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 and Esmerelda Tir'selion are creations of kafka'sdragon, and are used with his permission.

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"Everyone was celebrating the end of a war twenty years past. A new 'King of the Gladiators' was also about to be crowned... Little did they know the Fouth Battle of Ostia was already raging all around them."
-Theodora Hellas. From an interview with Cycilia Sevensheep.

(-)

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

Chapter Thirty-nine: Six Armées dans Nouvelle Ostia. (Day seven.) Six Armies in New Ostia.

(-)

(Megalo-Mesembria.)

Far from the city lights of Megalo-Mesembria, the Villa of the Councilor for Capital Security sat alone near the darkened expanse of the Praetorian unit's practice and training grounds.

Continuing in the wake of her Praetorian guide, Regina Karkolova made a circuit of the villa as the officer checked for obvious threats, then followed the man down to step off her riding staff and onto the villa's paved landing field.

Waiting for them there was a regal-looking mauve-haired female debt-slave dressed in a simple black mourning kimono. Stepping forward, she handed the officer a small folded card. "My Master directs me to inform you that these four will be sufficient security to ensure his safety. You may return to the city barracks. Should you wish to confirm this, that card contains those orders, as recorded by my Master."

Giving the four still helmeted Praetorians with him a confused look, the officer nodded and accepted the card. "No, that will be fine." After a short pause, he simply shook his head. "Please let Councilor Ran know that should he feel the need for additional protection, the Praetorians will respond with all due dispatch."

A deep bow was the woman's only response. When the officer had remounted and departed back towards Megalo-Mesembria, she straightened up and turned directly to face Regina and Hayase Mifune. "Councilors, if you would please. My Master is in mourning on this anniversary of his son's disappearance, and is standing vigil in his memorial garden. If you would follow me please?"

Raising his visor, Mifune watched after the debt-slave as her long pony-tail swayed slightly in response to her dainty steps. Leaning over slightly, he spared Regina a serious glance as she raised her helmet's visor. "I was still worried the first part of your jest might come true. Since we weren't escorted here by an entire unit of Praetorians, I expect the latter part will be true, and I'm still not happy about it."

Reaching up, Regina removed her helmet, returning Mifune's look as he and their bodyguards did the same. "I hope you're up on your magic practice, because I get the feeling were going to need such things before this day is done."

Without waiting for an answer, Regina stepped off in the debt-slave's wake.

Leading her four followers along a meandering, river stone-paved path, the debt-slave slowly rounded the main house until a smaller compound became visible in the faint starlight. constructed of wood-and paper in the manner of a Japanese Teahouse, the compound surrounded a rock garden, the centerpiece of which was the hyper-realistic statue of Ran's missing son Ryu. Halting before an open set of doors, she indicated for Regina and Mifune to proceed, then held out a hand when the two bodyguards tried to follow. "Please forgive me, but this is to be Mage Council business. My master asks that the two of you wait outside."

After a nervous pause and an indication to do so from their principles, the two bodyguards stood down. Regina and Mifune continued through the open doors, then out onto a small path leading through the rock garden to where the frail looking Councilor Ran knelt in an attitude of prayer before the statue of his son.

Eyes closed tight, wringing his tightly clasped hands so hard the knuckles cracked, Councilor Ran remained kneeling for a significant time, Regina and Mifune waiting patiently at his back, before he finally seemed to reach some decision. Looking up at his son's form, he stared at the frozen eyes for a few more minutes, then finally stood.

When Councilor Ran finally turned, he seemed to Regina to be enraptured, as if some incredibly difficult decision had lifted all the weight of whatever burden he carried from his shoulders. "Councilor Ran. What is it you wish to speak to us about?" Mifune made to take a step forward, but a quick hand gesture from Regina stilled his movement and any comment he'd intended to make.

Reaching inside the sleeve of the simple black Hakama he wore, Ran produced several items. First to be handed over were single page documents that left both his guests stunned. "Those are official papers granting the two of you emergency commissions as Tribunes, under my charter as Councilor for Capital Security, in the Capital Praetorian unit. They should give you sufficient authority to command any of the units currently stationed in Megalo-Mesembria."

Next he handed a single document on an official Mage Council letterhead to Mifune. "As senior Mage Councilor present, I officially tender my resignation as a Mage Councilor, and as Commander of the Capital Security Praetorian Unit to you, Councilor Mifune, effective immediately."

Managing, just barely, to keep his voice under control, Mifune let the arm holding the documents fall limply to his side. "Wha... what is the meaning of this?"

After first casting a look at Regina, Ran turned towards Mifune again. "I have become convinced that my son will never return to me until he is no longer ashamed of his father's actions." Unable to continue meeting Mifune's gaze, Ran lowered his head to stare at the ground. "I am a traitor. I have violated my oaths to both the Mage Council, and to my responsibility as commander of the Praetorians. I have given privileged information to the enemies of Megalo-Mesembria, and have done their bidding, abusing my power in the process, for nearly five years." Looking back up at those standing before him, Ran's eyes were filled with tears. "I no longer care what happens to me. If I am convicted and executed by the Mage Council's order, or if Separatist assassins murder me, at least I will get to see my son again, and will have a clear conscience when I do so."

Holding out a small data planner, Ran handed it to Regina. "That planner contains nearly all the exchanges I've had with those who've directed my actions over the last several years. It also contains several lists. Most important is a list of Praetorian units in Megalo-Mesembria which you can count on to remain loyal to the Mage Council, and not to accept orders from outside the council. Next is a list of secretaries loyal to the Separatists who will be involved in taking over the bureaucracy later today." Shaking his head, Ran looked up at Regina. "That list used to be longer, but it seems some outside party reminded a few people who they'd sworn their loyalty to. Finally, there is a list of military units stationed near the city who will act to 'maintain order' once the takeover occurs."

Looking as if he was on the verge of incoherent rage, Mifune shook the two papers he held at Ran. "We would be mad to believe what you're saying! If we act on this, it could appear as if WE were trying to take over the government!"

Slowly turning the planner over and over in her hand, Regina was just as worried as Mifune seemed to be, and had to force herself to think rationally. He was right on the surface, but in her hand she believed she held the proof of why Ran was telling them all this. ("I doubt we'll be able to send any kind of warnings out of the city because of interference by Separatists, but if we can maintain control of Megalo-Mesembria, most everyone else outside of the units loyal to the Separatists in Ostia should toe-the-line by virtue of who's still in charge.") "Is there anything else on here I might find interesting as Chair of the Internal Affairs Committee?"

Turning away from Mifune, Ran nodded to Regina. "Do you remember Councilor Esmerelda Tir'selion? The one who was arrested about the time Saseru Enteofushia became the Councilor from Argyre?" At a nod from both Regina and Mifune, his expression became pitying. "Reports of her death in prison ten years ago were false. She's still alive. Information on that planner will tell you where to find her."

Despite his earlier anger, and new rage over what he'd just been told, Mifune was getting his emotions under control and beginning to think more clearly. A quickly calming but still accusatory expression made such abundantly clear. "We would have been on that transport if you hadn't prevented us from boarding it. If that had happened, there wouldn't have been anyone left in Megalo-Mesembria with enough influence to oppose a takeover."

Remaining quiet for a moment, Ran met Mifune's gaze. "I swear I had no idea they would bomb the whaleship to try and kill the two of you. I expected assassins hired by militant Separatists would murder you in your sleep, or make sure you were 'lost mysteriously overboard' during the trip to New Ostia."

Taking a step back, Mifune turned to the woman who had been a perpetual thorn in his side ever since her rise from obscurity to the chairmanship of an important Mage Council Committee. ("I can't believe I have to say this...") "Councilor Karkolova... Regina... I'm sure I can deal with keeping the bureaucracy under control, if you can handle the military side of this."

Seeing Ran fidgeting with something in one of his sleeves, Regina avoided answering Mifune for the moment and stepped up to take hold of that arm. Reaching inside the sleeve, she retrieved a small, foot long blade encased in a lacquered black scabbard. After forcing Ran to look away by her obvious dislike of what the blade potentially represented, she handed it back to him. "You are denied this. Answer to your crimes properly, and I'll see to it your actions this day are taken into consideration when the time comes. Would not your son prefer such?"

Holding the blade, Ran slowly nodded. Regina patted his shaking hand before turning to face Mifune. What Calizone Bagera said was happening in Old Ostia still might mean all the effort in the world to maintain order was futile. That Negi Springfield might somehow prevail against who or what he might encounter there though... that meant every effort must still be made where it could. "Yes. I'll deal with the military side of things." Taking Ran's planner, Regina activated the device and began taking the steps needed to stream its data to her armor's systems. "We'd best get going. I'll transfer to the information you'll need to your armor on the way back."

Sparing Ran one last glance, Mifune turned to follow Regina back out of the rock garden.

Seeing a Sprite Mouse wave to her from inside Ran's planner as she and Mifune picked up their bodyguards and headed back towards the landing field, Regina shook her head. ("How a Sprite Mouse pulled something like this off... now THAT, is a story I hope I have time to hear!")

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(Mahora.)

Viewed from above, the virtual perception island representing the Argyre servers looked like a dirty, mountainous green splotch, surrounded by other such splotches of varying sizes, floating in a dark blue sea.

After establishing her new base of operations and protecting the direct link she was going to use to Argyre, Chisame Hasegawa had gone out into the MahoNet using the Spritus Electronicus to personally direct the operation to break down the defenses protecting the server's data files.

Having already established themselves shortly before her arrival, dozens of sprite controlled mini-AI carriers were already sending out their cargo to start the job she had come to do. Tiny and simple in the extreme, the little soldier programs were individually easy to destroy, but each was different enough that no single defense type could stop more that a few at a time. Packet filters worked better than anything else, but only with all the inefficiency of swatting flies with a fishnet. Again, because of their differences, one type of soldier program might be struck by the net and eliminated, but all the others working beside it simply continued on with their tasks.

Unfortunately, the trade-off was in how long it took her to do anything. Chisame watched as the soldier programs slowly worked their way forward. There would be no slashing attacks accompanied by a sudden collapse of the targets defenses this time. Today would be a simple battle involving steady, relentless attack. Her miniature AI soldier programs would slowly fill in the processing capacity of each layer of defense with useless data and loop programs until it collapsed on its own accord. Then it would simply be a matter of erasing the resultant jumble of frozen code, and proceeding to the next layer.

Argyre's defenses were strong, but without outside reinforcement, they would eventually fail.

Chikuwafu, commanding a pair of stealth programs, had already encountered and fought a small battle with that outside reinforcement in Tristan's servers.

As expected, Shiori had avoided directly challenging the defenses in New Ostia, and was trying to get to Argyre by another route. The data stream through Vulcan's servers was protected as strongly as New Ostia, so that left the routes through Nyandom, Tristan, and Orestes. Nyandom's servers had a significantly smaller bandwidth capacity than the other two, so it was unlikely Shiori's main attack would come through there. A much more likely direction of attack would be through the servers beyond Tristan in Eos, and those in Megalo-Mesembria.

So, it came down to a matter of skill, strength, and time. That she would take down the defenses of the servers in Argyre, Chisame did not doubt. What she did worry about was weather or not Chachamaru in Nyandom, and V-Chao and Sprite Mouse Daiko based in Eos, could hold the Eru-Jin off long enough for her to do so.

Deciding it might be best to take a more direct hand in her attack, Chisame swooped down towards the island with her Biblio Roulin-Rouge virtual self-image. Miscalculating her landing spot slightly, she touched down in the surf washing up on the virtual island's beach. Unexpectedly, her Biblio uniform instantly vanished, and was replaced by pressed khaki pants, a long-sleeved khaki shirt, and a worn hat trimmed above its brim with gold filigree. After several unsuccessful attempts to reverse the change, she gave up in disgust. Muttering to herself, she waded ashore through the surf and headed towards where Sprite Mouse Hanpo was directing the movements of the soldier programs under his command.

(-)

("Ku Fei...")

Sitting up in the bunk on the Crescent Hawk she shared with Setsuna Sakurazaki, Ku Fei rubbed at her eyes while trying to decide if hearing someone call out to her was real, or just a dream.

("Ku Fei...")

Now Setsuna began to stir. Leaning up on her elbows, she gave Ku the half-lidded look of someone not really awake. "What's wrong?"

Rolling out of the bunk and standing, Ku began to dance in place. "Um... I be right back..."

Turning over, Setsuna lay back down. "Don't stay up long. We need all the rest we can get before Negi gets here after his morning match."

Nodding to Setsuna's back, Ku waited until the dark-haired girl's breathing slowed again. Quietly retrieving her Fuso-Jutsu, tonfa, and shoes, she padded softly through the door of the small cabin.

Out on the upper deck of the Crescent Hawk, Ku felt as if she were in a well. Other than the aurora-like glow of the magical energy pouring into Old Ostia, the only thing providing illumination inside the blackness of the cliffs surrounding the ruined ground port was the faint twinkling of the stars overhead. Quickly dressing, she stepped into her shoes, wrapped the Fuso Jutsu around her waist, then slid the tonfa into the folds of cloth across her back.

Moving up against the railing, Ku grabbed hold and was preparing to vault over the side when someone loomed up out of the darkness.

"Going somewhere Miss Fei?"

Instantly becoming defensive, Ku held that stance until she finally recognized the silhouette of Calizone Bagera. "No scare me like that! I no want to hurt you!"

After holding Ku's gaze for a moment, Bagera reached out and put his hand on the tense girl's shoulder. "Miss Fei... no matter what happens today, I don't want there to be any ill-will between us for my stopping you from helping Miss Sakurazaki."

Eyes widening momentarily, Ku stared at Bagera, then relaxed and shook her head. "You not worry about that. Everything work out in end."

Nodding, Bagera removed his hand and looked up at the glowing energy flashing through the sky. "You're going after Miss Nagase... aren't you?"

Placing one hand on the railing again, Ku clenched the other into a fist as she followed the Tiger-man's gaze. "My place not here... something tell me I need go back... Maybe I help Kaede, maybe I do something else, but I not fighting beside Negi today..."

Looking back down at Ku, Bagera shuddered at the similarity of Ku's words to those of his partner from twenty years ago. She had not come back alive from a solo mission, and he had always regretted not wishing her well. "Miss Fei... I'll not tell you good-bye, but rather, 'Have a safe trip.'"

Looking up at Bagera, Ku could see real worry in his eyes. Nodding her thanks, she placed both hands on the railing again. "You keep Setsuna here when she find out." Without waiting for an answer, she swung her legs over the railing and left the Tiger-man behind.

Focusing on possible danger from ahead, with the bare minimum of attention given to her sides, Ku rushed up the slope of the old ground port, and back down into the Valley of Old Ostia. Setting a steady pace, she quickly passed the site of Setsuna's battle with the Crow Tribe, and was soon amongst the rocks where they had made their decision to simply go out and confront that threat.

Weaving her way through the rocks in the dark took longer than Ku expected it to. By the time she could finally make out a clear path, the sun was beginning to come up. Hoping to get her bearings, she stopped near an easy to climb rock. Just as she reached up to start doing so, a hand covered her mouth from behind, and an unknown person pulled her into the rock's still lingering dawn shadows.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't like the looks of all that energy in the sky."

Shocked into immobility by the unexpected voice, Ku stopped resisting whoever held her. Turning slightly, she could just make out what seemed to be a quartet of bounty-hunters resting a short distance away. One, shaped like a metronome and pointing at the sky, seemed to be arguing with a bald, tattooed Hu-Jin while a Ma-Jin and a Ryu-Jin waited nearby. The bald Hu-Jin was shaking his head, and Ku could tell he wasn't very happy.

"I was told by the boss that those terrorist brats might try to escape through the Old Ostia gate port. He said that if we wanted to keep our jobs and pay him back for wasting that lightning mine, we had better get out here and try to intercept them!"

The metronome relaxed slightly, and Ku watched as baldy leaned forward dejectedly and started to shake his head.

"I don't like what's going on either! That's why we aren't going to go any closer! We'll wait here. If things calm down, THEN we'll move closer!"

After gently removing their callused, scarred hand from her mouth, the person holding Ku pointed back the way she'd come. Regretting having to retrace her steps, she still nodded and moved off silently in the shoddily cloaked person's wake.

As the man began searching for someplace secluded where they could speak, Ku slowly realized who it was that had kept her from being seen. Even still, how he held himself now made her just a little unsure about that conclusion until they finally stopped behind an crumbling slab of rock, and Nagi Springfield finally pulled back his hood. "You. Why you here...?"

Seeing the intense dislike in the dark-skinned girl's eyes, Nagi found it nearly impossible to meet her gaze. "Maybe I was just keeping you away from the Canis Niger." Unable to stand Ku's look any longer, he turned to look deeper into the mist shrouded valley. "I've wanted to talk to you and your friend, but I couldn't get close until the two of you left New Ostia."

Still seeing fear, but also a clearness that wasn't there in Nagi's eyes in Tengboche, Ku allowed herself to relax. "You call to me this morning?"

Showing a bit of color in his cheeks from shame, Nagi nodded. "Skrying and telepathy, at least, I can still do." Shaking his head, Nagi gave a sad chuckle. "Heh-heh... what a let down... the man once known as the 'Thousand-Master,' reduced to parlor-tricks just to make a living." Taking a deep breath, he reached inside his cloak and produced a tiny, edge-worn book. "At least I never fell so far I sold my crib-sheet-book."

Practice made perfect, and failure to practice meant loss of the benefits of muscle memory. Ku's trainers had always driven that into her sometimes thick skull. Negi had said similar things about magic, so it was entirely within her understanding to believe the father was currently weaker than his son. "I go find Kaede. You want to talk? You help find."

Straightening up, Nagi met Ku's wary look. "Where is she?"

Just a tiny bit of worry crept onto Ku's face as she turned and began moving to get around the Canis Niger hunters. "She fight Demon Mage for two days now. Maybe she no longer alive, but I find her, or I get revenge for her."

Starting to reach out to grab Ku at the mention of a 'demon mage,' Nagi stopped when she turned back and glared at him. Realizing he would have to fight to keep her from going, he lowered his gaze and changed his hand-posture into a gesture to proceed.

(-)

(Kosmo Entelechia, Separatists.)

Shiori Hohoemu typed furiously on the virtual keyboard of her Sprite Management System as a second wave of miniature AI attack programs circled her 'fleet' as it worked its way through the MahoNet servers in the city of Eos.

An initial swarm of the unbelievably simple programs from somewhere else in the server had come as a nasty surprise upon her arrival. Used to using huge dragons to fight the few times she'd needed to do so had left her unprepared for what would have been the equivalent of using a dragon to catch rabbits. Attack routines in all her programs, represented by what seemed to be artillery-class Sagita projectors, could blot the individual threats out of existence with ease, but for every one she eliminated, dozens more continued their swooping and diving, releasing viral attacks and data bombs that threatened to crash everything before she could even get close to enough to fight the carrier programs. If not for the need to make sure something that had to be left behind wouldn't be discovered right away, she would have already initiated a retreat.

Fortunately, whoever, or whatever was controlling the attack was leaving her alone for the most part. Beyond all the repairable minor damage, another firewall cracker program had been seriously compromised, and would probably 'sink.' The backup data for her own control system, represented by another ship as huge as the one she rode on, looked like it would be the focus of the current attack.

Finally, a program loading bar appeared before Shiori. As it slowly began to move towards completion, she opened another window and began typing again. As massive columns of dark, foamy water and bright orange balls of fire covered the backup program, her ship, as well as everything else still functioning, began shooting back with smaller attack routines. Easy enough to do by simply adding in the code for a scaled down attack program, she had delayed adding such until finished with her previous task. Even though it still wouldn't be completely effective, at least using the smaller programs wouldn't waste so much energy.

Off in the distance, Shiori saw the ship representing her management system's backup data suddenly roll over. Just as it started to sink, the hull split open, releasing a massive fireball that engulfed the ship's entire data structure. The remains quickly sank, leaving behind a column of smoke worthy of everything that had just been lost.

All the remaining AI attackers joined back into formations, and with the exception of what were probably scout programs, began heading towards wherever their carrier programs were. Shiori knew there would be no respite, since her own scout programs were reporting that a third wave of the attackers was already on its way.

With a loud 'BEEP!' the taskbar reached one-hundred percent, and its window closed.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shiori restored another waiting window and executed two commands. The first released a stealth program from beneath the cover of her Sprite Management System. The second commanded everything still inside the Eos server to turn back and return towards Tristan. Behind her, one last scout program noted the arrival of the third wave of AI attackers outside the connection to Tristan. After circling for a period of time to make sure she was gone, all of them turned and headed back towards whatever part of the Tristan server they had come from.

Managing to remain unmolested, Shiori's scout program continued sending its reports. Just when she expected it to do so, it noted the sudden movement of a large amount of data from the Eos servers towards the servers in Megalo-Mesembria.

Smiling to herself, Shiori executed a third command waiting in the open window. Leaving wide wakes in the virtual sea, her fleet of programs turned once more back towards Eos.

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"ATTENTION! ALL HANDS REPORT TO YOUR MUSTER STATIONS! REPEAT; ALL HANDS REPORT TO YOUR MUSTER STATIONS! Admiral Villeneuve, please contact the bridge at once!"

Looking up from the message flimsy he held, Admiral Villeneuve of the Megalo-Mesembrian Navy wondered what could have prompted such an odd alert so early in the morning. Reaching over to the controls on his desk, he activated the connection to Svanhvit's bridge. "This is the Admiral. What's going on?"

Appearing over the desk as a holographic projection, Svanhvit's captain made a curt salute. "Admiral! The communication officer was found in his assistant's cabin! Apparently he tried to murder her last night, but she managed to defend herself. She's unconscious, and is being taken to Sick Bay as we speak. Sir, I'm mustering the crew to see if there are any other issues."

Feeling a nervous tick at the edge of one eye, Admiral Villeneuve quickly ran through several possibilities in his mind. Deciding his role wasn't appreciably changed at the moment; he relaxed and felt the tick go away. "As soon as the muster is complete, report to me in my quarters. I may have information relating to what happened."

Showing surprise, Svanhvit's Captain gave another salute. "Yes Sir!"

(-)

Looking up from the message flimsy, Svanhvit's Captain showed disbelieving shock on his face. "Si... Sir, is this legitimate?"

His expression grave, Admiral Villeneuve leaned forward on his desk and nodded. "That may be why the communications officer attacked his assistant. She may have discovered he was trying to prevent delivery of this message."

Setting the message down, the Captain shook his head. "Ariadne has been neutral for so long, why would they try something like this?"

Standing, Villeneuve came around his desk and placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder. "I understand your surprise, but this intelligence is from a highly classified source within the government of Ariadne. That's why you've not heard about any of it before." Giving a reassuring squeeze, he began walking back around the desk. "If it makes it any easier for you, think of it like this; If Ariadne captured or assassinated so many important officials of the two leading states, it would be like cutting off the head of a serpent. In the resulting confusion, they would easily be able to expand the territory they controlled."

As the Admiral sat down, Svanhvit's Captain stood and came to attention. "What are your orders, Sir?"

Reaching out, Admiral Villeneuve retrieved the message flimsy and glanced over it once more before looking up. "We can't tip our hand too soon, so don't alert anyone else in the fleet except the God Soldier ships. Also, I want you to maneuver the Svanhvit so it can fire at the Ariadne Argonauta at a moment's notice."

His nervousness gone with the clearness of direct orders, Svanhvit's Captain saluted. "Yes Sir! Right away Sir!" Without looking back, he turned and left the cabin at a rapid pace.

After watching the man go, Villeneuve leaned back and covered his eyes with an arm. ("Well then, there's no turning back now, is there?") Standing, he looked down at several picture on his desk for a moment, then went over to the cabin's wardrobe and began changing into his best duty uniform.

(-)

(Mahora.)

After delivering breakfast to a family out on the veranda of the New Ostia arena, Natsumi Murakami thanked them for their business, then turned to head back towards the arena kitchens. In order to free up Ako to go with Akira to Lake Pinhe, she had volunteered to cover the pale-haired girl's shift, instead of having the morning off, for once.

Shouting from the main arena became impossible to ignore, so Natsumi paused to look up at one of the many holo-viewers placed at different spots around the veranda. Clad in the scanty micro-skirt 'uniform' and glasses her fans loved so much, Eris, the platinum-haired Ma-Jin announcer from Granicus City, was sashaying out into the middle of the main venue of the New Ostia arena. Of all the 'Fight-Queens' in all the arenas in the Magic World, she had been lucky enough to be chosen as the announcer for the final two rounds of the Nagi Springfield Cup in New Ostia.

On the flight from Granicus City, Natsumi had heard the Ma-Jin girl talking about how lucky she was to have been chosen for that privilege. As tiny as the percentage was, her bonus for the work was based on how much profit the arena earned during each of the fights she announced. Even though she had already decided to stay in Granicus City as the principle announcer for the arena there, her seductive movements while walking out into the arena center said she intended to play the New Ostian crowd for all it was worth. A bigger bonus meant more money left over after her collar was finally gone.

After glancing briefly at her small chest and mumbling that bigger breasts weren't always better, what with the potential for back problems and such, Natsumi continued watching as Eris raised an arm and made a pirouette to establish 'eye-contact' with everyone in the arena.

"Hello everyone! How are you doing today!"

Filling the central arena to its capacity and a bit beyond, the crowd roared back its excitement with such gusto it seemed almost impossible for Eris to make herself heard, even with the assistance of a magic boosted microphone, until several minutes had passed.

"This morning we have the final two rounds of the Nagi Springfield Cup Prize Fighters Tournament! Tonight, the final fireworks display to celebrate both the winner of the tournament, and the end of the Twentieth Anniversary War's End Festival! Are all of you ready!"

Responding to Eris' question and a little arm-waving jump that did pleasant things to her figure but only made Natsumi more jealous, the crowd became even more enthusiastic than before. Throwing confetti, cheering, and whistling, they generated so much noise the Ma-Jin finally had to cover her ears and make a pouty, eye-winking expression to get them to calm down.

"WOW! I can tell all of you are as ready for this as I am! Well then; let's introduce our first two teams!"

Stepping off slightly to the side, Eris extended a hand towards one of the stadium's gladiator entry portals. Just coming out into the arena was a dark-haired, twin pony-tailed girl dressed in a sharp set of clothes and coat that made her look as if she were getting ready to go to school somewhere. Her platinum-haired companion's dress seemed more appropriate for the arena, being all reds and blacks, with a short, form fitting coat which protected his arms, a slick, silver filigreed breastplate protecting his chest, and armorcloth, combined with a waist-cape secured to his belt, to protect his legs.

"In the East, we have the fully partnered pair from Tristan, Rin Tos'ka, and Ar'cer Em'ya! Despite the unconventional nature of their long-range fighting style, these two gladiators have managed to advance to the semi-final round in this, their second year of participation in the Nagi Springfield Cup! Not a completely unexpected achievement, but certainly unusual for such a young pair!"

Feeling her heart begin to race, Natsumi watched as Eris changed position slightly, moving her microphone to the opposite hand and gesturing towards the other end of the arena. Coming in from that entrance were an Inu-Jin dressed lightly for easy movement, with light armor protecting just one arm, and a rust haired Hu-Jin dressed similarly to Ar'cer, but with less emphasis on armor, and more on the potential of freedom of movement.

"In the West, we have the upset newcomers from Granicus City! Nagi Springfield and Kojirou Oogami haven't lost a single match since their debut barely two months ago! If they should go on to win the tournament, they would establish two nearly impossible to beat records! As the youngest gladiator pair to ever win, in the shortest amount of time, it will certainly be quite the amazing achievement!"

Seeing the four fighters had reached their starting areas, Eris bowed to each team and moved off, her tail swaying in a manner that set the males in the crowd to cheering even more. Reaching the announcer's safety area, she turned and raised a hand, preparing to make a chopping motion. The crowd gave a collective intake of breath as the four fighters tensed up. Eris waited a few more seconds to ratchet the tension that much higher, then brought the hand down with a sharp snap.

"FIGHT!"

In an instant, both Kojirou and Ar'cer shundo'd forward while their Magisters prepared their attacks. Unexpectedly, there was a flash in the middle of the arena. Natsumi gave off a shriek of fear as Kotaro suddenly went tumbling head over heels through the air until he crashed to the ground.

After a split second's hesitation, Eris brought her microphone back into play.

"What a shocker! Ar'cer intercepted Kojirou's Shundo and sent him flying!"

Out in the arena, Ar'cer jumped forward again, manifesting a pair of fat, short blades as he did so.

"Showing a completely unexpected desire for close combat, Ar'cer goes after Nagi! Rin's attack deliberately targets Kojirou, smashing him to the ground as he tries to rise, while Nagi is forced to divert his attack in self-defense!"

"Ko... Kotaro... please be okay!" Natsumi watched, her limbs beginning to tremble, as Team Tristan's Rin began preparing another attack. Ar'cer dodged most of Negi's attack and began driving her disguised homeroom professor back towards the arena wall with unrelenting blade work.

"It's starting to look like Kojirou's about to be put down for good! His partner Nagi is managing to defend himself against Ar'cer's attack, but isn't being given the chance to counter-attack as Rin's Ministra presses him hard!"

Accompanied by the roar of the crowd, the dark-haired Rin launched another attack targeting Kojirou. The impact lifted his limp form from the ground before blocking it from view with a cloud of pulverized sand."

Eyes rolling back in her head, Natsumi promptly fainted. She was saved from a painful fall only by the timely arrival of her supervisor Mama. The Ku-Jin woman gently lowered her limp form to the floor, then started shouting for another debt-slave to bring some water.

"OWWW! Is that it for the Inu-Jin from Granicus? I can't tell because of all the dust! His partner seems to have gotten a handle on things for his part, but how will he hold out if Ar'cer's Magister joins their fray?"

Fanning Natsumi's face with her hand, Mama watched as Team Tristan's Magister, wary against leaving an active opponent behind her, edged closer to the hole she'd created in the arena floor. On the other side of what was now a split-screen view, Nagi Springfield suddenly stepped inside Ar'cer's guard and finally landed an offensive hand-to-hand blow, staggering the platinum-haired man and forcing him to back away.

"There's still no confirmation on whether or not Kojirou's out, but Nagi has finally managed to disengage from Ar'cer. Unfortunately, he seems winded, and doesn't appear able to go immediately over to the attack!"

Reaching the edge of the crater, Rin held an attack ready, peered over the edge, then suddenly leapt back. Rapidly turning her head, she began looking all over the arena as if expecting someone to suddenly jump out at her.

As a Nezu-Jin boy finally arrived with some water and Natsumi began to stir, Mama watched as a small inserted image in one corner of the holo viewer showed the inside of the crater. Lying in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the hole when the dust finally cleared was Kojirou's shirt and a talisman with the word 'Nin!' written on it.

"What an amazing development! It seems Kojirou Oogami has skills in the deceptive arts! What remains to be seen is if he used them to dodge an attack, or to retreat from further injury! Since he isn't currently visible anywhere in the arena, a countdown will start. If he hasn't reappeared by the ten-count, he will be considered eliminated by a technical knock-out!"

Over on the far side of the arena, Nagi and Ar'cer both stood, panting and trying to size each other up.

Just as the elimination count reached seven, a black-form rose from Rin's shadow. She reacted admirably, turning and setting off her held attack, but the target proved illusory once again. Off balance as she tried to draw a short, defensive blade, Kojirou's bloodied, bruised form rose from the shadows once more on the count of nine to seize her by the throat with his hand. Feeling the claws only the crowd could see on the close-up holo, she froze in place.

Waking and looking up to see Kotaro holding razor-sharp claws to a pretty girl's throat, Natsumi passed out again, much to Mama's distress.

"Just in the nick-of-time, Kojirou gets the drop on Rin Tos'ka! I have to say, Kojirou seems to have been seriously bloodied by her first attack, but those claws of his look quite capable of fulfilling their implied threat! Rin's certainly in a pinch now!"

Responding to the threat to his Magister, Ar'cer began to move, but he was immediately blocked from doing so after a Shundo by Nagi. Trapped by the need to defend his wide-eyed Magister and the threat still embodied by the obviously ready to fight Nagi, he wavered in his focus until Rin gave a tiny nod and dropped her knife.

"It looks like the battle has come down to the heavy hitters from both teams! Team Tristan tried for a quick win by revealing Ar'cer's unexpected skill in close combat, but Team Granicus managed to hold on long enough for an injured Kojirou Oogami to force Rin Tos'ka into conditional submission! Now, whoever wins between Ar'cer Em'ya and Nagi Springfield will decide the match!"

With no need to concern themselves any further with outside distractions, Nagi and Ar'cer held each others gaze for a moment, then nodded to each other as if connected by a string. Simultaneously, both began the complex gestures and incantations needed for their next moves.

"This is it! Nagi and Ar'cer seem to have agreed to decide the match in a single move! Judging by the signature runes and the new effect of his mysteriously glowing body, Nagi appears to be preparing some more powerful variation of his familiar Laculatio Fulgoris! While the blossom-like effect of Ar'cer's spell means he's opted for his rarely used, but still unbeaten seven-layer Rho Aias barrier!"

Completing his preparations, Nagi held his energy-spear out as a lance and looked his opponent in the eye. Behind a multi-layered barrier manifesting as a complex flower, Ar'cer nodded his readiness.

With a shout, Nagi launched himself forward. His lance impacted with Ar'cer's barrier and an immediate shockwave dome burst outward towards the perimeter of the arena. With Nagi leaning into the attack, the form of his lance slowly began to evaporate as it punched through the first layer of Ar'cer's defences. For his part, Ar'cer appeared equally determined, leaning into Nagi's attack even as the lightning spear penetrated through the second layer.

Both gladiators began shouting defiant words at each other, but the roar of the shockwaves and wind streaming away from ground-zero as they tried to overpower and burn each others magic into impotence drowned whatever they were saying into nothingness.

Nagi stepped forward again as his lance penetrated a third layer of Ar'cer's barrier, then a fourth. In response, the visual effect of the Ministra from Tristan's barrier grew brighter as he began focusing his energy into the remaining layers.

Finally, with Saint Elmo's Fire beginning to arc away from the two combatants, Nagi and Ar'cer both stepped forward. Lance and barrier failed simultaneously, and an explosion of released magical energy engulfed them both.

Out of that impossibly bright flash, two figures flew back to tumble and roll to a stop in the arena sands.

Seeming to realize she'd been holding her breath, Eris raised her microphone back into position.

"I... IT LOOKS LIKE WE MIGHT HAVE A MUTUAL KNOCKOUT! Unless Nagi or Ar'cer gets up before the ten count, a winner will have to be determined by how Kojirou and Rin manage to resolve their situation!"

Despite the proximity of decidedly sharp claws to her throat, Rin had managed to squirm out of her 'captors' grip enough to start yelling at her Ministra to get up. Paying less attention to his 'hostage' than he probably should, Kojirou was focusing on where Nagi lay, stirring slightly, on the arena floor.

Eris began making the count, and she was soon joined by the crowd. By five, Nagi began to pull himself up. By ten, he was standing, shakily, completely upright. Rin twisted out of Kojirou's grip and ran over to kneel next to her Ministra.

"THAT'S IT ! Rin Tos'ka signals her concession, and Team Granicus becomes the first to advance to the final match!"

Cheering began to fill the stadium, seemingly, if it were even possible, louder than before. Mama watched as Nagi met up with Kojirou in the middle of the stadium, and the two of them limped over to Team Tristan just as the arena medics came out and went to work. Both remained, ignoring attempts to tend their injuries, until a medic smiled and nodded, and Ar'cer was loaded on a stretcher to be carried away.

Waking again, Natsumi looked up at the holo viewer again just as Nagi reached out to place a hand on Rin's shoulder. After a look of acknowledgement from his fellow Magister, he and Kojirou turned and walked away. Waving to the crowd, they helped each other back across the arena until they finally disappeared into the tunnel leading down towards their waiting room.

Finally managing to sit up, Natsumi turned to look into Mama's worried face. "What happened?"

"You fainted." leaning forward slightly, Mama gave Natsumi a knowing grin. "That Inu-Jin who is 'not your boyfriend' and his friend won their match. Just one more and it looks like you'll be a free girl, Natsumi."

Flushing crimson to the ears, Natsumi started to shake her head in denial, but Mama's look said she'd have nothing of the sort. Turning away to avoid further embarrassment as the Ku-Jin began to chuckle, she clutched a hand to her chest and wondered which was the stronger emotion; embarrassment over having the idea she actually liked Kotaro pointed out, or the anger she felt against herself over what he was putting himself through to free her...

tsuzuku.

(-)

Author's Notes:

'Six Armées dans Nouvelle Ostia.' (French.) A play on the title of John Keegan's book; 'Six Armies in Normandy.'

Tribune: Officer of high rank in the Roman military. (In this case the Megalo-Mesembrian Capital Guard Unit Praetorians.)

Laculatio Fulgoris: 'Lightning Spears.'

Rho Aias: 'Spirit Shield.' Originally a legendary shield. Used by the company Type Moon in the visial novel Fate Stay Night.

Saint Elmo's Fire: Static electricity.

Councilor Ran's son Ryu: (Daisuke) Ryu is the actor who played Lord Hidetomo's only loyal son, Saburo, in the 1985 Akira Kurosawa film 'Ran.' (The Japanese 'King Lear.') That film's title is also the source of Councilor Ran's name.

It is a minor detail, but the name of Ran's female debt-slave is Ayeka. I think I'll just leave it at that.

Miniature AI soldier programs, attack programs, and scouts: While in this case they are represented as individual infantry soldiers, or as various Japanese and American aircraft from World War Two, a more contemporary example would be the Orcs, Uruk-hai, Humans and elves controlled in a similar manner in the epic battle scenes from the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy of movies.