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.

Regina Karkolova, Hayase Mifune, Hoshu Gijou and Giles Glimmerhorn are creations of kafka'sdragon, and are used with his permission.

Kafka'sdragon and Tikigod784 were VERY instrumental in helping me recover and organize chapters 37 and 38 after a greatly distressing incident. Thanks bunches!

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"Thusly, did night fall on the last day of peace."
-Kazumi Asakura. Author of: "One Million Steps. A Journey to Megalo-Mesembria and the World Beyond."

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

Chapter Thirty-eight: Calm Before the Storm. Part 2.

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"Hey Tosaka! Are you still betting on us to win?"

Stopping in the middle of the hall leading to New Ostia Arena's private meeting rooms, Tosaka turned back to glare at Kojirou Oogami. "Why? Are you going to throw a fight if I am?"

Matching attitude with attitude, Kojirou glared back at Tosaka. "Hey! I was just wondering! No need to get testy about it. I may not like you because of how you've treated the girls, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to win! We are both from Granicus City aft..."

Turning completely around, Tosaka stepped up to Kojirou and put an index finger in the Inu-Jin's face. "YOU'RE NOT FROM GRANICUS CITY! You're a smart mouthed punk who just happened to win the Minerva Cup!" Even as Kojirou started to growl, Tosaka stood his ground. "I don't care if you can beat me to a pulp! You and your 'freedom in a few months' friends have NO IDEA what it really means to be a debt-slave!"

As Negi made ready to stop a possible fight, Tosaka turned and started walking down the hall again.

"When you can say you know what it's like to be a debt slave for over ten years, then you can claim to be from Granicus City."

Unable to answer Tosaka's complaint, Kojirou stomped off after the former debt slave with Nagi close behind.

Eventually stopping before one of the meeting rooms, Tosaka knocked on the door. Receiving no answer, he cautiously looked inside the room. Several covered dishes were sitting in the middle of a table with four place settings, so he stood aside and indicated for Nagi and Kojirou to enter. "The food has been delivered. I'm sure the team from Antigone will be here shortly."

Even though Kojirou ignored him, Nagi bowed politely to thank Tosaka before entering the room.

As Kojirou began lifting the dish covers to see what was inside, Nagi examined the room, looking for anything suspicious. Other than the dinner table, a dark HD viewer on one wall, and inactive privacy wards, there didn't seem to be anything there which might warrant his suspicion.

At the sound of the door opening again, Nagi and Kojirou both turned as a blond To-Jin and her equally blond Hu-Jin companion entered the room.

"Mister Kojirou. Obviously you are not a ladies man, since you forgot the invitation of a lady to come to dinner, thus forcing her to have you hunted down!"

Turning towards Nagi as Kojirou flushed red to the tips of his ears, Aer Kitar held out her hand. "Nagi Springfield, I presume? I've heard a great deal about you."

Nagi gave a nod, then matched Aer's strong grip as they shook hands. "All of it good, I hope!"

Maintaining a firm grip and pleased that it was still being returned, Aer nodded. "A great deal of it is, yes."

As his partner released Nagi's hand, Raiel Taylor made several hand gestures. After a piano-like keyboard made of magical energy appeared before him, he played a short riff, and the room's privacy wards activated.

Suddenly looking much more serious, Aer made a gesture towards the wall. "Mister Springfield. If you wish to do so, you may add your own privacy wards to those we have already set up."

Suddenly wary again, Nagi inclined his head deferentially. "If this conversation will be such that you deem them necessary, I can only believe your preparations are sufficient."

As Nagi and Kojirou closed ranks on one end of the dinning table, Aer moved to stand beside Raiel at the other. "Are you aware, Mister Springfield, of the independent group of Mage-Hunters known as the Stellan Knights?"

Remembering what Chamo had spoken of about T'fa and R'th, Nagi nodded. "They're a group of unaffiliated Magical Knights who make it their business to hunt down any Mage who abuses their powers."

Giving a sigh, Aer nodded. "An oversimplification fostered by myth, propaganda and rumor, but essentially correct."

Clenching his hand, Nagi made sure his wand-ring was securely in place before giving Aer and her partner a challenging look. "And we're discussing this because?"

Flexing her crimson-colored wings, Aer caused several tiny tufts of down to begin floating around the room. "Because my partner and the people we work for are more interested in big fish, than little small-fry."

Seeing Kojirou relax slightly, Negi did so as well. "I see. I should guess then that these little fish might know something useful to you?"

Nodding, Aer crossed her arms and gave Nagi a hopeful look. "If they're willing, then that's what we're hoping."

Stepping forward, Nagi pulled a chair out, then sat down and leaned forward slightly to rest his arms on the dinning table. "What would you like to know?"

Raiel played a few short notes, and the remote for the HD viewer jumped from the table and into Aer's hand. "If you would please..."

Finally sitting down as well, Kojirou watched as Raiel played again, the room's lights dimmed, and the HD viewer came on.

Displayed on the screen was a packed arena, the crowd shouting and cheering as they waited for a prize fighter match to begin. It wasn't immediately obvious where the arena was located, but as soon as both teams stepped out into the arena, Nagi and Kojirou tensed up.

Noticing the reaction, Aer pointed at the viewer. "As you seemed to have realized, this is a record of Team Argyre's matches."

Over the next several minutes, Nagi saw once again why Team Argyre had such a bad reputation. They weren't simply efficient fighters, they were violently brutal. Every single one of their opponents was crushed without mercy. All of them received some form of at least temporarily disabling injury, and several who tried to continue fighting were killed. Even though he'd watched through many of these same fights previously as a means of seeking clues about Team Argyre's fighting style, for the first time it dawned on him who the team's mage was. "Fate..."

Unconsciously, Kojirou began dragging his claws across the surface of the table, leaving deep scratches in the finished wood.

Seeing the reaction of the two boys, Raiel's eyes grew wide. Glancing up at his partner, he received a nod of approval and began playing a seemingly pointless tune on his keyboard.

Placing the viewer on pause, Aer leaned forward on the table next to Raiel. "I take it you recognize something about this mage from Argyre?"

Reacting to a phantom pain in his right shoulder, Nagi reached up to try and rub away something he knew wasn't really there. "We... we have encountered him before... Even though none of those videos clearly show his face, there's no mistaking how he fights..."

A sparkling ball of magic energy began to form over the table. Stepping back, Aer waited until the energy solidified into a slowly rotating bust of a cloaked mage. "This person is exceptionally capable when it comes to preventing the capture of any image of his face. The only reason we managed to get this much is by using sound magic, and even that was blocked almost instantly."

Even though all that was visible was the lower part of the mage's face, there was enough there for Nagi to recognize. "Yes. We know him."

With a discordant note from Raiel, and a sigh from Aer, the image vanished. "Because of various evidence we have, this person is suspected to be associated with more militant elements of the Separatist movement. He is also a person of interest, along with two of the so-called gate-port terrorists, in the assassination of the Magistrate of Tengboche." Seeing Nagi and Kojirou giving her questioning looks, Aer shook her head. "Unfortunately, there isn't any evidence acceptable enough to justify his arrest. As I said; this person is very careful."

As unfamiliar as he was with the legalities of such things, Nagi knew enough to realize that without some extenuating circumstance; even Kazumi Asakura and Chachamaru's evidence would still be suspect.

Seeing Nagi and Kojirou had reached the point they probably wouldn't be willing to reveal anything else, Aer activated the HD viewer again. "There's also one other thing you might be able to help with, as fellow prize-fighters, that is."

Looking back up at the screen, Nagi and Kojirou watched as the series of matches Team Argyre had fought in New Ostia began to play on the screen.

To Nagi, the fights seemed like more of the same, but across the table, Kojirou suddenly stood up. "What's wrong? Did you see something?"

Hissing for Nagi to be quiet, Kojirou pointed up at the screen. "Play that again!"

Team Argyre's battle on day three played through once more, then after a short pause, the battle on day five began.

"NEGI! WATCH WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT KNIGHT GUY HITS FATE'S PARTNER WITH HIS SWORD!"

Raising an eyebrow at Kojirou's slip, Aer gave Raeil a glance, but remained silent as their two companions focused intently on the HD viewer.

Even though his defenses did react, and he did seem to waver slightly, Fate's partner suffered no damage from the Knight's black-steel blade. Before he could recover, the man was impaled by stone spears which lanced up from the ground, and his companion smothered by the arena's sand.

Without being asked, Aer reversed the recording and played it again at a slower speed.

Recognition dawning in his eyes, Nagi turned to face Kojirou. "It's like what happened when Kaede faced off against Al..."

Anger instantly clouding his face, Kojirou turned from Nagi to Aer while pointing at the viewer. "That's a fake! A Shikigami or some other kind of illusion! What hasn't anyone called them on that!"

Her own eyes growing wide, Aer turned to look at the viewer as she played the scene again. Everything looked normal to her, so the only explanation had to be Nagi and Kojirou had seen what was going on before. "They've passed all the tests prize-fighters are required to take. If it is a fake, it's a very good one." Finally shutting off the viewer, she set the remote down. "Is there any way to deal with it?"

With a frightening look of anticipation on his face, Kojirou nodded. "I've been training against someone who first taught me to recognize that. I've never actually succeeded in defeating it, but then; I've never tried to do so using everything I've got either!"

Raising an eyebrow, Aer gave Kojirou an amused look. "Well, If Team Antigone has anything to say about it, you still won't get the chance!"

Suddenly confused, both Nagi and Kojirou gave the grinning pair at the other end of the table silly looks.

Matching Kojirou's expression from a moment ago, Aer flexed her wings again and allowed them to spread out until they crossed the room and touched both walls. "You fight Team Tristan first. Team Antigone fights Team Argyre first." As Nagi and Kojirou's expressions fell again, Aer crossed her arms. "So, are you going to tell us how to beat that illusion or not?"

(-)

Still concerned about Kaede Nagase, Setsuna Sakurazaki bent her instructions from Professor Springfield and went out with Ku Fei to watch for the Kouga Ninja from the old ground port. Using a pair of binoculars borrowed from Captain Clark, she took turns with Ku scanning the mist covered ruins of Old Ostia for any sign of their friend. Other than odd flashes of light that could just as easily be some stray manifestation of the visible energy pouring into the gate port, there had been nothing she might have used as an excuse to go back into the valley. "I hope Kaede's all right. Though, if that demon Mage hasn't come after us, that must at least mean he's still chasing her."

Taking the Ziess glasses from Setsuna, Ku held them without looking out over the valley. "What about small ship we see fly into valley last night? You think maybe that is enemy?"

Since the Manta-ship they'd caught a brief glimpse of the previous night contained a Ki-aura Setsuna recognized, it was easy enough to answer in the affirmative. "Tsukuyomi was on that ship... and something else... I don't doubt we're going to have quite the interesting day tomorrow."

Thinking about everything she'd done together with Kaede in and around Tengboche, Ku continued to hold the binoculars against her chest while staring at the ground. "I no like leaving Kaede... I feel like I abandon her..."

Not sure what to say, Setsuna could only watch silently as Ku finally began to examine the valley with the binoculars.

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Pulling a single, brass colored rifle cartridge from its storage box, Mana Tatsumiya carefully and closely examined it for any flaws. Finding none, she placed it with a group of other such cartridges before drawing the next from the box. A tiny dent, smaller than most anyone else would probably notice, caused that cartridge to be instantly placed with a small group of similar rejects.

Finishing her task, Mana returned the rejected cartridges to their box, then began placing those she found acceptable in storage she trusted to protect them from any damage. Sensing the approach of her Principle, she quickly policed her work area, then stood just as Doyen Cordoba Ricardo, President of the Megalo-Mesembrian Diplomatic Corps, opened the door and walked into the outer room of his suite in the Megalo-Mesembria Embassy. Though he controlled himself with the poise of any good politician, Mana could tell by subtle hints from his posture that the man was upset. "Bad news, Sir?"

Going over to the suite's wet-bar, Richardo tossed several ice-cubes into a tumbler before filling the remainder with mineral water. After swirling the glass and listening to the carbonated liquid fizz softly for a moment, he finally turned to face Mana. "Beyond the oddly coincidental indisposition of much of the embassy's security force, I've just been informed that the Ariadne Valkyrie Brigade has been withdrawn from providing event security. I can't get any kind of clear answer from their representative, but it seems, from rumors I've heard, that it has something to do with several cadets who've gone missing."

Eyes narrowing, Mana glanced out through the room's window towards where she could see the Ariadnean ship Argonauta floating in the distance. "I don't like that. It seems like a convenient excuse was used to remove an independent security force from the playing field. Without the Valkyries providing mediation everyone trusts to be fair, any street conflict that starts between people from the two empires could easily get out of hand."

Nodding in agreement, Richardo downed his drink. Noticing the small box sitting on the table next to Mana, he pointed at it with a finger on the hand holding his tumbler. "What's that?"

Unhesitatingly, Mana removed one of the rejected rounds from the box and handed it to Richardo. "Just some special spell-shots that might come in handy, should something unexpected happen."

Taking the cartridge in his off-hand and holding it up to examine, Richardo could see the tiny engraved runes on the bullet marking it as a tracing spell. Wondering what she might need such a thing for, he gave the quiet Mana a curious look, then returned the cartridge with a light toss. "If it were Jack showing me that, I'd be worried. Just let me know if it ever becomes something I should be concerned about."

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Sitting in her private quarters, Sub-Lieutenant Hatsune Miku of the Northern Alliance Navy carefully reviewed the daily communication logs of the Megalo-Mesembrian Navy flagship Svanhvit. Two days ago, Admiral Villeneuve had become visibly upset over a ship going out to Old Ostia, yet last night, he had been dismissive of another doing the same thing. The man's inconsistent behavior bothered her, so she had decided a rote task like reviewing the ship's communications logs would be just the thing to ease her mind.

Unfortunately, after several hours before the message system monitor in her cabin, the desired relaxation failed to materialize. As the assistant to the chief communications officer on the Svanhvit, she should have been aware of any messages intended for the admiral's eyes which came to the ship. There were two messages, seemingly routine supply reports, which had gone directly to the admiral's cabin without first passing through her hands. Even if they were coded for the admiral's eyes only, which they seemed to be, she should have known about them before now. That she had not was troublesome in the extreme.

Leaning back in the desk chair, she unconsciously reached up to twirl her hair while considering what to do. The faint sound of something passing through the air reached her ears and she and suddenly found the hand pinned against her throat. Pulled from the chair, she was thrown down hard on the floor, forcing the air from her lungs. Already feeling light-headed from the shock of being attacked, she flailed at the assailant with her free hand until it closed around something giving. She squeezed, hard. The pressure on her throat eased, accompanied by a grunt, providing time for a single desperate breath and the casting of a short spell.

"Alacritas!"

No sooner was the word out, than whatever was being used to strangle her tightened down again. This time though, she could fight back. Coming to life, her long green hair sought out and wrapped itself around the attacker's neck. Vision narrowing, with just the single breath's respite, it became a contest to see who could last longer, her, or the attacker.

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Away from the disapproving gaze of her vizier and other kill-joy servants and ladies in waiting, there was one activity Theodora Hellas enjoyed as a way to pass the time when she wanted to relax. Requiring a deft, delicate touch, it gave her a sense of personal satisfaction equal to few other things.

At the sound of a door opening, Theodora's expression went from deep concentration to guilt until a tall, cloaked figure walked into the office area of her private suite in the Hellas Empire's Embassy. Recognizing who the person was before he even lowered his cloak's hood, she instantly relaxed. "So, what have you found out Taka?"

Calmly walking over to where the Third Princess of the Hellas Empire sat, Takamichi Takahata leaned over Theodora's shoulder as she turned back to her work. Covering a small part of the desk was a collection of tools, precious metal wire, polished stones, and jewels. Working with a small pointed pair of pliers, his principle was carefully using gold colored wire to form the frame of what would eventually become a ring. "Those twins of yours will be okay. The embassy mage healer was able to stabilize their condition. The Mastiff is okay as well. He'll be back to work in the morning."

Setting everything down, Theodora reached up to rub at the bridge of her nose. "Does he have any idea what happened to them?"

Wishing he knew something other than supposition, Takahata shook his head. "He thought it might be some kind of food poisoning, but he hasn't found any evidence of such."

Glancing up at Takamichi, Theodora could see from the worried look on his face that he wasn't very happy. "Anything else?"

Trying not to let worry show too heavily on his face, Takamichi allowed himself to look directly at Theodora. "Ambassador Garahau reported the situation to Admiral Sidonia on the Sphyrna. The Admiral is prepared to send fleet personnel to act as close bodyguards if you would like to request them."

Her expression suddenly becoming indignant, Theodora pushed back her chair and stood up. "Are you saying your presence is not sufficient to ensure my safety? Exhausted and pounded within an inch of your life, I'd still trust you to protect me more than some fleet dress-soldier I've never met before!"

Surprised by Theodora's anger, Takamichi took a step back before bowing slightly at the waist. "You honor me more than I deserve, Princess Theodora."

Immensely satisfied, Theodora turned and sat back down at her desk. "If you would please, bring over another chair so you can sit next to me. I'd like your opinion on some of the things I'm working on."

Watching as Theodora picked up her tools and resumed working, Takamichi marveled at the ability she had to so easily change focus. Shaking his head, he moved to fulfill the politely phrased order.

(-)

Of the entirety of New Ostia, the city which gave the floating island its name occupied barely one-quarter of the available surface area. The rest was covered by smaller villages, Pinhe lake and its related streams, some arable land, or extensive, exposed tracts of the basaltic stone which made up the island's foundation.

Far from the city of New Ostia, the Guardian Dragon of the capitol of the Hellas Empire lay in the middle of one of those open areas of stone. Nothing was expected to occur on this trip, at least according to his handlers, so he was sunning himself and trying to doze.

Occasionally, inhabitants of the Hellas Empire, or citizens of the Northern Alliance would come by, drawn by curiosity to take a closer look at the 'Great Sacred Beast of the Hellas Empire.' Such visitors were completely harmless, and thus easy to ignore. As the sun began to set on the next to last day of the War's End Celebration, another visitor appeared, one that most certainly could NOT be ignored.

Seemingly unafraid, a small, female black dragon sauntered up to within easy reach of his muzzle. She stretched and shook herself several times, then lay down and curled up in one of the last patches of fading sunlight.

On the Sphyrna, flagship of the Hellas Empire's fleet at New Ostia, the Guardian Dragon's handlers noticed a sudden state of increases alertness in their charge. Before any of them could think to make a closer examination of the area for whatever had piqued his interest, he relaxed again and lowered his head.

Seeing no reason to worry any further, the Guardian Dragon's handlers returned to their card game.

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With Fate's Elemental Mage watching over Princess Enteofushia, and King Enteofushia and his servants working on preparations for sealing the gate port, Tsukuyomi was left to pass the time according to her own whims. Partly from curiosity, partly with a mind to the security of her employer's plans, she began to survey the ruined temple.

Pacing the perimeter of the gate port chamber, she passed the half-way point from the room's entrance and soon came across a pile of fallen masonry. Up above, she could see that a large section of the roof had collapsed. A closer examination of the rubble itself revealed that a rough-edged hole had been knocked in the wall. Ducking down, she made her way through the impromptu passage and found herself in the corridor which circled the perimeter of the gate-port chamber itself.

Further along, she came across a second collapsed portion of the building's roof. This time the falling debris had partially damaged a staircase and smashed through the floor. Cautiously peering into the abyss, she could see another damaged room below, and beyond that, the remains of all the collapsed structure partly filling some kind of tunnel.

Smiling, Tsukuyomi turned back towards the stairs and began to climb. Reaching the roof and carefully avoiding a dangerously large hole, she made her way over to the side of the building. In the distance, despite the deepening darkness, she could just make out a cleft in the valley wall marking the location of Old Ostia's ground port. "Setsuna Sempai... I know you're out there... I can feel you!" Shivering with excitement, she gripped both shoulders tightly as the intensity of her anticipation threatened to become overwhelming. "Don't you DARE disappoint me!" The feeling finally passed, so with a sigh of regret, she turned to make her way back inside the temple.

(-)

"Master Fate? Are you there?"

With the shadows of the deepening evening giving way to the shroud of night, Shirabe Shidou entered the room of Fate Averruncus in the Argyre Legation at New Ostia. Making her way towards the room's balcony, she finally found her Magister, asleep in a chair.

Anyone else, even another of Fate's Ministra, would never have dared to risk covering him in a blanket, fearing some form of self-defensive reaction. Shirabe did so, knowing she was not just 'anyone else.' Of all Fate's Ministra, she had been with him the longest, knew him best, and understood that the emotion fear, more than anything else, would be what would cause him to strike out.

After loosing her sight as a young child, Shirabe had been rejected by her own parents, and even her own people, for the perceived weakness of that disability. Barely able to 'see' thanks to the use of self-trained sound magic, she managed to eke out simple survival as an amateur musician by wandering between the many small villages dotting the mountains crossing the center of the Hellas Empire. When Fate Averruncus found her, she had been riding out a bad storm in an abandoned building along one of her normal paths through the mountains. Saying he had been watching her, and was impressed with what she'd managed to accomplished on her own, he had offered the skinny, barely kempt girl she once was the chance to be so much more.

Two years of hard work under Fate's guidance lead her to a small village in the Welsh mountains of the Normal World. Using what he had taught her, she spent several weeks there, disguised a blind human musician, slowly weaving a spell which allies of her Master would later use to their own ends. As a reward for success, in what was essentially a graduation exam, Master Fate had made her the first of his Ministra.

Later, Shirabe had followed her new Magister to the city of Phoenix. There the two of them had pulled a badly beaten street urchin named Homura King out of a brawl in the back-alleys near the city's port facilities. With flame-colored hair matching her perpetually angry personality, Homura became Fate's second Ministra. Aggressiveness combined with soon to be developed abilities as a pyromancer eventually made her indispensable when harsh independent action was required. Unfortunately, the same experiences which had toughened her on the streets of Phoenix made it difficult for Homura to work with Shirabe or any of the other three girls who would also become Fate's Ministra. She would not trust, she was always looking for personal advantage, even over her own teammates, and that would occasionally cause problems.

Koyomi Carenda and Tamaki Ryushin followed the moody, distrustful Homura as Master Fate's next Ministra. Both had been slaves, and the purchase of their contracts from a notorious brothel owner in Albor had given them reprieve from a decidedly unsavory end.

Last to become one of Master Fate's Ministra had been Shiori Hohoemu. Timid as she was, the Eru-Jin girl had proven tremendously useful in the area of information manipulation, acquisition, and protection.

Together, the five of them trained under Fate's tutelage until they were proficient in the creation and use of area-effect spells. As Damashi, their popularity had grown to the point a request to be permitted to perform at the Twentieth War's End Celebration had been approved without question.

With a greatly expanded version of what Shirabe had done in Wales now in play, all that was left was to await Master Fate's completion of the final act on day seven of the celebration.

"Shirabe..."

Turning back from where she had been about the leave the room, Shirabe bowed her head slightly. "Yes, Master Fate?"

Without removing the blanket, Fate glanced back at his first Ministra. "Does everyone understand what's going to happen tomorrow?"

Without hesitation, Shirabe nodded. "Yes, Master Fate." Despite the conviction in her answer, Shirabe worried that Homura had to be used to protect Shiori while the Eru-Jin monitored the MahoNet. The pyromancer considered the young girl weak, and resented the fact she stood in better favor with their mutual Magister. "Everyone knows their duty."

Obviously tired, Fate turned and leaned back against the chair again. "Has there been any movement by Springfield, or his people in the old ground port?"

Even though he was no longer looking at her, Shirabe shook her head. "Tsukuyomi and your Elemental Mage report no movement near Old Ostia, though it seems the Demon Mage is still fighting one of Springfield's students in the ruins. Springfield himself has been going around visiting his various students, but that is all."

A slight nod was Fate's only immediate response. To almost anyone else it would have appeared he had gone back to sleep, but Shirabe could tell he was just thinking.

Several moments of silence followed, until Fate lifted the blanket aside and stood up. "I can't imagine Springfield is going to stand by and do nothing. At the least, he will send his Ministra to the gate port to attempt to recover the Princess." Walking out onto the balcony, he clasped both hands behind his back while facing towards the brightly illuminated arena. "Helu'man."

After the brief flash of a teleportation spell, Shirabe recognized the strongly built form of Wilhelm Joseph von Herrmann's replacement. In an instant, the young Count-class demon knelt before Fate's back.

"What is your bidding, my Master?"

As Fate turned, Shirabe felt her heart quicken when the wash of sounds coming from the arena framed her perception of his form like a halo.

"Go out to Old Ostia and the gate port. Stay hidden. I want you to watch for Negi Springfield's Onmyouji Ministra Konoka Konoe. Her potential is too great to ignore, so if you have the opportunity to do so, kill her."

A sudden intake of breath made it obvious to Shirabe that the demon was pleased by the prospect of the strong blood to be had from such potential prey.

"Yes! Master Fate!" Raising his head, Helu'man looked directly up at Fate. "If the Konoe Heiress is there, the Shinmei-Ryu Sakurazaki will be as well. What should I do if Tsukuyomi's obsession with her contemporary interferes with my mission?"

As he turned to face the arena once more, Shirabe could sense her Magister clenching and unclenching his hands while he considered the question.

"Are not the Shinmei-Ryu the enemies of your kind? Tsukuyomi's true loyalty has always been her own. If she interferes, you may deal with her as you see fit."

With thoughts of the potential feast to be had filling his mind, Helu'man bowed once more before vanishing in a flash.

Stepping forward, Shirabe moved to stand beside her Magister. "Are you sure that's wise, Master Fate?"

Glancing up, Fate could see the look of concern on his companion's face. "Tsukuyomi will have to take responsibility for her own actions. If she allows personal obsessions to interfere with her duty, I cannot be held responsible for what happens. In any case, I expect Helu'man will succeed, but will be destroyed by Sakurazaki afterwards." Facing the arena once more, he gave a small shrug. "If he manages to eliminate both the Konoe girl AND her guardian, then he will have proven himself more useful than the disloyal Wilhelm."

Nodding, Shirabe remained otherwise silent, content to be at Fate's side as he looked out across the balcony at the soon to be permanently extinguished lights of night-time New Ostia.

(-)

"There's no chance Master Fate's plans will fail, so why are you even bothering with this!"

Sitting in the control seat of her Sprite Management System, Shiori Hohoemu looked up from adjusting system settings and into the scowling face of her 'guardian.' "Because there is a chance, however small, that Springfield's MahoNet Ministra might discover something in time to affect Master Fate's plans. If I do as you say and leave well-enough alone, will you take responsibility for anything that happens?"

Glaring at Shiori, Homura King raged in her mind at whatever logic had prompted Master Fate and that fawning Shirabe to assign someone with her abilities to baby-sit the temple mouse of an Eru-Jin sitting before her. If anything, those former brothel slaves Koyomi and Tamaki should be doing this job; she should be out eliminating Springfield's Ministra. ("Well, whatever! If Shiori isn't ready when Master Fate says it's time to go, maybe I'll just leave her behind!") "Fine then! Do as you please!"

Trying to control her shaking as Homura stalked off, Shiori wished Shirabe had assigned someone else to keep her safe. She understood the idea was to toughen her up while trying to get the irascible Homura to learn better cooperation, but that didn't make working with the pyromancer any more pleasant. Shaking her head, she activated the Sprite control spell and dived into the MahoNet.

Even knowing Chisame Hasegawa had been active over the last several days, Shiori was still surprised by what she saw when the Virtual Perception Image of her Sprite Management System stabilized. Instead of the high battlement of a Wizard's castle, she found herself in what appeared to be the bridge of some kind of warship. Further examination revealed the bridge was not that of a Whaleship, as she expected, but that of an immense metal warship, bristling with huge turreted weapons similar to those of the vessel possessed by Ariadne, but on a much larger scale. All around her, floating on a calm sea, were many other such warships, each labeled with a holographic tag designating which of her attack and defense programs types or Sprite Regiment carriers they represented.

Several tense moments followed until it became obvious to Shiori altering the Virtual Perception Image would be impossible. Chisame had made changes to the Ostia server, then protected those modifications and her own Sprite control system so heavily overwhelming the defenses directly would require expending more effort than doing so was worth.

Calmly examining a virtual map of the Magic World, Shiori traced the various data paths leading out of New Ostia. In one direction were Elfenholt and Al Jamira. Nothing in those cities or beyond held anything that could possible is of use to her rival, so she dismissed them at once. Along the paths in the other direction were Nyandom, Vulcan, Tristan and Orestes. The second two opened up towards the continent of the Noctis Labyrinthis, but also provided indirect access towards where the first two lead.

Argyre.

If Chisame Hasegawa was as good as her actions indicated, she would have discovered by now just how important that city was to the Separatists, as well as to Kosmo Entelecheia. If she could break into the servers there, the information she might recover could certainly prove the Ala Alba's innocence, but could also cause tremendous grief for Master Fate's employers.

That Master Fate would succeed, Shiori did not doubt. That someone else had designed the server defenses in Argyre did not relive her from responsibility for defending them.

Even with those two things in mind, Shiori knew she would have gone after Chisame. Her pride was at stake, and she wanted to fight the girl who had managed to take her system down once before.

Calling up her keyboard, she began typing rapidly, assigning her various programs to the paths they would take to Argyre, as well as giving them their primary and secondary tasks upon encountering opposition.

As the various vessels began to sail off towards their destinations, Shiori realized Chisame's dominance of the Virtual Perception Image had produced an annoying, though perhaps intentional, side-effect. 'Sailing' was quite close to the truth. Maintaining the perception image required so much processing power the movement of everything was slowed down. Instead of being able to transfer nearly instantly to the servers in Argyre, it was actually going to take HOURS to get there.

Finally reaching Tristan with her strongest group of programs, the frustration Shiori felt over the long travel time caused her to miss an indicator warning of the presence of an unallied stealth program. By the time she realized there was any danger, a quartet of white streaks in the water had crossed the bow of her ship, and were heading like arrows towards one of her firewall cracker programs. When the white streaks touched the ship, there were four explosions, punctuated by huge columns of water which rose out of the virtual sea. The ship representing the firewall cracker program started to roll onto its side, then blew up, leaving nothing behind but an oily black column of smoke.

Dumbfounded momentarily by the sudden loss of one of her better programs, Shiori shook herself back to reality and began directing all those which remained to increase the strength of their defenses. As automatic defense programs began working to chase down the source of the attack, information began coming to the control station telling her what had happened. A stealth program had managed to attack and infect the code of one of her firewall crackers with multiple viruses. Before the real fight had even begun, Chisame had managed to deprive her of an important program!

Well then; no more of that silliness. Leaving just enough defense programs to keep the intruder occupied, Shiori took everything else and continued on her path towards Eos, and eventually Argyre.

(-)

Sometimes being the Councilor for Internal Affairs was like carrying an anvil while trying to swim across a raging river. Even though her luggage had already been sent to the Whaleship port, business of the Mage Council's Internal Affairs Committee was preventing Regina Karkolova from leaving for the flight to New Ostia until almost literally the last possible minute. Of all the other members of the council, most had departed either before the start of the War's End Celebration, or soon after. There was some small satisfaction though, she wasn't the only sufferer.

Hayase Mifune of External Affairs had also been delayed, as well as the Director of Capitol Security, Kurosawa Ran. In his case though, Councilor Ran had shown a decided lack of interest in going to New Ostia for the conclusion of the War's End Celebration. No wonder, the poor man had been a wreck lately. Almost five years had passed since the disappearance of the man's only remaining son, and he didn't look to be taking the approaching anniversary very well at all...

Just as she was about to shut down her office computer system, the mouse icon on the desktop raised its paw, preceding the appearance of a word balloon.

("Two secure messages Councilor Karkolova!")

Sitting back down at her desk, Regina quickly typed in for Negi to display the messages.

The first message was an anticipated, if long delayed report from New Ostia. Unfortunately, the further along Regina read, the less happy she became.

Calizone Bagera,
New Ostia

Councilor Karkolova,
Megalo-Mesembria

Based on my first hand observations and Giles Glimmerhorn's basic calculations, I have concluded that the critical threshold of Mana concentration will be reached within days.

Azrael's Sword IS going to happen. Nothing can stop it now. All that remains to be seen is how must destruction will be left in its wake.

Unfortunately, the destruction may be total.

Agents of Kosmo Entelecheia have acquired a young girl by the name of Asuna Kagurazaka. While that name may not be familiar to you, I'm sure her real name will.

Asuna Vesperina Teotanasia Enteofushia.

Kosmo Entelecheia has acquired The Imperial Princess of the Twilight.

Councilor Karkolova, though the Life Giver itself is within Kosmo Entelecheia's grasp, I feel all is not lost. I have met a young man here in New Ostia; Negi Springfield, son of the Thousand Master.

Even as you read this, he prepares to go forth to save his friend, Asuna Kagurazaka.

Not to save the world, or to challenge Kosmo Entelecheia for itself, but simply to save a student from his class.

A selfish act, one might claim. Perhaps. I prefer to think of it as a sign of young Negi's maturity and sense of loyalty. Simply friendship, though it is between a teacher and his student, may be that through which all other success flows.

No matter what else may happen, I am glad I met Negi Springfield.

He inspires hope in me when all seems lost.

Good luck,
Calizone Bagera

The second message had no information tag lines, and only four words.

'Stay in your office.'

As problematic as the implications of the first message were, the second message was decidedly ominous. ("What is this Negi? Who is it from?")

Responding to Regina's typed message, Negi began to fidget. ("Councilor... it is a message from Konnya. One of my Mistress's other Sprite Mice. The thing is... since all the other Mage Councilor's are gone, and I know he is not with Councilor Mifune... it would seem Konnya is with Councilor Ran...")

That made Regina raise an eyebrow, as well as greatly increasing her anxiety. "GIJOU!"

The Kit-Jin bodyguard was through the door instantly. So quickly in fact it was obvious he was coming to see her before she even called out. "Ma'am! A unit of Praetorians has landed outside the building!"

An instinctive reaction to that news had to be ruthlessly suppressed. ('They'll never get me without a fight!') Made for great pulp-fiction, but Regina knew such things almost always ended badly in reality. Oddly enough, a movie she'd seen in the Normal World; 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' came to mind as an example of how such sentiments usually played out. ("There's also that message from Konnya...") A glance at the darkened monitor told her Negi had shut down the computer, but the screen of a small planner she kept to record notes on for council meetings was now glowing, indicating it had been recently accessed.

Gathering the device up, along with a few other personal items scattered about the office, she moved to stand in front of her desk, then leaned back against it to wait.

Gijou was fit to be tied, but he dutifully took his place at her side.

Moments later, the Praetorian Officer who had been humiliated by Takamichi Takahata at the gate port entered the office. Bowing, he ignored Gijou and focused his attention on Regina. "Councilor Regina Karkolova of Internal Affairs, I have been asked to request you accompany me."

Managing to conceal her surprise at the man's polite words, Regina stood up. "And if I refuse?"

Shuffling nervously while trying to remain dignified, the man bowed even lower. "Please Ma'am. I was only told to escort both you and Chairman of External Affairs Mifune to a certain location for your own protection. The reasons for doing so were not explained."

Gijou started to make a move, but Regina reached out to catch his arm in a painful grip. "Am I being arrested?"

Shaking his head, the officer straightened up. "No Ma'am. I am only here as an escort."

Releasing Gijou's arm, Regina began walking towards the exit. "Then let us proceed."

(-)

Exiting the Mage Council Office Complex, Regina found Hayase Mifune and his bodyguard already waiting in a Militarized Orca transport. Leaning in through the door, she gave the dour man a grim smile. "I suppose the two of us are about to be 'escorted' either to our deaths, or to something completely unexpected."

Clearly upset by the current state of affairs, Mifune glared at Regina. "I trust you mean the former in jest, but I'm not so sure we'll end up appreciating the later very much either."

Settling herself into the Transport next to Mifune, Regina watched as Gijou placed himself across from her, next to the External Affairs Chairman's bodyguard. The transport's door closed, and they were off, escorted by the accompanying unit of Praetorians.

Crossing Megalo-Mesembria Bay, they passed over the heavily illuminated Whaleship port. Below them, the Whaleship that was to have been their ride to New Ostia was clearly visible.

Landing at the Praetorian Barracks, they were immediately escorted into the unit's armory. Armorers were waiting, and immediately began fitting both Councilors and bodyguards out as Praetorians.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Bowing towards Mifune, the officer shook his head. "I only know what I have been instructed to do, not why, Councilor."

With her fitting out completed first, Regina moved closer to the door just as the thrumming sound of what should have been their transport to New Ostia became audible. Watching through the vision slit in her helmet as the Whaleship rose and moved out over the bay, she saw a bright flash near its tail. Seconds later came a rumble which rattled the armory's windows. The ship began a slow roll, and as a few who could fly jumped from the upper-decks, it crashed nose-first and upside down into the bay. The only thing more shocking than the crash itself, was the Praetorian officer's expression as he pushed by her and went outside. What she saw indicated the man hadn't known the apparent bombing was going to happen, but that something else suddenly made sense to him.

"De... DECURION!"

A Praetorian with the markings of a small unit commander was immediately at the officer's side. Glancing first at his now armored charges, the officer pointed at the burning Whaleship. "Co... Councilor's Karkolova and Mifune were supposed to be on that ship! Take these four and go ensure the safety of Councilor Ran! I'm calling out the remainder of the unit to assist in rescue and recovery!"

After a smart salute, the Decurion indicated for Regina and everyone else to follow.

As she mounted the Praetorian Armor's riding staff and followed the Decurion towards Councilor Ran's Villa, Regina glanced back at the smoking remains of the sinking Whaleship as memories of a war thought long past came to the fore... ("So, it begins again...")

tsuzuku.

(-)

Author's Notes:

"Alacritas!": "Animate!" Used to allow magical manipulation of any long, light-weight object. In this case, Lt. Hatsune's hair.

Hatsune Miku's name is borrowed from the singing synthesizer application software 'Vocaloid,' by the Yamaha Corporation, and is owned by them, not me.

Sphyrna: Considering the shape of the Hellas fleet flagship, one of the genus identifications for sharks seemed an appropriate name.

Shirabe Shidou: As a point of detail; Presume Fate found Shirabe when she was ten years old, and that by the time of Negima, she is eighteen.

Calizone Bagera's message to Regina Karkolova was transmitted by Kinncha to Negi.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Staring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, the movie is about a pair of bank robbers in the American Old West. In the end, Butch and Sundance rush out of a building and are gunned down by the Bolivian Army in a hail of bullets.

Decurion: (Roman.) Officer and leader of a unit of cavalry consisting of ten men.

Okay. Time for a bit of an explanation. I suffered a computer crash, and foolish me, I hadn't backed up recently, so I lost all my work on chapter thirty-seven. Fortunately I was able to recover most of it from spiral notebook notes, and a few e-mails I'd sent to my editors for opinions on different scenes.

That is my excuse/reason for the delay when I promised a chapter in the middle of June.

Chapter thirty-eight came out so quickly because it was originally part of chapter thirty-seven. I split the growing monster, (14 - 16,000 words) in two because of its size, and because the tone of what became chapter thirty-eight is slightly different than its predecessor.

As I missed it at the end of the chapters for day five, her are the tournament results:

Team Antigone defeats Team Ariadne to advance.
Team Argyre defeats Team Elfenholt to advance, and will face team Antigone.

Team Granicus defeats Team Cruitamunes to advance.
Team Tristan defeats Team Megalo-Mesembria to advance, and will face Team Granicus.

The winners of those two matches will face each other in the finale at noon on day seven.

At long last, night falls on Day Six of the War's End Celebration in New Ostia...

Chapter 39: Six Armées dans Nouvelle Ostia.