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

Chapter One: The Future

There was a flash of light in the darkness, and then Mai appeared, falling immediately. She hit the plaza ground on one knee, sagged just a little, then took in a deep breath and opened her eyes to the world. She stood up and looked around. Despite her sleep, despite the weight of the years and the inertia she had to swim through to return to consciousness, it still didn't feel like any time at all had passed for her, and she half-expected to see Artoria, and Aiden, and Kain all waiting for her there. In fact, she was rather surprised that there was nothing to greet her at all.

It was dark, very dark…in fact, as the saying goes, it was the deepest darkness just before dawn. The lights that adorn any city at night and the stars overhead gave some illumination, just enough for her to look out over a city that was probably Mahora and marvel at it. So many buildings of strange shapes filled the dark horizon, and many dark shapes drifted through the sky as if this were Arcanus Myrror. There was even a particularly large floating mass—a floating island of some sort, most likely.

"Goodness, I guess that's proof that a hundred years have passed," Mai murmured, her astonishment so sharp she was prevented from fully expressing it. "Well…Kain's kept everything going well enough, it seems. So…where is he, anyway?"

She started to move out into the city just as it began to awaken and the sun began to dawn. As a few people started to get out and about and wander the streets, she saw that the dress had not changed quite so much over the past hundred years. There were little marks here and there of differences, perhaps most markedly in the streetlights, shining with a sharp magical light rather than any gas-based Earth tech light source. She was most stunned as an image just appeared in the air, a projected television screen, in other words, really, a hologram, without any visible source. It was a more-or-less normal-looking news broadcast, with a digital clock in the corner proclaiming that this was 7:00. "Good morning. This is your morning news for March 26th, 2135. The Three-Worlds Fair is only three days away, and naturally the piece that's creating the biggest news buzz is…."

The newswoman continued explaining something that completely escaped Mai's comprehension considering her current lack of knowledge, but it provided the information she immediately desired and needed. "Twenty-one thirty-five? Goodness…I guess I overslept a little. No wonder…a part of me really thought that Kain, at least, would be right there waiting for me, but I guess that even if we said 'a hundred years' we didn't have an exact time table. No, even if he calculated a best guess, I know I overshot that…he couldn't just sit around waiting for me the whole time. Kain…where is he, though? I need…to find him…."

She had confidence that Kain would eventually sense her emergence and find her, but she had no desire to sit around waiting for that to happen. She had returned, but now she was truly a stranger in a strange land—there was no telling if Kain was even on this world (what with six others out there, now), and who knew how long it would take to return? Even if she couldn't find him immediately, she had to find someone or something familiar, someone that could help her find a place to stay, get her bearings, get a message to him, something….

Alyssa's cottage was the first place she thought to try, but the first sight of it informed her that it was a dead end. The cottage was vine-infested and overgrown, and bore the obvious weight of all those years. "I guess I should have known," Mai muttered to herself. "As soon as she was finally freed, whether Kain or Kalan-san did it, she would have bolted first thing. I doubt she ever would have wanted to come back here." She decided that the odds of something being left behind for her were also remote, and turned away to find another path, a new idea.

Something left behind! That did spark her memory to a recent revelation…well, recent by her reckoning, at least. She hurried back towards the field with the tree that housed the time capsule.

It took some doing…this area, too, was somewhat more developed now, but still, the largely open field had, luckily, been converted into a park. A quiet and rather little-used one, apparently, and even as Mai almost matter-of-factly used magic to produce a shovel for herself and took to digging at one tree in the middle of the park, no one tried to stop her or demanded her business.

She found it, just where she and Hinagiku had left it…but it had obviously been added to quite often since then. It was full of pictures—at first, so many pictures from the year they had spent with Kain, from sticker photos from Kyoto to pictures of their summer vacation to even some that they had taken while trapped on the other side, and so many more besides. Mai marveled and thrilled and wondered and remembered as she looked through them…and then she began to find the ones that followed. "Yue-chan…so she really did become a Crown HiME, huh? Ah, those are her friends, Crown HiME alongside her…that man must be who she was contracted to…right…?

"Ah, Kagome…and she's still with Inuyasha? What's this, five years after I left? She's…an Archmage? Well…she worked hard to get recognized like that. Akari-san, and Delryn-san…whoa, what's Nanami doing on the cover of this magazine!? MagiTech mogul!? Guess her businesses panned out…oh, and here's a science magazine featuring Caria…jeez, did they just all want to show off? Oh, wow…is this really Honya!? She's become so beautiful! I wonder if Kain really let her get away. But here she is with Fairy Tail again…she must have found them. Ah, Kaoru! Wow, she really took the Olympic gold in 2016! I wonder if she used magic…haha, I probably shouldn't even joke like that….

"Kiami-san and Hikaru-san…are all these their kids!? You're kidding me! Riku-san and Risa-san…and who is this red-haired kid with them? Were they both dating the same boy or something? Wait, I think I've seen him around…. Ah, Yukari-san and Kenjirô-kun…we all saw that coming. Oga-chan is still with her guy, too…nothing shook her up at all. Oh no, those three…they're in lots of pictures with that Sanzen'nin-chan. Who's this poor-looking boy with them in the butler suit? Ah, Hina's around in some of these, too, but…oh, wait! Hina and Kaji-kun, magic officials, huh!? Well, I guess that's no surprise….

"That's what I was waiting for! Momo, and her shinigami friends…jeez, 2055 and you don't look any different? You better be out there waiting for me somewhere, too! Wait, Ami accepting a Nobel Prize!? Man, I always knew it, but my class was full of amazing people, huh? Oh, Erika...posing so easily with Kaya-san, and Rei, and your brother and…whoever this young man is? I guess you also got a happy ending out of this…did you stay a vampire, after all…? Kazumi-san…she's also so beautiful, and that guy has to be a lucky stiff, whoever he is. Oh wow, Lina, still stuck with Gourry! And Kalan and Aeli…and three daughters? Did they have more kids? Kain's siblings? Good for them…and Kain's uncle Harald and…Mira! That means…Kagome was able to heal them, right?"

Mai smiled down at the collection of pictures, tears welling down her cheeks. "Well, thank goodness…it seems that most things worked out for most of them…they've got themselves some happy endings, right?"

There were still more, many more of those she'd named and more of others that she hadn't yet vocally acknowledged, and Kain himself featured quite commonly throughout their pictures as well…

And then she was brought up shorty by one picture of Kain…standing sandwiched between a grumpy, middle-aged Chisame and a figure that looked for all the world like Pakrov Eminus. As Mai stared at it, there was a subtle magical trigger she felt, and the picture began to move…and talk.

"We are now recording, Chiu-sama!" announced the voice of one of Chisame's mice.

"Thank you," Kain seemed to be acknowledging the rodent, and then continued, "Hey, Mai…I assume you'll probably be able to watch this at some point…it's kinda like a diary report or something for you if I'm not there immediately after you wake up. Hina's been insisting that I do something like this for a while.

"It's 2033 now. So much has already happened…even in the first ten years, we've had so many adventures and crazy things happening. It's kind of settled into a bit of quiet now, but we don't know how long that will last. Earth and Arcanus Myrror are now fully integrated, and magic is commonplace and greatly changing lifestyles. There are two other worlds we are also in contact with, Luirn and Gobolos. Our relations with Luirn have been largely amicable, but the mages of Gobolos seem to be a paranoid and power-hungry group, and we've had conflicts with them, which finally blossomed into the first real Trans-World War about ten years ago. That was a troublesome situation."

"What are you giving a history lesson for, really?" Chisame snapped. "She can read about most of this online by the time she gets up, and see the spoilers for what comes next!"

"Right, right…well…I guess there's just me, then, mostly. I took what you said to heart, but…in the end, I wasn't able to let my heart go. I…tried a relationship with Nodoka after you left, but…it didn't work out. In the end, I couldn't treat her as anything more than your substitute, and as much as she wanted to work it out…as much as we both did…we realized that it wasn't fair to either of us, and so we parted on friendly terms. I've maintained my friendships, with pretty much all of your classmates, but…I've never been able to get closer than that with anyone. I really…miss you, Mai…."

"Oh, c'mon, that again!?" Chisame seethed. "We just aren't good enough for you, huh!?"

"Chisame, we are recording," the Eminus clone advised the woman, and she fell to a grumbling silence.

Kain sighed deeply. "Well…after seeing what just a quarter-century has done, I can only imagine how the next seventy or so years will go…I don't know how far I'll make it…but I really do look forward…to seeing you again…."

It winked out, returning to the original picture. "Kain," she murmured. "Kain, I…I have to find him…."

She didn't inspect any more of the photos, but returned them all to the can and reburied them. Then, as it started to rain, she began to make her next move.

In the previous century, the advent of cell phones had begun to phase telephone booths into extinction, but apparently now the city provided free telephone booths with computers and internet access to many major sites and hub locations for the public's convenience. The booth also made a fine shelter from the rain as she searched for her information. An internet search of Kain Lockeheart gave biological information she was aware of, and continued, "Most famously responsible for the Magic Integration Project and being the founder and President of the Trans-World Relations unit, seeking diplomatic resolutions to the encounters that occurred between the seven worlds and the defense of Earth and Arcanus Myrror when those resolutions failed. After the Great Hallanae War of 2109 he disappeared, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Unknown?" Mai murmured. "For an immortal man, does that mean he was killed in battle…or just too tired of it all after 100 years, and he went into hiding?"

No more detailed information was forthcoming in her searches, so she instead turned her attention to the phone book. A search for the Higurashi name yielded no fruit, nor did any for the Katsura name. She finally searched for Sendô, and was shocked—and afterward was shocked that she was shocked—that Sendô Kaya was displayed as the first name under that entry. Seven names underneath it proclaimed Sendôs who were extensions of the clan. That, too, was perplexing…in her several hundred years of life previous to Mai's life at Mahora, she had mothered only two children, and kept both of them secured and secret. Now there were seven…what were they? Children? Erika's descendants, maybe even Iori's? Erika herself was not in the list of names, however. That could mean any number of things…but….

But what it all meant, most of all, was that she could still probably count on some sympathy and support from the Sendô family, if nothing else. They were her best bet under her current circumstances. She knew where their grounds were, too.

She found that the Sendô family had now laid claim to a good portion of the city around Mahora, and Kaya's ancestral home (or whatever it was) was located in the center of it all. She ignored all the outer buildings and residences and made her way past the perplexed onlookers, heading straight for the main compound. She brought herself up short before she reached it, however, as the great wall looming up before her in the evening gloom seemed somehow intimidating, and it seemed to be stirring the doubts and fears she'd been seeking to quell since she awoke. Before she could steel up the nerve to head to the gate itself, a sudden voice touched her ears and pricked her consciousness, and high and happy, youthful laugh and chatter. She glanced over at the source. Two figures in kimono were walking on the sidewalk towards the gate. The rear figure carried a large umbrella that covered both of them and obscured her face, although she was evidently female, but the lead figure, with her long blond hair and her shining blue eyes, looked for all the world like….

"Erika!? Erika!"

Mai pelted towards the two, who stopped and turned to regard her quizzically. The lead blonde began to panic as the young woman came moving in so quickly, but the words being shouted registered on her and she seemed to calm a bit as Mai suddenly slowed as she came near.

And then Mai realized that, although she was nearly an exact look-alike, this couldn't be Erika, because she was only thirteen or maybe fourteen. Before she could start to apologize for her error, the child said, "Erika? Do you…do you mean my great-great-great grandmother? Do you mistake me for her?"

Mai started. "Great-great-great…?"

"Allow me to present my mistress," murmured the rear figure in a voice that completely startled Mai anew. "This is one of the ladies of the Sendô family, great-great-great-great granddaughter of Kaya-sama, Sendô Eiko." The figure raised her umbrella so her face could be more easily seen. Rei smiled at Mai, a far more practiced smile than she had remembered her capable of giving. "Good evening, Tokiha Mai. It is good to see you again."

"R-Rei…Rei!"

Mai hurried forward, and took Rei's free hand in both of hers. "You're here…you're not an immortal vampire's Servant for nothing, I guess!"

"Yes. It seems you have finally awoken. Welcome back."

"So this woman…is Tokiha Mai, then?" Eiko asked. "The one Great-great-great Grandmother was waiting for?" Rei nodded softly, and Eiko continued, "I see…then you must be looking to meet Kain Lockeheart, yes?"

Mai turned to Eiko in surprise. "Y-yes…do you know where he is!?"

Eiko exchanged a glance with Rei. "Well…I suppose we should?"

"Yes," Rei said softly. "We should. Let's take her."

8-8-8

Eiko spoke cheerfully about her great-great-great grandmother while they rode inside the car—the HoverCar—on their way towards their intended destination. Despite Mai's pesterings, they refused to say anything more about Kain…but Mai was more than willing to listen to Eiko's stories.

"Grandmother spoke a lot about Great-great-great Grandmother," Eiko explained. "She was born a vampire, the daughter of Kaya-sama, but that famous man, Kain Lockeheart, apparently he helped to convince Kaya-sama to give up her old ways, and in her sixteenth year she was able to change herself into a normal human, rid herself of the vampire curse. Soon afterward, she met a young man who eventually became my great-great-great grandfather…. Great-great-great Grandmother lived to be 115 years old."

"One-hundred fifteen!?" Mai gasped. "That's…really, really old!"

"Yes. She remained vibrant and full of energy even to the last," Eiko agreed. "Grandmother said that perhaps it was because of the residual power of being a vampire, but maybe it was more…there was someone she wanted to see again, no matter what, a friend she was desperate to meet."

('…Yes…at 115, she would have died…around the time I was supposed to come out of the Crystal Throne originally….')

"We're here," Rei intoned. The car stopped and lowered itself onto the ground, and Rei exited first, beckoning for the two others to follow her.

KAIN LOCKEHEART

NOVEMBER 20 1992

JUNE 12 2109

Here lies Kain Lockeheart.

A True Hero,

And Son of a Hero.

Mai stared at the inscription on the headstone. "N-no way…."

"He lived for over 100 years as the foremost champion of the Earth and Arcanus Myrror," Rei murmured. "He was at the forefront of every major war and conflict that threatened them…battling against demonic and mortal forces, and in the end, he gave his life to save all seven one last time."

Mai sunk to her knees in front of the tombstone. She finally removed her card from the pocket of her skirt; she had avoided doing it from the beginning, afraid of seeing just this answer. Indeed, it was changed—it was in a far simpler form now, without most of its information, the mark of a contract that had lost its master. Tears began to fall from Mai's eyes. "But…how come? You were supposed to have an invincible, immortal body…you were supposed to be able to live forever. So how come…you went and died before I woke up? How could you…have broken your promise…?"

"It's as Rei said, Mai…he did all he could for these worlds, all he thought was required of him. Maybe, in the end, it was just too much."

Mai froze, then turned her head at the sound. There stood two more figures, but Mai only focused on the infinitely recognizable woman in the lead. "Momo…" Mai whispered.

She certainly seemed older, more mature, yet still ageless and youthful, dressed down in a sleeved captain's haori and her long hair turned up and pinned to the back of her head. She smiled at Mai. "Hello, Mai. It's good to see you again…it's been far, far too long."

Mai surged to her feet and rushed over to Momo, throwing herself into the other girl's arms and sobbing. Momo held her tenderly, carefully. "I'm sorry it wasn't quite like you imagined," Momo murmured. "But…at least you're finally back…."

"B-but…what's the point…? What's the point of waking up, of coming here, if he isn't here to greet me…? You and Rei are here…but who else could possibly be alive…? What am I supposed to do…with nothing but memories…?"

"You've been granted a rare opportunity," remarked the figure flanking Momo. "You have, as it were, come back from the dead. But if you've been granted that chance, shouldn't you at least try to make the most of it, and enjoy the world he protected for you? As long as you're alive, there's hope."

Mai tried to dry her tears and glanced quizzically at the figure, dressed in some sort of casual kimono with a katana at his waist, his brown hair and green eyes quite familiar. "Who…are you?" she demanded. "You…look like Eminus…and I saw you in that picture-message…."

"Ah, so you did find that," remarked the youthful man. "In life I was known as Eminus. I was reborn in the Soul Society, and since then I have been their ally…and I was Kain's as well for so many years. Now I am simply called Nemo. I tried to follow him into his martyrdom, but he wouldn't allow it…he was determined that he would be the lone sacrifice in the face of the horror of Hallan." He shook his head sadly. "In the end, he didn't have the strength to keep waiting for you. His aging years filled more and more with despair, and in the end he was very much as you are now. Tell me, are you going to be his Juliet and follow him into that darkness?"

Mai stared at Eminus, nay, Nemo, in confusion for several seconds. Finally she cast her gaze away. "I…don't know. You say that as long as I'm alive, there's hope…but hope for what? Kain's gone…was he, too, reborn in the Soul Society?" She looked hard at the two powerful spirits, and their returned gazes told her all she needed to know. "What am I supposed to do?" she demanded again.

Momo politely pushed Mai away so she could reach into her robe. "I don't know…but Kain did leave something with me…something for you." She handed over a letter, which, with trepidation, Mai opened and read.

Well, listened to. An image appeared as she unfolded the paper. Kain…and flanking him were two semi-familiar figures, Nemo again, and next to him an elf girl with long pink hair. Kain smiled sadly at her. "Hello, Mai…if this letter finds you, then you've finally woken up, and it also means that I was successful and saved these worlds…so, although you probably don't think so, it means things didn't turn out so bad. There's so much that's happened, though…so much heartache and pain.

"The wars have pretty much never stopped since I began my career at Mahora. Soon after you left, there was the Quincy War that nearly destroyed Soul Society…then there was the war Grimoire Heart waged to destroy magic and resurrect Zeref, and more troubles that followed on the Western Continent and Southwestern Continent. Of the first four worlds we encountered, we went to war with two of them, and we've had insurrections from countries on both sides…the Western European Alliance of 2017, the Halteese Regime of 2022, the Australian Warlords of 2035 and the Asian Conglomerate of 2051. I've done my hardest to protect these worlds…but it's just gotten harder and harder. Especially since I've had to do it without you.

"I've had good friends to support me, some of them still alive now, but one by one most of my friends have died off, and…it's just too much for me. I couldn't stop the melancholy…and that's what's finally doomed me. I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise to you. I just wasn't strong enough.

"Now, after all this time, the last of the seven worlds, Hallan, has come into contact with us. They've been watching us for some time, but I…I foolishly missed them, wrapped up as I was in my sadness and longing for you. I didn't notice them until it was too late. Even now, they are bringing a terrible death plague, the weapon of a demon of nearly unfathomable power, to bear against us. They are foolish…their leaders and mages who supported it and reared it up will fall victim to it once it is finished with us, but of course they don't believe that. If I had noticed earlier, I probably could have dealt with it…but now it's almost too late. The worlds are already dying. I'm making plans, of course, but right now there's only one way I can stop them…I won't go into it in detail, because by now it won't matter; if you're hearing me, then it means I succeeded. But it means I had to give my life to do it, too.

"I always did wonder…but I just never saw it. No, it doesn't matter. Even now, I'm remembering so many things, and just wondering…how things could have been different. In the end, it's a happy ending for the worlds, from your point of view. But for you and me, not so much, then. In the end, I guess ours wasn't the right 'destiny'—we were star-crossed from the beginning.

"I love you, Mai, and I miss you, and I regret most of all not being able to see your face again…no, most of all, I regret having lied to you, having broken the promise we made. But still, you should try to live on…after all that we've given for this world, all of our friends and you and me, too, it's almost required that you take advantage of it. But…in the end, I don't have the right to say anything more. Goodbye."

The image faded away, and Mai's tears continued. "Idiot," she muttered. "Baka. In the end…those seven worlds were just too important, huh? Idiot…they weren't enough…."

"Of course. But you should know that by now, Tokiha Mai—he was a foolish mortal human to the very end, more concerned with the whole world than himself."

Mai turned as two more figures intruded on the conversation—one, a blue-haired woman, was obviously Miyu, but in front of her was a beautiful, buxom female with glorious long blonde hair and inhumanly bright blue eyes. Mai stared in disbelief. "You…are you…Alyssa…?"

"Ah, that's right…you only ever saw the little girl, didn't you?" Alyssa chuckled. "Yes, it's me…goodness, I didn't think I'd even bother to come see you again, but…it seems that interesting things just won't leave you alone."

"What are you talking about?" Mai demanded.

"I didn't come here for me, or really for your benefit…but I noticed one more person coming to bother you, and decided I just had to see how this was going to work out." The old Alyssa turned and stepped back, clearing the way for one more new figure to move forward and present herself.

And she was the most unchanged of any of them, looking exactly as she always had all those years in class, save for her Soul Reaper captain's attire. Sakura smiled at Mai. "Hello again, Mai. I'm not sure if it's been longer for me or you, considering…but even with all these familiar faces, it seems you can't see the one you want, right?"

Mai stared numbly at Sakura. "Yeah…and what…why did you come back here to our world…?"

"I have my own promise to fulfill. Kain…he wasn't really much of a hero in the end, was he? My father always said that a hero is someone who 'makes happy endings', but while Kain made plenty of happy endings for other people, in the end he failed to do anything for himself or the person he cared about most…they were denied their happy ending. So I just came to rewrite the ending, so it could be happy. I'm here as a genie, fulfilling one final wish."

"W-what…?"

8-8-8

It was quite a noisy and heart-twinging scene: that mob of girls all weeping and trying to stifle their tears, alternating them with cheers for Kain's parents, while Kain huddled in his parents' embrace, also casting his tears before the heavens. The gathered 'adults' stood most uncomfortably with their mixed emotions, overjoyed that their friends had finally returned to them and been reunited with their valiant son, but at the same time they also felt the sting of the loss of Mai and what that meant not only to them but to these crying youths as well.

But those responsible adults had the best view as the gate suddenly opened in mid-air, less than thirty seconds after Kalan and Aeli had appeared. It did not appear by the tree, nor was it of the same appearance as that through which Mai had disappeared; it was a Soul Reaper's portal by the looks of it, and it opened in the air directly behind the Lockeheart family. Mai appeared in the doorway first, confused and a little uneasy; then she was unceremoniously shoved out of the hole and, unprepared as she was, she toppled out of the doorframe and onto the hard floor of the plaza just behind Kain.

Kain's tears ceased, and slowly, unbelievingly, he turned around, his face radiating shock. Mai groaned as she got to a more stable position, on her knees, and rubbed at her head. Then she glared up at Sakura as the girl slowly descended. "What was that for? You didn't have to be so rough…."

Then she took in the scene around her, silent now, all sobs and cries ceased. Everyone was staring at her in amazement, and her own shock was no less than theirs as she realized where—and when—she was. "W-wait a minute…isn't this…just when I left…?"

"MAI!"

Kain was closest, and he was first, tearing himself even from his parents as he threw himself onto Mai, almost bowling her over—but Mai's response was just as fierce. "Kain…you're here, you're alive…you're not dead…!"

"MAI!"

The class was chattering and crying out loudly as it descended upon the returned girl, and Mai fought for a little bit of breathing room, alternating between laughing and crying herself. "I-I don't believe this…I was really brought back here…?"

Smiling and shaking their heads, the other onlookers began to stride forward. Aiden silenced the cacophony by addressing the girl who had moved off to the side. "So…I've heard plenty about you but never met you before. You must be the infamous Sanada Sakura, right?"

All eyes turned to Sakura as her presence among them was recognized. She smiled and bowed to the assembled group. "Sakura Johnson, rather, but yes—former member of Mahora's Class 3-A (Girls' Middle School). I've brought you something you lost."

"Brought us something…" Kain murmured. "So, that's it, then? Your so-called 'third wish'? You knew, all this time?"

"Of course I did," Sakura replied, flashing a 'V' sign with her fingers. "I told you about all of that before, right? I'm a creature far outside of this Reality Sphere. I studied it intently, in various permutations, before I joined myself to the class. And even after the Festival, I couldn't just stop interfering…there were a few things left to do. And now they're done."

"But…what did you do?" Hinagiku wondered. "Mai…she has to be inside the Crystal Throne to establish the balance between the worlds, right? So, if she's here…."

"Mai did her job," Sakura assured her. "As much as it would have made things easier, I couldn't do that for her. But the world where she woke up wasn't to her liking…most of her friends and those important to her were dead, after all. So I brought her back to the place where she belongs…to her home." She turned her smile on Mai. "Is this more to your liking, Mai?"

"Y-yes…yes, of course it is!" Mai insisted, finally standing up. "But…is this right…?"

"I hate to burst a happy bubble, but that is a good question," Kurt put in. "If you brought her back from that time period, then Mai-kun is both inside the Crystal Throne at this moment and right here in front of us. For now, it seems fine…but what will happen when she wakes up in a hundred years?"

"Who cares?" Kain put in. "That's a hundred years down the line. Maybe, this time, she'll never wake up…maybe she'll wake up and we'll have two Mais wandering around…or maybe Sakura will still arrange for her to be sent back in time. It's time travel, so it's a headache no matter how you try to reason it out. But it's all right. Right now, we've got her back." Kain swept Mai in and reached back out to bring his parents back into a group hug. "I've got them all back. You're right, Sakura…at this moment, there's nothing else I could have wished for. There's nothing else I could possibly want; everything I ever wanted, I now have, right here in my hands."

"Well, that may be so," Mai interjected. "And I guess…Sakura-chan fulfilled my wish, too. But there's definitely more that I want…not that I'm going to ask it of Sakura. But…there's things that have to be done."

"What, right now?" Aeli demanded with a smile.

"No…not right now," Mai agreed with a sigh. "Right now, this is enough…but going forward…there's plenty we'll have to take care of." She recalled the troubles that Kain mentioned, and how much horror they had caused…eventually even leading to his death. ('Now that I'm here, that won't happen,') she thought. ('I'm going to make sure of it…this really will be a bigger 'happy ending' than before….')

"Well, then, let us all greet our happy prodigals," Jynx said, striding forward and punching Kalan's shoulder, then taking the man's hand and hauling him in for an embrace as he disengaged himself. "Naturally, we're happy for the Lockehearts, but the rest of us want to celebrate, too!"

"A party! A party!" demanded multiple voices from the class and persons young and old began to push forward to greet Kalan, Aeli, and Mai, and more and more girls began to take up the chant.

"Is that really all you people think about!?" Hinagiku demanded.

"C'mon, Hina, cut them some slack," Erika chuckled. "I mean…is there anything better to celebrate right now than this?"

Alyssa sighed, but she could not hide her own smile. "Well, then…I suppose there's only one place you can celebrate this, right?"

"Oh?" Kalan demanded, turning to her with an arched eyebrow. "Did you bring that here with you?"

"Naturally. It's become the favorite getaway for Kain's errant class. Ah, I suppose we have too many stories to tell you…."

"I'm sure," Kalan agreed. "I'm sure…there's lots I want to hear about." Then he turned and threw his arms around Kain's and Mai's shoulders again. "Starting with you two…let me hear all about my two children and their friends…."

F I N

Author's Note: Happy Ending

Well, Act 20 has just started, so we don't get to the happy ending right away. But after it seemed doomed to sorrow, Sakura showed up to fix everything just right.

Again, this is actually a scenario from the original MSN, and I decided to keep it; there, Chao was the one who showed up to take Asuna back in time to her friends. And despite the seeming despair Negi suffered from having Asuna out of his life, including dying even much earlier than Kain did in this scenario, Asuna was not the one he chose…making it very strange to think about.

In any case, I've added a bit more 'happy ending' to mine, because Negi didn't get his parents back in exchange…his dad was still out there, probably still possessed by the Mage of the Beginning, and he had to go hunting for him, but in my case I've already taken the equivalent (the Obsidian Prince) and totally vanquished him. Like Negi, Kain has many trials awaiting in the future…but these trials will come from the colliding realities of seven separate worlds, not from the same threat that's been ever-existent in the Negima universe. And he'll have his dad's help along the way.

I referenced a couple events in manga I've drawn from (Bleach, Fairy Tail) that occur in arcs later than most of the equivalent characters would be familiar with…I've even made allusions to them before in these author's notes. They are events that will be part of the MSK 'history' if I do future parts, but which I probably won't tackle head-on. Again, if I continue any writing in this universe, it won't be a copy of UQ Holder as this was a copy of MSN, but it will be in a similar time period, one hundred or more years jump into the future.

Well, we have to wrap up a few things I want to take care of, and that's what Act 20 is…just a big epilogue, tying in a few more loose ends and such….