Magister Negi Magi is owned by Ken Akamatsu and Kodansha Ltd. Tokyo in Japan, and by Funimation and Ballantine - DelRey in the United States, NOT by me.

SPOILER ALERT! AU story occurring after c189.

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"Would you let me have it back for a Pactio card?"
-Negi Springfield. From a conversation witnessed by Anya Cocorowa. Author of: "Lessons Learned in the World of Magic."

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Ala Alba in the World of Magic: Tales From the Fireside.

Chapter 23 - Granicus City Finale. (On to Ostia!)

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Full of excited curiosity, Collet Farandole wandered aimlessly through the central market in Hecates. School limitations, as well as her uncle's restrictions on travel, meant she had never been outside of Ariadne before. Now, along with her somewhat stuffy new friend Anya Cocorowa and their bounty-hunter escort, she had the chance to let loose, and wanted to experience as many new things as possible before going back to face her uncle and the school's wrath in Ariadne.

Since she had done so several times before without any consequences, being caught sneaking through an alley outside the academy at Ariadne in pursuit of a Nagi Springfield Idol item rumored to exist at a nearby shop had been a shock. Waking up next to a burning building hundreds of kilometers away in Zephillia a second shock. Prone to occasional fits of panic, in this case she had been too distracted by Anya's snow-white ermine to succumb to such a thing.

When they stopped the first night, and the Kit-Jin bounty-hunter T'fa and her Nek-Jin partner R'th explained Collet had been kidnapped, not punished for leaving the academy, THEN she panicked. Before, Anya had been upset she wasn't having a fit after what happened. Now she got angry because Collet was running around like a headless chicken. After Anya shook some sense back into her, and the ermine named Chamo said she'd probably not have any problems until AFTER she returned to Ariadne, she nearly panicked again.

Collet was an adoptive ward of her uncle. A MAGISTER MAGUS in Ariadne. A very HUMORLESS Magus. Her class president Emily Sevensheep's harassment for missing school would pale in comparison to what her uncle would do. Even thinking about what might happen made her cringe. Grounding for ten-or-twenty years, turning her into an ermine, making her sit in a dark storage room, preparing the ingredients for catalystic spells for the academy's lab classes for as long as she was grounded, many terrible fates were possible.

A slap in the face from Anya calmed her down. The little fire mage shouted at her to quit being such a ditz, then stalked away in a pout. Chamo looked up from reading some book and said not to worry, that Anya was just upset about her own problems. Collet had blinked and touched the red spot on her cheek, then just plopped down next to Chamo. He'd put his book away, then quickly driven all troubles from her mind with exciting tales of his many adventures.

After nearly falling into a Cerberian Cloth-Eater pit, the bounty-Hunter T'fa had decided Collet's idle mind as they traveled made for too-much potential mischief. In order to keep her out of trouble, and Anya from fretting, he started making both of them review and practice the magic they knew. Between the towns, that made the time they spent traveling pass quickly, and kept the two youngsters out of trouble. When they did stop in a town, T'fa let Collet and Anya wander around a bit, as long as they stayed close together. Collet used the free time examining interesting things and sampling good-smelling food. Anya followed, grousing about the random, scent-following way the 'Beagle-girl' led her around, but she'd gotten excited at a few market stalls herself, so Collet took the complaints as much in stride as she'd finally taken everything else that had happened to her recently.

Collet quickly back-tracked for a second look after she walked past a vendor selling musical instruments and noticed an unusually shaped stick leaning up in the back of the stall. The thin handle, the distinctive crook on the end, the simple cloth ribbon wrapped around the stick near the crook, it was a perfect reproduction of her Idol Nagi Springfield's magic wand.

She had to have it.

With her tail swishing back and forth excitedly beneath her secondhand gray cloak, Collet waited for the booth's U-Jin proprietor to finish with another customer, then pointed so quickly at the reproduction staff there was a nearly audible 'snap!' "Please Miss! How much for that staff?"

Taken aback by her potential customer's exuberance, the female U-Jin wondered why someone would care so much about a dirty old stick. It seemed to have potential as a wand, but no-one had expressed any interest in it until the sparkly-eyed Inu-Jin girl now standing before her. "Well, I paid twenty Drachma for it a few weeks ago..." Picking the stick up, she used a rag to dust it off. "I bought it from an adventurer who found it out in the Cerberus Forest. He said he wanted to keep it, but a Cerberus Cloth-Eater got him and he needed some quick money for clothes." Handing the staff to Collet, she chuckled at the mental image of her Hu-Jin friend Louis, red as a beet, walking through town with nothing on but his pack and a pair of barely tied on banan-leaves. "I'd like to at least make my money back, maybe a little extra. Say, twenty-five Drachma?"

Collet nodded, then handed the staff back and quickly took out her coin purse. The lack of weight shocked her, and when she turned it up, not even close to the needed amount fell out. Staring at the coins, she finally grabbed a Ten-Drachma-piece and handed it to the U-Jin. "I'll be right back with the rest!"

Anya Cocorowa wandered through the food vendors area of the Hecates market munching on a sweetly-glazed Shish-ka-bob. After warning she, Collet and Chamo to stay in the market and not wander off, R'th and T'fa, the two bounty-hunters escorting them to Granicus City, had gone to take care of things they needed to do at the Hecates Bounty-Hunter Guild-hall.

"Hey Anna! Let me have a bit of that, will ya'?"

Using the fingers of the hand opposite the ka-bob, Anya pulled off a bit of meat and handed it to the ermine riding inside the hood of her cloak. Albert Chamomile's constant chatter and mildly perverted nature had been a source of irritation for her in the past, but he'd saved her from petrification, and that made up for a lot. "I hope Negi's still there when we get to Granicus City."

Chamo pulled a bit of meat off the ka-bob chunk, then quickly chewed and swallowed it. "It doesn't look good. The fights in Granicus City are nearly over, so he's probably about to leave for Ostia."

Anya began chewing on a piece of onion. "It stinks we can't send him a message because of Beagle-girl."

Chamo sighed. "Well, I actually agree with T'fa and R'th on that because of what I've found in those two books. There's too much of a risk Connel's allies might find us if we sent a message. If they realized not one, but TWO of his victims were free, or that we had his books, well, I'm sure it wouldn't be pretty." After finishing the last of his snack, he curled himself around Anya's neck and relaxed. "Don't sweat missing Negi. I had a chance to check the Mahonet the first time I came through Albor, and there's an old friend in Granicus City I can ask for help if we really need it."

"ANNA!"

Anya winced at the name the Beagle-girl from Ariadne choose for her when T'fa suggested the two of them might want to use disguise names. ("Well, speak of the doggy...")

"Anna!" Collet ran up and stopped, panting, in front of her fellow petrification escapee. "Please loan me fifteen Drachma!"

Anya shook her head in annoyance. Their bounty-hunter escort had promised to take care of them, but she'd still tried to stay frugal. "What for Colly? If you wouldn't eat like a pig, you'd probably have that money!"

Collet clasped her hands together and attacked Anya in full-on 'puppy-dog-eyes' mode. "Pleeasee Anna! I found just the perfect reproduction of Nagi Springfield's staff! I have to have it!"

Chamo had been amusing himself by watching Collet's tail switch with excitement when he suddenly realized what she'd said. Reaching out with his ermine sense, he was both shocked and pleased by the resonance he felt. "Anya!" The two girls looked at him with surprise as he stood up and hissed out Anya's real name to get her undivided attention. "Give her the money!"

Collet's excitement grew, but Anya just grew angry. "WHY?"

Chamo put a paw-finger to his lips and made a 'shushing' motion. "Trust me for now! Just do it!"

Anya grumbled as she took the fifteen Drachma from her coin pouch and handed it to Collet. The bespectacled Beagle-girl ran off, then returned a moment later carrying an unassuming mage staff.

Chamo sighed with relief and collapsed on Anya's shoulder as Collet danced around with her newly acquired Nagi Springfield Idol good.

Anya thought Collet looked like a silly puppy playing with a stick. Chamo's seemingly excessive level of relief made absolutely no sense to her. "It's a stupid stick! What's so great about it!"

Chamo, nearly as flat as a fur stole he had relaxed so much, looked up at Anya. "It's not, 'just a stick,' it's Negi's wand. Getting it back at ten or even a hundred times that amount would have been cheap. What a lucky break..."

Anya was beginning to think Chamo was infected with Collet's silliness when the Beagle-girl straddled the staff and playfully uttered her flight mantra.

Collet shot up into the sky, shrieking with surprise and almost completely out of control. She flew back and forth across Hecates, scattering a few other flyers with her constant looping and rolling, until she finally gained control over her movements and came back to a shaky landing near Anya. She staggered from dizziness, then fell over on her back, clutching the staff protectively to her chest. "This is perfect... Emily Sevensheep and her two-digit fan-club membership will be soooo jealous... uuhhh..."

Anya stared at the staff for a moment, then shrugged and shook her head when she finally recognized it's distinctive shape. "Some people just have all the luck!" Stepping forward, she knelt and started trying to prod the limp Collet back to her feet.

A short distance away, R'th ground her teeth in frustration. "Don't any of these kids related to that Springfield boy know the meaning of 'self-restraint?"

T'fa laughed and patted his partner's shoulder. "Relax! One just found a new toy, and the other's only eleven years old! Beside..." T'fa leaned in to whisper sotto-voce in R'th's ear. "...I seem to recall a certain Nek-Jin who had a similar lack of restraint once..."

R'th turned on T'fa, flushing red to the tips of both ears, then slumping her shoulders in defeat.

T'fa smiled and rubbed R'th's head affectionately. "Let's go. we'd better hurry if we're going to have any chance of making Granicus city before the finals are over."

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Yue Ayase watched from the bridge of the Estimated Prophet with the rest of the Library-Trio as Joe Rossy, Katrina Adenaur's fellow Ariadnean Captain on the Cyclops, moved his ship slowly up against the Ofuda mill's riverside dock in Granicus City. Cyclops, and the Estimated Prophet, both had as a non-original modification, bow and stern positional propulsion systems to help them deal with the lack of harbor tugs in nearly every port in the Magic World. "More reliable than Magic!" Estimated Prophet's Chief Engineer, a Ku-Jin male who's only name seemed to be 'Voards,' had proudly proclaimed.

Yue wasn't sure about that, but she had been amazed at the variety of things that could be accomplished using just a small amount of magic and catalystic boosters. Explosive effects, mainly, some shielding effects, even a few defensive area effects like a sheet of ice to delay an opponent. Captain Adenaur had insisted Yue study catalystic magic. Intentionally, she was sure, to keep her distracted from any more study involving blood magic. Well, that was fine by her, such things had been the cause for much personal concern after researching blood magic in greater detail in her Orbis Sensualium Pictus. The things she'd done so far were minor blood-magics, harmless on their own, but the more serious uses of blood magic lay along a path to power she'd found to be quite repulsive.

"Hey Nodoka! Don't those maid outfits look cute?"

Yue glanced aside, then turned towards where Haruna was pointing someone out to Nodoka on the dock. Near the bow of the Cyclops, on a small boat landing jutting out into the river, stood two people dressed in cloaks, and three girls dressed as maids. Placing the thumb and fore-finger of her right hand together, she chanted a recently learned and simple telescopic scrying spell. Instantly, within the scope formed by her fingers, she had a magnified view of the people on the dock. Who they turned out to be was not a complete surprise, but still enough so she released the spell with an unnecessary minor 'snap' of energy, instead of drawing it conservatively back into herself. "It's two of the Gym-girls, Natsumi, and Kotaro, Haruna... I don't know who the other guy is."

"Miss Miyazaki."

Nodoka turned with Yue and Haruna to find Katrina Adenaur waving her over from a pintle mounted pair of binoculars.

Katrina indicated for Nodoka to take a look. "If you would please?"

Nodoka did as was asked. Standing on the dock, she saw a outwardly calm, tall man, his trimly bearded face partially hidden by a cloak's hood. Tapping the binoculars just a bit, she recognized the disguise Sayo Aisaka said Kotaro was using, along with three of her classmates from Mahora.

Katrina noticed the shift Nodoka made in focus and grinned over at Ma'ii as the Kit-Jin handed over payment for a bet she'd made with Cabot. ("I tried to tell her these girl's aren't so intimidated by me one of them wouldn't take the chance to look at their friends!") Coughing, she drew Nodoka's attention back to herself. "That tall individual is Chairman Dolnegus. Owner of the Ofuda mill here in Granicus City, and Adenaur of Ariadne's partner, for now, in this year's Ofuda harvest." As Nodoka nodded, Katrina crossed her arms and struck a casual air. "If you're wondering about those collars your friends are wearing, those are devices marking them as debt-slaves of Chairman Dolnegus." Noticing the angry look forming on Yue Ayase's face, instead of the shocked looks Nodoka and Haruna wore, she focused now on that girl. "No 'mage,' can remove or disable those collars. Try, and it's 'BOOM!'" Nodoka nearly fainted, and Yue's expression of anger deepened. Focusing on Yue even more, she gave the owner of the Orbis Sensualium Pictus a hard look. "I'd not try ANYTHING you haven't thought out to the N'th degree, then asked me, Ma'ii, or Cabot about first... Do I make myself clear Miss Ayase?"

Yue's angry look faded, even as she continued fingering the Pactio card in her pocket.

Katrina returned her attention to Nodoka. "Pardon my allowing myself to become distracted Miss Miyazaki." At Nodoka's nod, she pointed towards the small boat landing. "If you feel up to it, I would like you to go to the dock as my representative and bring Chairman Dolnegus out to the ship. As far as protocol is concerned, just treat him with the level of politeness you would use for your school's dean. In addition, I would appreciate it if you could use your abilities to determine if he is responsible for the attack on the ship."

Nodoka hesitated for a moment. Even considering how frightened she'd been during the battle, to do as Captain Adenaur asked could result in something bad happening to a person she'd never even met. Gulping, she remembered Eva calling the Diarium Ejus a weapon, then slowly nodded.

Katrina studied Nodoka's nervous expression for a moment, then reached out to give the girl's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I may think Chairman Dolnegus is guilty, and I'll send Ma'ii if you want me to, but you're the only one who can prove his innocence to me in any way I'll believe..."

Feeling Yue and Haruna's comforting presence, Nodoka nodded again, this time much more firmly.

Katrina turned to look back towards the boat landing. "Try to find out your friend's circumstances as well. I won't promise anything at the moment, but if they're being mistreated in any way, I'll see to it the responsible party is dealt with."

Nodoka straightened up and squared her shoulder. "Very well Captain Adenaur. I shall do my best!"

Katrina turned to Jay Lane Cabot. "If you would accompany Miss Miyazaki, Mister Cabot, and command the launch?"

Cabot saluted, then politely bowed and indicated for Nodoka to proceed him from the bridge.

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Nodoka stepped unsteadily onto the small boat landing and greeted Chairman Dolnegus on behalf of Captain Adenaur. After making polite conversation and casual inquiries for a few moments, she indicated for him to board the launch in preparation for departure. Not entirely ready for another trip across the slightly choppy water of the Granicus River to where Estimated Prophet lay anchored, she paused for a few moments of greeting and conversation with her four friends, then indicated for them to proceed her into the launch.

Akira saw that while Ako was a little woozy on the trip out to what seemed a well preserved refugee from the East Asia War, Nodoka was positively green. It seemed all the poor girl could do to politely indicate for Chairman Dolnegus to proceed her up the accommodation ladder to the warship's main deck. After that, she excused herself and disappeared down an opening in the deck. A few moments later she returned, looking much better, to lead them to their destination.

Dolnegus watched with a bit of surprise as the short-haired girl who was their escort from the small-boat landing entered Katrina Adenaur's cabin alone. Given a bit of unexpected time, he shifted his gaze towards Akira Okochi. ("Miss Okochi is sill restless, even after the promise she made to me. Perhaps I could redirect all that energy she has with more responsibilities as Mama's apprentice?")

Akira shifted in place, wondering why Nodoka was the only one of the Library Trio they'd seen so far, and also about why she'd had gone into that room alone. After a few minutes passed, the door opened again, and a female Kit-Jin asked everyone to come inside. Upon entering, she was immediately taken by a woman sitting behind the desk at the back of the room. Distracted by Ako and Natsumi whispering something about Professor Springfield that registered faintly in her mind as significant, she suddenly realized the woman had called upon her. "Ye... Yes Ma'am! Please forgive my rudeness!"

Rising from her desk, Katrina walked over to stand before Akira Okochi. Based on what Nodoka had told her, she believed the unflinching, tall girl understood the gravity of what her disobedience had caused, even if the two others did not. "Miss Okochi. Is has been explained to me that you and your friends came to the Magic World even after being told not to by your Professor. Is this correct?"

Akira stiffened. Even considering how she felt at the time, this tall woman, who's serious eyes reminded her so much of Professor Springfield, was speaking the truth. "Yes Ma'am."

Locking both hands behind her back, Katrina looked down at Akira like she would any crewman who had been disobedient. "From what your friends Miss Aisaka and Miss Miyazaki have told me, when there was no prospect of immediate help, you took it upon yourself to ensure the safety and well-being of your two companions?"

Akira knew what she'd done was wrong, but with Yuuna Akashi the actual ringleader, and without understanding why this adult cared so much, she squared her shoulders and refused to wilt in the face of the woman's gaze of disapproval. "Yes Ma'am."

Katrina looked into Akira Okochi's steady gaze and liked what she saw. ("This girl's going far in life. She understands the seriousness of her situation, and if Negi wasn't here, she'd get herself and her two friends home.") "Well, there's nothing more to say about it then."

Turning from the mildly confused Akira to face Dolnegus, Katrina fixed her gaze on the one person she'd never been able to intimidate by force of will alone. "Chairman Dolnegus. I have no intention of explaining to you how I know the answer already, but I still want to hear it from your mouth; 'Did you cause my ship to be attacked?'"

Dolnegus straightened his posture, looking the only person he considered his equal in business directly in the eyes. "Captain Adenaur. Despite things which may have caused issues between us in the past, I swear on my honor I had nothing to do with the attack on your ship."

Katrina nodded curtly. "Fair enough." Turning slightly, she looked over towards Nodoka. "Miss Miyazaki, perhaps your friends would like to see Miss Ayase and Miss Saotome now? Maybe they would even like a bite to eat. If you would, please show them to the crew's galley. Chairman Dolnegus and I need to discuss our normal business."

Nodoka bowed and lead Akira, Ako, Natsumi and Koujiro from the room.

When the five friends and Ma'ii Kumagami were gone, Katrina crossed her arms and leaned back against the desk, facing Dolnegus. "I still don't approve of your use of debt-slavery Joseph."

Dolnegus nodded and shifted to an 'at-ease' posture. "We simply have a difference of opinion when it comes to how to deal with such things Kat. You use a carrot, I use a stick."

Katrina indicated with her eyes the cabin door everyone else in the room had just departed through. "Those three maids of yours are friends of the three apprentice Ministra who saved my ship. I would consider it a great personal favor if you would take the best possible care of them."

Dolnegus inclined his head in a positive way.

Standing, Katrina shifted into a pose similar to that of her guest. "Since it seems they came to the Magic World against the wishes of a friend of mine, placing that person in danger, it is my intention that they pay you back for every Drachma they owe." Dolnegus raised an eyebrow at her stating of the obvious. "However! Should a sudden opportunity for them to go home occur before their debt is paid, I will personally guarantee that debt if you will permit them to leave." Now she approached Dolnegus and held out her hand. "Deal?"

Dolnegus reached out and took Katrina's hand. "Deal." Katrina invited him to sit so they could conduct their scheduled business, then moved to her own chair. Thinking as he moved to sit about the modest girl who'd come to get him from the landing, and considering her innocent questions in light of what had just happened, he decided he'd have to take greater precautions against mind readers in the future.

(-)

Nodoka bowed as Ma'ii left to go to the bridge. Before her friends could set upon her with questions, she asked for them to follow, and headed aft towards the crew's galley. Since she was somewhat purposefully ignoring Akira, Ako and Natsumi, the three girls began speculating to each other about Captain Adenaur's motives.

Kotaro wouldn't be put off. "Nodoka. Why is that person being so helpful to us? How can you be sure she isn't trying to lure everyone in to collect the rewards?"

Nodoka relaxed, glancing back to answer Kotaro's 'safe' question. "Because she hasn't shown us anything but willingness to be supportive ever since she picked Haruna up. From what little I know about you Kotaro, I understand you tend to be suspicious of strangers, but surely Captain Adenaur or someone in her crew would have slipped up at least once, in all the time Haruna, Yue or I have been on board!"

Kotaro saw something in Nodoka's eyes as she turned back that said she knew of another reason, but was unwilling to talk about it. Mollified for the moment, he wondered if Bookstore had used the Diarium Ejus on the Captain, and if that was the reason she didn't want to elaborate.

Nodoka listened to Natsumi commenting about several similarities between Nagi and Captain Adenaur she'd noticed. Ako agreed, and wondered if Nagi Springfield and Captain Adenaur might possibly be related. Wishing there was some way she could share the burden of knowing the true reason for Katrina Adenaur's willingness to help, she came to the ladder leading down to the deck containing the crew's galley, and somewhat too loudly asked everyone to proceed her.

(-)

Captain Adenaur had been surprised when Nodoka showed her the family history book she'd found in the Dracogenian library. Katrina Adenaur's look became very scary, and Nodoka actually began to fear for her life because of it. After a moment however, the captain relaxed, and with a melancholic, wistful look on her face, slowly began to turn the book's pages.

"Miss Miyazaki... Do you have feelings for Negi Springfield?"

"Ye... yes Ma'am..."

"If you value his life and yours, BURN this book. Don't throw it over the side, someone might find it. BURN IT. TO ASHES!"

Nodoka knew the commitment to books she felt as a librarian would never permit her to do such a thing. "WHY?"

"The family history presented in this book isn't exactly secret, but there is information here that could permit your professor's enemies to establish connections between him and certain families of this world. If they could do so, it may be cause for great harm to those families, as well as your professor."

Nodoka had held a hand to her mouth and gasped in shock at the realization of what she was hearing.

Captain Adenaur had then handed the book back to her.

"I had hoped every copy of that book was destroyed ten years ago..."

Nodoka had begun to shake at the thought of something so dangerous someone would try to destroy so many books just to hide it.

Captain Adenaur had then come over and placed an affectionate hand alongside her face.

"However. If you feel it is worth your life, protect that book to your dying breath. There may come a time in his life when proving your professor's ancestry could be critically important."

Nodoka nodded, looking up into oh-so familiar, brownish eyes that were filled with many years of sadness.

"Yes Ma'am. I understand."

(-)

Nodoka entered the crew's galley, her memories and any questions she might have been asked lost in the rush of greetings as she, Yue, Haruna, Ako, Natsumi, Akira and eventually even Kotaro were drawn into a happy reunion of friends. Eventually, she showed her maid uniformed classmates how to get something to eat from the galley, and along with Haruna, left Yue and Koujiro standing near the table they intended to use.

Yue looked up at the diguised form of the little brat she'd had so many arguments with. "Ko... Koujiro. Despite our previous animosity, why don't we just worry about getting home for now?"

Kotaro looked down at the girl who had intellectually browbeaten him so many times, holding out her hand in offer of a truce. Taking the hand, he felt a firm friendly grip in return. "Sure, Chibi-Yue!"

Jay Lane Cabot entered Estimated Prophet's crew galley. Spotting the three cute girls in maid uniforms who'd come aboard the ship with Chairman Dolnegus, he immediately headed over to more closely examine the prospects. One of the girls, a cute thing with pale hair and skin, was excited over discovering the ship's ice-cream maker. She seemed to be having trouble, and thus made a likely first 'target.' However, a threatening growl from the spiky-haired Inu-Jin who'd come aboard, and the 'stand to attention' of Yue Ayase's broom where it lay against a table made him quickly decide otherwise. Going up to the girl he still found amazingly cute, despite her 'bodyguards,' he politely introduced himself, then showed her what she'd been doing wrong.

(-)

Chibi Chisame stared at the small package on the table before her with a dread greater than that felt when she expected to get eaten alive by that perverted tentacle creature back in the Cerberus Forest. The same To-Jin who had delivered Setsuna Sakurazaki's original letter also delivered this small package. Addressed this time to 'Hacker.' NOT Nagi, but Hacker. She didn't want to touch the thing. There had been an almost physical shock when first given the box, and she'd quickly placed it on the table where it now lay.

Arrival of the Library Trio had heralded a day of shopping and sight-seeing around Granicus City, then the insanity of a raucous reunion party. Now Nagi and Koujiro were off fighting their last qualification match for the Ostian Tournament. Everyone else was doing their maid jobs for the arena, or watching the match. Chisame had stayed behind in Nagi's suite to work on buildups for her NetWar, idea's for a Kasayo McDowell blog, and the Nagi - Koujiro Mahonet fan site. (A pair of the disguised boy's admirers in a town named Ariadne, calling themselves 'NyagiFan01' and 'NyagiFan02' seemed to be the site's most enthusiastic visitors.) That was when 'IT' had arrived.

Staring didn't make things any easier, so she just reached out for the box and tore it open.

A damaged bell and a card fell out. A Pactio card.

With trembling hands, Chisame dug through the box, finding three more bells, two ribbons and a letter.

Hacker,

I can only beg forgiveness for putting this on your shoulders, but you are the only one I can be sure would let Nagi know in the right way.

I won't say who told me, but... I think the Pactio card speaks for itself...

I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry I can't be there to do this for you Hacker...

Please break it to him easy...

SS

Picking up and turning the Pactio card over, Chisame saw the bloodstains and missing elements surrounding Asuna's image and dropped the card like a venomous snake. Looking at the thing as it lay face down on the floor, she knew any chance for a normal life was now gone for good. ("Asuna... one of our strongest fighters... I... I can either have a screaming fit, or... or swear to make whomever did it pay...") Moving like she was swimming in molasses, Chisame picked up everything except the letter and put all of it back in the box. ("I... I'll tell him later... He's got one more match before we go to Ostia...") The box went into the duffel-bag she'd acquired, the letter went into her cloak.

Chisame immediately went back to sit before her laptop. The Sprite Regimental Leaders she'd sent out with Kazumi and Chachamaru had made several good contacts, so there was no time for sitting around. Focusing everything on calming her shaking hands, she ignored her tears, and began typing code faster than she'd ever done before.

(-)

Negi read the letter from Setsuna to Chisame again.

Standing in one of the waiting rooms for prize-fighters with Kotaro, talking about the upcoming fight with Kagetaro, he had placed his hands in the cloak's pockets like any nervous little boy might and found the unexpected piece of paper. After opening it up and glancing at the first few words, he couldn't stop reading. When he finished doing so for a second time, he took out his Pactio cards. As benefiting her status as his first Provisional Partner, Asuna's card was on top. Everything identifying her except the picture was missing.

Kotaro took an involuntary step back as he felt Negi's aura suddenly change. "Negi. What's wrong? What does that paper say?"

Negi turned and looked at Kotaro with a face made ugly with multifaceted sadness and rage. "Asuna's gone." Handing the letter and all eight Pactio Cards to Kotaro, he removed his cloak, then turned to climb the stairs to the arena floor and his match with Kagetaro.

Kotaro read through the letter, feeling his throat tighten with emotion as he did so. ("Big sister Asuna's gone?")

(-)

Natsumi Murakami had volunteered to wait tables so Ako and Akira could go watch Negi fight. As she started to carry another tray out onto the verandah, a howl of emotional anguish tore through her heart and left her frozen where she stood. ("Ko... Kotaro...") Even as Mama hollered at her about standing still, she clutched a fist to her chest, then sat the tray down on an empty table and ran off to find the grief-stricken boy she hoped might one day be more than just her adoptive brother.

(-)

Negi looked across the arena at the man who'd held a grudge against his father Nagi for longer than Negi had been alive. The Shadow-user seemed anxious, ready to get the grudge match over with. Well, he would oblige him. Win. Loose. He didn't care anymore. Asuna, his first partner, the girl who helped him defeat Dark Evangeline and overcome his first serious challenges, was gone. What made things worse, with all the time that had probably passed since it happened, he'd failed to notice Asuna's card had changed.

Playing up the grudge-match aspect of the fight, the bespectacled Ma-Jin Emcee finally introduced to two fighters. She started to call both forward, but the level of animosity passing between them caused her to falter, then beat a hasty retreat.

Even after the signal to start came, the two combatants stood unmoving, waiting, watching and sizing each other up.

Kagetaro struck first.

Out came his shadow-blades, swirling across the arena in a pattern that seemingly no-one should be able to escape.

Negi watched the shadow-blades coming towards him with a mind on the edge of breaking down. Fate Averruncus had been right. He should never have come here. Now he had to pay...

Chisame watched Negi walk out into the arena and knew instantly what had happened. Her hand shot into an empty pocket and she realized, in her grief, the letter from Setsuna had gone into Negi's cloak, not hers. Now, watching Kagetaro's attack unfold, it looked like Negi was going to let himself be killed as penance for Asuna's death.

"Stu... STUPID NEGI! FIGHT!"

Negi wanted to die. Even his other responsibilities, to his students, to his quest for his father, paled before the emptiness in his heart. Something important was gone from his life forever. Asuna's smiling face, the help she gave him, the 'big-sister' affection, so different from Nekane's... The last thing he saw as Kagetaro's shadow-blades came in for the kill was Asuna, shaking her finger and scolding him...

"STUPID NEGI! FIGHT!"

A cloud of sand and dust exploded from the arena floor as Chisame watched. Beside her, Ako fainted into Arika's arms, Nodoka shrieked and turned into Haruna's shoulder, leaving just her, Yue and Jack Rakan watching to see what had happened.

Jack Rakan put a hand on Nodoka's shoulder and pointed up into the sky, "Little Miss! LOOK!"

Nodoka turned towards where Rakan was pointing. Nagi was there, slowly spinning upwards, legs and arms held close, in a somersault. As he reached the top of his arc and started down, Kagetaro redirected his shadow-blades and seemed to impale his spinning opponent, but nothing remained after the attack except a long-tailed jacket.

Chisame watched Nagi hit the floor of the arena, one hand and one knee down. Kagetaro attacked again, and this time she was sure Nagi had to have been hit. Instead, he simply stood up. His oddly roiling form, similar to what she'd witnessed at Rakan's Estate, seemed to be absorbing the shadow-user's blades. Some were deflected, but most appeared to hit. Nagi's form would blur just a bit as they did so, and he would remain unharmed.

Yue looked up at Jack Rakan. "What's going on?"

Rakan actually seemed worried. "Instant movement Little Miss. He's using a kind that makes it nearly impossible for anyone to hit him. He's also using the Magia Erebea. That's a technique he learned while he was training with me. It lets him absorb an enemies attacks and use the energy for himself. Even so, there's a price for using it, so I didn't expect him to be so blatant with it so soon..."

Nodoka watched as Nagi, the tension in his body visibly increasing as he continued to ignore Kagetaro's attacks, rose to his feet and became still. As she continued thinking about him, the Diarium Ejus, stored inside her newly acquired plushy-rabbit backpack, reacted and established a connection. In an instant she knew he was in terrible emotional pain, as well as why... The sense of loss and the hate building in Negi's heart was so overwhelming she began to worry for his sanity...

Nagi just started walking towards Kagetaro. Everything the shadow-user threw at him he micro-shundo'd to avoid, or simply brushed aside. After getting close, he jumped forward and struck Kagetaro in the stomach with a boosted Raikahouken punch. Flying back, the shadow-user cratered the arena wall. As he started to fall, Nagi was there, executing a modified Fulguratio Albicans that sent him flying into the air. Instant movement sent Nagi up against the arena wall, then into the sky over Kagetaro's form. A third punch sent a visible pulsewave through the shadow-user's body, shattering parts of his shadows and flinging him across the arena and into another cratering impact. Negi was instantly there, pounding his victim further and further into the sand-covered floor with unceasing, boosted punches.

Yue heaved. "He... he's going to kill him..." Beside her, Jack Rakan started to move, but Nodoka had already jumped down out of the shocked into silence spectator stands. She landed badly, then got up and began limping quickly towards the source of the only sound in the nearly silent arena.

Negi only saw Fate Averruncus's face through his tear-blinded eyes. He punched again and again, trying to eliminate that hated face. Even as Kagetaro's remaining shadows began to fade, he kept pounding until someone finally grabbed one of his bloody hands. Turning, he saw the only other person to ever show him real affection since he'd come to Mahora, holding him and gently shaking her head. Now his tears become those of shame. How could she bear to touch him? He was a failure, one of his students was dead, he was behaving in such an ugly manner. Why was she not afraid of him?

Nodoka saw pain and loss in the eyes of someone she loved very much, someone she didn't think she could ever be afraid of. Understanding the depth of Negi's feelings, thanks to the connection provided by the Diarium Ejus, she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around his quivering form. Negi responded instantly, clutching at her and sobbing quietly.

Around them, everyone in the arena remained silent.

Yue understood something significant had just happened. Negi was terribly upset, as evidenced first by his suicidal passivity, then his violent, out of character treatment of Kagetaro. Whatever madness had consumed him though, letting her homeroom professor fight like she'd never seen before, Nodoka had managed to pull him back before it drove him into killing the shadow-user.

Kagetaro lay nearby, listening to some girl comforting his opponent, and staring at the clouds passing over the silent arena. Nearly twenty years of simmering hate had drawn him to Granicus City in response to a challenge. What was his reward after all that time and effort? He had been beaten, nearly killed, possibly crippled, in a match that wasn't even a real fight... by an opponent Jack Rakan claimed was just a kid... When the arena healers placed him on a stretcher to carry him away, he reached out painfully with his only good arm and placed the hand on Nagi's shoulder. It was most likely too late to give up his own hate, he would probably go to his grave with it... but this kid... this kid who looked so much like Nagi Springfield... he still had a chance...

"Hey... what-ever's burning you up boy... let it go..."

Negi turned to face Kagetaro. He stared for a moment at the shadow-user, who's face was still hidden behind his broken mask, then patted the hand on his shoulder and nodded.

As Kagetaro was carried away, Yue started clapping. Jack Rakan joined her, then Akira. Soon, the applause spread throughout the arena spectators, building to a crescendo, then fading to a murmur of whispered voices as the arena slowly began to empty.

(-)

Nagi's look as she and everyone else entered the prize-fighters waiting area took a huge load off of Chisame's chest. He wasn't angry, and if anything, he appeared understanding. When he took the letter and Pactio cards back from Koujiro, then walked over to hand the letter to her, she bowed in apology and acceptance. "Please forgive me Professor! I didn't want to distract you..."

Nagi simply smiled. "Don't worry. Like Setsuna asked, you were waiting for a time you felt would be better to tell me." Turning to Ako, he held out his hand. "Miss Izumi. Please come with me."

Akira started to follow as Nagi lead Ako from the room, but suddenly stopped when Chisame grabbed her painfully by the wrist.

Nagi lead a blushing Ako down to the next, empty waiting room and went inside. Once he shut the door and uttered an anti-eavesdropping spell, he turned and took her hands. "Ako. When we leave here in a few moments I going to tell everyone something very, very important. Unfortunately, since doing so means no longer lying to any of my students, that means no longer lying to you."

Ako first felt excitement while coming with Nagi to the room, thinking he was going to confess his feelings. Now she was confused, considering what he'd just said. ("'My students?' What does he mean?")

Negi stepped back. "Dispel Satio."

Ako uttered a small cry as Nagi was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, her Class A homeroom teacher was standing there in Nagi's clothes. Negi looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding back. All Ako knew, standing there in shock, looking at the worried expression on Negi's face, was that someone she had trusted, someone she had confessed her deepest feelings to, someone she'd hoped would heal her heart after her previous rejection, had lied to her. Ten-year old kid or not, intentionally or not, someone she thought she loved had played with her heart again. It seemed like just another reinforcement of the fact she would never be anything but a supporting character. Suddenly angry, she reached out and slapped her child teacher hard enough to leave a mark.

Negi reached up to touch his cheek as Ako turned away. "Miss Izumi... Ako... would you like me to explain...?"

Ako shook her head. "No! Thank you for telling me when we're alone like this, Professor Springfield, but I'm too upset right now to listen to anything else you have to say about it!"

Negi watched Ako run crying from the room. He waited for a moment, then resumed his Nagi disguise and returned to where everyone else was waiting. Ako ignored him when he entered the room, sticking close to an angry looking Akira. Moving past where Natsumi held fast to Koujiro, he went to stand at the front of the room.

Turning to face everyone, Nagi took out his Pactio cards and held them up for everyone to see. "As some of you already know, these are the manifestations of the provisional contracts I've made with everyone who agreed to assist me in my work and training as a mage." Shuffling the cards, he singled out and held up the one for Asuna Kagurazaka. "This is Asuna's card. Since certain information is missing, that..." Negi shook his head, fighting back his emotions. "...that means she's dead..."

Natsumi clung to Kotaro, while Ako gasped and held fast to Akira. In the back of the room, Jack Rakan suddenly uncrossed his arms and started paying more attention.

Negi nodded as everyone continued to focus on him. "Everything I and Kotaro have been doing up until now has been focused first towards paying off Ako, Akira, and Natsumi's debt, then towards getting everyone home." Thinking about recent events, he began to shake his head. "Once before, when I fought Setsuna, I let myself be distracted by worries and other unnecessary concerns. This time... this time I lost myself to grief, and thoughts of revenge. Fortunately, thanks to Nodoka, I was able to remember my responsibilities." Looking over everyone, he paused for a moment to give Nodoka a nod of thanks. "Now, there is no room for such thoughts in my mind. My responsibilities do not extend to revenge against those who have wronged us. If we manage to clear our names, that will be fine, but my real goal is getting everyone home safely." Now his expression became feral. "Mind you, since the attention of this world is focusing on our gathering point at the old capitol of Ostia, it is likely we'll cross paths with those who bear us ill-will. Preparation will make it easier to deal with that time when it comes. However, should any of you see me falter in my responsibilities, I expect you to direct me back onto the proper path. With FORCE if necessary!"

Chisame, Kotaro, Yue and even Akira nodded to say they were up to such a task.

Negi smiled grimly at his friends. "I want everyone to understand that what we'll have to do to get home may be VERY dangerous, but that WE - WILL - GET - HOME!" After pausing for a moment to look at his first partner's Pactio card one last time, he put all the cards away, then turned back to his audience. "Asuna would never forgive me if I did anything less."

Chisame crossed her arms and nodded, watching as Akira's angry expression faded and was slowly replaced by one of grim determination. Nodoka was openly adoring. Yue was thinking hard, and Haruna was sketching furiously in order to catch the moment. Kotaro nodded, excited about the prospects for a good fight. Natsumi and Ako looked frightened but stoic, while Jack Rakan just stood in the corner with an odd expression on his face. She was beginning to wander what he was thinking when someone knocked on the door to the room.

Closest to the door, Jack Rakan turned to open it.

In walked the Ku-Jin Mama, with a very displeased look on her face. "NATSUMI!"

Natsumi cringed, but came out of hiding even though Kotaro tried to stand protectively before her. "Yes Mama."

Mama pointed out the door. "You have duty the rest of the night in Section G as punishment for leaving your post. You'll have a two hour break in the morning, then your regular shift. Get going."

Natsumi nodded and quickly left the room. Koujiro stepped forward to protest, but Mama's countenance quickly had him backing down. She then turned to Akira and Ako. "You two have morning duty. Go to bed, NOW. These pretty boys may be your friends, but they haven't paid off your debt yet."

Akira and Ako, bowed, then followed Natsumi out the door. Now Mama turned to Nagi, her expression stern at first, but slowly softening into a smile. "Congratulation on your wins Nagi. For a beginner, you've done well. Let's hope your skill and luck hold up when you get to Ostia." Nagi seemed angry at the way she'd treated his friends, but it took more than that to intimidate her. "You have a visitor in your suite, Mister Springfield. Perhaps it would be best if you'd stop distracting arena employees from their duties and go see what that person wants?" With a slight bow, she turned and left the room.

Haruna closed her sketchbook and looked over at Nagi. "Playtimes over. Now the real work begins."

Everyone left in the room just stared at Haruna. Shocked she was capable of being so serious.

Haruna backed up a step in reaction to the expressions being directed her way. "Wha... what? Did I say something wrong?"

(-)

It was the eyes of the person waiting for him that captured Negi's attention when he entered he and Kotaro's suite. The eyes, and a memory buried so deep in his past it remained fleetingly out of reach. "May... may I help you Ma'am?"

Katrina Adenaur walked over and held out her hand. "Adenaur. Captain Katrina Adenaur of the Estimated Prophet. Now anchored in the river port." Shaking Nagi's hand, she thrilled at finally reestablishing a connection ten years lost.

Negi suddenly realized who the person shaking his hand was when her eyes flicked briefly into a glare as Jack Rakan entered the suite." I... I'm pleased to make your acquaintence as well, Captain."

Katrina tried to ignore Jack Rakan as she bowed briefly at the waist. "Congratulations on wining the Minerva Cup. In recognition of that, and in consideration of the possibility you may wish for time to completely rest, recover, and train in private, please permit me to offer the services of my ship for your trip to Ostia. Estimated Prophet may be slower than a Whaleship, but rest assured, while aboard her, you 'will not' be disturbed."

Negi understood from what the Library Trio had told him that Captain Adenaur was supportive of the Ala Alba for some reason. It worried him that he didn't know why, but if Yue and Nodoka believed she was an ally, then he was willing to do so as well. "Thank you, Captain Adenaur. My only concern regarding that is my three friends who are currently debt-slaves of Chairman Dolnegus. I would prefer not to be separated from them."

Katrina nodded, then walked over to look up at Jack Rakan. "I'm sure someone, skilled in the ways of magic and close combat, could be found to escort your friends to Ostia. Even if he was so mercenary you had to pay him to do so!"

Rakan put a hand behind his neck and laughed nervously. "Heh... Hey Kat! I saw your ship coming up the estuary. How have you been?" As Katrina continued to glare at him, he gave a brief burst of laughter, then turned and bowed to Nagi. "I would be honored to ensure the safe passage of your three lovely friends to Ostia. We can discuss the fee at a later date."

Negi worried what the 'fee' might amount to, considering how much he owed Jack Rakan already, but it seemed to be the best solution. Time away from outside interference meant time to plan and prepare. There could be no way to completely disrupt whatever Fate Averruncus and his allies had planned, but it might still be possible to steal enough of an initiative to get everyone home through the hopefully functional cross-world gate Kazumi Asakura had discovered at Ostia. As far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered now. Stepping forward, he held out his hand to Captain Adenaur. "I accept your offer of assistance. When do we depart?"

Katrina moved to grip Nagi's hand once more. Then turned to look at Haruna Saotome. "Tonight if possible. Tomorrow night at the latest. Just as soon a your friend over there can complete a little drawing job I have for her."

Haruna smelled a challenge in Katrina Adenaur's conspiratorial expression. Always up for such, especially if it meant getting paid, she gave a deep, polite bow of acceptance. "My pen is your's to command, Captain."

(-)

"That way!"

T'fa listened to the whispered instructions of Anya's ermine and turned down a narrow street near the darkened massif of the Granicus City Arenas. Normally busy, even at night, the arenas were all but shut down now, with nearly everyone involved going to Ostia for the Nagi Springfield Cup. Suspecting they'd been followed since Hecates, Chamo was directing everyone towards someone he hoped would help them.

"Fourth door from the end, on the right!"

T'fa rushed down the street to the indicated door as R'th herded Collet and Anya along and watched their backs. Halting in front of a Pactio Merchant's shop, he began knocking as discretely as possible.

Chamo directed Anya to get close, then sent his thoughts through the door. ("Tavi! It's Albert Chamomile! Open up!")

After a few moments, there was a click, and the door swung into the shop. Everyone quickly piled through, with R'th going last, locking the door again as she did so.

Chamo jumped down from Anya's cloak and walked a short distance into the shop. "Tavi! Where are you? I need some help!"

Proceeded by a small waft of cigar smoke, a graying ermine walked out from the darkened back of the Pactio shop. "Albert Chamomile! What are you trying to get me into this time?"

Chamo moved forward, then bowed at the graying ermine's feet. "I've come to petition the Ermine Society's help in getting myself and four companions to Ostia without any unfortunate entanglements."

R. T. Tavi sat back on his haunches, puffing on his cigar and considering the young ermine bowing low before him. "That's the trick these days isn't it? Still, it should be easy enough, but you'll owe more than your account contains, even with those seven provisional Pactios you've made for your Magister."

Chamo, if it were possible, bowed even lower. "I've been trying, but my Magister is a little young..."

Tavi blew out a cloud of smoke and nodded. "Come into the back. There's a transport leaving around midnight I can get you on."

(-)

Higher-ups within his organization had assigned him the excruciatingly dull job of keeping an eye on the Ariadnean ship Estimated Prophet while is was in Granicus City. Watching a ship at anchor was not his idea of fun, especially since it would probably be too late to get a flight to the festival in Ostia once the ship finally left. Expecting it to leave during the daytime, he spent those hours in a park upriver from the ship, fighting boredom and trying not to fall asleep. At night, reasoning the ship wouldn't get far before he could report it, even if it did depart in the darkness, he went to the arena for a nightcap, then home for a good night's rest.

Almost a week went by before he realized he'd not seen anyone come or go from the ship since a few days before Chairman Dolnegus's departure for Ostia. Hearing activity near the Ofuda Mill, he watched as the transport Cyclops moved slowly out into the river, then headed directly for it's companion from Ariadne. Confused and shocked, expecting a collision, he nearly had a stroke when the transport's bow touched the big warship and it simply vanished. As he watched, his jaw slack, the transport halted for a moment to hoist a small boat out of the water. Just as it was about to be swung onto the deck, a strong breeze caught what seemed to be the little craft's sail and unfurled it. Even at this distance, he knew it contained some form of drawing of the ship he was supposed to have been watching.

Illusion Magic. There was no other explanation. If that decoy had been there as long as he suspected, Estimated Prophet could be just about anywhere by now.

Picking up his things, he turned to leave. The leaders for his organization could be pretty ruthless towards those who failed their jobs. Even though it was no guarantee of safety, if the cross-world gates had been open, he would have unhesitatingly gone through and escaped to the normal world. Faced with no other choice, hoping the worst they would do was turn him into an ermine, he went to report his failure.

tsuzuku

(-)

Author's Notes:

Positional Propulsion System.

Small ducted-fan water thrusters installed below a ship's waterline to provide positional assistance in open or close waters, or to help a ship move up against a dock in the absence of a tug.

Ship's Launch.

Any of various types of large open, or half-deck motored boats used for travel between a ship and the shore, or another ship.

Magic World Mail/Postal Service.

Even if normal 'Snail-Mail' exists, with it's potential unreliability due to the rough, wild nature of parts of the Magic World, it is presumed here that if you pay enough, 'Next Day Delivery,' or some reasonable copy of such, is possible.

Dispel Satio.

Erase. According to the AQS translation.

Raikahouken. (Punch.)

Thunder flower punch. A boosted version of what Negi used against Takamichi in c097.

Fulguratio Albicans. (Shock attack.)

Used by Negi against Kotaro in c041. Modified with a secondary effect to throw/launch Kagetaro into the air.

Third attack. Pulsewave attack. (Lance/Punch.)

Used by Negi against Rizo the dragon/beast guy in c219. Possibly related to Negi's Laculatio Fulgoris, or 'Lightning Spears,' also from c219.

Estimated Prophet's decoy and Haruna Saotome.

Using the normal and apron ribbon pens from her Imperium Graphices, Haruna traces the drawing of the Estimated Prophet she made back in c12 and pantograph up-sizes it onto the 'larger canvas' of the emergency sail from one of Estimated Phrophet's launches. The launch is anchored in place physically and magically. The Estimated Prophet moves away quietly in the middle of the night, and after a short delay, the decoy activates, giving the appearance that the ship is still there in the river port.

In this case Katrina Adenaur helps Haruna with the illusion by adding in some of her own magic. With enough ink and a large enough piece of magical paper though, Haruna could possibly draw a golem of the Estimated Prophet, or a dragon, or some other large thing. The restriction comes from lack of abilty to summon and manipulate, and a lack of energy to maintain such a large golem.

Kagetaro and Nagi's fight is here presented as a grudge match arranged through the Granicus City Arenas. Since Negi has already qualified for the Nagi Springfield cup in Ostia, the only way he could have lost his place in that event would have been if he were to be killed fighting Kagetaro...

Ermine Society.

Organization of Ermine-Elves of Cat-Elf lineage dedicated to the preservation of Ermine interests in both the Magic World and the Normal World.

While they do engage in other activities, the two most notable are:

Arranging provisional and permanent Pactio contracts between a mage and their partner or partners. This includes insuring the Ermine Society is paid promptly for such services.

And:

A suspected but never proven alliance between the Ermine Society and the Dragon Clans of Southern Sabrina for the purpose of regulating the price and supply of the high-quality paper and other wood-based products produced from Ofuda trees.

R..

Some of you may recognize the implied name from story written by Rudyard Kipling in 1894, and a short, animated feature that came out in 1975. Though in that case, the critter was a mongoose, and not an ermine.

Chapter Twenty-four: Sevensheep appears.