Disclaimer- I don't own Negima.

It's kinda short, but I enjoyed writing it. Now read, all you hordes of people that read this (sarcasm mode)!

Also, I'd like you to know how much I'd like to shoot Akamatsu in the brain right now. He, using literally two line of dialouge, made my canon-fetish a hell of a lot harder to please. If he's going to allude to something, couldn't he spend twnety seconds to tell us what it means? Argh, I love him for creating Al and hate him for the hell he has inflicted upon my soul.

Enjoy! :)

"Hey, Colonel-han?" asked Konoka sweetly.

"Yes?"

"How did you meet Evangeline?"

Al chuckled. "That's a funny story."

There was a pause as all three girls leaned in, and Al blinked. "Oh, you want to tell it?"

"Yes!" shouted Asuna, exasperated.

"You're all so demanding..." sighed Al, and Chisame growled.

"All right, all right!" Al conceded. "It was in Ostia, back in...oh, what century was it now...the 1500s, that's right. The Dark Evangel's fame was steadily growing, and I, to my chagrin, was rather well-known as a bounty hunter around that time..."

Albireo had only taken the job for one reason, and that was to meet the Dark Evangel. Well, two reasons- to see if it was possible to push her buttons, because if it was, he would have to pat himself on the back for bringing himself to a whole new level of irritability.

Ostia was a beautiful, wild, country, and one he frequented because of its sophistication and advances in technology combined with its elegance and gorgeous scenery. The floating rocks were absolutely breathtaking. The Old World was currently stuck in a depressing torrent of wars and battles and famines, and Al really wanted nothing more than to stay away from all them. The Magic World was just getting settled, and Al loved to watch the process.

Recently it seemed a vampire had moved in, and a really unsubtle one at that. It soon became apparent that it was the Dark Evangel herself, and Al couldn't help but want to meet her. A fellow immortal was always a welcome sight, and he was prepare to take her under his wing in the same way Filius had done for him. He was smart enough to know that it probably wouldn't end up that well and was also fine with that.

He tracked her to a small, remote island that floated way beyond the sights of any Ostian official and set up a tea table and two chairs, along with a full tea set. He seated himself at it and poured two cups of tea, sipping at his. Then he waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Before the tea had even gone cold a sound like a typhoon started emanating from the depths of the forest, and he smirked. Seconds later, a young girl with long blonde hair appeared in front of him.

"How dare a human trespass on my territory? I thought I made it clear not to come here? Are Ostian officials really that dumb?"

"I don't know about that, but I personally don't believe myself to be dim," he replied, giving the girl the first of many, many, small smiles she would receive over the next five centuries. "Why don't you sit down for some tea?"

"Ostia has disgusting tea," she sneered. "Why would I want any of that crap?"

"It's French." he said enticingly.

She stuck her nose up at it, but looked tempted. "Aren't you afraid that I'll bite you, human?"

"I may not be a vampire like yourself, but I am not human," he said quite clearly. "If you call me so again it will be error on your part, not mine."

She obligingly slid into a seat across from him. "I like tea." she grumbled.

"I knew you would."

She bristled. "Excuse me? You don't know anything about me!"

"You're French. The French automatically like tea. It's in the blood."

"And how would you know that?"

"I'm French myself."

"I don't believe you."

"Do you believe anything anyone ever tells you? I get the impression that you're not a very trusting woman."

Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the use of the term 'woman', not girl. Albireo knew who he was talking to. She made a face at him and crossed her arms.

"What do you want with me?"

"Simply to talk to you. What's your real name?"

"Excuse me?" she snarled.

"I rather dislike not knowing others' names. My hobby is collecting others' lives, you see, and how can I do that without even knowing their names? I'm rather sick of referring to you as the Dark Evangel."

"It's none of your business," she muttered. "Besides, I don't know your name. It's hardly a fair trade."

Al noted that her accent was more British than French. Had she recently spend some time in England? She was probably being hunted in France. Albireo had rarely known the feeling of being hunted, but a life on the run was not a pleasant one.

"My name is Albireo Imma."

She snorted. "That's the most ridiculous name I've ever heard. Seriously, were your parents dumb?"

"Ah, but they didn't name me." he replied cheerily.

"What, you named yourself that? How dumb are you?"

"I told you, I may be many things, but dumb is not one of them," he chuckled. "I did not name myself."

"Then who named you?"

"It's not important."

She stuck out her lip. "My name is Evangeline A.K. McDowell."

"I knew it."

"Excuse me?"

"The Dark Evangel? Evangeline? French? It all seemed too coincidental to me," he grinned, successfully pissing her off. Pushing her buttons was getting to be great fun. "You should give yourself a more clever nickname. A less obvious one at the very least."

"Well, I bet you didn't know my middle names are Anastasia Katherine, huh?" she growled.

He smiled.

She swore. She felt like she would royally regret letting him know her full name. She was right.

"Katherine...how pretty. Almost sound like...Kitty. What a cute little Kitty you are."

Her face was apoplectic with rage. "How dare you? I could kill you with one blow!"

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You are very presumptuous. You only know my name, but you presume to know my power level? For such a young lady, you're quite rude."

She launched herself at him, sinking her fangs into his neck. He obliged, having himself a good laugh.

"Ha," she proclaimed. "You're my slave now."

"That was mildly uncomfortable," he observed. "You're rather awful at giving hickeys." He waved his hand over the wound, a spark of magic erasing the bite marks. Her jaw dropped comically.

"You really are young," he sighed, sipping his tea. "I suppose you just don't know better."

"You patronizing bastard!" she roared. "You can't possibly understand my pain! I'm far older than you could hope to live, you-"

"No."

She blinked. "What?"

"No. You are not far older than me," His tone took on a seriousness he usually avoided. "I am far older than you. As a man who has lived for over one thousand years, I find you to have one fraction of my knowledge and strength. It is not boasting, it is fact. You act like you are the highest being out there, but I know a man several hundred years older than myself. Compared to the Earth itself, we are all young. You need to stop being so silly."

Eva looked rebellious. "You don't know anything about me."

He felt his neck. "What if I had been human? What if I had been a nice young man who was only trying to support his family by being a bounty hunter? Would you have ruined my life so easily?"

"A vampire has to kill to survive." she said surlily.

"Don't avert your eyes from death. Look straight ahead. Look squarely at the people you're killing. And don't forget them. Never...forget them. Because they won't forget you."

Evangeline didn't say anything. She didn't have anything she could possible say as a response to that, so she just stared at her tea.

"Oh!" he said, surprised. "I'm already out of tea. We must've drunk more than I thought. Maybe I didn't bring very much. That's odd, I could've sworn I brought more...I'm afraid I must be going."

"Whatever," she muttered moodily. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I told you, I'm Albireo Imma. An immortal like yourself."

"You're stupid."

He snapped his fingers, and his table and chairs disappeared, making Eva shriek as he seat vanished and she fell to the ground.

"You jerk!"

"I am what I am."

He began to walk away, but stopped. "Oh, one more thing."

"What?""

"I stole the panties you were wearing."

"YOU PERVERT!"

And he vanished. He would not see Evangeline A.K. McDowell for a long time, but he hoped his words would help her as she wrestled with herself. Yes, it would be a long time before they met again...

Or at least he hoped so, because she was probably ready to kill him.

The end of his story was met with silence.

"That was how you met Eva?" said Asuna, as if she were trying to see if he was lying.

"Yes. Was it not what you expected?"

"I expected more violence. Didn't she used to be more...evil?"

Al shrugged. "I believe she could sense in some way that I was powerful. You don't mess with those who are your superior, especially not in those times. Back then, if you so much as looked at a mage as powerful as either myself or Eva you could be killed as an example."

"You never did anything like that, did you?" asked Konoka, unnerved.

"No, not to my knowledge. I cannot speak for Eva, however. She was a different person back then, and not much of a pleasure to know."

"She's not much of a pleasure to know now, either," muttered Chisame.

"Has she killed you?" asked Al.

Chisame didn't answer.

"She's nicer, trust me," added Al. "I'm being completely serious when I say she's killed me more than once."

"What?" asked Asuna, confused.

"Never mind. The point is, Eva's a better person, and your class is almost certainly the cause. I thank you for being able to accomplish what I never could."

"That's probably because you were too busy teasing her," said Chisame honestly.

Al chuckled. "It looks like way, doesn't it?"

"I'm sick of being confused," announced Asuna. "And it's getting late. C'mon, girls, lets go."

"I'm not one of your girls." grumbled Chisame, but she obligingly followed Konoka and Asuna out of the room and down the long hallway to leave Al's home.

Al picked up a book to get his mind off things. He was thinking about the past more than usual lately, but he'd caused it entirely, so he couldn't complain. Still...after they left, thinking about the old days was a lot lonelier.

Reviews are love! :)