Pani Poni Dash! Fan Fiction / Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Act II: Nightmare!? ❯ Episode 1: "Invitation of a Crazed Peach Moon!" by Haruna ( Chapter 1 )

Nightmare?!

Episode 1: “Invitation of a Crazed (Peach) Moon!” by Haruna

Many members of class 3-A knew something was wrong the moment Asuna and Konoka came in, face etched partway between frustration and dejection. Normally, Negi showed up to class right behind them, readying his notes or just looking cute, but today...

Something was up. Five minutes of waiting, and everybody BUT Negi Springfield was here. What was the meaning of this? There were voices of confusion and concern rising slowly from the class, though no one moved to stop them. However, it was Nodoka Miyazaki who finally brought the raging question to light.“So where is Negi-sensei?” she asked quietly, The concerned mutterings grew louder as a result.

“He's probably just held up somewhere!”

“Maybe he went on a detour?”

“Oh no, what if her got kidnapped by the seniors?!”

“Oi! Don't start fearmongering just yet!”

“Hmm?” Kazumi Asakura leered over in Asuna and Konoka's direction, noting their dejected faces. “You guys seem awfully down. Got any clue on the whereabouts of Negi-sensei?”

Asuna just sighed and sank. Konoka took a deep breath.

“Negi-kun's... not here,” Konoka announced quietly but dramatically.

“WHAT?!” Class 3-A exclaimed at this shocking news.

“Why is this?” Class President Ayaka Yukihiro stood up, unusually composed for this situation. Nevertheless, she gazed at Konoka with seriousness and intensity. “Did he not inform you of where he was going?”

“Why didn't you stop him?!” Makie Sasaki cried.

“Trust me, we tried,” Asuna muttered. “There was nothing we could do. Kept ranting about a family emergency or something like that. He was out the door before I could even try to restrain him!”

“This is troublesome indeed...” Asakura muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “But...” She pulled out her camera, grinning madly. “This could be the scoop of the ages! Child teacher flees mysteriously last night! Details unknown!”

“There must be a way we can find him,” Ayaka concluded instead, slowly losing her cool. “Or at least catch up to him. He couldn't have gone very far!”

“Oi, class pres, don't blow a gasket!” Asuna snarled, not in the mood for these shenanigans.

“Why you—”

“You should probably relax,” A gentle but piercing voice interrupted the chaotic fervor. “Negi Springfield assures me that he will return. No clue on when he's returning, mind you,” A man walked in, dressed in business casual. Everything about him screamed “fair”. Fair hair, fair face, fair grading policy—well, dunno about the last one, but you get the point, yes? “but he will return.”

Playing the diplomat before any of her classmates could be rude, Ayaka spoke. “Are you our substitute teacher, by any chance?”

The man showed slight surprise, but kept his smile. He introduced himself. “Of course, I will be taking over teaching you English in his absence. You may call me Seruhiko-sensei. I of course, will still be administering the test he composed and warned about last week, so please take your seats...” This was met with a few groans but otherwise little other objection. There was still a slight tension in the air.

Those who knew of magic exchanged weary looks as their substitute began passing out the test. This definitely meant a Chupacabra Research Club meeting after school.

xx

“Why are we having a Chupacabra Research Team meeting now, of all times?!” Setsuna Sakurazaki asked, her face contorted with frustration. “Do you know how chaotic this is?! We can't feasibly separate from those lunatics and search for Negi-sensei! We don't even know where to even start looking!”

“Secchan, calm down,” Konoka smiled nervously, rubbing her friend's back. “We called this meeting precisely because we're the only ones who can piece where Negi-kun went.”

The small and cozy club room that served as a not-so-secret meeting place for Negi's partners felt a bit more tense this day. The usual crowd of Negi's followers sat around the long table, discussing their next move. While Setsuna had complained that their movement would be easily detected, had she calmed down, she would have noticed that nobody who was oblivious to magic was anywhere near the club room. “Oh, that's so wonderful to point out.” Setsuna muttered, letting Konoka calm her nerves. Hey, you asked for it.

“It's actually quite worrying,” Akira Ookouchi muttered. “Why would Negi-sensei disappear like this?”

“Did he say anything to you guys?” Makie asked.

“The only thing he said to us that I didn't mention in front of everybody else was 'Good luck, Asuna, I'll see you soon,'” Asuna answered, rubbing her forehead as if it would help retrieve that information. “It sounds like he's expecting us to follow him somehow.” She then snarled. “It'd be nice if he gave us more tips than that if he expects us to follow him!”

“We can't just leave, you know,” Yue Ayase pointed out, sipping a concoction that would likely poison the average stomach. “Us disappearing in a large group like this would make the rest of the class suspicious.”

“Yep, and we all know that won't fly.” Haruna Saotome pointed out with a smirk. “We'll have to find a way to dupe the class if we're gonna leave campus.”

“She's right,” Asuna added. Swiftly, she snatched some chalk from the bottom rung of the blackboard and began writing with it. “Okay, plan of action! How do we sneak out?”

“Blow up dolls!” Makie cheerily suggested. “We replace ourselves with blow up dolls!”

“Go home,” Yue muttered.

“Why can't we just walk out?” The tiny Narutaki twins Fuuka and Fumika asked. Fumika continued. “They're in such a mess right now I doubt they'd notice...”

“3-A does not work that way,” Haruna shot that notion down. “They are some paranoid motherf—”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” The twins cried.

“But I'm only talking about 3-A!” Haruna shrugged with a smug grin.

“This isn't helping at all!” Yue muttered in a cynical tone, breaking the reference combo. Ah, somehow, their bickering strikes a pang of nostalgia...

“That's nice,” Konoka ignored the bickering and smoothly rolled back onto the subject. “Anyone have any other suggestions?”

“I could use paper clones,” Kaede Nagase suggested. “Making shikigami of all of you wouldn't be too hard, and as long as they don't get wet, they'll be good.”

“But knowing 3-A, I bet at least one of them gets fed after midnight,” Asuna grumbled. “And before you know it, all of them are then starring in a new striptease game!”

“Gauuugghhh...” Everyone in the room blanched at the thought. This was going nowhere at the speed of Sonic. So what now?

“In a word... Mechakoopas.” A voice announced as if this was the best idea since sliced bread. Hey wait a goddamn second! How come sliced bread is so awesome anyway?

Enough about that since everyone else in the room stopped.

Finally, after processing this random factoid of impossibility, Setsuna spoke. “You have to be kidding me.” She, as well as the others, turned to a relaxed and amused Misora Kasuga.

The speedy prankster was leaning back her feet on the table and a massive grin plastered on her face. “I kid you not. Chao thought ahead, so she's currently doing the finishing touches on some inventions of hers.”

“How's that gonna work?” Asuna asked.

“You ever think why nobody's been bothering you yet?” Misora countered with her own question, keeping her grin as she straightened herself out. “Chao's plan is at work. Already she's inspired Asakura to entertain the rest of the class!”

“Do we even want to know how that works?” Setsuna asked. Of course you do! Now let's change scenes for a bit...

xx

“Negi-sensei! PLEASE COME BACK TO US!” Ayaka pleaded to the camera.

Along with several members of her class, Ayaka sat on a live stage, surrounded by several of her classmates. It was all thanks to the epic hijacking skills of Asakura and a bit of “persuasion” for the Mahora Studio Group at the hands of Mana Tatsumiya. The sniper took to the back, along with strange green machinations with silly faces controlling the cameras. That genius girl Chao Lingshen called them “Mechakoopas” or something.

“Negi, we know we can be unruly sometimes, but please come back!” One of the cheerleader trio, Sakurako Shiina pleaded.

“If you come back, I promise I'll give you back those boxers!” Yuuna Akashi also added.

Everyone else looked at Yuuna as if she had declared that she banged Negi Springfield.

“What?” She asked innocently.

“If this reaches someone who has Negi-sensei against his will, please don't hurt him,” Chizuru Naba said sweetly and earnestly. “I haven't even had a chance to have fun with him yet!” At once, everyone gave Chizuru the same looks they gave Yuuna. Hey, 3-A! Tell us how you reeeeaaally feel!

xx

“They're seriously going to broadcast a live video...” Asuna blinked, after hearing Misora's scarily accurate account of what the rest of 3-A pleaded on live video. There were a few uncomfortable stares before Asuna merely concluded, “Ha ha oh wow.”

“This is only gonna work for about a day before they notice you guys sneaking around. We need to get moving,” Misora concluded, wagging her finger in a style reminiscent of a blue hedgehog.

“Where?” Nodoka asked.

“Peach Moon, of course!” This, however, did not leave Misora's lips. Rather, the bouncing cat Shichimi and Motsu bellowed those words as they appeared on Misora's shoulders. Shichimi, of course, continued to bob to some invisible beat even the world's greatest musicians could never hope to discover.

“Peach...” Fuuka began.

“...Moon?” Fumika ended, as such the fashion for the twins.

“Hey wait, isn't that the school Miyamoto brat comes from?” Asuna queried, thinking back to previous conversations with the other tiny teacher. Then a thought hijacked her mind. “Hold it, wait a damn minute! You mean to tell us that Negi went there?!”

“That's correct!” Motsu noted. “In a good way.”

“Why did he go?” Nodoka continued the parade of Twenty Questions.

“Rebecca Miyamoto has gone missing. Possibly in a bad way.”

This wasn't met well—the magic knowing crowd exchanged worried glances and mutterings. Somebody gunning for Rebecca meant really bad news if Negi felt it so urgent to leave before even notifying anyone. Though how smoothly he managed to replace himself as a teacher sounded quite suspicious... Konoka tilted her head in worry. “Someone trying to hurt Becky... that doesn't leave many suspects, but...” Suddenly, she shot a finger towards Misora and the annoying mascots. “Did my grandfather or you put him up to that task?!”

“Huh? Why would I do that?” Misora reeled back from the accusation.

“Negi chose that on his own,” Shichimi responded. “The Dean had no hand on Negi's decision, mya.”

“That so...” Konoka drifted off.

“Well then! Let's go after Negi-kun!” Makie cheered. “To Peach Moon!”

“She's got a point,” Asuna said. “What else is there to do but tail Negi brat to Peach Moon?”

“Let's do this!”

“Me too!”

“Easier said that done,” Misora slammed her fist into the table to command everyone's attention. Once everyone was looking at her, her face became serious. “Chao's planning for some full body replacements, but there's only room for six of you. Any higher than that, it'll be too suspicious. You don't even have time to fight amongst yourselves right now,” Misora got her grin back and folded her arms. “Pick wisely, then.”

If Misora expected cooperation between the girls in such short notice, she would have been disappointed. Groups of girls immediately began to leer at each other like prey instead of friends, growling and snarling like exaggerated beasts—apparently even Negi's closest confidants weren't immune to the effect. But since Misora wasn't expecting things to go smoothly, she just grinned. Oh, you evil troublemaker!

Konoka, however, rained on any parade of brewing jealousy. “Okay okay!” She clapped her hands. “It's obvious we should stack this according to who needs the most support where!”

“Ojou-sama...” Setsuna trailed amazed at her steadily increasing leadership skills.

“Whoa, talk about suddenly changing strides!” Misora nearly fell out of her seat in surprise. However, it wasn't like any plan she made was ruined. Grinning, she continued. “Why don't you tell me what you think then?”

“Okay then!” Konoka twirled happily before puffing her cheeks and making a face as serious as she could. “Obviously, Asuna has to go. She wouldn't have a peace of mind if lil' bro Negi-kun did any funny business with Becky-sensei!”

“GEH.” General response.

“W-what are you talking about?!” Flustered Asuna.

“Hahaha, seriously! Anyway, thanks to the evidence we have so far, it's likely Cygnus-han has returned. Secchan and I will be going, since we're the only ones that can deal with him.” Konoka added.

“Whoa, hold it!” Haruna suddenly shot up. “What's with you two, and why are you so dedicated to fighting him? Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?!”

“Of course we do,” Setsuna answered solemnly. “But we're the only ones who can stop him if he pulls anything drastic. Negi-sensei and Becky-sensei nearly died at his hands last time. You could say we're fated to fight him.”

“But still...” Haruna suddenly bit back. It... wasn't worth it. Not now. Smiling wearily, she said, “Then come back alive, okay?”

“Don't worry, Haruna-san!” Konoka smiled cheerily. “You haven't been training with your pactio, so you have to stay here.” Haruna paled as Konoka mercilessly and figuratively stabbed her with the dagger of minus five importance.

“You... you superior villain!” Haruna hissed as her jaw dropped with her ego.

“Looks like I have to stay here, make sure she doesn't turn the remnants of 3-A into a harem,” Yue muttered. “I trust Rei will keep you guys sane, right?”

“I'll st-stay here too...” Nodoka said shyly and reluctantly.

“You're going,” Haruna, Yue, and Konoka said at the same time for completely different reasons. Nodoka reeled back at first, but calmed down and began to think about it.

“Nodoka has knowledge we might need,” Konoka reasoned.

“And you can't lose to Becky-sensei!” Haruna added, gaining her mischievous grin back.

“Go to ease yourself,” Yue said simply, smiling softly.

Her confidence renewed, Nodoka clenched her fists. “In that case, I will assist Negi-sensei!”

“That's right!” Konoka continued her spiel. “Now... Misora!” Konoka whirled around to the relaxed girl. “I'm assuming Chao has to stay here to maintain the machines, which means you have to stay here too!”

“Aw drat, you saw right through me,” Misora mock grumbled, as if she were a child being dragged to bed by her mother.

“Kaede-san... we don't know if any troubles will remain here while we're all gone, so you should stay here as well.”

“I see,” Kaede said. “Can't fault you with that.”

“I don't want to leave Kaede-nee!” Fuuka cried.

“We'll stay here too!” Fumika concluded the twins' thoughts.

“Mm-hmm! That sounds about what I expected,” Konoka nodded vigorously.

“Then by extension...” Akira began.

“...that means Akira-san and I are going?” Makie concluded, her excitement rising.

“Yep!” Konoka smiled cheerily. “The six of us are the best bet in following Negi-sensei, especially in a worse case scenario if Becky-sensei's students can't help us for any reason. So...” Konoka turned to Misora. “How's that for team logic?”

Misora laughed. “Guess I can't fault your logic, so here,” she fished in her pockets for a moment. Pulling out six tickets, she tossed them towards the people Konoka had picked to go to Peach Moon. “Congratulations, you're all witches now!”

“I thought we were going to Peach Moon, not Hogwarts,” Nodoka blinked, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

“Killjoy,” Misora muttered. “Anyway... head straight there from here. Chao will deliver some overnight stuff for you once you get a place to stay.”

The girls exchanged looks. Asuna however took the lead once more. “You heard the woman! Let's move!”

“Good luck, you guys!” Fuuka cheered.

“Say hello to Peach Moon for us!” Haruna winked.

Without wasting a minute, Asuna led the chosen six through the outside doors, making a quick and stealthy exit into the outside world.

Peach Moon, here we come!

xx

Before we dash off into the adventures of Asuna Kagurazaka and the Neo Baka Rangers, lets rewind a bit to that morning... elsewhere. Of course, where else would I be talking about other than the epic school in question, Peach Moon.

Unlike Mahora, this place was far more public—or at least, as public as Japanese high schools got anyway. There was always an aura of strangeness to it—animals walking free, troublemakers, assorted things going wrong (or right). Females students wore bright pastel yellow uniforms compared to Mahora's much darker selection. Boys, on the other hand, wore black school uniforms. How unlucky, huh?

But that strangeness was muted this morning. Why so?

Rumor has it a new teacher is on the block.

There was a scramble of footsteps heard out in the hallway before the door slid open. “BIG NEWS! BIG NEWS!” One Himeko Katagiri barreled through the classroom, only to trip on a desk and crash magnificently into the ground, bowling over several desks while she was at it. Three random boys in the front were so impressed they held up rating cards bearing “10”, “9.5”, and “gr8.8”. The girl groaned as the single strand of fool's hair on her head spun around like a helicopter blade.

“Yet again, Himeko?” Sayaka Suzuki peered down at her fallen classmate with gentle blue eyes and face, remembering a time in which Himeko also crashed into the room with big news. “You might have to update your insurance...”

Himeko looked up, her usually cheery face slightly sad. “But I have big news! They found a replacement for Becky!”

“What?! They did?!” Was the general shocked response of the entire classroom. The noise settled down to concerned whispers.

“They finally settled on a substitute for Becky, huh...” Kurumi Momose sighed sadly. Unfortunately aside from looking pretty, she lacked distinguishing features (“HEY!”). “I hope this doesn't mean she's gone for good.”

“That obnoxious PTA would be pleased that Becky's getting replaced.” The red-headed Miyako Uehara muttered, her forehead shining ominously. “But I won't be. There has to be something going on...”

“Probably...” Rei Tachibana added, adjusting her huge glasses.

“Hey Rei...” Kurumi turned around slowly to face her classmate. “Have you heard from that Chao girl?”

“Not since last week. She says she was busy with a couple of projects,” Rei answered. “I just better hope that I don't need a transformation any time soon.” She shrugged.

There was a jingling of bells. Ichijou was there. Brown eyes, blue uniform that defied convention, strange pseudo-ponytail. “Why don't we try a plot device?”

“We don't need your stinking plot device right now!” Miyako snapped.

“Suit yourself,” There was a chime of bells. Ichijou was no longer there.

But the bickering stopped here, as tinier but somehow commanding footsteps could be heard from the hall. The door opened. The class stopped. All that could be heard was the rhythmic tapping of feet. Nobody outside the front row saw anything, and considering nobody important was on the front row, the person walking in remained a mystery.

But then this person stepped up on top of the desk, so the class could see in full view. A red-haired boy in a business suit, carrying a staff twice his height.

The six girls out of Becky's class recognized him instantly.

“You're joking,” Miyako slammed her hand on the desk, a bit overexcited.

“Oh, this just got a lot more interesting,” Rei pushed up her glasses, a grin forming on her face.

“Hello, everyone of class 1-C! My name is Negi Springfield.” The boy announced in a kind and yet serious tone. “I will be teaching class 1-C in Miss Rebecca Miyamoto's absence. Some of you may know me, and I wish we could meet again in better circumstances. Rest assured, however, Ms. Miyamoto will return.”

There was a moment of silence.

After that moment of silence, the Negi Springfield effect kicked in, and nearly every girl in the classroom swarmed him with hugs. “G-g-g-gaahh!” Negi easily fell under the weight of several girls smothering him with affection for no other reason than the fact that he is Negi Springfield. Every guy in the room exchanged confused (and probably jealous) looks. Damn, I am making Negi sound like some sort of underaged Stu right now, aren't I.

“Negi-sensei, it's so good to see you again!” Kurumi cheered.

“Oh Negi-sensei! So omega awesome for you to come here!” Himeko sashayed happily. However, there was a touch of that rare seriousness in her voice when she added, “Please, help return Becky to us!”

Through all the crushing hugs, Negi gave an earnest smile. “I promise.” This was met with smiles so figuratively bright even blind men could see them. But... “But could you first get off me so I can teach? That'd help a lot, you know.” A few embarrassed remarks later, and the girls scrambled into their seats. With that, Negi finally stood, ready to educate the class with what little power he could... for now.

However, through Negi's arrival, there were those who perhaps, knew ahead of time, or at least, gave a separate set of good news.

A cheery faced woman in the back of the classroom smiled. Unlike everyone else in the room, she wore a frilly maid outfit for reasons yet unknown. Speaking into some hidden device, she whispered, “Negi Springfield is here~. Shall I guide him when this is over?” After listening for a bit, she grinned. “In that case, please be prepared!”

And last, but not least, there was yet another girl. She differed yet again from everyone else. The pleasant camaraderie felt by everyone did not touch her. “Negi Springfield... why does that name fill me with... sadness? Jealousy?” Her haunting blue eyes gazed towards the front as she gently clawed her long, black hair...

xx

“And that is the reason why you do not skin a boar with your teeth,” Negi concluded his lesson for the day. “Please study your course packets and bear with me. I largely teach English, so quite a few of these subjects are still new to me. And Siegfried Adolphus Buckston IV-san, no, my aura is not out to get you.” Most of the class filed up to leave, giving cursory waves and admiration. There were two girls who eyed him a bit longer than he expected (and what was up with that maid suit on one of them?!), but he simply smiled and waved them off.

However, when all was said and done, six faces still remained in the classroom. They were all faces Negi recognized from their previous adventures in Mahora. “Hello everyone. Long time, no see!”

“Nice to see that you've come here,” Rei said. “And here we thought we were getting somebody awesome.” When Negi felt his heart get stabbed by a figurative pointy object, Rei laughed. “Just kidding.”

“I came as soon as I could,” Negi straightened himself out as the group walked outside the classroom and journeyed out of the building. “When I heard Becky went missing, I figured you girls could possibly be in danger as well... that's why I transferred over here.”

“The paperwork must've gone by pretty fast,” Rei remarked, easily keeping in step with the boy.

“The principal here helped me out. A weird fellow, but I guess he's nice,” Negi said. “Wonder why a National Monument lizard speaks for him, though.”

“Don't ask us, we have yet to figure that one out,” Miyako grumbled as she pushed the doors open leading outside.

At long last, the third annoying mascot popped out, yawning as if he had just woken up. “Man, I was tuckered out from last night!” Chamo looked around and saw the six girls from Peach Moon... and the changed surroundings. “Hey ladies! Whoa, big bro! Where are we?”

“It's the ermine thing,” Rei noted with slight disinterest. “How convenient. Does this mean you're going to expand your pactios, Negi-sensei?” To which Negi immediately stuttered his answer, “No no! I have no intention of the sort!”

“Hey Chamo,” Kurumi greeted pleasantly. “You're on our school now. Negi-sensei came here to look for Becky.”

“Whoa, how'd I miss this?!” Chamo nearly shouted in surprise.

By now, the group was nearing a local playground as the sun began to sink below the horizon. A few birds could be heard in the distance, but other than that, there was only a peaceful silence, heralding the evening.

Chamo looked around heatedly. “Hey Asuna-nee-san, what do you... hey wait a minute! Big bro, where are the others?”

“Back at home,” Negi answered sheepishly. “I left in a hurry. I'd rather not get them involved in what's going on, but knowing them, they'd strong-arm their way here. So I left them a guide... No clue on when they'll get here though.”

“Next episode.” Ichijou fiercely concluded from the opening of a random tree trunk.

“What.” Everyone stole the words right out of my mouth.

“They'll be here by next episode,” Ichijou insisted in that deadpan voice of hers.

“Somebody get rid of her before she infects us with stupid,” Rei muttered.

Surprisingly enough, it was Rokugou who simply closed the compartment to the desk, shutting Ichijou out. Upon a second inspection, one would find she was no longer there. The girl chalked it up as Ichijou's usual weirdness and simply went back to the conversation.

“Anyway, you sure you can do alright without them?!” Chamo said.

“Chamo-kun, I already have a pactio with four of these girls,” Negi pointed towards the Peach Moon girls. Strangely, in a twist of irony, it was the two girls who didn't pactio with Negi that blushed instead. Himeko tilted her head in “maho” induced confusion at Rei and Rokugou. “I'm pretty sure we can hold out until Asuna-san and the others get here.”

“I see, I see!” Chamo rubbed his chin. He then turned to the girls. “I hope you ladies are feeling confident in your strength. I get a certain air of trouble and weirdness around here.”

“Are you talking about this school?” Miyako raised an eyebrow. “That's normal. Weird ass things happen all the time here!”

“Really?” Negi asked.

“Should we tell them about the time somebody planted a bomb on Mesousa's head?” Kurumi turned to her friends.

“I don't think we should discuss things like that on Negi sensei's first day here,” Rokugou smiled nervously upon seeing Negi and Chamo flinch in horror. “Hmm... Negi-sensei, where are you staying?”

“I don't know just yet...” Negi sheepishly answered. However, this conversation got inconveniently derailed, as something nasty kicked in. Negi's staff shined, warning him of a dark power nearby.

This was going to be ugly.

“Huh? What's that?” Himeko defied the laws of nature by being the first to notice.

Negi swallowed hard. “Darkness.”

“Could it be—?!” Rokugou gasped.

“Oi, LOOK!” Chamo pointed furiously ahead of them.

Indeed, there was a conspicuous blue... door in front of them. An ornate and creepy design shined on it—perhaps being something resembling a castle door. A shining red orb stood at its center, from which several white tendrils grew from it and eclipsed the door.

Negi blinked. “What... is that?”

“Something about that door screams 'boss fight', but that could be just me,” Miyako muttered. “It's practically beckoning us, too.”

“It's the door of the year,” Rokugou added.

“But it could be a trap!” Kurumi shivered in fear. “...are we sure this is Japan?!”

“No choice but to go innn!” Himeko paraded in a singsong voice. And without hesitation, she marched to the door. With her approach, the tendrils unfurled around the door, and the red orb disappeared. The door opened, rising from the ground. Ignoring the foreboding mist exuding from the bottom, Himeko happily trotted to her doom.

“Himeko!” Negi shouted. “That's dangerous!” He immediately followed her in, running inside. Reluctantly, the other girls followed suit.

xx

Inside was another matter, for you see, they were back at the playground.

On first inspection, nothing seemed out of place. The slide, the swings, the jungle gym, they were a perfect replica of the world outside. However, looking closer amongst the surroundings noted things were very wrong. The trees around looked dead, if not gnarled completely. The sky looked hazy. And the slide was a rustic blood red instead of the primary, gentler red.

A creepy illusion, if Negi ever saw one.

As soon as Rokugou, who brought up the lead, stepped in, the door slammed down, and the white tendrils and red orb returned, overtaking the door. Upon seeing this, the blue-haired lass tried to open the door again, to no avail. “We're trapped inside!”

“I knew it!” Kurumi shivered. Not liking her surroundings one bit, she whispered. “We're still in Japan, right? Right?”

“I couldn't tell you, Momose-san,” Negi whispered. “This place is certainly an illusion, I can tell you that.”

Himeko, happily skipping around as if nothing was going on, frolicked about the sand, not having a care in the world, but suddenly...

Atop the jungle gym sat a boy. A large, fat, intimidating boy, with a tiny blond mohawk. Himeko looked up and saw him leering down upon the small group. Take a guess on what she said. “Maho?” No prizes for you if you guessed right.

“Why hello there. I take it you're interested in my territory dot com,” The boy spoke, his nasally but purely evil voice rattling even the jaded Rei.

“Haven't I seen you before, maho?” Himeko tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes you have, but here, I am made of boss fight and awesome dot com,” The boy continued. Negi noticed that his tongue was literally like a snakes, slithering about as if it had a mind of its own. “I was told if I defeat you, I will be made of even more awesome.” This boy chilled them all to the soul as he stood up. “Prepare yourself dot com!”

Negi clenched his teeth. As he thought... darkness was here.

-X-X-X-

OMAKE!

“Oi, Takamichi.” Evangeline A.K. MacDowell muttered as she saw the grizzled man watch a movie. “You know Negi-bouya went off to that lunatic school, right?”

“Yep,” Takamichi turned to face the blond vampire. “Why are you pointing this out?”

“3-A's gone crazy. I'm not bothering to go to class if they're going to be this batshit. Seruhiko's barely any better than Negi's first days here.” She looked past him for a moment to see the movie. “What are you watching?”

“Dracula. Forget which version, though.”

“That Dracula always struck me as a moron,” Evangeline hissed. “His opening attack is always those goddamn fireballs-from-the-cape! And every single bimbo and their grandmother learned to dodge it the first time through! Can't he learn some new tricks?!”

“Eva, are we even talking about the same Dracula?”

xx

(Haha, welcome to the weekly installment of Nightmare!?! Please enjoy the run, and don't be afraid to drop some concrit!)

NEXT TIME: “Those That Hunt The Night Don't Get Any Sleep!” By Asuna