Pani Poni Dash! Fan Fiction / Mahou Sensei Negima! Fan Fiction ❯ Act II: Nightmare!? ❯ Episode 3: "I Don't Wanna Join a Festival of Servants!" by Makie ( Chapter 3 )

Nightmare?!

Episode 3: “I Don't Wanna Join a Festival of Servants!” by Makie

“Yo~! Chao~!” Rei greeted lazily on the phone, slowly preparing herself for school.

“How's things coming over there? Did Negi-sensei show up there okay?” Came the voice on the other end. Rei could hear the frantic typing of keys in the background—Chao was apparently at work programming something.

“Yeah, he even helped us out today. Some weirdo's moving about in the darkness again,” Rei muttered. “I don't think it's swan boy, there's not enough of him gloating or kidnapping Rokugou.”

“Hmm,” Chao responded.

Rei could hear someone else screeching and whimpering in the background. “That's Misora, isn't it? She not dying out there, is she? Not that I care.”

“Goddammit let me gooo!” The girl heard Misora bellowed. “I swear my blood doesn't taste good!”

“Shut up, Kasuga,” Rei recognized that voice too—the tiny vampire Evangeline was apparently the aggressor. “Consider yourself on loan for Chao.” Rei had only seen the vampire a couple of times, but she really couldn't see why she was so threatening other than a bad attitude. She had apparently been a far more bitter and dangerous individual years ago, but thanks to a curse, now lay confined on Mahora school grounds. “By the way, Chao, you're talking to one of those Peach Moon brats, right? I'd tell them about that council that's running over there if I were you.”

“Oh, oh yeah!” The young scientist chirped, as if she had remembered it on her own. “Rei, keep your eyes peeled for the Student Mage Council! Rumor has it they're joining forces with Peach Moon to observe Negi-sensei! Eva-chan says they were on the move here earlier!”

Wait. What. “Huh? Student Mage Council?” Rei raised an eyebrow. “Why are they so interested in Negi-sensei?”

“The Star Crystal incident,” Chao answered gravely. There was a paused. Rei figured by the sound of that, it had to be important, and yet... Luckily, before she had to urge Chao on, the scientist explained Negi's current situation as far as she knew—how the powerful gem was stolen, how Negi has been recovering strange shards, and how Cygnus had interrupted the investigation. The girls' previous talks about fairies suddenly made sense. “Negi's being valiant, but apparently it's been making bigger waves than everybody thought.”

“Yikes,” Rei hissed, just above a whisper. Slightly louder, she added, “I'll tell Negi to keep an eye out then.” She listened out for a bit, this time to hear Misora whimpering about “Please don't turn me into a werehog, please don't turn me into a werehog...” Rei's memories finally smacked her, and she remembered why she made the call in the first place! “Oh yeah! Did any of Negi's students come this way?”

“Six of them~” Chao answered happily. “You'll see who they are when you go to school today!” Chao apparently heard some beeping, as she stopped for a moment. “Oh dear, I bet that's them right now! Talk later! Bye!” And with that, the phone line went dead.

Rei hung up herself before putting the last of her stuff in her bag and walking out of her room.

xx

“Goddammit Chao where's our stuff?!” Asuna bellowed on the phone. She and Nodoka, while already showered and prepared for school, had zero spare clothing. Negi of course, was just smiling nervously, taking in his residence in the State of Undress (lorded over by Governor Asuna and Mayor Nodoka) with the silent hope that he wouldn't be recognized as some sort of hostile threat. Nodoka seemed to be fairly bashful but otherwise focused on the angry Asuna.

“Geez! I'm sorry I'm sorry! I was a bit carried away with taking care of Chachamaru and the dupes!” Chao apologized profusely. Asuna grumbled a bit, but that didn't stop her from hearing more furious key presses before a final -tap- and a machine humming. Moments later two suitcases flickered into existence. “There, your clothes should be there, including a Peach Moon school outfit!”

Asuna, still holding the phone in one hand took her other hand and opened the case, which was filled with her regular clothes, a pale yellow uniform, and strangely enough, a blank card. She rummaged through her stuff. “Thanks, Chao. By the way, what's with this blank card?”

“Ah, it's just a simple thing I cooked up,” Chao answered coyly. “You'll find it most useful when Negi-sensei isn't around~.”

“Wow, thanks for the tip,” Asuna growled sardonically.

Negi gently grabbed the phone from Asuna. “Thank you, Chao-san! Is my class doing all right?”

“They've been holding on,” Chao answered wearily. “Seruhiko-sensei seems to be getting through the lessons fair enough.”

Negi frowned, not really pleased with the news, but figured there was little he could do at this point. Smiling again, he then concluded, “Please don't hesitate to keep in touch! I'll talk with you later Chao-san! Bye!” And with that, he hung up the phone.

Asuna immediately snatched the phone back and put it in her pocket. “Well, we're up to speed, right?” By now she had donned the Peach Moon outfit, as had Nodoka. “Let's go! We're gonna be late!”

“Wow, you girls look cute!” Negi marveled.

Everything stopped.

“R-really?!” Nodoka smiled, cheeks red.

“I'm glad, big bro!” Chamo bellowed, popping out of nowhere as usual. “It's about time you noticed the fashion of cute ladies!”

Asuna was having none of this right now. “Oi! You'll have all night to ogle at Honya-chan in cute clothes! Right now we need to SPLIT.” She scooped up Negi and bolted out the door, with Nodoka surprisingly enough close on her heels. Seeing nobody else outside, she called out, "Hurry up, we're gonna be late!”

“Asuna!” Konoka called from just outside. “We've been waiting!”

“Sorry we're late! Let's just go!” Asuna shouted, and the seven strong group sprinted towards their school destination.

Unknown to them, however, the young maid from yesterday had watched them all scurry to Peach Moon. Smiling, she said, “My, my! Isn't it time we left for school as well?”

“Perhaps it is,” The man at the front desk agreed. “After all, we wouldn't be setting a good example as the Student Mage Council if we're late,” Albiero Imma smiled.

xx

“Have you heard?”

“Of course! It's amazing, isn't it?”

“It's really exciting!”

“Who would've thought that the tenth grade was getting six new students?!”

“And right on the heels of that new teacher replacing Miyamoto-sensei!” There were murmurs and whispers of excitement growing, as the newest gossip spread like wildfire.

“Aiyah... you students are way too noisy...” A voice lifted up in complaint. Of those there, she was the only one who was.. you guessed it, a teacher! As far as the teachers went, she was also fairly attractive. Short, red hair fell over her shoulders, somehow combed. Alas, this particular teacher had a nasty hangover, was practically melted onto her desk much like a slug. Such horrible role model for the students—“Enough already, you make my head hurt...” Why thanks for proving my point!

“But it's true, Igarashi-sensei,” Spoke a boy, perhaps the only important male in the room, likely because he had a strong resemblance to Kurumi Momose. Easily fanning the weak teacher from his vintage point, he continued. “We're getting six new students. A whole 'temporary exchange program' cooked up by the principle, or so I heard.”

“So who's going over to the other school?” Asked a young brunette, wearing a pale blue headband with a bow.

The hung over teacher sleepily checked her role. “Nobody important, obviously.”

Suddenly, there was some knocking at the door.

“Sensei~” A voice rang.

“Yeah, Kashiwagi twins.” She answered in boredom.

“It's not the Kashiwagi twins, it's Yuma!” One voice rang. A girl, tall and willowy, stood in defiance. She bore a blue ribbon in her long, purple hair, and her outfit was a dark pink instead of the usual yellow. “You'd think you'd learn by now.”

“And for your information,” A meek voice rose. “I'm Yuna Kashiwagi.” She was practically a mirror image of her sister, minus the ribbon, which was red instead. Both sisters wore thigh high leggings that matched their ribbons.

“You think I can tell you apart at this salary?” The woman known as Igarashi-sensei muttered.

Yuma just shrugged this off. “Anyway, the six students are coming in here.”

“Here?” Igarashi's attention shot up.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Not enough room in the other classes.”

“Oh boy...”

“Oi, Negi!” The door slid open, and six people walked in. Led by a girl with bell charms in her hair, they walked straight to the desk. “You think you'd know how things w—what.” Asuna realized she wasn't staring at Negi. “Erm, sorry! I think we've got the wrong place!”

“No you don't,” Igarashi noted, looking at her paper. “Sit down.”

“Eh?” Asuna blinked. She looked around. Then she RAGED. “WHHAAAAT?!”

It was enough for Negi to dash in for the damage control. “Asuna-san!” Negi tried to calm the girl. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry! There wasn't enough room in class 1-C to fit all of you, so I had to send you across the hall to 1-A.”

“You should've told us that earlier,” Asuna growled, moving to hoist the boy up and look threatening and evil.

Konoka, however, saw that coming and decided it wasn't justified enough. Snapping her fingers, Setsuna and Akira immediately restrained the girl by locking her arms with theirs. Try as she might, she couldn't get free despite her rage. “Hey, hey, Asuna. He tried, right? It's not like we won't see him after school.”

Asuna sighed. Seeing that she was no longer a threat to Negi the other two let go. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“That's okay,” Negi's heart bled forgiveness. “See you after class!” And with that, he was gone. There was a moment of silence as the six newcomers easily filed into their seats.

While Igarashi groaned from her usual hangover curse, it was Makie who broke the silence through conversation. “I think everyone's lookin' at us funny...” she murmured to Akira.

That's when the question assault kicked in.

While the unimportant people were content in just whispering amongst each other as per usual (since they weren't important enough to actually talk to the newcomers like real people), the four that talked to the teacher made their move.

The first was, in fact, the lone important boy. “Yo,” He greeted calmly and lazily. “Been a while since we had any newcomers. Where'd you guys come from?” While I did point out earlier that he had a strong family resemblance to Kurumi, the Mahora visitors didn't reach that conclusion as nearly as quickly.

“Mahora,” Nodoka supplied the answer. She scrutinized him, trying to place why he looked so familiar, but yet...

“Ah... wait a minute,” The boy began to think. “My sister disappeared to a school like that last month...”

“Sister?” Konoka blinked. The puzzle slid into place. “Ah, you must mean Kurumi!”

“So you know my sister?” The boy asked.

“Yeah, we're friends with her!” Konoka smiled cheerily. “So you're a brother, then?”

“Shu Momose,” The boy introduced himself. Likewise, the cast of 3-A introduced themselves. The brunette peered back at the cast, happily introducing herself as Yuzuko Kurusu. The Kashiwagi twins still insisted on differentiating between each other, despite nobody else's concern.

“Oi~, can we keep it down over there?” The teacher muttered. “My head's still ringing...”

“And here I'd thought I'd fail even faster at school, so this is a relief!” Asuna laughed. “So this class is easy, right?” As an award for her assumption, a gold pan crashed onto Asuna's head, followed by her sailing through a trapdoor into a vat of water. Upon seeing water, Akira immediately shed her clothes, revealing a swimsuit, and jumped right in after her. Completely ignoring everyone's shock, Akira swam happily. Makie just laughed it off, while Konoka and Setsuna immediately dashed to Asuna's aid.

“Don't take me for a fool,” Igarashi leered through her weakness.

And with that, class began. However, silently in the back, a male youth gazed on at the newcomers, much more relaxed now that he was no longer on the spot. One Connor Gavet noted, with quite a bit of amusement, how much closer the newcomers were to each other than the rest of the class.

xx

Soon enough, classes ended.

“Hey hey, Yuna-chan!” The daring Kashiwagi twin asked. Subtly shifting her gaze towards Nodoka, she continued to speak. “What's the fashion scouter say about her moe level?”

“It's...” The meek Kashiwagi began. But, even using her invisible-to-nonexistent fashion scouter, she was completely amazed at the results. “... it's immeasurable! I haven't seen potential like this in ages, Yuma-chan!”

“Over nine thousand?! No wait, nine thousand is puny compared to this!” Yuma's eyes shined with glee. “We must try some fashions on her!”

“Shouldn't we ask for permission first?” Yuna asked weakly as her sister approached the shy librarian.

“Aww, she'll thank us later, even if she doesn't want to!” Yuma waved off this worry. Easily approaching Nodoka, the girl grinned. She casually greeted. “Hey there, newcomer.”

“Yes?” Nodoka responded innocently.

Yuma nearly shook with glee and had to force herself still. “You pull off the shy, library girl look extremely well, yes? We, my sister and I, would love to help you bring out that look even better!”

“Hmm? R-really?” Nodoka wasn't sure about this and looked amongst her friends. They too, exchanged looks, though it was only Asuna that shared any real concern. “Maybe...”

In the end, it was Konoka who answered for her. “Take one for the team, Honya-chan!”

“Eh!?” Nodoka paled.

“Yay!” The twins cheered, and, like bandits, made off with the girl in tow (“EEEEEP!”).

At the same time that the twins were making their grand escape, Negi too, was leaving class, along with the notable girls of 1-C. Negi was talking animatedly to Kurumi. “Hmm... I haven't been to the teacher's lounge yet, but I think I'll have time tomorrow.” Noticing the Kashiwagi twins dash off with a struggling Nodoka in tow, Negi stared in confusion for a moment.

“What's got the Kashiwagi twins so excited?” Rei asked, popping out besides her friends.

“Looks like they're kidnapping Nodoka-san for some sort of nefarious scheme,” Ichijou observed.

“WHAT?!” Whoops, wrong choice of words there, Ichijou. That's all it took for Negi to see a theoretical red. “Give back Nodoka-san, kidnappers!” Negi shouted, dashing after them despite pleas for him to stop, it was all a misunderstanding, they only want to force-dress Nodoka in cute clothing, how is that bad, et cetera et cetera...

Seeing her teacher suddenly excited, Makie sprung into action as well. “Wait for me, Negi-kun!” She took a literal long jump over the heads of the rather impressed girls, closing the gap between herself and Negi with surprising speed.

With them gone, Rei sighed at Ichijou's usual antics. “Geez, going crazy and adding misunderstandings as per usual...”

“Negi-kun has his hands full, doesn't he?” Konoka added.

“I suppose so,” Setsuna added on to Konoka's add on.

“Oi, shouldn't somebody tail him?” Asuna added.

“Makie-san's doing that, right?” Akira answered.

“I mean somebody else,” Asuna muttered. “No offense to Makie, but she hasn't even fought seriously yet. And considering all the weirdness crawling around this school we can't be too careful. So I guess I'll tail him, just in case.”

“Me too, me too!” Konoka added.

“You have fun with that,” Miyako muttered, not wanting to get involved with this usual madness. “But we'll keep our eyes peeled.”

xx

Running the fastest he could without magic enhancement, Negi tore through the hallways. This was bad—he quickly lost track of the twins, and with that no means of finding Nodoka without magic. Worse yet, he had yet to fully understand the layout of the school, so quickly navigating would be a pain. There were still magic oblivious students milling about, so wandering about here freely.

“No running in the hallways~!” One of them shouted in a rather jovial tone. Negi briefly noted his white hair and wide grin. Negi however, only slowed down his chase slightly.

“Negi-kun!” Makie cried, finally catching up to him via swinging towards by catching her ribbon to a water sprinkler and swinging over to the boy.

This was a very bad move, as her weight, despite how light she was, was enough to cause the immediate ones nearby to activate, allowing the sprinklers to shower on top of everything.

...including the white-haired boy, who didn't dig it all that much. “AAAIIIEE! GACK! WATER!” He retreated into the relative safety of the classroom, only leaving Negi and Makie to ponder within the State of Confusion.

“Errm... very strange indeed,” Negi noted, as Ichijou suddenly bolted from out of nowhere and dashed into that same classroom. The two of them wisely decided to ignore the increasing weirdness and violent sounds coming from the room before their brains broke. They quietly left the classroom and headed further downstairs towards the extracurricular rooms.

xx

It was another fifteen minutes before Negi finally found a lead. Oh, but this lead was bad news!

For you see, it was another boss door, like the one he saw yesterday.

“Negi-kun, that door looks weird...” Makie's usual energy ebbed slightly.

“This isn't good at all...” Negi whispered. “If that kind of door is here, that means darkness is here, too... Nodoka-san could be in danger!”

“Eh?!” Makie held her hands together. “Would that mean the twins planned this? From what I saw of them today, they wouldn't do something like this?”

“I don't think so either, they probably walked into a trap...” Negi grabbed his staff tightly. Boldly, he approached the door, and of course, it rose open, inviting in the two of them with foreboding mist. “Nodoka-san! Crazy twins I met today! Please hang on!” He walked in, Makie tailing behind him.

There was darkness here, and no Nodoka.

The suspicious boss door slammed down behind Negi, leaving just him and Makie to face this dark place alone. The closet seemed... almost too spacious. Were the closets around here in Peach Moon this big? And there was this vague feeling of darkness just hanging in the air as well. So... where was Nodoka?

Despite this, though, it felt somewhat nostalgic. Didn't his childhood friend Anya boast about finding a closet this big somewhere?

“Negi-kun... I'm scared,” Makie whispered, holding his hand tight.

“Don't worry, Makie-san,” Negi responded, reassuring. “Stand by me.”

“Okay...” They stepped forward a bit, but Makie stopped, her foot having bumped into something. She looked down and shrieked loudly.

The shriek caused Negi to jump back in shock as well. “What is it, Makie-san?!” Negi asked urgently. The gymnast could only point a quivering finger downward. Negi slowly followed her finger... and his eyes widened.

Down at his feet were the long-haired twins he saw earlier, unmoving.

“What...?!” Negi immediately leaned forward to check for a pulse. He got a dark shock instead. “Gaah!” He fell backwards, his hand sizzling from the attack.

“Negi-kun!” Makie worriedly rushed to his side.

“I'm okay...” The child teacher hissed.

“Shame, Negi Springfield, that you weren't here earlier.” A voice called through the darkness. “For an ordinary person, she fought pretty hard to escape the darkness... but in the end, she still lost. She even managed to keep your student out of my sight.” Negi looked further in, seeing a vague shape in the darkness, yellow eyes gazing at him. The voice seemed to radiate from that strange being. “But since you're here, you might as well witness my festival of servants. Perhaps you've already seen one.”

“Who are you?” Makie shivered.

“Are you connected to Cygnus?! What do you want with me?!” Negi shouted back desperately.

“Your loneliness. Your madness. That cursed swan... I'll do him one better... as the real darkness.”

Makie's fear overwhelmed by righteous anger, she stepped forward. “L-leave Negi-kun and the others alone! Stop this!”

“You have no hope, just like the book bearing girl. Then perhaps she will guide you to the underworld.” There was a wicked snickering from that vague blackness.

“She...?” Makie blinked in confusion. “But there's two people here!”

“Should two people, twins as close as they are, drown in the darkness together, they might as well not be two separate people at all...” The darkness flared, and a massive rune appeared under the twins. Something like a corrupted heartbeat began to sound, jerking their bodies to that rhythm. Negi and Makie stared in horror as the two girls began to slowly rise, floating... and merging.

Darkness consumed them.

When all was said and done, the twisted darkness merely muttered, “Dream here, Negi Springfield, for if you live, we will surely meet again.” The vague darkness disappeared, leaving only Negi, Makie, and this... creature standing before them.

She was... a strange, if creepily beautiful creature. While Yuma and Yuna's heads remained intact, their bodies were now a amalgamation of two dark-red demons, joined together from the side of the chest down. Clawed hands moved freely as they... she... stared down her challengers.

They... no, she, let out a unified roar.

Negi and Makie were now free to commence panicking.

While student and teacher were busy running around like headless chickens, the stretchy left hand of the creature shot towards Makie. Negi got his brain back and tackled Makie out of harm's way, smoothly righting himself and dodging back into a clothes rack. As the two of them stopped to catch their breath, Makie gibbered. “W-w-what are we gonna do?!”

“Makie-san, please stay calm!” Negi whispered.

Negi suddenly felt a hand touch him. Upon seeing Makie's hands clasped in front of her, he jumped up in panic, having to strain to keep from pissing his pants.

“Negi-sensei...” A soft voice called out.

Negi turned to his left to see Nodoka, buried underneath a pile of clothes but otherwise okay. “N-Nodoka-san! You're alright!” History seems to repeat itself in the oddest of times...

“Yay Honya-chan!” Makie agreed.

Nodoka frowned as she pulled herself out of the pile. “I couldn't save them... All I could do was hide here. But at least you're finally here! Please save them from the darkness!”

Negi gripped his staff, boosting his determination points to MAXIMUM. “I will... but you two, can you lend me your power?”

As if she finally remembered, Makie beamed. “Oh yeah! I'm Negi-kun's partner! Of course I'll help!” Nodoka, however, just nodded.

Negi held out his staff. “Partners: Nodoka Miyazaki, Makie Sasaki, show me the power within you!” The girls felt those pin pricks to their souls as Negi withdrew two cards from the usual orb he summoned. “Contract... activate!”

The light died down. Nodoka had her selection of high level books, proving she had her armor card. Makie had disappeared in a matter of seconds, as the nightmarish creature in the room finally found them.

“Eh? Makie-san?” Negi blinked, confused. The creature just roared again and tried to slam Negi once more with its stretchy arms. “WWAAAH!” He dived out of harm's way, mounting his staff and soaring about in a tight circle in order to evade the wild arms.

“Negi-kun! I'm right here!” The gymnast shouted from above.

The child mage looked up to see Makie sail downwards between the two. Bearing a shining pink gymnast outfit and her telltale ribbon, she appeared far more regal than normal for Baka Pink—perhaps this was her armor card. Makie extended both legs and twirled around, smashing both heads. “Take that!” The girl yelled.

The heads didn't like this. Two claws easily shot towards Makie, knocking her off of her perch. However, upon crashing into the ground, Makie easily recovered, dodging the follow-up attack. The crazy hands swirled around in an attempt to clip the girl, but she hand-sprinted out of harm's way.

“Negi-sensei! To your left!” Nodoka cried out.

Sure enough, to his left, a swinging arm sailed towards him. Negi flipped to the underside of his staff, narrowly avoiding a painful collision with Stretch Armstrong Doom Edition. Negi countered by hissing his unlock spell before firing a blast of light arrows. She shrieked from the pain... for a few moments. It then stopped for a moment, breathing in heavily before recovering from the attack completely. Of course, it HAS to be a boss fight, can't be that easy, right?

“Negi-sensei!” Nodoka shouted. “That thing is called a Meltigemini, a monster formed from two fused souls! It coordinates everything between them, so attacking just one of them won't work!” Nodoka felt mighty proud introducing the monster of the week.

“Then that means we have to hit both sides at the same time...” Negi thought out loud. “Just like Makie-san did earlier!” Determination renewed, Negi hopped on his staff again, and shot towards the monster.

Both of Meltigemini's faces sneered. Our the uh-oh.

Meltigemini clapped her hands together with a fierce -BANG- before flinging them upwards. Several runes appeared, and nasty bursts of poisonous liquid erupted from the ground. One knocked Negi clean off his staff, causing him to sail and crash into the floor.

Makie, too, was hit, and much more painfully at that. She shrieked as the poison stung her nerves.

“Makie-san!” Nodoka cried, and began to run towards her, only to trip and crash into another pile of clothes.

“Makie-san... Nodoka-san...” Negi groaned, his body barely responding to him through sheer anger. He leered upwards at the cursed creature, formed by two unwitting souls, currently ogling at Nodoka in a gothic-lolita costume— HEY WAIT A MINUTE.

It seemed that Nodoka had somehow emerged from yet another haphazard pile of clothes in a completely different outfit, and apparently looked so cute that even the twins locked inside the monster noticed! Negi could have sworn that one of them shouted “CORRECT!” upon seeing it...

...wait, that means their old personalities are showing through, meaning the monster's grip on them was weakening! Smiling softly, he stealthily slid out of sight, issuing a mental apology to the library girl. There was one last trick he had to try.

Meanwhile, Nodoka shivered. Why did the random changing clothes trick kick in NOW of all times?! Now she was in this embarrassing outfit in front of Negi-sensei and twins forced into a monster! Worse yet, this monster found it amusing to keep dipping her into the pile of clothes and continuously change her outfit. Now she was in a nurse's outfit! Now a school girl! Japanese maid! Oh please, just make it stop! The torture (and by torture we mean incomplete fanservice) is too great!

Luckily, now was the time that Negi stopped the party. “I'll free you from your hatred...” Meltigemini saw Negi right behind her, and curled her arms to defend herself from Negi's magic. “Tel ma... AMORIS!”

So it was a shock when, instead of any regular magic, Negi grabbed the twins' heads and slammed them together.

Meltigemini was in a world of pain, writhing madly. Slowly, the monster began to lose form, darkness evaporating. Negi moved upwards to finish the job. “Weighted light, drag out the darkness. Answer my plea and return these souls to their normal form!” He shot a hand up, and a massive rune appeared under the monster. “TEL MA... AMORIS!”

Meltigemini lost its grip on existing in this world. The twins fell apart, themselves once more. The swirling darkness that formed the nightmare creature didn't stand a chance as Negi sliced it in half with a burst of light. Finally, all was still.

Negi looked worriedly in Makie's direction, seeing the girl on the floor and shivering. However, just like last time, a swirl of orange formed an orb, dropping on Makie's weak form. As her form stopped shivering, the door opened. “Makie-san?” Negi ventured.

“I'm okay,” she said. “That was... nasty.” She shivered again. “I don't think I'm cut out for direct fights, Negi-kun.”

“I understand...” Negi said. “If you're too scared to—”

“I will continue to fight alongside Negi-kun!” She pumped a fist, shedding tears of AWESOME DETERMINATION. “I won't be stopped by a little bad luck!”

Her bravado infectious, Negi began to shed tears of determination as well. “Makie-san, you're so brave...”

“Negi!” As if on cue, Asuna and Konoka burst in, surrounding the boy. Their faces had “concern” scribbled all over them. Asuna continued. “Are you all right? Is everyone all right?!”

“We're fine now,” Negi said, smiling again. He looked over to the sleeping twins. “I managed to return them to normal.”

“That's good, Negi-kun!” Konoka said. “I knew something was up, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Sorry we couldn't get here in time.”

“Peach Moon's a pretty strange place,” Asuna added. “Man, I think the darkness is using the weirdness factor of this school to like, totally maximize itself. By the way...” She turned to Nodoka. “Why in the hell are you dressed like a -censored-?!”

“Believe me,” Nodoka quailed. “it wasn't by choice!”

“Doesn't matter, since Nodoka is still moe!” Konoka observed happily. The shy library girl grew three times redder that day. “Not as moe as Secchan, but you get my point, yes?”

“Why do I get the feeling that somebody screwed with Nodoka's moe stat?” Asuna muttered to herself.

Meanwhile, the Kashiwagi twins Yuuma and Yuuna slept soundly, no longer contained by nightmares, but dreams of fashion and daring adventure. Negi Springfield and his entourage are pretty awesome after all.

xx

Night fell.

In the darkness, a swan moved.

The moon full, Cygnus rose from the depths of the darkness, surveying the land around him. Taking a moment, he felt the air and aura around him. Somehow, in this strange land before him, everything felt truly strange. Unlike Mahora, which had powerful but even auras with easily determinable sources, this place... power was all over the place. Familiar auras, too, such as Negi, the light-bearing Konoe, and that inferior darkness—

WHOA HOLD IT! Cygnus's body reacted on instinct as a burst of Gravity magic appeared from above. He drifted out of harm's way and whirled backwards, trying to see his attacker.

Just his luck. “Look at me, crowing that you wouldn't catch me, and not even five seconds after I touch down, you find me.”

“While I do like to think that I'm competent, it's not too hard to find someone who's aura is the equivalent of a neon sign that says 'Look at me, I'm EEEEEEEVIL!'” The teenager known as Albiero Imma calmly responded, his dangerously empty smile on his face as usual. “But then again, all the rumors about you don't seem to be true... for someone reportedly as crazy as yourself, you are rather calm tonight.”

“What can I say?” Cygnus shrugged in a fake show of arrogance. “Throwing away my sanity isn't easy or even useful during the down time. But of course,” He dropped to a sneer. “If any excitement picks up, I'm always ready for a party.”

“So am I, so am I!” Al agreed jovially, taking up a fighting stance. “After all, youth is the time of endless parties and unwise experiments with sexual orientation!”

“Buuuut I don't feel like fighting right now,” Cygnus suddenly shifted moods and batted away what little growing animosity there was. “I'm looking for something, as what always happens with me.”

“They say one who is always looking but never finds has no purpose in life,” Al shut his book. “However, some say the act of looking is enough.”

“You learn stuff when you look! That's pretty much the only thing I remember from being a human, to be honest with you.”

“But of course, you still need to have at least an aim of what you're looking for.”

“True, that.”

“So anything in particular you're looking for? Depending on your answer I might not have to blow you up to smithereens, stab a sword to your forehead or slay you with a holy whip.”

“Firstly, I want to tear that inferior darkness a new one.”

“Easier said than done, especially since it runs away if it sees you. It seems quite hellbent on attacking Negi though. Not that it can actually beat him as long as he stays on his toes. If you keep interfering, you will make it difficult on the mages to solve a certain incident, and they will make it difficult for you to wander here freely.”

“You mean the one with that Star Crystal?”

“Yes.”

“Damn. So I can't bother Negi OR find Rokugou! This is agony!”

“That's good news, I suppose.”

“Damn you. ...Luckily I have a workaround for that.”

“What is that?”

“You think I'd tell you? Right now? I may be a self-proclaimed super-villain, but I'm not THAT stupid. I know my tropes!”

“Like Noble Demon? It kinda fits you.”

“What's that?”

“The sound of your failure. You just said you know your tropes. You just lost the game.”

“Damn you!”

“So... Secondly?”

“Huh?”

“You said firstly, earlier.”

“Oh right. Secondly: Divine Bloodlines.”

“Great song, that is.”

“What. No seriously.”

“In all seriousness, the Divine Bloodlines are the only people capable of wiping out anyone ageless and/or immortal, like yourself.”

“As awesome as I am, there are a lot more things than some so-called 'holy bloodlines' that can wipe me out. I'm not exactly Dark Lord material yet, but I'm working on it!”

“For a Dark Lord candidate you're awful amiable. Maybe you should try out for Dark Hero?”

“...I'll think about that one.”

“That's all I'll say for now. Guide you in the right direction and all that.” Albiero concluded. “Do take care. If you're still itching for a fight or don't like the situation before you, feel free to take it up with one of the Student Mage Council members. Thank you, and good luck shedding your villainy~!” And by the time Cygnus realized he had been insulted, the Student Mage Council leader had already vanished in a swirl of light.

Somewhere, Cygnus heard the sound of alien laughter.

xx

In seconds, the swan demon was back on the ship, snarling and attempting to crush one of the creatures that dare mock him with one hand. “Alien abuse! ALIEN ABUSE!” The victim cried. But the captain was too busy shivering in a corner to care.

Windia merely stared in curiosity, not impressed by Cygnus's show of angry tyranny. “Why'd you come back so quickly?”

“It's too delicate for the likes of me, just yet.” Cygnus grumbled, chucking the hapless alien into a wall. The other aliens shrugged and went on with their business since the swan no longer had any RAGE to spend on them. “As in, 'not the right time to stir up trouble.' But...” He gazed back at Windia. “I've got a job for you, now."

Windia stood up, alert.

“And I promise it'll be fun...”

-X-X-X-

“...what do you mean there's no omake?!” Evangeline complained. “It's the only place I even get to even think about being important!”

“The narrator's struggling to conclude this chapter, so he kinda ran out of time,” Chao shrugged. When Eva responded by jumping on top of her and biting on her forehead, Chao winced. “Please don't make me bleed to death. It gets more difficult to look after Chachamaru...”

“But... aren't we technically having an omake right now?” Misora pointed out, plastered on the floor and weak from having her blood taken.

“That's true,” Evangeline stopped harassing Chao, although she remained on top of the girl in a parasitic bear hug. “Still, why'd they even say something?!”

“I don't know. Hey, how's the hi-def epic scale power level monitor coming?” Chao called out to the back.

Satomi Hakase popped out from a pile of electronic mess, giving a thumbs up. “Good! Taking a bit longer than I thought, though!”

“Ugh, I have no idea what you're up to or if it's even relevant to the plot,” Eva muttered. “Anyway, next time! 'A Harmony of Dissonance is quite Disconcerting!' by those goddamn twins!”

“The Narutakis?”

“No! The Kashiwagi twins! Anyway, you better stick around, and drop some concrit, too! Or else I'll just freeze you with all the english beef!”

Chao promptly dumped Eva onto the floor, who crashed into a painful heap. “Let's not threaten our audience, okay?” Eva only grumbled in response.

-X-X-

(Hi guys! Finally here despite hitting a brick wall! Stay tuned, everybody!)