Disclaimer: I do not own Negima in any form or any character or borrowed from an outside source. Any such idea will be marked by and accredited to its rightful holder(s) in the chapter introduced.
Chapter 5: Attempted understanding/Attempted rescue part 1
12:00 Arena
Negi made his way back to the room at the arena that they were using as a base with a new sense of direction. Racan was right he might have been unable to protect Nodoka, but what was important now was finding a way to get everyone back. As he approached the door he heard the sound of yelling coming from the room, he quickened his pace as he recognized the voices as Asuna and Haruna.
"Come on Asuna-san just give me five minutes with them." Haurna shouted at the redhead, before turning to treasure hunters with a look that filled them with more fear then anything they had seen before. "I'll get them to tell us what they did with Nodoka!"
Before Asuna could object any further Negi walked in the door, both she and the treasure hunters cringed at the expected complications given the boy's earlier hostilities towards the captives.
Dam! As if this girl with glasses wasn't enough, now he is back. I wonder what they'll do to us. Lynn Thought to herself. Then she turned a slight tint of green as images of what awaited come to mind.
"Negi-bozu!"A voice called warmly to Negi as he entered the room. Negi could see the owner of the voice, Ku, fast approaching him. "Master Ku! I'm glad to see that you're alright!" Negi greeted the girl happily, showing now sign of his earlier behavior.
"Aw Negi-kun!" Haruna exclaimed as if she had just made a breakthrough, a moment later appearing next to the boy with her arm over his shoulder pulling him close. "Negi-kun, these people have done something with Nodoka, and aren't talking. Now I know that I could get them to talk if I could only have ten…no five minutes! But Asuna just refuses to let me do anything." If the unusually friendly behavior wasn't enough not to trust the girl, her voice sounding like one of those sleazy car dealers you in cartoons, and the glint in her eyes that seemed to scream war crime would have even a nun ready to call the cops.
Negi's reaction however was unlike anyone expected. He took the girl's hand off his shoulder, and stepped slightly to the side. "That won't be necessary Paru-san, I am going to get to the bottom of this right now." With that the boy walked over to the chair he was sitting in before, grabbed it, and started over to the treasure hunters.
Oh crap! For a second I thought he was over this, but he's actually worse! Darn baka that chair is steel if he hits them with that till would do more then just leave a mark! I've got to stop him. Asuna thought to herself in a panic over the boy's rash action. However she was so caught off guard by Negi's outrageous behavior that she failed to realize the size of the room, and found that the boy was now less then ten feet away from the captives with the chair still in hand.
"Hey Negi hold it!" Kotaro shouted as he rushed to stop his friend.
"Apprentice No!" Ku cried out, before mimicking Kotaro's course of action.
Negi stopped about three feet away from Craig thrust the chair down, and peacefully sat down. A moment latter Negi heard a rather loud thud behind him, and turn to see three of his comrades on the floor just behind him and the rest of the room looking rather stunned. "Did I say something wrong?" Negi wondered aloud. A moment later his answer came in the form of a angry Asuna looming over the chair he sat in and a very agitated Chisame glaring from the left side.
"Did you say something wrong!?" Asuna yelled outraged. "You do nothing, but act like you want to rip these guys in two since we brought them here, and now you act as if you're going to hear them for the first time!"
Negi was about answer the girl, but before he could get a word out Chisame cut him off. "Yeah, what is with this new attitude? A while ago you were almost as eager as Haruna over there to get these guys to say what happened to Bookstore."
"I just realized that sometimes you no one can protect everyone all the time, and if you do lose someone you just have to figure out to find it again." Negi explained with a reflective look. "Beside if they are telling the truth then this is pointless."
Everyone looked a little surprised at the boy's suggestion not only because of what they had seen and heard of his past behavior, but also ludicrousness of the story for those that heard it. Still they could tell Negi was serious about this so they decided to go along with it, after all what harm could listening to the story again have, after all some of them had only a vague idea of what happened.
"If you really want to listen to it again, fine then I'll just go get something to eat." Asuna huffed as she turned to the door.
"I don't want to hear the story again." The boy corrected her, stopping Asuna in her tracks and causing everyone to look at him puzzled again. "I want to everyone to listen for any outstanding details that they might have heard about this place on your way here. If this place really is as impressive as they say then some of you might have ran across rumors of it."
"Ah! Good thinking Anki. If the rumors are wide spread enough then there might be some truth in them." Chomo cheered, before running to the boy and taking his place and Negi's shoulder. "So let's get to talking."
"Come on why even bother, even the name of the place sounds completely fake 'The Temple of the Forbidden Mind' come on that sounds something from a videogame." Kotaro scoffed at the idea.
"Temple of the Forbidden Mind? Kazumi repeated questioningly. "Never heard the name."
"It does not match anything my memory, Negi-sensei. Chachamaru added.
"We'll please listen just in case, anything might help us understand even if is too the smallest degree." Negi replied almost if he expected the response, yet he still sounding as if he believed the treasure hunters' story.
"Um Negi-bozu, me thinks there is something wrong with Camo-kun." Ku interjected rather urgently, causing the room to look at the rodent on the boy's shoulder.
Negi could not believe that he did not notice the state his friend was in, especially given his position. The state that Negi saw the small creature in left no question that something was wrong. The small spirit's eye were dilated to the point that they seemed they could pop out, he was covered in a cold sweet, and somehow seemed at even whiter then normal. "Camo-kun! Speak to me!" Negi cried as he grabbed his friend off his shoulder.
"Anki did you just say 'The Temple of the Forbiden Mind!?" Camo ask skittishly praying he head wrong. However his state of panic only worsened when Negi nodded in reply. He started trembling fiercely and a minute later managed to stutter a response. "How…do…you…know…that…name?"
The whole room was perplexed by Camo's behavior, and Negi for one was becoming quite uneasy over the amount of fear his friend was showing towards the name. "That's where they say that Sword took Nodoka from them." Negi replied sheepishly as he pointed to the treasure hunters. Negi had never seen his friend, or anyone else act like this, but greater shock came with what happened next. Negi watched as his friend turned his head rigidly to fallow his finger, just stare at the captives for a moment, and then lunched himself at the nearest one's neck. If shock of just the bizarreness of the behavior wasn't enough to stun the room the fact that someone small enough to fit in Negi's pocket was now latched on to Craig's cloak and managing to shake the grown man while screaming/asking "Whoareyou?Howdoyouknowofthatplace?Whotoldyouabout?Howdidyoumanagetofindit?Whydidyougothere?"
"Camo-kun calm down! We can't even understand what you're saying!" plead Negi as he pulled his friend off of Craig. "Please just take a breath and tell us what's wrong!"
Camo did what the say said and after several deep breaths finally asked the treasure hunters in an understandable manner. "Who told you that name!?"
The treasure hunters looked amongst themselves wondering if they even should answer the question. It was Christen who finally spoke. "We told you guys already! This guy calling himself Ryuikes shows up offers us a job taking a bunch of crystal from this place and then throws us all back on the ship right before the whole place disappears with him and Nodoka-san on it! We don't know how he knew any of it!"
"Ya we only went because that guy was too interested in Nodoka-san and her book, and she was dead set on going to learn about it." Aisha added agitatedly.
He said he had been there an hundred years ago. Lynn answered causing Negi's group look at them with contempt and disbelief returning to their faces.
"An hundred years? You expect us to believe that! Haruna objected, going for her artifact again, before being stopped by Negi speaking up.
"Actually that is possible." The boy corrected her stunning his students. "Some of the Magical world's native people have lifespan many times that of humans."
"That's not possible!" Camo objected firmly. "No mater how old he is there is no way the he had been twice, because it never appears in the same spot twice and only the governors of the elements even know where and when it is going to appear and even they don't get much warning. These guys are lying Anki don't listen!"
Most of the room were caught off guard and puzzled by Camo's words, but the news truly stunned Negi and the female mage. "The governors of the elements." They both repeated in disbelief.
"Hey Negi what's wrong?" Asuna asked concerned over the level of shock on the boy's face, the others obviously sharing the sentiment. When no answer came she rushed over to the boy and asked again. "Negi come on! What is it about these governors that have you so spooked? Answer me!"
Negi again sat down only much more slowly this time. "Asuna-san, do you remember that spell that Master used on the school trip?" Negi asked very unsettled by the possibilities Camo's words suggested.
"Yah, like I could ever forget that." Asuna responded light heartedly, as she remembered Eva shattering the demon with a single strike. It was then that she understood how the small girl got such a large bounty on her head. "Eva-chan destroyed that giant like it was nothing, but what does it have to do with this."
"That spell called on one of the governors, the Queen of Ice, which controls all the spirits responsible for the element of ice." Negi explained fearfully. "If only spirits that powerful know about it then what could be inside it?" Negi did not expect an answer to the question, but could see that those in the room understood its significance.
"See Ane-san to even know where this place would be this guy would have to be at the very least the right hand man of one of the most powerful spirits in the world." Camo explained nonchalantly before snapping back to the treasure hunters and yelled accusingly while pointing at the group. "Why would some one be picking on us? If you were really there then let see how much you remember it."
"If it is really that big of a secret then, how do you even know about it?" Craig snapped back.
"Spirits have grips about what they do too!" Camo objected furiously. "I may not know a lot about the inside, but a few details are out there as well as a good bit about the outside. Now do tell some of those highlights."
"Fine, do you want to hear about the way that the every bit of the structure, from the giant globe flanked by six towers, to the ground that it rested on was made of some strange crystal?" Christen ask mockingly.
"Each tower only had furniture and scrolls in it, and the scroll had such magic surrounding that only Nodoka-san and that jerk didn't have to leave every twenty minutes. Lynn added solemnly, pausing and moment before turning to the mage of her group as if she realized something suddenly. "Come to think of it did you see her step out at all?" Lynn watched as her friend's eyes grow and her face became uneasy.
"N…No, but she couldn't have stayed in there the whole six hours." Aisha replied surprised by the possibility. She looked to the guys of the group.
"Actually, she asked me why I went out side when we were moving some things. I thought she was joking, but it she seemed surprised by the idea, as if she didn't notice." Christen add. "Craig did you see anything, how about when you guys went in that globe?"
Negi and the rest of the white wings present were stunned by the description so far, while it might have been the make up of the temple for his students, for him it was the fact that Nodoka was even able to last five minutes in such dense magic. Magical energy dense enough to sicken people born in the Magical world should have been like radiation poisoning to Nodoka yet the treasure hunters failed to recall any time over six hours. At first Negi concluded that it was a lie, but why lie about something like that. As he continued to listen to the explanations his doubts faded and a single question replaced them, 'How?'
After about an half an hour of listening to the description of the temple Negi and the others were convinced that they had heard enough and had formed a huddle in the furthest corner from the treasure hunters to discuss their next move.
"So what do you want to do kid?" Chisame asked to start things off.
"I don't know." Negi answered uneasily. "They don't seem to be lying. What do you think Camo-kun?"
"I don't know either, Anki." The ermine pondered aloud. "Even if described everything I heard, I still don't believe they could have been there."
"Why not, aru?" Ku asked puzzled by the ermine's reasoning.
"Because, it is the temple!" Camo shouted in response. "Its position is among the most heavily guarded secrets there in existence, it is impossible for this guy to have known where it was going to be even if he had been there before!"
"About that," Chisame interjected impatiently. "You said these governors, who control the elements, are told where it will appear. If they are told then who tells them?"
Chamo froze at the question. He never thought about it before, if they were told then someone higher up must have told them, but short of the creator of the universe, he only knew of one force exceeding the governors, and if they had to face someone linked to that power then there was next to nothing they could do. "The Laws!" Camo thought out loud trembling in a cold sweat with horror echoing throughout his entire person. "They are the only ones left, but if he is in league with them, then there's no way."
"Laws?" the rest of the group repeated questioningly.
"The spirits above all other spirits, they that manage the world for the creator." Chamo said in an almost hallowed out manor. " The end, connection, force, structure, inevitability, and change, entities that control the principles that allows the universe to function, ever aware of their department and controlling everything subject to their charge."
"Um when you say the do you mean…?" Konoka started nervously before getting cut off by chamo.
"Yes, DEATH itself!" The ermine screamed at the girl.
"You mean we might be literally picking a fight with death." Haruna asked finally showing signs of something other then killing intent.
"That's just the half of it!" Chisame admitted nervously, soon feeling the heavy gaze of the room. "If it is that literal, then not only do we have to add: gravity, magnetism, friction and nuclear physics to our plate, but time also." Then the girl broke into a creepy fit of laughter that soon turned into whimpers as she dropped to her knees and yelled, "Why me!? All I was trying to do was help out a stupid brat, and now the universe hates me! Dam it!" Then Chisame started to bang her head against the floor, presumably to wake herself up from this nightmare. Ku and Asuna rushed over and grabbed the girl.
"Chisame-san, stop it!" Asuna yelled at the girl as she and Ku lifted her into the air. "What the hell are you talking about to nuclear physics and time any way?"
"Asuna-san, what Chisame probably means is that since everything has a structure the law in charge of it can probably shift things to it's liking including the energy contained them. Also since time is a measurement of change, forced aging and powers much like those Master Chao used during the school festival would be likely included under such a power." Chachamaru clarified indifferently. "Although it seems highly unlikely that any mage handle such power." This last part fell on ears to stuned to even pay them any mind. The room just froze just trying to process the idea of such a force even existing, Asuna and Ku even for got that they were holding their injured compainion, letting her hit the floor. The wall so daunting that their minds would not dare to consider the possibility of having to face it for some time.
Gem's place residence sector 1:00pm
Nodoka clenched her eyes as her mind came back in focus on reality; she had been in the illusionary world so long her mind had forgotten how bright the sun was. She scrambled to get to her feet, Gem had told her that time was what they made it out to be in the illusionary world, but she didn't understand what he meant. She rushed inside to find any indication as to the date and time, because if it was even close to how long she thought then her friends would have to have left her. She raced to turn on the first thing she found that could give her what she was after, the T.V. The flipped to the news, and dropped the remote as she found her answer.
Three hours, while weeks of struggling with her sensei for control of the illusion seemed to have passed, in reality not only was it still the festival, it was still the same day! It made her question just how much control he let her have in the illusion. After she had fought so hard put up with so many hellish images, and even had to face her most bitter memory all for nothing! Then she heard some one coming from behind, she knew who it had to be, and turned to face him.
"Aw there you are. Come with me I got something to give…" Gem started spotting his apprentice as he walked in the room, then he noticed the girl's face. "What's wrong? After all that you've accomplish you should be happy, or at least proud of yourself."
"Why?" Nodoka asked with disappointment and agitation evident in her demeanor "I was never really in control."
Gem was confused for a moment, and then he noticed the TV and realized what caused this. "Apprentice, how long did you have control of the illusion at the end?" He asked condescendingly.
"Not that long." The girl answered, questioning the truth in her words. "Maybe an hour."
"Good, now before that when you managed to take control momentarily, how long did that last?" Gem continued in the same tone, starting towards the girl. Five minutes here ten there, gradually getting longer as we went, care to add all those times up, hmm?"
Nodoka hesitated for a moment; she had forgotten those short spans of time and was now realizing what her teacher was getting at. She answered the only way her embarrassment would let her, with silence.
"Not sure?" He asked with a chuckle obviously taunting the girl as he walked past her and over to a chest in the corner of the room. "Well if you add all of it up you'll get 180 minutes or three hours. Now unless I forgot that I taught you how to reduce the perception of time to less then one millionth of the original rate; wouldn't that explain exactly three hours passing?"
"Sorry." Nodoka apologized as she lowered her head, now a little nervous about what he was getting out of that chest. She tensed up as she heard him coming back towards her. She felt a light tap on her head and opened her eyes to see what it was, only to find a garments box in front of her face. "What is this?"
"Sorry, but I don't give credit unless it's due." Gem told the girl agitatedly as he held the box in front of her waiting for her to take it. "Now stop doubting yourself and take the dam box, you're earned a small reward for how much you have accomplished."
As surprised as Nodoka was, she took the box and opened it. Inside she found another hooded robe much like the one that she wore now only small enough for her to wear when she got back to school, as she pulled it out a smaller box and two brown envelopes fell to the floor. Nodoka was most worried by the small box as it looked as if it might be jewelry, and if her teacher's intentions turned towards such things she doubted she could stop him. However it was pushed out of her mind almost immediately, as she found herself drawn to the bottom envelope, as if it was calling to her very core.
She got on her knees and picked it up. Nodoka just stared at the envelope for a minute, she had no clue what was in it, yet it felt so familiar to her, like a piece of herself that was missing, a peace she for some reason felt uneasy about finding again. Still she found herself opening it before she even realized what she was doing. "What are these?" She thought out loud as she removed several papers from the envelope.
"Well, I told you when we first met that several pages were taken out of the Diarium Ejus, and thought now might be a good time to give them to you." Gem explained in a rather detached manor.
"What!?" Nodoka shouted in shock. This whole time, the thing that got her here was looking for those missing pages, she spent over two hours looking all over the temple for them, and her teacher had them the entire time! "You said they were in the temple!"
"No, I said if you wanted to learn how to use the book you should go to the temple. I never said that the pages were in the temple" He quickly corrected her while still remaining laid back about it. "You'll understand if you still want me to restore them, or if you stop and think about what just happened you may understand already."
Nodoka thought for a moment and a thought came to mind, a thought she tried to force from her mind, but some how she knew it was true. "There is something in those pages isn't there?" She said aloud not really needing an answer.
"Yes, them and the rest of the book." Gem replied in a far more serious manor. Once he saw the look of shock and a twinge of fear appear on the girl's face he continued his explanation. "A powerful will was sealed in that book those pages were taken out as a means of allowing the power leaking from the seal to be diverted to a safe place, however the book lost a few abilities because of it. Then again with them back in, you could tap that power, but what if you lost yourself to it? What might it make you do to your friends? Think hard about it before you decide if you want me to restore them."
Nodoka trembled at the news and the possibilities of it brought to mind, after how she felt so drawn to these papers she knew controlling even a fragment of that power was beyond her. She rigidly pushed them back into the envelope and set it aside, and then just toke it all in for a moment.
"Good decision, I'll hold on to this until you think you can handle it." Gem told the girl proudly as he picked up the discarded envelope besides the girl. "Others are much more straightforward I promise you, but open the box first."
Nodoka did as he suggested, after this point she didn't want to think. She grabbed the box and opened it; inside she found the magical item she was looking for when she first met this man, an object that if rumors were true would allow her to read any text that appeared in the Diarium Ejus without even summoning it, the Auris Lectans. More importantly combining it, the Comptina Daemonia, and Diarium Ejus, would allow for instant unnoticeable mind reading the minute she knew someone's name. Then an idea popped in her head, one that filled her with fear as she looked over at the remaining envelop, the only 'gift' from her teacher remaining, and the one that he told her to open last. She cringed on the inside as she reached for the envelope, and once she had it in hand took a deep breath trying to brace for the shock. She was finally about to open it Gem spoke up.
"Um before you open that let me just say that the reason I didn't give you this information sooner was that it have been useless before tomorrow, and the worse just came to my attention recently." Gem told her nervously even taking a few steps back slowly.
Now Nodoka's fears were replaced by urgent curiosity, by now she knew how to tell when her teacher had done something behind her back she wouldn't like, and by the total lack of ability to hide such nervousness she knew there was no way she was going to like this. She ripped the papers out of the envelope, only to be perplexed as to their significance. What she saw was a simple picture of a cat girl about her age clipped to page long profile and number of similar clipped pages behind it, trying understanding the purpose she thumbed through the remaining profiles and found more girls. Her bewilderment only increased until she got to the sixth, then there was only one word for what she felt, anger. Her temper flared at the mere sight of the photo, and the realization of what her teacher had kept from her, for she was looking at a picture of the white-haired boy who cause all this and nearly killed Negi. "How do you know all this?"
"It's a long story I'll tell you after we get back tomorrow, after all it is going to be a busy day, and I still need to get the last thing I need to give you before tomorrow's rescue ready." The man countered ignoring the girl.
"Rescue?" She repeated skeptically.
"Just take study those papers, and come find me in island sector." Gem answered as he headed out the room stopping when he got to the doorway. "Oh it might be a good idea to bring some of the others too." Then he rushed out the room.
Nodoka decided to simply flip to the last page and there she saw the reason behind her teacher's behavior, a picture of a small girl magically bound to a large pillar. She recognized the girl instantly shock and anxiety filled her mind as she instinctively shouted the girl's name, "Ayna-chan!" Immediately she clenched the papers tightly and ran to the island sector. At that moment Gem was the last person she wanted to see but she had to help her friend, she had to find Negi and tell him about this, and for that she needed her teacher as his magic was the only way in or out of this place.
Author's note: Well, hopefully this not too far out there, but you can be sure it that Negi isn't going to have it nearly as bad as it sounds. This is probably going to have some calling a mary sue on me, but I will explain Gem's power as the story goes anyone thinking he is going to be bailing Nodoka out and shilding Negi's group often read the next chapter. Unfortunitly this arch is runing longer then I thought and will last a while yet(maybe at most five more.) Expect the next update to be long(yes even longer then this.), on bright side training over, street fighting time. Negi v Fate, and Nodoka well who cares she actually does more then look at her book and gets beat up is that enough of a highlight, but ya she does have to defiend aginst Fate's girls. Well see you next time.