Asuna looked to the World tree and noticed that everyone was waiting for her so they could start the jump, everyone that is, except Setsuna, who was waiting for her former pupil to walk with her. As Asuna began her walk up the hill towards the World tree, Setsuna stopped her.
"Don't lose that amulet…" Setsuna warned her.
"I know…it's dangerous…" Asuna agreed.
"It's more than that…" the half-bird whispered, looking unusually serious, even for her.
"What is it?"
"I wasn't with the bird tribe for very long Asuna, but from the time I was there I learned that the birds were fierce warriors, unrivaled by many."
"Okay…" Asuna remarked, still curious about Setsuna's meaning.
"Isn't it strange that the mages gave up so easily?"
It finally hit Asuna: if the bird tribe were as fierce as Setsuna remembered, it made no sense that they would have surrendered something so powerful to them.
"If so…why…?" Asuna began to ask.
"They expect us to use it," Setsuna replied flatly, "It may be something more than what we think it is…who knows, it may even be a weapon they plan to use to obliterate everyone on the battlefield as a last resort…there's no way of telling."
"More specifically, it's probably a trap that's supposed to be triggered no matter who uses it," Yue piped up, now standing directly beside them. Asuna nearly died from shock: that was the one thing that hadn't changed about Yue over the past ten years…her ability to sneak up on two people in a deep conversation and nearly cause both of them to have heart attacks.
"How long have you been standing there?" Asuna more screamed than questioned.
"Long enough to know what you guys are talking about," she replied in her famous monotone, "Anyway, it's more likely that it's a tool for summoning than a bomb Setsuna."
She lifted her magic encyclopedia to her face.
"I was looking up something in here when I thought about the amulet you have there. See, we as humans can only hold so much magic which is, in fact, the same amount that we're born with; the same goes for those of the bird tribe. If one of us were to activate it without being completely drained of our own magical reserves, we'd most likely cause a magical overload much like the one that brought us here to the past."
"So…this is our way home?" Asuna yelled excitedly.
"Not quite. While it would be wonderful if it were, this amulet releases all its magical energy at once. That's why they chose the pentagram…it is a catalyst for spellcasting and would force all the magic in the chosen artifact out in one blow."
Setsuna and Asuna looked down at the amulet for a brief moment before Yue continued.
"More precisely, they were planning on using it for a mass summons or the summoning of a giant ogre-demon much like that time during our school fieldtrip.
Asuna looked down at the amulet again; she'd forgotten about the school trip a long time ago. She'd lost a lot of her older memories in time…much like she'd lost a bit of who she used to be. The group had to adapt to their surroundings in order to survive, and that meant their old ways had to go.
"It's best," Yue continued, "If you didn't let anyone get a hold of that amulet…ever. Who knows how long it's going to take for you to drain it completely…best not leave it to chance."
With that, Yue turned and walked back to the others.
Asuna grasped the amulet in her hand and considered what Yue had told her. Setsuna clapped her comrade on the shoulder and the two followed Yue to the top of the hill: to the World tree.
"Any idea on what's going to be happening when we get there?" Nodoka asked the others.
"We're going to be appearing in the seventeenth century," Kotaro replied, "More than likely, we're going to appear in the middle of a battlefield. The seventeenth century was when the bird tribe lost its goal of world domination…if we're really lucky, it may have already happened when we get there."
"You know better than that, Kotaro," Setsuna responded, "We've got something to take care of in that time."
Negi looked at the two and nodded his head; he was finally beginning to understand things.
Konoka looked at the three with curiosity, but decided against pursuing it…it didn't seem like Setsuna was too keen on introducing the subject either, so it must be serious.
Asuna gave one last look at the amulet and grabbed Negi and Konoka's hands; it was about time to begin the jump. She could see two little sprites on the Cassopedia and watched as one told the other how far to turn it. She began to feel a little lightheaded and knew that they were about to do it; with a quick breath, they disappeared in time.
Seventeenth Century B.C. – 1632 B.C.E.
Asuna opened her eyes and felt wind rush across her body. She looked down to see that they were falling rapidly.
"Not again!" she yelled, "I hate it when we appear in the air!"
This had happened a few times before, and each of the fliers in the group knew who they had to grab. Within a moment, the group was on the ground and surveying the area.
"Well," Negi began, "We appeared beside the World tree, but what happened to the barracks?"
"That was a hundred or so years ago, Negi, it's probably been gone for a long time…" Nodoka replied, grabbing his arm.
"It's not that," he replied, pointing at the place where the barracks had been, "They're still there…but what happened to them?"
The barracks were demolished, but it wasn't a normal demolition…it looked more like it had been stepped on.
"I don't recall this from any of the history books…" Setsuna whispered to Negi.
Negi heard screaming in the background and began to look around; he managed to find the source of the noise when he looked up. In a moments notice, Nodoka was red in the face, Negi was lip-locked with Chisame, and Chamo was screaming "Pactio!"
Chisame jumped off Negi's chest and stood a few feet from him…she resembled a boiled red beet.
"I see you made it here before us!" Chamo confirmed from atop Chisame's shoulder, "Not by long though, methinks. Time enough for you to take those pills I got you though…and what's Kotaro doing here? And where are Ku Roshi and Kaede? And what about Yuetchi's hair?"
The group looked at the two. They were stunned…they hadn't seen either of them in over ten years, and here they were, young as ever.
"Where's Haruna?" Chamo asked, but was answered when Chisame was slammed to the ground by the falling Paru.
"Oh, there she is…nice landing."
Negi walked towards them and picked Chamo up by the fur on his back.
"Chamo-kun?" he asked, "Is it really you?"
"Of course it's me Anesan. Wait…has your voice gotten deeper? And why did you take those pills and…" Chamo finally realized what had happened, "How long has it been since you've seen me?"
"It's been over ten years, Chamo."
The ermine's mouth dropped to the ground.
"It's only been a few seconds for us…" Haruna stated, walking towards the group.
"You've both changed so much…" she cried, grabbing Yue and Nodoka in a painful hold. Haruna's look changed from mystified to devilish in a moments notice, "And now you have to tell me all about it."
It only took a few moments to decide where they should put up camp: they decided on the remnants of the barracks. Kotaro and Setsuna set out to hunt for food and the others gathered firewood for the night. Asuna volunteered for guard duty when Kotaro and Setsuna returned and Negi promised to relieve her when her shift was up. When the food was strung above the fire and the night watch was decided, the group decided it was time to fill Haruna, Chamo, and Chisame in on the details of their journey.
"So you and Negi are an item now?" Haruna asked.
"Married, actually," she responded idly.
The three newcomers nearly choked.
"Married!?" Haruna nearly screamed.
Nodoka quieted Haruna down. "Yes, married…but as a word of warning…please keep your voice down. These times are very dangerous…no telling who or what might be out there wanting to kill us."
Haruna gaped. Nodoka spoke of it so idly…it was as if she was a completely different person.
"So," Haruna asked, "What about Yue?"
"Kotaro," Yue answered swiftly.
Haruna gaped again and looked at the dog-demon sitting beside Yue and just then noticed that Yue's hand had been resting on Kotaro's thigh.
"So…have you two…umm…" Paru began.
"You ask that question and I'll snatch your tongue out of your mouth," the philosopher quickly shot.
Haruna's mouth clamped shut and Yue smiled.
"Yes, that's all I'm saying…leave it be," she stated to her old friend.
Haruna looked over to Kotaro who seemed to be spacing out. "Why aren't you saying anything, Kotaro? It seemed like just yesterday that we couldn't seem to shut you up!" she joked.
"Tough times," Kotaro replied quickly, "I'm listening to Asuna's footsteps. We were ambushed once...Asuna couldn't call out to us. Since then I've kept my ears on the lookout…even if it were Negi out there, there's no telling how powerful the enemy may be…so while Asuna may be enough to stall
them…it might take every one of us to take them out. She's our comrade…as are you…there's no way in hell that I'm going to let anyone get killed for the sake of the rest of us."
Chamo looked seriously at the dog-demon. It had been only a few seconds for him, but those few seconds lasted for ten years to the others. Negi was a grown man and Asuna was a full fledged woman…and now it appeared as though Kotaro had learned humility. Everyone had changed…Nodoka went from being meek and mild to being strong-willed and very open. Yue had become a proficient sorceress and Konoka had become an amazing healer…from what he had seen of her in the past few hours, she could probably heal an army of terminally wounded…and apparently she was also a traditional mage as well. He couldn't help but wonder if she could test Evangeline's immortality…or if any of the others could.
But above all others…it appeared as if Setsuna had changed the most. She seemed much like her older self…the self that existed before she had come in contact with Asuna and Negi. She had a very stern demeanor, and even her looks had changed. She now wore her hair straight down and obviously had run out of hair dye. Apparently she had been wearing contacts before, because now she had bright blue eyes…but most of all, she now kept her wings out all the time. She was no longer ashamed of who she was. All in all, Chamo couldn't help but notice that she did resemble an angel: white hair, blue eyes, and marvelous white wings.
"How appropriate," Chamo thought to himself, "A beautiful female angel guarding a gorgeous female healer… Have I gone to heaven?"
"Okay guys," Asuna began as she returned from her shift, "I think it's about time to hit the sack. We're getting up early and getting out of here. According to Negi's findings, the World tree won't start its next cycle for a couple of months."
"Months!" Chamo, Haruna, and Chisame all screamed at the same time.
"Yes, months," Asuna responded quietly, "And seriously, keep the noise level down. We're in the seventeenth century. There's a war going on around here right now between the bird tribe and humans…we might be young, but they won't hesitate to kill us."
Paru and Chisame gulped: they'd never experienced battle and the thought of dying didn't settle well with them.
Within a few moments, the camp had settled down in their makeshift tents and all except the night watch drifted to sleep.
--
Asuna stood atop the remnants of the northern wall of the barracks, staring at the stars: her vision focusing on the light to see her surroundings. There wasn't a movement that missed her senses: she could hear the rustle of the leaves in the wind; the sound of the crickets finding their places; and the feel
of the cold against her skin…telling her that she was still there…still alive, waiting for her chance to return home.
In the blink of an eye Asuna's sword was brought forth and swung in a heavy arc, stopping only inches from Setsuna's face.
"Careful Sempai, no telling when I might fail to stop…" she chuckled.
"You know better than that, Asuna," Setsuna replied, "You'd have been disarmed before the attack was launched."
Asuna closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting the air around her soften.
"So," she said as she returned her sword to its pactio card, "What's up?"
Setsuna's face turned slightly pale.
"I've been thinking…" she replied in a near whisper.
"About?" Asuna replied curiously.
"About what's been happening. Look at us…ten years ago we set out to get home…determined by any means to get back to our own time."
Asuna looked down for a moment in reminisce.
"We've taken lives, Asuna. We've done what's absolutely necessary to survive…but…in all honesty, why?"
Asuna looked up to Setsuna confused.
"Look at us, Asuna. We're grown…we've done so much…but when we get back to our time…it won't be our time anymore."
Asuna became immediately alarmed: Setsuna was right.
"But Negi's saying all we have to do is stop Kotaro from trying to enter Eva's resort and stop us from using the Cassopedia. Once that happens, this whole ordeal will never have happened."
"Is that really what you want, Asuna?" Setsuna asked in a deep melancholy, "Look at all that's happened: Negi's married to Nodoka; Kotaro and Yue have found each other; Ojou-sama and I have become so close; and you've grown into an amazing woman Asuna! Look at this! Fei Ku is married to Genghis Khan and Kaede has formed her own Ninja village!"
--
"I don't understand!" Asuna nearly screamed as she opened her eyes.
No one was there. Setsuna was gone and her sword lay on the ground beside her.
Had she been asleep? It was still night time and the air felt much the same as it had the moment before she had had the trifling dream. She glanced over to see Setsuna walking her way and she stood up to greet her.
Setsuna suddenly halted and drew her sword; Asuna felt a ping in her psyche and turned around just in time to block the massive sword that swung at her. Behind the massive sword was a being that looked more bird than man with a black beak and black gleaming eyes.
With force that seemed to shock the bird-man, Asuna repelled him and screamed for Kotaro to wake the others. She knew that Chisame and Haruna hadn't battled before, but one glance to the outskirts of the barracks informed her that they'd better learn fast. A force as big as the one they were about to face could prove devastating if the two refused. The group wasn't just filled with members of the bird tribe, but members of the demon clans as well: this battle wasn't going to be easy.
