Me: Hey everyone! Hope you liked the last chapter. Sorry about the cliff hanger but I wanted the Library Arc to at least go 2 chapters. You don't mind right? I mean it's a whole new Library experience after all. Nothing like the manga but I hope it doesn't leave you feeling slightly unsatisfied like I felt. I mean who KNOWS what's in that Library. By the way, no a side not, those three books from chapter 4 that the threw in the lake you should at least recognize the first. In order they were the Necronominon, Death Note (In Latin), and Holy Bible (In Greek).
Sayo: We're gonna diiiiiiie!
Ku Fei: SAVE US-ARUYO!!
Negi: Help uuusssssss!!
Me: (Blocks out all the screaming) Umm...don't pay attention to that ehehe. Now I want...Chizuru to say the disclaimer.
Chizuru: My my. TS doesn't own Mahou Sensei Negima but he can have this spring union.
Me: Umm, not thanks. I got one...(Shoves Negi back in the waterfall)
With Negi, Ku Fei, and Sayo
The waterfall was getting closer! Negi and Ku Fei tried to desperately swim in the opposite direction as Sayo was trying to push Negi to help. The current however had other plans. It kept getting stronger as they resisted. Ku Fei and Negi were both exhausted.
"M-Master Ku...don't think I can keep this up any longer" Negi gasped as he spit out some water.
"Me neither-aruyo" Ku Fei said.
They tried to get a grip on the side of the walls but they were slowly slipping. Negi really didn't want to resort to magic right now. I meant falling to your doom or living life as an ermine weren't exactly very fun options. Even if he did you magic, he could never stay with his class. He couldn't live with Ku Fei and learn martial arts. He would get his stuff confiscated like his staff...wait a minute!
"Quick, Master Ku! Stab the spear into the wall!" Negi said.
She didn't know why but she jammed it in as hard as she could. The spear stuck out of the wall. Negi took his staff and reinforced it with a little Earth type magic and jammed in a little below the spear. It left the two things sticking right out like a sideways number 2 in roman numerals (II). Negi pushed Ku Fei over to the side and pulled Sayo closer. Ku Fei saw what he did. It was like an impromptu wall. One above to stop the top part of their bodies and one below to stop the low middle. They were safe for the moment.
"Sayo-san. Can you try and go as far as you can and see if there are any other paths besides that waterfall?" Negi whispered in Sayo's ear.
"O-Okay" Sayo said as she flew off past the waterfall.
Negi was confident that she could at least find another way...at least until she got back a second later.
"There is no other way. It's only downwards from here" she said.
"...Then check to wear the waterfall leads" Negi said.
Sayo nodded and flew off then down the waterfall. He had a good feeling that they were supposed to go down the waterfall.
"Negi-kun, what do you think we should do now?" Ku Fei asked him.
"I'm not exactly sure. Give me a minute to think about it" Negi said.
A minute was all he needed as Sayo returned.
"There is a large body of water under the waterfall. No sharp rocks or anything so and it's deep so I'm sure it's safe" Sayo said.
"Good" Negi said as he suddenly grabbed on to Ku Fei.
"Wh-What are you doing at a time like this!" she yelled, clearly embarrassed.
"Hold on Master, I think we need to fall down that waterfall!" Negi yelled as he yanked out both the spear and the staff.
Ku Fei had no time to react. The current apparently had been trying to break the staff and spear and had sped up even more. Sayo had to fly as fast as she could to keep up with them. It only took a second for them to fall off. Negi had hung onto Ku Fei as they fell. A minute later he saw the lake-like pool at the bottom. They landed with a large splash. Sayo floated down gently as they resurfaced.
"That...was...AWESOME! Let's do that again-aruka!" Ku Fei yelled.
"Are you CRAZY!?" Negi yelled back.
"I see land" Sayo called out as she pointed to a shore.
"Ah! Land!" Negi indicated to Ku Fei.
They both crawled onto the ground in front of them. They were REALLY tired of swimming. They took a break to rest and to dry off. Sayo found a pile of driftwood, probably from old bookshelves. When Ku Fei turned around he set it on fire with a basic fire spell. He had a lighter but it was too wet to work at the moment. They sat there staring into the fire for a while.
"I hope the others are doing better then us" Negi said.
"They can survive very well-arune. I'm sure none of them are in too much trouble" Ku Fei said.
"Negi-sensei, should I go take a look ahead?" Sayo said.
"Oh, yes please. Thank you Sayo-san" he whispered to the ghost.
"Be careful" Sayo said as she floated off.
They sat in silence for a minute as the flames danced in front of them. They stared entranced for a few minutes before Negi broke the silence.
"Master Ku, do you know what time it is?" Negi asked.
"Umm, nope-aru" Ku Fei said.
"Dang, the test is in 3 more days. I hope we don't miss it being stuck in here" he sighed.
"I think we should be happy to live after being in here-aruka" she replied.
"Well, that is good but I don't want to leave Mahora" he whined.
"L-Leave Mahora?! Why would you leave?!" she looked horrified.
"You didn't know? I thought you all came here because you knew that if you got last place on the exams I would be fired!" he gaped.
"We didn't know that-aruka!!" she said looked even more shocked.
"Well I am. If you all hit last place again, I'll get sent back to Wales" he said sadly.
"Then what are we sitting around here for-aruyo? Let's go already" she said as she stood.
"At least dry off first" he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and sat her back down.
She listened to him. They sat there, drying off for a while. Sayo came back a little while later.
"I went as far as I could. Looks like there is a little light so you should be able to go on. I couldn't go very far though" she reported.
"That's good enough, Thank you Sayo-san" Negi whispered before turning to Ku Fei "Alright, I think we should get going now"
She nodded and picked up the spear and hooked it onto her back. Negi did the same with the staff. They put out the fire and left as Sayo led the way.
With Asuna and Makie
"AHH! MAKIE! NOO!" Asuna yelled as Makie started sinking further in.
"C-Catch Asuna!" Makie yelled as she flung her ribbon.
Asuna caught the pink ribbon and pulled Makie up to where she was. Thanks to Asuna's paper route, her legs were strong enough for her to run up the sand pit slightly. Makie was barely following. The hole seemed to get bigger though.
"Ahh! I think the hole grew!" Makie yelled.
"You idiot! The whole didn't grow! We got closer!" Asuna yelled as she started running as fast as she could.
Despite her best efforts however, it wasn't good enough. It was probably her imagination but she could have sworn the sand was moving faster. They were getting closer and couldn't do anything about it.
"AUUUUUUGH!" Asuna yelled as she did a final desperation run.
Makie just hung on to Asuna. If Asuna was on land right now, only a race car could catch up with her. The heat from the seemed to sap her energy.
"Ugh...huh...can't...anymore" Asuna said, exhaustion kicking in.
Makie started pulled her friend as hard as she could.
"Don't give up now!" she cried, tears streaming out of her eyes.
It was then the sand seemed to finally get annoyed. A large avalanche-like pile of sand wash down. Makie had two choices. Get buried in sand and die...or jump in the sand pit and possibly die. She inwardly cried. Both options weren't good. The avalanche was upon them. She jumped in the pit, taking Asuna with her. Makie and Asuna now know what water in a straw feels like. They felt constricted by the sand as it scraped against them uncomfortably. Makie could swear there was more sand in her panties then in her hair. A second later, they felt themselves fall out the of sand and onto solid ground.
"OOF" Makie grunted as she landed on her butt.
SMASH! Asuna had landed on her head.
"W-Where are we?" Makie said as she looked around.
It was like a giant ancient ruin. There were old buildings and towers that looked like ancient civilizations. Vines grew everywhere with the moss and the mixture of sand and grass felt pretty good. The air was a lot cooler and Asuna could swear she felt a breeze. She got up as well and stood next to Makie.
"This place looks nice. I wouldn't mind getting lost in here" Asuna said as she looked around.
"Look, an apple tree!" Makie said pointing to a tree with the sweet red apples.
She used her ribbon to pick a good bunch off the tree. They didn't notice how hungry they were until they started eating. In a few minutes, about 15 apples were gone. Asuna and Makie let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ahh, I feel so rejuvenated" Asuna sighed happily.
"This is much better compared to the desert" Makie said.
"I know, but what IS this place? This Library is INSANE" the red-head said with a moan.
"I know! Lakes made of books, shelves as big as mountains, now there are different environments" the pinkette moaned.
"Speaking of books, where are they? This is still the Library right?" Asuna said with wonder, noticing that after getting dropped in the desert that the books had disappeared.
"Umm...there are some" Makie pointed out an ancient shelf.
"I guess some books get their own environment. Like Ancient books get an Ancient Civilization or maybe it depends on where the books were found" Asuna pointed out.
"That's probably it. I'm more worried about the others right now. We should get moving and look for them" Makie said.
"Alright alright, lets take some apples with us though. We still have water, might as well bring food too" Asuna said picking a bunch of apples.
"You sure are good at this. You remember to get water and even think of packing food" Makie praised.
"Haha, I used to go camping a lot when I was little and Takahata-sensei taught me this stuff" Asuna said rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.
"I would never have though of that. I'm lucky you know how to survive or else I would be dead by now" Makie said ominously.
"Don't say that! You probably will live even without me...although it would have been through a WHOLE LOT of mirages" Asuna said.
They finished packing food and walked along. They walked throughout the area, searching and admiring the old buildings. This place would make a good vacation. They chanced upon an open spring shortly after.
"Umm...Maybe we should take a bath. I mean I think I still have pant in my clothes" Makie said, moving a little uncomfortably.
"I agree" Asuna said with a sweatdrop as Makie took off her boots and a large pile of sand poured out.
The spring was nice. It was deep enough to swim in and it wasn't overly cold. It felt like a normal pool. Asuna and Makie sighed happily.
"It's official. Good scenery, edible food, water, and a cool bath. I don't wanna leave" Asuna said.
"I know. I wonder if the others have it as good as us" Makie said.
With Ku Fei, Sayo, and Negi
"IT'S A SPEAR TRAP!" Negi yelled.
"AIYAAAAH!" Ku Fei yelled as she ran.
"RUN SENSEI RUN!" Sayo yelled.
Behind them, hundred of large spears and arrows were shooting at them from the walls. They tried their best to dodge them. They came upon a two way split.
"Quick! The right one!" Negi yelled.
The rain of sharp projectiles ceased as they ran around the corner.
Back with Asuna and Makie
"Yea, if we have it this good I'm sure they are perfectly fine" Asuna said.
They relaxed as they washed the sweat and sand off of themselves and shook out the sand from their clothes. After a little while they went off again. They found what appeared to be an ancient plaza. All the roads in the town seemed connected to it and they all went off in one last direction. The two of them took the only path foward and proceeded on. Before they headed anywhere, they heard some voices behind them.
"Asuna! Makie!"
"Makie! Asuna!"
With Yue and Kaede
"Hold on Yue-dono!" Kaede said as she picked up the small librarian.
Kaede jumped from book to book getting away from the crumbling mountain. She quietly mourned that she never got to get even with Yue in their bookboarding score (Yue: 27 wins. Kaede: 26 wins). She hopped on every book she could find that kept them airborne. The shaking was causing most of the the books on the mountains to get flung in the air so it wasn't a problem. The actual problem was that the quake seems to keep enlarging the hole. It almost seemed as though it was chasing them. Her ninja skills in that situation was doing wonders. Yue looked down, watching the large crater run along the ground.
"What a waste of books" she said sadly.
"I think you should worry more for out safety then then books-de gozaru" Kaede said.
"I'm amazed that this place is so big. You've been jumping for a while now and we haven't seen so much as a wall" Yue noted.
"This does not feel like an ordinary library" Kaede said.
It was at this moment that suddenly, the mountains disappeared. Well not disappear but end as they reached an open plain. Unfortunately that would mean they had to land on the ground. Which right now, by the time they land, the crater would swallow them up.
"This is not good!" Yue yelled.
"Hang on tight Yue-dono. I have an idea-de gozaru" Kaede said.
As soon as the books ran out, Kaede performed her signature clone jutsu. The clones all appeared below her. She started using them as stepping stones to stay in the air. The clones would push her up as she landed on them and then disappear as Kaede made more in front. Yue was impressed at her quick thinking.
"How long can you keep this up?" Yue asked.
"To stay airborne like this...I would have to say at least half an hour" she said, sweating slightly.
Making clones continuously like this was making the ninja tired. She couldn't rest otherwise they would be devoured by the pursuing crater. The quake was not letting up anytime soon.
"Kaede, start moving to the left" Yue ordered.
Kaede did. She made her clone fling her to the left and proceeded. The crater made an abrupt turn to the left as well.
"The crater really is following us" Yue said.
"Do you think we are supposed to fall into it?" Kaede asked.
"I think so. If we keep this up, when we finally do fall there might be more injuries then if we went down willingly" Yue said.
"So we head down-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
Yue nodded. Kaede started making the clones lower and lower so that as she went down, it was slow. They went near the ground slowly and entered the dark chasm. With a final hop, Kaede jumped keeping Yue in her arms.They fell downwards for a minute, the dark falling over them until they suddenly reappeared in another area. The hole above them was gone! The area below...looked like an ancient civilization. Moss, vines, trees, ruins, and everything else. Kaede landed as softly as a cat. She let her passenger down and looked around.
"This place keeps getting more and more interesting" she said.
"Hey look, grape vines and a banana tree" Yue pointed out.
"Banana tree? I don't think they can grow in this environment-de gozaru" Kaede said.
It didn't matter since Yue had already picked a few and was eating it. Kaede sweatdropped but grabbed a few grapes as well. They tasted good. Really ripe and plump with a bright purple color. They had their fill then took a few for later.
"This place looks to be safe. I don't sense any danger" Kaede said.
"I see a pathway over there" Yue pointed out.
Kaede walked over. They followed the trail until they hit a split. They took the left. Then they hit a 3 way split. They took the right. They hit a 5 way split.
"If I see one more split I'm gonna scream" Yue said irritably.
"This place seems to be full of old pathways and streets. Maybe I should get a higher view-de gozaru" Kaede said.
She hopped on top of a tall building and looked around. There was no one in sight at the moment. She looked on, remembering the pathways leading to what appeared to be a plaza of sorts. She figured they should probably head in that direction. She hopped down in front of her friend.
"I see a plaza a long ways ahead. It should take at least an hour to reach-de gozaru" Kaede explained.
"Alright, lets go" Yue said.
Kaede pointed in the right direction along the way. The pathways seemed a little old and some of them went through buildings and tunnels. They had to climb a few times and swim through a glistening lake.
"That water was amazingly clear" Yue said as she walked out of the lake.
"It would appear that there is some kind of natural filter of sorts in the bottom" Kaede said.
"I wonder who build this place" Yue said.
"...They sort of resemble the Aztecs" Kaede said.
"No no, it couldn't be. There would be giant alters everywhere. You know, where they sacrificed humans but ripping out their hearts" Yue explained.
"Ahh, you sure know a lot-de gozaru" Kaede praised.
"It's nothing. We had better get moving" Yue said.
They walked along. An hour later they finally reached the plaza. At this, Kaede stopped Yue.
"I sense something Yue-dono" she warned as they hide behind a building.
They waited. Footsteps could be heard after a small amount of time. The next second, a familiar tinkling of a well and small bush of pink hair came around the corner. Asuna and Makie were walking in front of them.
"Asuna! Makie!" Kaede called out.
"Makie! Asuna!" Yue did the same.
The other pair turned around to see them running and waving.
"YUE!" Makie called.
"KAEDE!" Asuna finished.
"We found you!" Makie said as she hugged Kaede and Yue.
"Where have you guys been!" Yue asked.
"That's a LONG story" Asuna said.
"I think we have time" Kaede said as she pried Makie off of her.
With Konoka and Yuna
"WHOA!" Yuna yelled as she landed in a large body of water.
"Ahh!" Konoka followed.
They both resurfaced. Yuna looked up to find that the hole disappeared.
"This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder" Yuna thought.
"Ahh, the water is cold" Konoka said.
"Be glad we landing in SOMETHING!!" Yuna yelled, tears streaming down her face.
"Is something wrong Yuna?" Konoka asked.
"WRONG?! No! Of course not! It's just I'm stuck in a library, in SOME kind of TUNNEL, and could have been at home asleep or something" Yuna said as she cried in the corner, imaginary depression lines above her head.
Konoka patted her on the back.
"It's alright Yuna. When we find the others we will be ok" Konoka said.
"We almost got hit with a boulder! How are you sure the others aren't flat as pancakes right now?!" Yuna whined.
"That's why we need to find them" Konoka said.
"Fine fine. I see land over there. Let's dry off" Yuna said.
They swam to the bit of land and shook themselves of excess water. Yuna found some driftwood and tried to ignite it.
"Dang, my matches are wet" she complained.
"I have a waterproof lighter" Konoka said as she pulled it out.
"Why do you carry around a lighter?" Yuna asked before taking it.
"Just in case I need to burn something" Konoka smiled.
"Can SOMEONE say "Pyromaniac"?" Yuna thought with a sweatdrop.
They dried around the fire for a little bit before noticing the tunnel near them. There were torches hanging from the walls which they could clearly see. Yuna seemed to have shook off her initial "I was nearly killed" mood and was back to her usual self.
"Ohhh, this place is like some underground cavern of some evil cult" Yuna said.
"Or the emergency exit" Konoka added.
"You are a true optimist aren't you?" her friend sighed.
They proceeded into the tunnel. Yuna watched behind them as Konoka kept in front. They didn't want to run into another trap. They walked along until they came across a 4 way intersection.
"Which way do we go?" Konoka asked.
"Hmm...I pick center left" Yuna said.
They entered that way and continued along. Yuna was getting really tired of the dark tunnel.
"Say Konoka, your grandfather's the dean right?" she asked.
"Yep" her friend answered.
"Has he ever been in here?" she continued.
"Umm...I'm not really sure" Konoka answered uncertainly.
"He lets the students enter the library all the time so I thought he might not know there were tunnels everywhere. I mean, it's not exactly...safe" Yuna said.
"Yeah but I'm sure he thinks that students can learn around here. I mean the lobby before you enter the first floor had open skylights and even a drinking bar (non alcoholic drinks of course). There are places to just sit and read" Konoka said.
"Yeah but shouldn't he at LEAST know how dangerous this place is?" she continued once more.
"Probably. I'll have to ask him when we get out" Konoka answered.
"IF we get out" Yuna corrected.
"Right" she said.
They continued along the way. It was then Yuna felt a switch under her foot.
"Not again!" Yuna yelled.
At that moment, large pillars of rock started falling from the ceiling at random places quickly headed for them.
"AHHH! RUUUUUN!" Yuna yelled.
Konoka didn't need telling twice. They ran as fast as they could as the stone pillars smashed into the ground behind them. Konoka accidentally stepped on another switch switch as what looked like tranquilizer darts started shooting from the walls! Now they ran from pillars and dodged flying darts.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?!" Yuna yelled out.
"AH!" Konoka yelled as a dart barely scrapped her.
Up ahead, Yuna spotted a two way intersection. She just randomly picked one.
"TO THE RIGHT!" Yuna yelled.
They fled as fast as their feet could carry them into the right tunnel. The pillars and darts stopped after then entered. Yuna and Konoka didn't notice and kept running. They ran...and ran...and ran until...KA-WHAM!! They ran smack into something.
"Ugh, what hit me" said a male voice.
"Aaaaaah" came a different female voice.
Konoka, Yuna, Negi, and Ku Fei all opened their eyes at once.
"KONOKA-SAN?! YUNA-SAN?!" Negi cried out in shock.
"NEGI-KUUUN!" Konoa cried happily as she embraced the boy.
"Ku Fei! Negi-sensei!" Yuna greeted.
"Ahh, hello-aruyo! We found you...but we don't remember either of you coming" Ku Fei said in confusion.
Sayo floated overhead as the four chatted about what they just went through. She recognized Yuna immediately while at the same time, Yuna had a sudden chill despite Sayo not doing anything. Yuna looked in her direction with a look of confusion and uncertainty before shaking her head, an action in which Negi did not miss. Negi looked at Sayo with an "I think you better explain later" look.
"So that's how we ended up here" Konoka finished.
"Wow, you two were lucky if you ask me" Negi said.
"I know-aruyo! We fell down a waterfall!" Ku Fei said.
"A WATERFALL?!" Yuna yelled "This place is crazy!"
"I know how you feel" Negi said with tears streaming down his face.
"At least we've been reunited" Konoa said looking to the positives.
"Yes, that's a good thing" Negi said.
"Well what now-aruka? We can't go back and we can't go foward" Ku Fei said.
"Umm...there's a passageway over here" Sayo pointed out to Negi.
"Huh...where did that passageway come from" he said as he looked over there.
"What passagewa- what the" Yuna said as she jumped up.
"That wasn't there before" Ku Fei said.
"Let's see what's that way" Konoka said getting up and started to enter.
The others got up as well and chased after her. They were pretty sure the dean would be mad if they told him they lost his granddaughter in a labyrinth of complex tunnels in the library and that possibly finding her could probably take months by which time she could be starving, sick, or dead. They walked as a close group to keep alert from all directions with Sayo at the top watching and to keep a good view in front of the others to warn Negi faster. Every now and then someone would kick a pebble and they would all jump in case it was a switch. After a while they relaxed their guard a bit. Negi noticed Yuna looking at Sayo, or the part of ceiling Sayo was nearby.
"S-Say, Yuna-san, why are you staring at the ceiling?" Negi asked as they walked along.
"Wha? Oh! Ahh, I-it's nothing. I just keep getting the feeling that something is just...THERE. Ya know? Like that weird feeling as though someone is watching you or like you feel a presence but when you turn around there's nothing" Yuna tried to explain.
Sayo overheard their conversation. She couldn't tell whether to be relieved or sad. Negi just felt relieved. If she could see Sayo, he would have ALOT of explaining to do as to why he can already see her. He and Sayo locked eyes for a second, almost as though Negi was apologizing.
"D-Don't be ridiculous Yuna. There's no such things as ghosts...ehehe..." Negi said nervously.
"I never said anything about ghosts" Yuna said.
Negi thought as fast as his prodigy level brain could think.
"M-Most people only say that when they talk about ghosts" Negi said quickly.
Yuna thought for a moment. He's right, most people usually do. For a second she thought he knew there was a ghost there. She shrugged it off and continued walking.
"I see something ahead-aru" Ku Fei spoke up.
Everyone rushed to whatever Ku Fei had seen. They entered a small circular area with 4 other pathways and a monument in the middle. Each pathway had a a small stone tablet at the top of the entrance. Negi read the monument.
"You who seek to reunite, pick the path you think is right. But be wary of the paths, for 3 will lead to red bloodbaths. To choose the path that is correct, pick the animal who can erect" Negi read aloud.
Negi heard a sudden gasp. He turned around to see Konoka point to the tablets on the doorways. 4 pictures showed up, 1 on each door. On the left, a bear. On the center left, a beaver. On the center right, mouse. On the right, a dog. As he stared at the pictures, Yuna spoke up.
"Hey Negi-sensei, I think there's more writing on the tablet" she said.
Negi and Konoka both went over there. They looked at the words to notice a fine-print of sorts.
"Negi-kun, can you read it?" Konoka asked.
"A-A little bit but only the first half, it's kind of small" Negi said.
"Really? How far into the sentence?" she asked.
"About...here" he pointed with his finger.
"I can read there. You read the first part, I can't see it for some reason" she said.
"Alright...umm...P.S. Who ever reads this phrase cannot..." Negi started.
"Answer the riddle..." Konoka finished.
"Wait...that didn't rhyme-aru" Ku Fei said.
At that moment, both Negi and Konoka suddenly fell onto the ground. Ku Fei and Sayo ran over to check on Negi as Yuna checked on Konoka. They still felt a pulse. They sighed with relief.
"They went to sleep" Yuna said.
"Wake up Negi-kun-aru" Ku Fei shook him.
...He didn't wake up.
"Negi-kun?" she continued except harder.
...He still didn't move.
"NEGI-KUN!" she picked him up and shook him.
...He was foaming att he mouth but was still asleep. Sayo put her hands on him. Negi shivered but still nothing.
"I don't think either of them will wake up until we solve the riddle" Yuna said as she read the riddle once more, ignoring the fine print.
They both inwardly started to cry. Konoka was in the top 100 smartest in the school, although she didn't seem like it. Negi was a child prodigy. Why did the two smart people get conked out.
With Asuna, Kaede, Makie, and Yue
Asuna and Makie had just finished telling their little adventure story. Yue and Kaede had large sweatdrops on their heads. Compared to being in a desert, being stuck on a mountain is nothing.
"You say there was a water fountain...in the desert? Like...just...THERE? Or was it connected to something" Yue asked.
"It was just THERE! Right smack dab in the middle of nowhere! It made no sense" Asuna yelled, getting her point across.
"I know! There had to have at least been a pipeline or something" Makie said.
"It was probably buried underneath the sand-de gozaru" Kaede said.
"What kind of idiot puts a water fountain in the middle of a desert anyway!?" Asuna yelled.
"Well, since the books appear to have environments depending on where they were found, I would have to say the kind who would read in a desert" Yue said.
"I'm getting hungry. Can I have an apple?" Makie asked Asuna.
"We have bananas and grapes if you want-de gozaru" Kaede offered.
"Oh, you picked some food too!" Makie said as she took a handful of grapes.
"I think I see some ripe strawberries and a spring over there" Yue pointed out.
"Strawberries!" Makie giggled happily as she ran over there, picked a few, washed them off then ate one.
"It's strange how all the food around here is edible" Kaede pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.
"I mean we can just pick it right off the gound...err...vine or tree and it's all ripe and fresh" Kaede explained as she showed that the bananas didn't have a single brown spot of them and were perfectly yellow.
"Wow, you're right. That is weird" Asuna said as she took it and ate it.
"Don't eat it all, we don't know how long we've been in here so we need to conserve food" Yue said. (It's been a whole day. 3 days left)
"It's just as you said. We don't know how long we've been in here either so I wanna eat to make sure I last" Makie said taking a bite of strawberry.
Yue smacked her own forehead. Why did she get stuck with them. Kaede was okay but Asuna and Makie never seem to listen to her. Yue looked up into the sky. It never got dark and the sun never moved. Time was practically stopped around here. Yue sighed. She usually loved to stay at the library but she never stayed for so long...nor got lost in some strange place. It intrigued her and scared her at the same time. She never imagined herself getting lost so far in. When she went exploring, she had Nodoka and Haruna to remember the pathways back and thus never worried about having to find the exit. Now she was stuck and didn't know where to go and it...made her feel helpless.
"There is nothing scarier to a human being then the feeling of complete helplessness..." Yue thought in her mind.
Kaede watched as Asuna and Makie started fighting over the food and Yue appear to be in a meditative concentration. Kaede looked around by hopping on a tall structure. The area was wide and there did not appear to be a clear indication as to where they needed to go. It was literally a labyrinth. There were roads, there were branches of different roads, and there were dead ends. Everything winded all over the area and would probably take years for a person to try and map. Knowing this, she just memorized directions that looked safe. So far, the ruins proved peaceful. Someone probably didn't want perfect archaeological specimens destroyed by traps. But Kaede knew better, it was in a phrase "TOO peaceful". Since she was the strongest in the group, it was her job to protect them. If she didn't, Negi would probably kill her. She looked back down to see Yue waving at her. They were preparing to leave.
"You are done resting-de gozaru?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're done. Let's go" Asuna said.
They just followed her along. She may be in the lead, it was Kaede's directions everyone trusted. After traveling for a good...possibly 2 hours to Yue, Kaede noticed that all the pathways seemed to lead to one place. She scanned the horizon and confirmed it. Every branch led, every street, every road lead to what appeared to be a temple of sorts. She hopped back down to the group. She was about to inform them only to find them all dead asleep. She chuckled. They had been moving non-stop for who knows how long. She felt tired herself. She pulled them all into an ancient building to prevent them from getting attacked in their sleep or get sunburn if possible. She guessed a nap would be good. She found a comfortable patch of grass inside the floor-less house and dozed off.
Back to Ku Fei, Yuna, and Sayo (Negi and Konoka currently K.O.ed)
"Have you figured it out-aru?" Ku Fei asked.
"No..." Yuna said sadly.
They were still trying to make sense of the riddle. To them, it was pretty tough. Mainly because it was a biology kind of question and both happened to sleep during those classes. Sayo was trying to figure it out too but she wasn't exactly the kind to listen in class since no one could see or hear her anyway. She just floated near the pictures, staring at each one.
"Let's see...obviously it's one of the four animals up there...erect..erect...erect..." Yuna mumbled to herself.
"Oh oooh! I know what erect means!" Ku Fei yelled throwing her hand in the air.
"Really?! What did it mean?!" Yuna yelled.
"Easy! Well...you see -whisper whisper-...and when he...-whisper whisper-...and then they...-whisper whisper-" she whispered into Yuna's ear.
Yuna turned so red, the room practically lit up.
"WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT?!" Yuna yelled.
"Well, one time, I happened to wake up before the bell in biology"she said embarrassed.
"W-Well, if that's what that means then any of them could be right" Yuna pointed out.
"...Oh riiiiight-aruyo" Ku Fei snapped her fingers.
"Erect...I think it might have two meanings...Wait...didn't Negi-sensei teach us stuff like this in class? He said something like...umm...dang, I need to listen to him more often. It was in English...umm...he said something like...umm..."Build"...umm..." Yuna though as hard as she could.
"Build? Translate that into Japanese please" Ku Fei said.
"I'm trying! I'm trying! Ummm...AH!" Yuna said as an imaginary lightbulb popped over her head.
"You know what it means?" Ku Fei asked.
"Yes, I think. It's "tatemasu"! Erect means build! Which animal builds things?!" Yuna yelled out as she looked at the pictures.
"A-Ah! There are two of them-aruyo! The mouse builds a little home in buildings in the little hole and a beaver builds dams" Ku Fei said.
"Damn! Is there another clue?" Yuna asked.
"Umm...I think there might be more then just "Build". Can you remember the rest?" Ku Fei asked.
"I'm trying! Umm...wait! I know! When you erect or build something, it is built going up! Mice don't build going up! Only beavers can!" Yuna yelled as she pointed to the beaver door.
"How do you know?" Ku Fei asked.
Yuna blushed before answering "W-Well, I thought of what you said and it's like -whisper whisper-...and when it's...-whisper whisper-...it goes up and...-whisper whisper-"
It was Ku Fei's turn to blush madly as Yuna explained it. Above, Sayo had the urge to yell out "I didn't get to do anything!". All three heard groans from behind them. They must have answered correctly since Negi and Konoka were waking up.
"Unnn...WheamI?" Konoka slurred.
"Uhhhhhh...Wazgoinon?" Negi slurred as well.
"We did it! We solved the riddle!" Yuna yelled happily.
At the word riddle, Negi sat up immediately.
"The riddle! You solved it? What happened to us?" Negi asked.
"Well, we aren't sure how but you suddenly fell asleep" Sayo explained.
"Oh, you found out the answer was beaver?" Konoka said with a yawn.
Yuna, Ku Fei, and Sayo all sweatdropped. It took them nearly an hour to figure out that one riddle and she already had the answer after hearing it once. Negi agreed with Konoka on the answer. Yuna sighed. She did most of the work anyway. They picked the two sleeping beauties off the ground and continued on through the beaver entrance. They were right since not a trap was seen in the tunnel.
Back with Yue, Makie, Kaede, and Asuna
Makie awoke with a yawn. She felt so tired after eating. She looked around to see everyone else resting as well. She went outside for a minute to wash her face in the spring...until she saw what was outside. She fall on her back. On long poles hung Negi, Asuna, Nodoka, and Yuna's dead bodies. She backed up in horror. Eyes were wide open with blood trailing from their bodies. The lifeless eyes seemed to stare at her. She ran back inside...to find the others dead as well. Large puddles of blood had appeared beneath them. They looked asleep but were actually dead. She turned around, the sky had turned red and shadows were everywhere!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Makie screamed as she jolted awake from her nightmare.
"HUH!? WHA?!" Asuna jolted at her scream.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Yue jumped up wide awake.
Kaede was calm as she woke up but her stance showed she was on high alert.
"I-I'm sorry guys. I had a really bad nightmare. You were all dead and the others were all dead!" Makie screamed.
"W-What? I had the same nightmare!" Yue said.
"I did as well-de gozaru" Kaede sait sweating slightly.
"I dreamt I was kissing Taka- errr...nothing" Asuna said.
"I read that when many people have the same dream...it's a premonition of things to come" Makie said, all the color from her drained while shivering in the corner.
"T-That's just superstition...right?" Asuna said although she did have a slight quiver in her voice.
"I think we should just go" Yue said.
Everyone decided to stop thinking about it...except Asuna who wondered why she didn't get the same dream. In her opinion, Makie felt the dream was telling them to hurry up. Despite saying it was just coincidence, everyone was moving a little faster then normal. Kaede told them that it didn't matter what patht hey took now since it all lead to the same place. They walked for about half an hour until the hit what was probably the main plaza. They stood in awe at the structure in front of them. The temple Kaede saw earlier...was HUGE. It was bigger then 5 of their schools put together. The other thing that caught their attention was the door. It was at the top of a set of stairs. A long set of stairs. It was like the kind of stairs that you think were no problem when you first see it but halfway on you would start thinking "Damn these are some long ass stairs" and you keep going because you don't wanna stall the other people behind you who were thinking the same thing but were being polite and you would feel bad and keep going until you hit the top and find out there was actually an elevator you could have taken but you were too excited and had ran to the stairs not noticing that the rest of your family had already headed for the elevator and you would sit there thinking" Damn, I could have taken the elevator instead" and your family would just start laughing at you making you feel embarrassed since there were complete strangers like right behind them and they could hear every word they said.
"For some reason...I want to shout out "What kind of dumbass made a stupid narration like that" Asuna muttered to herself.
"Did you say something Asuna-dono?" Kaede asked.
"Eh? Oh! No, I didn't say anything" she replied.
"I guess we go up those stairs" Makie said.
"Is there an elevator" Yue asked but the others caught a bit of a whine in her voice.
"Sorry Yue-dono. there isn't one-de gozaru" Kaede said.
Yue sighed but they all started walking up the stairs. Half way through all of them thought "Damn, these are some long ass stairs". They finally hit the top and looked through the temple doors. They backed up slightly. On the walls hung bones. Full human bones hanging on little hooks. They gulped slightly before slowly proceeding inside.
"I-I-Is it s-safe to go i-in here" Makie said as she hung closely to Asuna.
"Makie, don't be silly. These can't be real. Watch!" Asuna said as she walked up to one of them and tapped on the skull.
The skull broke from her light tap. It was real. Asuna jumped back from it.
"OH MY GOD! THEY'RE REAL!" she cried as she stuck closer to Kaede.
"Calm down. It's not like they're gonna jump on you" Yue said rationally.
Of course right as she said that, she stepped on a switch and a skeleton dropped from the ceiling hanging by a rope. Attached to it's hands was a small flashlight shining in it's face. Everyone stopped. When Yue didn't scream or anything, Kaede checked her. Yue looked the same except she wasn't blinking. Kaede waved her hands in front of her face.
"She fainted with her eyes open while standing up-de gozaru" Kaede said.
She looked back at the other two. They were on the floor. Kaede sweatdropped when she could have sworn she saw their souls ascending to heaven. She took a canteen and splashed them. As everyone woke back up, Asuna punched the skeleton.
"Who's idea was it to put a trap like that!" she yelled.
"We can use the flashlight though" Yue said as she picked it up from the skeleton's fallen form.
They continued on. The temple seemed to be full of traps. The first area looked safe. "Looked" being the key word. They knew better then to trust an empty room. They played a short game of rock-paper-scissors. Makie lost.
"Best 2 outta 3?" she asked nervously.
They sighed then played again. Makie lost...again.
"Best 3 outta 5?" she asked.
"JUST GET OUT THERE!" Asuna yelled as she kicked her.
Makie got flung into the room...nothing happened. Makie jumped around...still nothing. She kicked the walls...nothing. They shrugged. Guess it was just a normal room. They walked through together...still nothing. Yep, an empty room. They continued on with less worries until they hit another empty room. Makie ran intot here...and fell through the floor.
"GAH!" she yelled as Kaede held her by the arm.
Below Makie were sharp spears of bamboo. She gulped. The temple was making fun of her. She swore it was.
"Careful, there are pitfalls all over this floor" Yue warned.
"How do we know where it's safe?" Asuna asked.
"I guess you could try throwing rocks or something over the floor-de gozaru" Kaede suggested.
"I'm not walking in there again" Makie cried in the corner.
Asuna shrugged. She told them to wait a minute. She ran off and came back 2 minutes later holding the skulls from the first room.
"I couldn't find any rocks" she said.
They tossed the skulls across the floor. A few smashed on the ground while the rest either cracked or fell through the floor. Yue told them to follow where the skulls had broken to pieces or cracked. They did and cautiously walked through the 2nd room. As everyone started walking through, a crunching sound was heard. Dust fell from the ceiling. They looked up to see a bamboo spear-littered ceiling slowly descending on them.
"QUICK! TO THE DOORWAY!" Yue yelled.
"Be careful, this path seems narrow and I'm sure we didn't hit all the pitfalls. If you make one wrong move, you could d-" started Kaede but Asuna cut her off.
"DON'T SAY IT SO CASUALLY!"
"IT'S MOVING FASTER!" Makie yelled as she pointed to the ceiling.
"I feel like I'm in an "Indiana Jones" Movie" Yue grumbled with a sweatdrop.
The pathway seemed to wind all over the area before reaching the door. They won't make it at that rate.
"We have no choice. We need to jump from this platform to a closer one" Yue called out.
"W-What?!" Makie screamed as she caught herself from stepping in a hidden pitfall.
"THERE-DE GOZARU!" Kaede pointed to a narrow area where the holes around it indicated a pathway.
It was close to their path and slightly closer to the door. Asuna didn't think, she just let he instincts work. She jumped and landed, albeit wobbly. Makie took a better route and used her ribbon to grab onto a spear from the descending ceiling to swing across. Kaede picked Yue up and jumped, landing with trained grace. The door was less then 50 feet away. The ceiling was 20 feet and dropping fast. With a fast but cautious run, they ran towards the door. The ceiling was at 15 feet. They had hit 25 feet away from the door. Ceiling 10 feet away. Door 15 feet. Makie could reach up and probably feel the bamboo spears.
"EVERYONE JUMP!" Yue yelled as she dove.
Everyone did. They lunged for the doorway. Yue landed, then Makie, then Asuna. Kaede felt the spears graze her shirt before landing safely. They felt the rumble from when the spears hit the floor. Asuna was the first person to stand back up.
"I changed my mind. I NEVER want to come to this place again! Vacation or not!" she yelled.
They agreed and continued. Asuna lost the next game. She walked out slowly...and stepped on a really small switch. A large rock about the size of a bowling ball fell on top of her head.
"GAH!" Asuna yelled as the rock fell off and she clumsily take a step back.
A second rock fell down as she hit another switch. She quickly moved to the left. A large bowling ball sized slammed into her from the left.
"GUH!" she grunted in pain as she held her side and took another step in her daze.
A third switch was right there. She hopped back...and met another rock in the back.
"GOH!" she gasped out before falling on the floor unconscious.
The others sweatdropped.
"...Instant K.O...Flawless Victory..." Makie said as she used her ribbon to slowly drag the unconscious Asuna to the next room.
The next room seemed safe. Asuna had awoken and they once more place a game of rock-paper-scissors. Kaede lost that time. She jumped in...to a snake pit. The others gasped loudly.
"Kaede!" Makie screamed when she saw a rather large snake lunge at the ninja.
Kaede dodged to the side and pulled out four kunai from some hidden pocket and tossed them. 4 thrown, 4 snakes dead. Her aim was great but there were alot more snakes to take their places. She threw four more and killed off the same amount. She ran for the 8 dead snakes, jumping, sliding, sidestepping her way along. She grabbed the 8 she already threw and tossed them again.
"Why don't you just throw more!" Asuna yelled.
"Conserving energy or weapons and using as little possible energy is the key to any battle-de gozaru" Kaede yelled as she once more tossed the same 8 kunai from before.
The others cheered as they watched the number of snakes dwindle dramatically. There was one left and Kaede killed it. She turned to her friends but felt something enter her shoulder. A snake, hidden among the dead ones had bitten her. She killed it off as she grabbed her shoulder in pain. She took a good look at which snake it was as the others rushed over.
"M-Mamushi?!...Not good" Kaede said lowly as to not worry the others.
"Kaede! You got bit! Does it hurt?!" Makie yelled as she looked at the ninja's shoulder.
"Was that snake poisonous?" Asuna asked.
"I can't tell which one she killed" Yue said as she looked over the small pile.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. It wasn't a poisonous one" Kaede lied "We should get going"
"A-Alright, lets go" Yue said as they headed through to the other side.
"Ungh...need to get...antidote soon" Kaede thought.
She was using her Ki to force the poison from spreading. She could probably keep it up for 2...maybe 3 days tops but she can't fight for long or else she'll run out of power. She can't worry them now though. They needed to get out of the Library first before worrying about her. They entered the next room huffing. This was probably the final room. There was a stone tablet and four doorways. Each doorway had a slab on top. Yue walked up to the tablet int he middle.
"You who entered and strove to survive, choose the right door to get out alive. 3 are false as a politician, choose wisely or this will be your final mission. Choose the one that isn't a lie, which animal sees with the body, not an eye?" Yue read out.
"...Is it some kind of riddle?" Asuna asked.
At that moment, pictures appeared over the doorway. To the right, a bat. To the center right, a mole. To the center left, a platypus. To the left, a fish.
"Looks like it was-de gozaru" Kaede said with her hand still on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Asuna asked.
"I am, it just hurts a little to get bitten" Kaede said.
"Oh, right" she said.
"Animal that sees with the body...not an eye. That means one of these animals are blind or something along those lines" Yue said.
"Oh! Oh! I know! The bat! Like that phrase "As blind as a bat"!" Makie cried out.
"That can't be it. On questions like these, the most obvious answer is usually wrong" Yue said.
"Moles can see well" Asuna spoke up.
"How do you know that-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
"Eheheh, Konoka made me take a gardening course to try and make me more "feminine" and I remember before I quit it that the teacher said that moles can't see and would tear through roots in the ground when they dug" she answered.
"There's a gardening class?" Makie asked.
"No, it was just a community service thing" Asuna said.
"We can get rid of the fish and the platypus" Kaede pointed out.
"The bat sees with that...umm...echo-rotation!" Makie said.
"It's echo-location Makie" Yue said.
"Moles feel vibrations int he ground don't they-de gozaru?" Kaede asked.
"I'm not really sure, I walked out before that" Asuna said with an apologetic look.
"No it's right. I remember reading a book somewhere about that" Yue said recalling an earlier library experience.
"So which is it? The bat or the mole?" Makie whined.
"...Ah!" Yue said as a lightbulb appeared over her head.
"You got it?" Asuna asked.
"It's the mole! Bats have to use their ears to listen to their echoes! Moles use vibrations so their whole body feels it!" she snapped her fingers as the others had a sudden vision of her in glasses and a teacher's suit while they were sitting on desks in front of a chalkboard.
They thought for a minute and agreed. They ran through the center right door and continued through the tunnel.
Me: OH MY GOD!! This Arc was only supposed to last 2 chapters!! Why is it getting extended?! Guess I put too much stuff. Oh well, more for you I guess but...I wanted to work on Evangeline soon. Ah well. If anyone noticed, in the last 2 chapters I used alot of test taking skills as reference. Figuring out that one answer is obviously wrong (The first challenges), critical thinking to solve hard problems (Traps and stuff), and process of elimination (Riddles). Sorry if this all feels...educational but it's a library and they had to learn SOMETHING for the test instead of cram sessions in an underground room and ancient Twister. Also, sorry for the long update. I needed a small break.
Kaede: I'VE BEEN POISONED HERE!
Me: Oh right, forgot about that! Will Kaede be cured? Why was there those weird dreams? Will Yuna figure out Sayo is really there? Read the next chapter to find out!
Negi: Read and Review please!!
Me: Wow, 30,000+ words in this story already!?