thing each landing had in common, was that every single person landed squarely on their head.

The village was a scene of confusion and carnage. Those who hadn't been killed or injured already were running around frantically. Some were trying to help the wounded others ran for their lives and some continued to try to attack Negi. The latter all came to meet the same fate. He walked in a straight line towards the south part of town ignoring the buildings and people in his way. Both were blown away like they'd never even existed. It wasn't until he reached the edge of the town that he let up.

Negi turned around and looked back at the destruction he'd brought forth. Debris was everywhere, splinters of what were once buildings covered the area. Some of the wreckage was on fire, some had been launched and was now impaled on whatever was left standing. Bodies were everywhere, some dead, some just writhing in agony. Negi could hear the screams for mercy and the cries for help.

He knew that later on he was going to regret this. But somehow, right now with Kotaro's broken form in his arms, all Negi could do was scoff at them.

One of the people close enough for Negi to hear called out behind him. "Why.. Why would you do this? What did we ever do to you?" Tear's could be heard through the words.

"You didn't do anything to me… This was for what you people did to my friend."

With that Negi did a shundo (flash step like technique for those who don't remember) and disappeared from the area.

High above on her perch Eva licked her lips smiling. She was breathing heavily with a distant look in her eye. "Mmm, very nice boy." She was so enthralled that she'd lost all sense of what was going on. Chachamaru's voice brought her back to reality.

"Master shouldn't we be leaving?" She implored politely.

Eva turned around annoyed. "Must you always ruin my fun you over grown toaster?" She sighed, "Okay fine let's go." With that she lifted up a small rune and with a flash of light they teleported away.

It didn't take long for Negi to catch up with the others. They wasted no time with the questions. A jumble of "What happened? How's Kotaro? How'd you get him out? What was all the screaming?" Both girls asking each question in their own way and at different times.

Negi's Head was spinning. When they started asking him the question his mind started giving him the answers. And now that he'd calmed down he didn't like what his mind was telling him.

"Girls I know you have questions but right now we have to leave." He tried to put on the best stone face he could. If the looks of concern in the eyes of his comrades were any clue, he was failing miserably.

He took out his rune and a moment later, the four of them were gone.

Back at the camp Konoka jumped at the flash that signaled their return. To her disappointment, Eva was not nearly as anxious to see her.

"Down girl. They'll be back soon enough. And it looks like the puppy will be needing your help." She flipped her hair and walked past. She was still thinking about Negi and how seductive the destruction had been. She didn't want to admit it but right now she was really hot for the boy. So she went to go find a corner of the camp from where she could watch but not be disturbed by the coming commotion.

Less than a minute later, Negi and his group appeared. Immediately Negi laid Kotaro down in front of Konoka. "It's pretty bad. He been injured and re-injured over and over again I don't think normal healing is going to be enough.

Konoka ran her hands over the cuts bruises and scars. She began looking at him very closely, mentally making a list of all his injuries. Her face was stern, "You're right. It's going to take a lot more than just a fix it spell I think this might be a time for re-creation. But this may take a while." She raised her hands over him and began to chant.

Meanwhile, Negi walked away from the scene. His head was swimming in doubt. He couldn't believe what he'd just done. He'd just lost control again. But this time he'd killed real people. Granted they were basically all demons but that didn't make it any better. He'd done it in a fit of rage and the scary part was, at the time he honestly felt like he should kill them all.

He was holding his head in his hands, shaking it. He could hear the voice of the person who'd asked him why. It had been a child. He had just wiped out that poor kids village almost the same way the demons destroyed his village all those years ago. He'd become the monster.

"You know boy, beating yourself up over it isn't going to change anything." Eva had left her seat of refuge and was now walking up to Negi with a big smile on her face. "Besides with how beautiful of a display that was, I'm surprised that you aren't taking more pride in it." She laughed at her own joke. Negi however did not.

He was up in a second and lifting her so their faces were inches apart. "Murder isn't something to feel proud of. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't have the right to…"

Negi would've continued but Eva slapped him full force across the face. She brought her face to within inches of his and stared into his eyes fiercely. "Listen up boy, I'm only going to say this once. You were in a situation with enemies that would kill you as soon as look at you if you gave them the chance. You'd just broken out a prisoner from their prison and destroyed the place while you were at it. What makes you think you had any choice? The only reason it doesn't seem like that to you is because you had the advantage of surprise and superior firepower, which made it a short fight. But if you'd given them the chance, you'd be dead."

She grabbed his face and planted a long passionate kiss on his lips. "Besides that was the sexiest thing I've seen in two hundred years. Thanks for the show Negi." Negi was in shock. He didn't even realize that she'd actually called him by his name.

As Eva walked away, Setsuna came running over. "Konoka just finished with the healing Kotaro should wake up any minute now." With a huge smile and a bounce in her step that was highly uncharacteristic, Setsuna almost ran back to where Konoka was.

Negi shot up like a bolt and nearly flew to Kotaro's side. And as if the world had been waiting for the main character, Kotaro began to stir just as Negi got to his side. He beamed down at his friend, a huge smile ready to greet him.

Kotaro's eyes shot open and before anyone had a chance to react, he lashed out knocking Negi and Konoka to the floor. He sprung to his feet, jumping out of the center of the group to a spot in front of a tree where he took up a defensive stance. Like a cornered animal he growled and swerved his head side to side making sure everyone was in view. The look in his eyes was primal, it was like he no longer had any sanity left.

Negi quickly got to his feet, "Everyone! Stand back!" He didn't want them provoking Kotaro. "Kotaro, it's me Negi. Don't you remember me?"

For the first time a shred of humanity poked through the savage exterior, "Don't give me that shit. I know you're not him. You're just another one of those bastards dirty tricks. You're too old to be him." Kotaro rushed Negi, his hands going straight for the throat. Negi caught his hands but the force of the lunge knocked him over. Kotaro was now on top of Negi as he struggled to get to his neck. The girls all started to move at once but Negi shouted

"No stop! Let me handle this. Kotaro it's been five years!" he pleaded.

"Yeah I know, Negi's long since forgot about me. So stop your games." For a second he could see pain in Kotaro's eyes.

His voice got soft. "Kotaro, I could never forget you. You saved my life that day, not to mention about a dozen other times. I just couldn't get you out until now."

"Bullshit, the Negi I remember wasn't strong enough to break me out of there. That's why I told him not to come back for me. He would've been killed. Wait, is that what happened? He tried to come back and you bastards killed him? I'll rip your heart out!" Kotaro leapt to his feet dragging Negi up by his collar and throwing him against a tree. Brandishing his claws Kotaro howled, "This is for my friend!"

Negi didn't want to have to do this but he was given no choice. As Kotaro lunged he did a shundo behind him. He began his chant and as his activating words rang out Kotaro's eyes went wide. "That's Negi's…" He was cut off by a bolt of lighting that struck him, knocking him off his feet.

Negi was worried when Kotaro took a second to get up, fearing he'd used too much power on his weakened friend. But as he moved closer he heard something he didn't expect. Kotaro was laughing.

The hanyo boy laid on the ground as Negi stood beside him. Still laughing he said, "You know, you should've just done that in the first place.

A/n: Sorry it took so long. but I hope you'll all enjoy.

Please let me know how you guys liked the action scene should I have been more descriptive? Was there enough going on? How did you guys like the Negi Comet?

Also I know that what Negi did at the village was kind of OOC but I will explain all shortly.

The return of Kotaro, Nodoka confronts Negi and the Lemons continue! All next time on Dragon Ball... no wait...Negi's Ministra Menegerie.

Thanks for reading,
Donny BlaZe