Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction / Pani Poni Dash! Fan Fiction ❯ I Am Negima!?, AND SO CAN YOU! Act I ❯ Chapter 10: "Trembling With Hatred in the Game of Madness!" by ????? ( Chapter 10 )

Scheme!? Final Mix

Episode 10: “Trembling with Hatred in the Game of Madness!” by Dr. Robotnik

(A/N Additional Disclaimer: Yui is my character, but Utsuho, the phoenix lady and Windia are not. I hope ZUN and the dudes at CAVE forgive meee...)

That old feeling... something he hadn't felt in a long time. He almost forgot what it was called. As he rose, however, he finally recalled that word!

It was regret.

When he let those pipsqueaks seal him away so he could go home, he forgot to mention something—he'd be closing off their universe from his affluence. Them sealing him was but a parlor trick to make sure they'd get back safely while he'd seal off his world from theirs. He'd never see them again.

That meant he'd never see Rokugou again.

The mere thought was eroding his sanity on the subject... so why wasn't he insane yet?

His mind drifted back to the events over the past four days—crawling about dimensions, being found by Eggman, running away into Negi's world, his subsequent fights with the child teachers... yet all of that felt like a dream, to borrow that silly cliché. “Huh... talk about a lucid dream...” He rose out of bed and began walking towards the outside—wait a second. Something's wrong. Very wrong.

It all began with the strange person he saw in the room.

A sinister but beautiful presence, she wore a smooth black kimono, matching her long hair. Almost completely black eyes regarded Cygnus. “Long time, no see.” His eyes caught a few spiders scuttling on her dress, but it seemed like she'd rather have it that way.

Cygnus knew this woman. The fact that she was here... oh hell naw.

“Yui,” The boy said, a slightly nervous snarl. “The fact that you're here so easily disturbs me... please don't tell me—”

“Why don't you look outside?” Yui suggested.

Cygnus was bursting out of the room and towards the nearest window before she even completed the sentence.

Looking outside, he saw not a hazy darkness but a clear night sky. The castle he summoned, the beautiful yet dark architecture, was standing tall within a massive bamboo forest. He then looked down and confirmed his worst fear—the castle was sticking out of HIS dimension and in THIS one. “...dammit.” He then remembered what dimension this place was poking into, and irritation became fear and panic. “DammitdammitDAMMITDAMMIT!”

“This place is becoming quite the bird's nest, if I could say so myself,” Yui smiled that chilling smile. “Why, on my way here, I already had to tie up at least three crow tengu—”

“Oi, don't tempt me with your bondage hentai fantasies right now!” Cygnus hissed. “I probably have all of two hours before some high and mighty female decides to rearrange me. I am repairing this shit now.”

“And here I thought Gensokyo was a friendly place...” Yui sighed dramatically. “Ah well. Perhaps you should go speak to the hell raven and see if she'll help you out.”

“Why her? Wait, what the hell is she doing here?!”

“She said she wandered in because she was looking for new things to eat, and wanted to invite you over. Though, knowing her, she's probably about to dine without you anyway. She happened upon a blue-haired girl...”

“WAIT, SHE'S GOING TO FREAKING EAT SMALLBOSS!? THAT IDIOT!” Cygnus took a moment and locked on to that familiar signature before tearing out like a bat out of hell deeper into the castle.

Yui giggled. That swan fool hadn't changed a bit since she first met him... “Well, if you were polite and finished listening to what I had to say, you would learn that it was not in fact, a certain kappa you feel indebted to...”

xxxx

Last time, Negi and his friends had been around the outside of this castle. The inside, however, was just as grand and dark as Cygnus himself.

The walls were made of something resembling black marble, through streaks of white were inside to keep it from being completely dark. Eerie white lights lit the hallways, if only barely, though bigger rooms had much better lighting.

Tearing through the dark hallways towards the dining hall, Cygnus grit his teeth. So far, he had kept his existence secret from most of this neighboring dimension he called home. However, this was a large scale deal—the race of bird-like youkai known as Tengu lived in the huge mountain nearby were the ones who maintained it. They only kept his secret and didn't bother him so long as he kept his affairs outside of this land called Gensokyo and occasionally brought technology from other worlds. This castle poking out between dimensions would be seen as a breach of contract.

Chaos knows what would happen if the Tengu saw him as a threat again. Senseless violence, no fun, and probably assassination at the hands of the Protectors of the Plot Continuum.

Shivering at that thought, Cygnus simply gained speed. Once he saw himself at a staircase, instead of descending down them normally, he simply sailed into the air with a mighty leap and smashed down at the bottom.

“Halt!” Somebody shouted.

Cygnus didn't have to guess who that was. Turning to his left, he saw a tengu officer.

Something about this one was different. Most tengu had black hair and resembled crows—this one had short white hair, and was much more akin to a wolf. However, despite what most people would believe, their faces and body structures were very much human, save a few animal-like features. She unsheathed a thick, curved blade and point it at him. “What are you plotting?! Your castle is in clear view from the top of the mountain!”

“I know,” Cygnus growled. “That's why I'm trying to fix it.”

“Seriously?” The woman was still weary.

“Damn straight! But right now somebody I care about is about to be eaten, so you'll excuse me if I'm dashing off to and fro!” The demonic swan began to speed off again. However, surprised that the tengu made no effort to stop him, he turned around to offer some advice as thanks. “Oh, and watch out for the spider lady! She's already tied up three of your subordinates!” And with that, Cygnus sped off, leaving the white wolf tengu to groan in frustration and head the opposite direction to report to her superiors.

xxxx

Ah... dinner. The grand meal of the day.

And to a certain Utsuho Reiuji, man, did she need it.

She had journeyed to this castle after catching wind of Cygnus's familiar scent... but alas, upon getting here, she realized she was not only hungry but devoid of any good powers—the last time she ate something and became awesome was that time with that one sun crow...

It was with great luck that a young blue-haired girl almost literally dropped into her lap. She looked quite dead (she didn't know how to check for a pulse anyway.), so what would be the harm in eating her?

She took a moment to flap the massive wings on her back. Slowly, she sat down, adjusting her green skirt, pawing her dark-brown hair and fixing the green bow, and checking her shirt before making an exaggerated praying gesture.

“Thank you for the food!” She shouted grandly. Twirling a fork she pulled out of nowhere, she prepared to stab into the succulent dinner.

POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER!

The girl toppled backwards before falling on the ground in pain.

Cygnus stood on the table, cradling the girl with one hand and holding the Fist of Judgment(tm) with his other. “Oi! Don't go eating Smallboss! Didn't even bother checking for a pulse, did you?!” He of course, felt for one and found it. Thank chaos, still alive. Although for being Smallboss, she was rather tall and seemed rather dashing in a school outfit...

Wait a damn second. “ROKUGOU?!”

Utsuho didn't take this well. She flipped back up onto her feet and pointed angrily at Cygnus with tears threatening to invade her eyes. “That hurt, you jerkass! And I was planning to share, too!"”

“O RLY?” Cygnus hissed venomously. “I don't share living things to eat.”

“Since you decided to be so greedy, I'll eat you instead,” The hell raven unfastened something at her neck, and a massive cape draped itself behind her wings. The inside shone of the stars, the outside was a solid white. “Right after I blow both of you to kingdom come!”

“Ha, says the person who lost nuclear power!” Cygnus countered, setting Rokugou in a corner before coming back to meet her challenge. “You won't be touching Rokugou!”

Utsuho took to the air with just one flap of her wings and dived after Cygnus. Whipping about, she simply sliced her wings in his direction, nearly wrecking the floors in the process. Cygnus expertly twirled, evading the move before retaliating with a wave of darkness.

“Geh,” Utsuho jumped over the first wave, then spread her wings and glided under a second wave. She slammed her hands on the ground and sprung upwards, sailing into a drop kick that smacked Cygnus downward.

Barely saving himself from bashing his head on the floor, Cygnus crawled backwards a bit before dodging another wing slash. He jumped up, over yet another wing slash, and landed down, raising his hand. At once, the immediate area around him darkened. “Drown in terror, hellish raven!” Darkness flowed through the room.

Utsuho suddenly felt fairly weak. That devilish aura was sapping her strength! Making her...

Her stomach rumbled, demanding sacrifice.

“Hungryyy...!” She complained. Instead of pressing a direct attack, Utsuho flew backwards and steadied herself. Holding up her left finger, she summoned a dark orb. The remnants of a power she once had... “Subterranean Moon...”

With the room still dark from Cygnus's attack, a weak and pale light gathered at the hell raven's fingertip. It began to draw in the darkness—and Cygnus with it! The boy strained to hold his ground at first, but instead decided to go with the flow—at three times the speed. He zoomed in to strike...

...and found himself avoiding her jaws instead. “Huh HEY WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Hungrrryyyy!” Utsuho bellowed. Seeing her trick fail, she immediately launched herself towards him. Her earlier anger forgotten, Ustuho tried to grab a body part so she could chomp down. Cygnus would have none of this and scrambled for safety.

Nope, that wasn't gonna work. Utsuho managed to finally catch his right arm.

“C'mon, just let me eeeaaatt!” Utsuho bit down on the dark boy's hand, savoring the taste and wiggling her butt suggestively.

If her previous actions didn't drive Cygnus crazy, this one certainly did. Trying futilely to shake her off, the boy simply yelled, “GODDAMMIT ALRIGHT FINE I'LL FIX YOU SOMETHING JUST STOP EATING ME AND DON'T EAT ROKUGOU!”

“Okay!”

xxxx

“Man, you make really good yakitori!” The hell raven happily munched on kebab after kebab as Cygnus slowly and irritatedly munched on one of his own, cradling the still unconscious Rokugou in his lap.

“I didn't make it. Found it conveniently on one of the lower rooftops,” Cygnus muttered. He took a moment to savor the taste. “It's a nostalgic taste, actually. It reminds me of somebody I met once before.”

“O RLY?” Utsuho tilted her head. “Who?”

“Only seen her once,” Cygnus muttered. “Don't even know her name. I went dimension hopping one day, came across an unusual rift and BAM, some ass jerks were trying to kill some girl for drinking a potion. I had fun reducing those fools to delusional puddles, but by the time I found that girl again, she had gone batshit insane with fire powers. I picked a fight with her to calm her down. Said she wanted a rematch. Never saw her again.”

“Why not? I mean, even if your ability to hop dimensions is random, you were always able to find this place and Gensokyo, right?”

“Hmph, as far as being a demon goes, I'm still a goddamn toddler, I don't understand the full extent of my powers yet,” Cygnus answered.

Before he could elaborate any further, Rokugou stirred. It was such a shocking sensation that Cygnus flinched. Even so, suddenly noticing the warmth was such a shocking sensation he could only sit still. Utsuho noticed as well, though by notice we mean 'slow down eating and raise an eyebrow'.

“Nnnn...” Rokugou slowly opened her eyes. “Cygnus...kun?”

“Nice to see that you're alive,” Cygnus answered softly. “Any clue on how you got here?”

“Don't... know.” Rokugou stared at him, her innocent eyes confused.

So moe, I'm gonna die, Cygnus thought in those exact words... I swear! “If you're here, then that means something could've gone wrong...”

Utsuho actually took notice this time. No wonder Cygnus was so angry that she tried to eat her. “Oh, she was supposed to be a guest of yours?” She raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“I don't see what you're doing here.” Cygnus regarded her wearily, and Rokugou continued to look puzzled.

“I'm not doing anything!” The hell raven held up her hands. “But apparently you're quite close to that girl. How do you think the other resident of this castle is gonna take it?”

“Other resident?” Cygnus raised his eyebrow.

The world stopped as everyone in the room heard a quiet yet impertinent flap of wings. “What's the meaning of this, leaving me out of the fun, guv'na?” Wait... that accent! That isn't...

“Aw hell naw...” Knowing what was coming next, he grabbed Rokugou tightly and dived to the side as a lightning quick blade of wind shot through, tearing up the chair he was sitting in just moments before. It also decimated the table and nearly all of Utsuho's food. The hell raven merely blocked the attack with just one wing. Once the initial clatter had stopped, Cygnus let go of Rokugou, hissed, and turned around. “The hell is wrong with you?!”

The girl he saw bore a sort of childish elegance. She was dressed in pure gothic lolita white, with matching white wings and red hair. In her right hand she bore a feather resembling a sword, or a sword resembling a feather, can't tell which. Her voice was rough, yet quiet. “Figures you'd go off dimension hopping and bring yourself a new girlfriend, while I'm stuck here fighting off tengu! You never take me anywhere!”

“Cygnus-kun, who's this?” Rokugou stepped back nervously. Unless Cyg decided to power her up, she was nigh useless in this situation.

“A girl who gives me bad press,” Cygnus muttered back. “...kind of like a little sister.”

“My name is Windia,” The girl asserts. “I'm feeling restless, can we play?”

“If 'play' equates to 'chopping me up', then no,” Cygnus sternly answered. “Besides, I have issues I have to deal with.”

“I'll take that as a game of tag, then,” Windia smiled, gripping her sword tightly.

“Cygnus-kun, does this mean we have to fight?” Rokugou blinked, examining the foe in front of them.

The bedeviled swan could hear the concerned shouts of the tengu. “No time, they're getting restless.” He scooped up Rokugou. “I think I can find the problem from the top of the castle. Sorry I have to do this again!” He turned tail and practically crashed right out of a window, flying into the night. Windia giggled and sprinted off to give chase.

Utsuho lifted a finger. “Whoa, are you sure you want to fly off in that direction? The—”

POW RIGHT IN THE KISSER!

Windia ushered a silent apology to Utsuho for using her face as a stepping stone before pursuing Cygnus further.

xxxx

The swan took to the upper quarters, fading into a shadow of a swan with Rokugou tucked safely inside. He swerved and picked up the pace as he saw the pale owl girl catch up. “Stay still, won't you?” She shouted, twirling about and slicing with her sword. Terrible winds tore at the walls in an effort to strike down Cygnus.

Cygnus paid this no attention, instead simply pouring on the speed. He came across a long hallway, adorned with armored knights carrying axes. In an attempt to slow down his pursuer, Cygnus shot off bits of his power into each without dropping speed, and simply shot off into the other end.

When Windia approached, the axes fell. The girl leapt to the side to dodge the blows, but it slowed her down far too much! Irritated, she swung her sword again, and powerful winds knocked the armors down. “Not bad, but you know that can't stop me, right?” She sped up again and rounded the corner.

Cygnus shot up a winding staircase, knocking down sections of the wall to slow down the persistent owl youkai, only for her to easily counter with one wind attack after another. His distractions not working, the swan opted for another route. He suddenly shot left and broke through a window, landing on a nearby roof. Windia kept in pursuit, slashing at him and giggling all the way.

The Bedeviled Swan King suddenly leapt out of his shadow, using another long jump to propel himself over to another rooftop. That still didn't stop Windia, who merely kept up through flight. “Goddammit, stop chasing me!” Cygnus shouted back.

“Not until you play!” The girl retorted, attacking him again.

“Guuuggh!” Cygnus yelled. “Hold tight, Rokugou!” He took one final leap, crashing into yet another window and racking up a massive repair bill. By the time he landed, he was now in the topmost tower. Seeing as there was nowhere else to run, he set Rokugou down as the owl youkai flew in.

“Hmph, nowhere to run, I take it?” Windia said.

“Seriously, we don't have time to play...” Cygnus growled, trying to reason with her. “Did you look outside?”

“Yes I did. Your powers are out of control so the Tengu think you're up to no good. You're up to something and I want in.”

How somebody could be so observant and yet so... oblivious riled the boy. “Yes! I mean NO! I mean it's more complicated than that! Even if this was entirely my doing, there's no way anything would go the way I'd like it! You know what kind of madness would happen if I leave those rifts open?!”

“Nope.”

Cygnus procured an extremely thick fake cigar and bit down on it for effect. “CROSSOVERS, EVERYBODY! CROSSOVERS! THE CROSSOVERS ARE SPREADING!”

“C-Crossovers?” Rokugou still had her face contorted in confusion. “What's wrong with that?”

“Would you like demon overlords waltzing in your territory and taking over your planet? Or how about Dark Schneider and Gurren Lagann teaming up and being NIGH FREAKING UNSTOPPABLE?! You wouldn't be able to mash the 'F' key fast enough!” When Rokugou and Windia shook their heads violently, Cygnus concluded. “If I don't find who or what's causing my powers to stick out, those things can very much happen. Not just to me, but to Rokugou too! So please, let me stop this.”

Windia stopped. The pale girl hung her head low, her face unreadable.

“One year.”

“What?”

“One year. That's how long you've been gone from this place,” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “I've been alone for most that time—if it weren't for that other bird brain...” She began to sniffle. “And to think you've changed since then... I'd thought I'd never see a jerk like you again!” She wailed—tears of happiness.

Rokugou blinked in complete confusion. Cygnus, on the other hand, just growled in frustration. “Goddammit you good guys drive me nuts...” With that, he turned around and swung open the door, ready to stomp off. Rokugou stared at Windia for a moment, until the owl youkai stopped her tears of joy and waved her off. The blue-haired girl then scampered off after Cygnus, as he traveled up the stairs.

xxxx

“Rokugou... let me tell you a story,” Cygnus began, his tone somber.

“A story?” Rokugou looked at him curiously.

“It's a story I long should've told you,” Cygnus gave a soft grin as they slowly ascended the tower. “It wasn't all that long ago... perhaps maybe thirty years. There was a swan... a mighty and powerful swan. But alas, all he knew was hatred and madness. He never even knew why those things drove him... they just did. He relished it.”

“To tell the truth, that sounds horrible,” Rokugou added softly and sadly, looking out at the castle grounds.

“What did you expect? Frolicking in the meadows until I hit the tragic past part?” Cygnus countered, although it seemed more like a joke than any sort of anger. The girl shied away, her face hidden. Cygnus softened again. “You look just like when I first met you... scared out of your mind. Can't blame you. I'm a man of darkness, in more ways than one.”

“No, it's not that. I can't put my finger on it, though...”

“Hmph...” Cygnus continued up the stairs. When he heard Rokugou follow him, he continued. “Supposedly, someone tried to put an end to its rampaging with a weapon of divine light. It was quite effective at wounding him, but all it did in the long run was change his targets. With his abilities to wander about the world as he pleased, that monstrous swan brought terrible ruin to those with evil hearts.

“It was one day when the swan discovered an ability to traverse dimensions. With this new ability, he traveled to other worlds, continuing to act as a dark disaster to whatever caught his interest. Eventually, he came across a land called Gensokyo.”

“Gensokyo?” Rokugou asked.

“The land this castle is poking into.”

The girl gasped on wonder.

“Karma was not kind to the swan here. His unchecked rampaging attracted the attention of a native race of youkai known as the Tengu. Led by their chief Lord Tenma, they fought the swan with superior numbers and strategy, and he was soundly defeated. The swan fell into a river and drifted down the mountain, only coming to a stop when he met a certain blue-haired girl.

“This girl was a bit different than you—back then she was a shy and pitiful creature, as many female kappas were. Only bearing the tiniest piece of darkness, she was of no interest to the fallen swan. But this girl was interested in him. She nursed him back to health, and showed him a kindness he had never seen before. The swan, confused by this matter, continued to stay by her side as she showed her fascination for technology and science. For a while, life was good.”

“But alas, this was not to last. The Tengu were regular friends with most of the kappa, so naturally they would be paying a visit. AND GUESS WHO THEY JUST RAN INTO! The Tengu wondered why their kappa friend had harbored such a dangerous beast and nearly turned on her as well, but the swan would not have it. To defend his only supposed friend, the swan returned the tengu's rage twofold. Even when Lord Tenma returned, the swan would not give up. Before the battle could escalate past a burning point, the kappa girl stopped the swan. The kappa blamed herself, believing this swan could do good.

“That sign of love was so powerful, the swan found he was no longer a pure beast. The humanity deep in his heart was strong enough to reemerge. Everyone was shocked to see a human youkai appear. The swan boy could finally voice himself, and declared that he would protect that kappa to the end of his days. The violence came to an end, and the Tengu set a deal—don't bother them and assist the kappa in her studies, and you get to walk free. Naturally, it was a deal the swan boy could not refuse.

“That kappa is the only other person I've met who's immune to that hateful aura of mine.” Cygnus concluded. By now, they reached the end of the staircase and with it, the top peak of the castle. “Even those I've met, the few people I could call friends, aren't immune to my aura. The powerful darkness I wielded makes those Tengu batshit insane. But I could never figure out why. I revel in what I do, no regrets... but still, why?!”

“Cygnus...” Rokugou stared at him, sadness and concern over her features.

“I wonder why I have humanity if, as a demon, I am already damned,” He turned to Rokugou, a rueful smile on his face. “Back when I was just a monster, things were simple. This guilt, being less than perfect, drives me crazy.”

“Cygnus-kun!” Rokugou grew ten times manlier that moment. She balled her fist and smacked that boy with a mighty uppercut. Cygnus fell over on his back, more from shock than pain. The girl then took the opportunity to immediately jump on his chest, hands pressed to the ground, eyes locked on his. “Don't talk like that! I don't want to hear it!” She softened slightly. “If you're confused about your emotions, that's a good thing! It proves... it proves you still have humanity in you! That's why you're still here, right? I won't let you go, no matter how evil you get!” Those words hit like a ton of bricks. Even as she sank down to a hug and sobbed on his shoulder, Cygnus's mind went on overdrive. Even throughout his darkness, his selfishness, and his insanity, here was a girl trying to heal his heart. But then again, his master surprised him the same way...

He slowly rose, still holding on to Rokugou. From his viewpoint atop the grand castle, he could see it—pretty far away, but visible... that tear in the darkness, it's amazing power...

...and that familiar scent! “Curse that Doctor Eggman! It was his doing after all!”

“Eggman?” Rokugou stepped beside him, wiping her eyes to get a better look.

“Yes, that sniveling bastard must've gotten the jump on all of you...” Cygnus looked onward. Something however, stopped him. “Huh?”

Rather I should say someone stopped him. Not directly, no way. She was just standing there, gazing at the sky in the same fashion he was. She had long, flowing silverish-blue hair that fell past her waist. She wore a white long sleeved shirt, suspenders and baggy pants. Red seals were all over her pants, and a bow atop her head seemed to have that same seal as well. The mysterious woman sighed. “Just when I was about to make a yakitori stand...” She turned around to face them, gazing at them with red eyes. She didn't look a day over 17. “...you bring chaos into our world.”

Rokugou blinked.

Cygnus recognized her. “You...” Images of flames and madness danced in his mind. And yet another familiar scent. That meant that the yakitori he and Utsuho had earlier was—“Ay, shit.”

The girl's mouth upturned slightly at this. “So you do remember me! I'm so FLATTERED!” Suddenly, there was fire. And lots of it. Fire surrounded Cygnus and Rokugou, barring their escape. Fire flared, nearly blocking out their view of the sky. And suddenly, the woman in question sprouted six fiery wings, flapping magnificently and dangerously. “But you're TOO LATE! About 1200 years too late to be precise!”

“TWELVE HUNDRED YEARS?!” Cygnus bounced back in shock. “Wait... then I can time jump?! No, that must've been a fluke...” He examined the girl—no, woman again. “You... you don't look a day older than back then!”

“Duh...” The woman smirked. “I'm immortal. Back then I had just gained my powers. So!” She hovered, those dangerous wings flapping behind her. “You owe me a rematch, swan boy! Especially since you decided to eat my well-prepared food without paying! For someone who still remembers me, surely you could bring out that strength I remember seeing!”

Cygnus grit his teeth. Extra boss time!

Rokugou stepped beside him. “Cygnus-kun!”

Cygnus gave a soft sort of smirk. Summoning his powers, he chanted, “Partner: Sayaka Suzuki! Show me the power within you!” He summoned the orb that held the card he needed. Reaching in, he grasped the card. Rokugou felt the almighty pin prick again. “Contract... activate!”

A puff of smoke.

Rokugou got her SUKA CARD!

“Sorry Rokugou... this is a fight between me and her... just like the old days,” Cygnus gave an apologetic smile to Rokugou the chibi-swan. He randomly produced two pom-poms. “You can cheer me on if you want!”

The tiny swan girl flew over to some safe corner, pom-poms in hand. Only now did Cygnus see the cuteness of the girl. “SO MOE I'm GONNA DIE!” Yes, he actually said that out loud.

“PAY ATTENTION!” The fiery girl demanded, setting Cygnus's ass on fire as punishment.

“GYYYAAAA!” Cygnus ran around like a headless chicken, screaming his head off. It was a few moments before he stopped, dropped, and rolled, putting out the flames. Once sane again, Cygnus stood up. “Huh. So that's how it is.” He lifted his right hand. “COME GUARDIAN!”

His swan familiar, no longer adding to his nightmarish transmutations, was at his side again. Cygnus crouched, leering at the girl before him. “Swan versus phoenix.”

“Shall we finally dance?” The woman answered.

Those wings flared, and the battle began. The crazy woman merely gathered fire, yelling as she flared in a hellish aura like the sun itself. Cygnus staggered back from the heat, and a near psychotic stream of fiery bullets shot towards Cygnus. He summoned his guardian to absorb the blows, although the hot flames forced the swan to strain a bit. When the assault died down just enough, Cygnus slid under his cover, skating past the bullets and right into the phoenix woman's face. He smashed into her with the force of dark magic.

Too bad for him, she blocked his full-force punch. With a grin, I might add. “BURN, BABY!” The phoenix woman bellowed. She pressed her hand to the ground, and the whole floor became burning hot—literally. Cygnus had to hotfoot it while he dodged even more vicious blasts from the girl.

“Geez, I can't stay close!” Cygnus complained, the sweltering heat adding up.

“DEEP FRY.” The girl bellowed. A plume of flames shot towards him, and Cygnus jumped to the left, skating through the immense heat as flames dance around him. The sight was beautiful; the flames were doing the Macarena! “GET ON WITH IT!” Oh, come ON!

“WHY DON'T YOU TASTE DARKNESS THEN?!” Cygnus bellowed. He aimed an arm drawing darkness into it with increasing power. “ARM CANNON!” A highly concentrated blast of darkness smashed straight into the girl of fire. By the time she recovered, she was right next to her own wall of fire, and Cygnus was already skating towards her at max speed, a crude sword of darkness forming. He performed a series of speedy swings at the girl, who blocked and ran along the wall in defense. With his assault over, she realized they were both hovering in the middle of the area...

Cygnus put an end to that Matrix-wannabe scene with one press of the triangle button (read: he slammed her into the ground.).

Light burst from the ground, removing the painful flamed floor. The flames surrounding them however, raged on.

The phoenix woman recovered, shakily standing back on her feet before Cygnus was in her face, smashing her with several fierce blows with that pseudo-sword. Cygnus added a final smash that sent her skidding across the ground. “Ha!” He gloated. “How's that?!”

“Not bad,” She smirked. She swept him with one kick and them smashed him away with another. “Not bad at all.”

“CURSE YOU!” Cygnus sailed on his back for some distance before flipping back on his feet, sliding to a stop. He flipped over a random burst of fire, then landed to see that she was up to something else. “Ah...!”

“Everlasting—Phoenix's Tail!” The girl swept a hand across, and all Cygnus could see for the next ten seconds was fireballs. Thousands of them. Cygnus had no tiny hit box to evade being burned, so if this actually was a curtain fire shooter, he'd be toast by now. Even so, some of the flames nicked his skin.

“COME GUARDIAN!” Cygnus's guardian once again took the front stand, blocking the insane flames from reaching the boy's body. The fireballs died out, and the swan guardian flew behind its master. “How about you taste my ultimate madness!” Cygnus threw both of his hands back, and the swan guardian extended its wings. Its magnificent wingspan was enough to intimidate the surliest of foes. He sailed to the air, aiming at the phoenix woman.

“BRING IT THEN!” The woman laughed, rising to the swan's challenge and clearly enjoying the fight. “TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL!”

“LET ME BE THE FIRST TO WELCOME YOU! SWAN CANNON!” Cygnus countered, opening his mouth wide.

“HOURAI DOLL!”

“YYYYYAAAAAAUUUGGGHHH!”

“YYYEEEEAAAAAUUUUGGGHH!”

“YAAAHHHHHHHH!” Rokugou joined in on the Dragonball Z-esque screaming as the two powerful attacks collided in a brilliant flash of fire and darkness.

The battle ended with the sound of haughty laughter.

The tired combatants fell to the ground. Looking wearily towards the still burning fire, they saw the amused face of the spider woman, Yui. Rokugou, still in her tiny form, popped up from behind her. “What a truly interesting and barbaric fight indeed!” Yui crowed. “But do you really have time to be doing this, swan boy?”

Cygnus took a quick look at the space tear in the background before facing her. “Of course I don't! But everyone keeps bothering me!”

“I can only entertain the Tengu and your minions for so long,” Yui added. She glanced over the side of the castle rooftop, hearing many cries of “BONDAGE HENTAI!” and “LET ME GO!” She laughed. “Perhaps it's time you resolved this incident before any shrine maiden catches wind of it.”

“I bet this is because that damned Negi Springfield screwed up,” Cygnus muttered. “But I don't like cleaning up the mess of good guys. And yet...” He looked over to Rokugou, who peered shyly at him. “I owe somebody. I'll save those heroes... just this once. Hey... Sayaka Suzuki!”

“Eep!” Rokugou jumped out from behind Yui and 'flew' over to Cygnus.

“Let's go rescue your dumbass friends.” Cygnus gave her a grin.

She smiled. Scooping her up, Cygnus arched himself before jumping up into the night sky and flying towards the other tear in space.

“Hey you! Wait for me!” The phoenix woman bellowed, flaring up with power before flying off in pursuit.

Yui simply looked on in amusement as the red and black streaks faded from the sky.

“He better come back,” that owl youkai Windia emerged from the castle, followed by Utsuho. “...and he better treat his girlfriend right, too!”

Utsuho sighed, holding her stomach. “That phoenix woman's gonna come back and make more yakitori righ—”

POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER!

xxxx

“Ah, what a shame, he actually showed up just like I predicted...”

“No helping from that... but this time he's gone over the top!”

“Who knows what kind of powers he'll unlock in that dimension. But we can still stop him if we get to Negi-sensei first!”

“Count on me! If fast thinking is of the essence, I'm the essence of fast thinking! Oh hey guys! We're kinda busy, since Eggman's opened up a portal to a whole new dimension and dragged some of our friends with him! We're gonna put an end to it! Next time: 'So, You Want a Revolution?' by Sonic. Don't stop now, come on and rock and roll!”

(That's it for the bonus episode (or the split episode that gets more new content). HOORAY FOR CROSSOVERS!
"But Ansem, why are you crossing over even more obscure series?"
Because it's fun, duh! Also gives them exposure. But considering that Windia's source game (deathsmiles) will never see the light of day in the US unless that X360 port is region free and her character conflicts with what the Japanese site says, I hope you'll forgive me for being a bit liberal in my interpretation. Stay tuned for the last numbered episode in Act I!

Thanks to DarkDragonDave for looking this story over for me.)