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Raising Negi; Snippets and ideas for chapters
Topic Started: Nov 10 2013, 07:49 PM (460 Views)
UberNimrod
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What it says gang. Here be the place for ideas and snippets. Post them up so we can see them and edit them if needed.
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Shadow Crystal Mage
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OVERLORD OF ALL CRACK!

Don't you already have one of these? I'm pretty sure we had another dedicated Raising Negi Thread...
I AM THE OVERLORD OF ALL CRACK!!!!!!
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UberNimrod
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The only other thing that might count as a thread was the D&D game snippets I posted here under my Other Happy Place.

This will allow me to display all of the stuff I have worked up, as soon as I get something worked up. And everyone else can post snippets also.
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UberNimrod
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Quote:
 
Haberdasher Hyperdash
by UberNimrod
.
.
“NO!”

“NEGI!”

Two different reactions from two different people. He could tell that much from where he was on the ground, sprawled out from when he'd been swatted aside like some sort of bug.

He was dazed, but he was fairly certain that one of the voices belonged to the gentleman that had run from them earlier. But the other voice...

'Was that really a girl?' he thought as he twisted his head toward the source.

It was a girl. With long blond hair running towards the scene with a very old man trailing behind her.

He was certain that he had been injured in the process of trying to save that boy. After all, who ran around dressed up as Gandalf from Lord of the Rings?

He tried to get up, and discovered two things. First, he wasn't hurting anywhere on his body. Second, someone else was running towards them, and at least was armed with a hatchet with something else stuck into his belt.

Glancing to his right, he discovered the three demons had turned around to face the old man and blond girl coming up to them. He bent over to grab the sword he'd dropped when he was knocked over, only to find that someone else had gotten it first.

Or rather, something.

He almost needed to stifle a giggle. His weapon was being carried off by what looked like a pool of water. Except that water didn't move like this was moving.

'There goes my weapon. What the hell am I supposed to do now?' he thought.

That was when everything happened all at once.

Just as the person armed with a hatchet got to him, there came what sounded like a warcry of some sort. Both of them turned to see a third person wearing glasses charging the trio of demons, while another approached both of them at a run. Unfortunately, the second person didn't see the “water” in his path.

It happened too fast to really see. It didn't help that the person armed with a hatchet was trying to drag him out of the way. All he was certain of was that the two smaller demons landed several blows to the person who had charged into their midst, and that the other person who was trying to help was himself needing some assistance once he stepped into the “water.” Especially after his leg was grabbed. He bent forward to do something, but was rewarded with a solid smack to the jaw or face before the “water” flowed towards the trio of monsters. Perspective being what it was, he was certain that whoever that was had been knocked out as he fell backward from the blow. The other person that had charged the monstrous trio was lying on the ground writhing in pain.

That was when both the old man and the larger monster did... something. He wasn't sure what. The larger monster shot something that looked like an energy attack from a computer role-playing game, an instant before the old man pointed something at the group ahead of him before starting some sort of chant. The energy attack caught both the old man and the girl beside him, but apparently the old man's attack proved useful as the trio of monsters and the “water” was sucked towards him and into something. He couldn't tell what since he was still being helped up by the guy with a hatchet.

At least until the Honorable Hatchet Man spotted what had happened as well. It was a good thing he was almost fully standing, otherwise he'd have been dropped to the ground again because of the astonishment of the other guy.

“Holy CRAP!”

He might disagree on the semantics, but he shared the sentiment. There was no rational explanation for what he had just seen. Both of them went over to the old man to see how he was.

The answer was obvious. Whatever that energy attack was, it was as if both the old man and the girl were slowly turning into statues themselves. He could hear the material of their clothing crackling as it changed from cloth to stone. Both of them seemed in obvious pain.

“Run... Please.”

“Eh?”

“Save that boy... No matter what else, protect him.” The old man was trying to face them, even as his clothing and skin lost their normal color.

“But...” the other guy started to say.

“I'm too far gone. The petrification spell is beyond reversal now. That dead fool won't forgive me if that boy cannot be saved.”

“Negi?”

Both of them turned to the blond that was staring at both the boy and the man with the sword through them both. She tried to step forward, even as her legs were a solid gray color.

It was a mistake. They could see her legs crack, then break above her knees. She fell forward and managed to extend her arms outward so she didn't fall flat on her face.

“Find the one healer that remains.”

Both of them turned to the old man again. He marveled at how much of the old man was gray in color now.

“If the petrification isn't stopped, her life will be at risk as well. Someone had a grudge against this village, likely because of that dead fool. I had thought we could hold off an army. I was wrong. Now... Go!” With a final crackling noise, the old man went silent as he turned completely gray.

He stood there looking at him for several seconds while his mind raced. 'This can't be... What I think it is, is it?' he thought.

As he turned to go see about the two people that had been stabbed, he heard a groan coming from the person who had been punched by the whatever that had stolen the sword he had. He started to head towards him, but two things made him change his mind.

The first being that Honorable Hatchet Man was faster in moving towards him. But the second was what stopped him from moving entirely.

His foot had kicked a bottle that was on the ground. As he bent to pick it up, he noticed the pentagram on the side of it.

'Oh God. This is what I think it is.' he thought.

That's when it happened.

Just as in the manga. Just after Stan was fully petrified, Nagi appeared. Just in time to save Nekane. And Negi too.

And the rest of them as well, of course.

Obviously Nagi would take care of family first though. Obviously.

So why was he carrying someone when he appeared?

Nagi set the person down and it became obvious why he was carrying him. First, he was unconscious. Second, he was missing part of his leg.

As he watched, Nagi went over to the blonde who was obviously Nekane and chanted something or other. He didn't know what he said as he was still in a state of shock from the realization of where he was. All he knew for certain was that it didn't sound like Latin.

While Nagi bandaged up Nekane, he glanced around, and saw that several of the others that were on the hill had wandered up. A couple of them were a sight to behold. One looked like he had had a run-in with one of the demons but had gotten away with just a torn shirt. He stayed back though, and looked around as if trying to understand what had happened.

The other looked like he had taken something in the belly, as evidenced by the blood on his shirt, but was walking up to him as if nothing had happened. When he got beside him he said quietly, “That's Nagi Springfield.”

He nodded, “We are in the story. How, why, I don't know.” He then glanced over at both Negi and the guy that had saved him, and realized that Nagi was still fiddling around with Nekane's legs, even as she started trying to shoo him over to where Negi was.

He started to go over there, even if he didn't know what to do. But Nagi appeared in between him and the pair and waved him back.

“He was trying to fend off an attack when both of them were stabbed,” Nekane said. “He was trying to protect Negi.” She looked as if she was about to start crying, the worry and fear visible on her face.

Nagi nodded and knelt by both Negi and the older man, the sword still stuck through both. As he watched, Nagi seemed to examine both of them carefully, with his expression getting darker as he did so. After several seconds, he stood up and smiled at Nekane.

“They'll be fine. Both of them will be fine.”

As Nekane's expression changed from worry to confusion, Nagi bent over the pair, and gripped the sword. Nagi started chanting something, starting off with his “Mano mano taro taro,” but after that it became something unintelligible.

Well, not unintelligible. More like something from a Monty Python skit. “Whim bim ala-lim. Wham bam thank you ma'am.” Something like that.

The man by him said, “That isn't what he chanted when he healed my gut.”

He started to say something to him, but as he was about to turn his head, he spotted Nekane's expression.

He was pretty sure it was a combination of disbelief and shock, but he wasn't certain. But it was obvious that she understood the spell he was chanting. It was also obvious that she was surprised to see him cast it.

Then Nagi finished. As he pulled the sword free, both Negi and the other guy glowed for a couple of seconds.

Several seconds after the glow faded, he saw Negi sit up. He smiled at that, then started to frown as the older guy he was sitting on moved slightly, but didn't act as if he was going to wake up.

“Now then, if all of you guys would come over here,” Nagi gestured to everyone in front of him. He stepped forward a few steps, as did several of the other guys there with him.

Nagi turned to them, keeping himself between them and Negi and Nekane. “I want you guys to take care of them,” he said, gesturing behind him. “Take care of them, because I can't right now.” He smiled before continuing, “Help them grow strong, and grow strong too.”

“Father?”

Nagi turned back to Negi, then walked to him and ruffled his hair. He leaned over to him and whispered something into his ear, then handed him the staff he carried.

He saw Negi look at the staff, then back up to his father's face. His eyes opened wider in surprise, and he saw the reason why.

Nagi was beginning to float upward, just as he did in the manga.

“I must leave. I wish I could do more,” he said.

“FATHER!” Negi yelled, standing up but falling over again as he was still trying to hold the staff that Nagi had given him.

By the time he got up, Nagi was gone.
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Archivist10
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I wonder if that Nagi was a stronger version of a projection, like Al's, just more physical.
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UberNimrod
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Chapter 5 Surviving the Aftermath
by UberNimrod, with help from SCM, Anemoi, Sinclair, EvaUnit, and CalmandInsane


I woke up.

I didn't feel dead. I didn't feel perfect, but I didn't feel awful either. A quick check of my heartbeat by placing my hand on top of my chest confirmed that I was indeed still among the living.

It also confirmed the lack of gauze bandages over where I had been stabbed. Considering that my shirt did indeed have a hole in it and had dried blood across much of it, I knew that the stab wound should have been there.

Lifting my shirt revealed a pink scar approximately where I had been stabbed.

There's something wrong here.

'As always Holmes, your deductions are brilliant and insightful.'

A glance at my surroundings confirmed several things. I was lying on the floor in a room somewhere, with the assumption that I was still wherever we had appeared at as there was snow falling outside the window. I could also see a bed near me.

Considering that I felt much better than I rightly should, I decided to get up and see who else was here with me.

Approximately two seconds later I was sitting on the floor again, having decided to wait for the dizzy spell to pass. Lovely.

Once the dizziness had went away, I managed to pull myself to my feet. Once I was standing, I could see that I was in a bedroom with two beds. Judging from the decor, I was in a child's room.

The bed nearest to me had the little boy that I had been holding when we were stabbed sleeping on top of the covers. Beside him was a young blond woman that was under the covers. I smiled at the scene as I stared at them. I couldn't help it. It was nice to see that the boy had survived as well, and the scene was something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

It took me a moment to notice that they were roughly the same height. I only needed another second after that to figure out that the girl was missing her legs.

Shuddering just a little, I stepped quietly to the second bed and looked at the figure on it. I shuddered again as I got a good look at the figure.

The glasses on his face were about the only thing that wasn't damaged. He looked like he had taken some of those monsters head-on. Either that or he had been dragged into a hay baler. He didn't have any bandages on him, which would have helped to cover the dark purple bruises that he had on his chest and shoulders. Evidently he had either taken off his shirt before charging in, or had it torn off during the assault.

I thought about the scar on my chest, and wondered just how badly he had been beaten to just have the bruises. Because those looked rather bad to me.

'Yep. I got lucky.' was my first thought. My second thought was that I was somewhat hungry, after being teleported to wherever I was before I had a chance to eat.

With thoughts of finding something to eat, as well as finding out anything about where I was, I turned to the door and made my way out quietly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“So what do we have?”

“Lots of useless items, and not enough useful items. I am not sure we can hold out for three days.”

Those three sentences were the first thing I heard when I came out of the bedroom. Whatever was going on, it didn't sound good.

Time to go investigate obviously.

I quietly made my way up the hallway and into what appeared to be a small store. I tried to remain out of sight as the conversation continued.

“So do we know who the other two people are? We know Negi and Nekane obviously, but who are the other two?”

Negi and Nekane? What?

'My thought exactly. Pipe down.' I told myself and resumed listening.

“I think the guy that charged into the fight is Senpai.”

“Huh?”

“I mean Marq. Which means that the older guy that was stabbed with Negi is UberNimrod.”

“Fifteen of us. What the heck are we doing here?” someone asked, even while I was recovering from my online name being used.

“You heard Nagi. We're supposed to take care of Negi, and Nekane.”

Silence filled the room for a brief moment while I tried to collect my thoughts. 'Nagi? Negi? Nekane? It couldn't be...'

“Well, we are off to a bad start then. Look how badly we fared against those demons.”

“No kidding. Marq, or whoever that was, is lucky to be alive. Nimrod too maybe.”

Right. Time to get involved in this discussion. And by 'involved' I mean 'hopefully not living up to my nickname.'

“I'm not dead,” I said from where I was standing.

“Here. He said he's not dead,” came a different voice from the others I had heard, followed by a giggle.

While everyone else either stood up or shifted around to get a look at me, I decided that I needed to see who had replied to my Monty Python remark. I peeked around the doorframe and spotted the source of the comment. Someone fairly young who looked like he lived a lot closer to Asia than I did, and who was leaning against the wall.

The reason he was leaning against the wall was obvious: He didn't have two legs to stand on.

“How are you feeling?” asked someone dressed mostly in black.

“Like someone said a moment ago. Lucky to be alive,” I said while stepping into the room. A quick glance told me what I wanted to know. Somehow we were in a pharmacy. There were shelves of various medicines and other things you would expect to find in a pharmacy off to my left, as well as an open area around a potbellied stove with a counter just off to my right. Further peering revealed a small room behind the counter that evidently held the prescription medicines. The door to that room was wide open though. I assumed that someone here had opened that area for a reason. Probably to do with pain medicines. I turned to the assembled crowd and recognized the person I had rescued among those that had appeared with me on the hill.

“How long have you been listening?” someone else asked.

“'So what do we have?' was the first thing I heard from up the hallway.” I answered. Before anyone could interrupt I added, “I suppose you're going to tell me that we are in the Negima universe?”

“It would seem to be the case.” said the person who I had rescued.

“I still say that people do NOT suddenly wind up in fictional universes in real life! The universe DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY! ... except possibly as some kind of mass hallucination.” someone with a mullet and beard insisted.

“That's why we are in a different universe from our normal one. Haven't you heard of the concept of All Myths are True?” I sighed, “So much for a quiet day to get my taxes done and run errands. Where did my oilcloth coat go?”

“It's hung up near the door.”

“No one looted through it?” I asked in surprise.

“Nope. Why should we?” someone in a business suit asked.

I made my way to the door and stuck my hand in the right pocket. Turning to look at everyone, I pulled the revolver that I had in there out for them to see. I cocked the hammer back, then pulled the trigger before anyone could say anything.

Click.

“Damn shame I was taking this to be cleaned. If this thing was loaded, I might have been able to kill off a demon or two,” I said as I put the revolver back into the coat pocket.

"Gah!" The guy on one leg cried, nearly falling over. "Put that down! I already lost a leg, I don't wanna lose anything else!"

A face slowly lifted from behind the counter. The man's hair was in disarray, and he had several day's stubble. He looked over at me with a scowl. "Rule Number One."

He didn't quite shout, but the voice was raised as if in command, or perhaps a teacher questioning a student.

I had to think for a second before understanding dawned. "The gun is always loaded," I replied.

"And don't you bloody forget that!"

I nodded. “We might need this gun yet to get out of here. Speaking of which...” I turned before finishing, “Who am I addressing?”

“Sinclair,” replied the man who had just scolded me.

“EvaUnit,” said the gentleman with the mullet and beard.

After that the names came freely. No Limit. OverMaster. Anemoi. Immi. Cygnus. Calm and Insane. Sereg. It turned out that Shadow Crystal Mage was the one missing a leg, and was loaded with oxycontin, and that Rikalous was the guy I had rescued. IAmNotCreativeEnough, or IANCE as everyone called him on the forums, wearing his business suit finally fessed up as to who he was. Mega-dark was the last to admit his identity, and everyone confirmed that it had taken a bit for him to open up enough to tell everyone who he was. He was hiding in his hoody, and I really could not blame him.

I nodded. “Well, you guessed who I am well enough. Of course the gray hairs are a dead giveaway.”

OverMaster smiled thinly, “I'm getting silver hairs, so you are not the only one.”

“Maybe so. But I started going gray before I got my high school diploma. Speaking of age and surviving, what was that I heard earlier about not lasting three days?”

“We don't have a lot of firewood, and there isn't a lot of supplies either. Look around,” Anemoi replied.

So I did. I went up and down the four aisles that comprised the pharmacy. The first aisle farthest from the front door and back hallway had bath benches, crutches, canes, walkers and parts for each either on the wall or on shelves. The shelves opposite of the wall had knee, ankle and wrist braces and wraps, abdominal and back supports, anti-embolism stockings, two humidifiers, a dehumidifier, bed pads, as well as heat pads and ice bags. The next aisle had various shampoos, cold creams, body powders, pads and adult diapers, toilet seats for those that didn't bend over too well, and quite a few things labeled 'drainable pouches.' I thought that was a bad description of a hot water bottle, until I opened one of them and saw it was a much nicer description of a colostomy bag. The opposite side had washes and deodorants, lice treatment products, blood pressure cuffs, both types of nail clippers, shaving cream and razors, with a couple of blades for the old time razors, toothpaste, mouthwash, kleenex and some containers to hold dentures, as well as some tampons.

For a brief moment, I found myself hoping it was not a certain time of the month for Nekane. She already had enough problems, especially when I remembered that she had only lost her legs below the knees in the manga. She looked as if she lost more in this reality. I shuddered slightly, and resumed my wanderings.

The third aisle had more mundane items. Eye wash and drops, two sets of glasses repair kits, ear drops and syringes, masks, bandages and bandaids, ointments and pads for serious injuries, ace bandages, iodine and Epsom salts, rubbing alcohol, two kinds of pain cream, three varieties of itch cream, hemorrhoid stuff, and several boxes of latex gloves. The other side of the aisle had various vitamins, minerals, and other pills of herbs and other non-medicine things such as charcoal, garlic, ginger, and milk thistle. Among those bottles was a couple of bottles of L-lysine. I gave that some consideration for a moment before resuming looking. Three shelves of laxatives and three more shelves of antacids, as well as Tums, Rolaids, and several varieties of acid reflux medicines filled the remaining space. On the end of the aisle closest to the counter, there was a display area of reading glasses that drew my attention for a moment. The end closest to the door had a very small display of sunglasses.

The fourth aisle, if you could call it such as it faced the open area around the stove, had foot care products, wart removal items, a small area for nicotine patches, cold remedies and pills of all sorts, allergy medicines of all sorts, cough drops and syrups, and aspirins of various kinds. Closest to the counter were some various items for writing: envelopes, notepads and several pens. Those looked a little out of place, but I remembered that my old home town had such things in the pharmacy there, so perhaps it wasn't as unusual as I thought.

All in all, it was a nice setup. People don't need crutches and canes often, so those could be put the farthest from the door. Bladder pads and colostomy bags are used often, but since no one wants to really look at such things, those can be hidden from customers only inside long enough to get prescriptions filled.

Something else occurred to me as I glanced around the pharmacy. The owner could have doubled his inventory easily. There was quite a lot of open space on the shelves. One would suspect that the owner didn't want to overstock because of so few customers actually needing anything.

Between the aisles and shelves and the back counter was a open area with some benches for sitting and waiting. In the middle of that open area was a pot-bellied stove, with heat coming from it. A square wooden box three feet to a side was against the counter, with foot-long pieces of wood in it. It was obvious that was for the stove to keep the pharmacy warm. It was half full. Near the door was a cooler about six feet tall. It had various sodas as well as bottled water.

"Guys, I'm gonna go have a look around; see if we can find any more weapons or anything useful. Anyone coming with?" Anemoi announced.

"What do you possibly think is out there we can use?" Limit asked.

I saw Anemoi pull a wicked-looking knife from his belt. "This little beauty saved my life. I got it, a hatchet and a crowbar from a blacksmith's shop not far from where Nimrod got stabbed. They didn't burn down every building." The other weapons in question were hanging from his waist in improvised slings. "We need to be ready."

I looked between everyone in the room as they thought about the implications.

"Show me the blacksmith shop. If I can get a good knife or a sword I might be able to chase down a deer," Calm And Insane pointed at Anemoi and poked at him in the air for emphasis, "Might being the key word... On second thought, anyone good with a bow and arrow?"

"I am…" SCM gasped. "But I've kinda got problems right now…" He gestured at what was left of his leg. "Why didn't I just let demon John Cleese take me home as a souvenir? Has anyone found any canned food? Candles at least? We might be able to eat the wax if we're desperate…"

“There is that deli right next door with meats and cheeses and bread. Didn't you hear me tell everyone about that when we came into this building?” Anemoi asked SCM, before realizing, “Oh right. You might have been distracted by the pain. Sinclair hadn't found the keys to the drugs yet.”

"I'll go," Sinclair offered, moving toward the door. "I would also like to see the blacksmith. Maybe there's something there I can use. A machine shop would be even better." He paused and turned to the others. "Are we sure there are no stragglers left?"

“Here's a novel question: How long have I been out?” I asked.

The others thought about that for a second or two before IANCE replied, “About an hour. Our phones don't work here but they still keep track of time.”

“Then that answers the question about the stragglers. Anything not burned down they would have investigated. Surely they would have been here by now?”

Logic is a way of going wrong with confidence. I couldn't remember if it was one of my favorite authors that said that quote or not, but I was willing to defend my logic if needed. Unless someone else had a better idea and could prove it.

While everyone thought about that, I put my coat on. It was still snowing outside, and not nearly enough people had winter clothing. I made certain that a bag was still in the pocket opposite of the one that held the revolver as well as the chargers to my phone.

“If I remember canon Negima properly, it will be three days before anyone will come here to check on things. So we need three days worth of food, water, and supplies. Survival is important right now. Which means we ought to do this properly.” I thought for an instant before continuing, “You three go ahead and loot that blacksmith shop for all you can grab and carry. Weapons are first priority, wood or coal second priority. Meanwhile,” I turned to EvaUnit and IANCE, “Can you two keep an eye on things here? Including everyone in the beds?”

EvaUnit nodded, “I wanted to look in on Sempai, if that is indeed him.”

I turned to Rikalous then, “Want to help me loot the deli? I seem to remember someone mentioned a deli next door. Food will help me think better, as well as ensure our survival”

“We've looked in there already. There wasn't much, and the power is out so no way to keep anything that's in there,” IANCE protested.

I gestured to the window, “Mother Nature is already working on that problem for us. We can pack whatever meat and cheese we find in the snow to keep them from spoiling. The cold may be a pain in the ass, but it is better than ninety degree weather. It is lots easier to keep warm than to keep cool.”

Rikalous nodded, “Alright.”

I said to Anemoi, Sinclair and Calm as they were about to head out, “If you find trouble, run like hell. Screaming is optional.”

“Gee, thanks,” Anemoi said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The deli was sparse, as he had been warned. But there was food and drink to be had as the owner believed in making sandwiches and bottled sodas available for his customers.

“Whoo hoo!” I cheered as I made my way to the display case with the sandwiches. “Oh cool. There is even fixings for the sandwiches.”

Rikalous shook his head, “How can you eat at a time like this?”

“By putting food in my mouth.” I said as I grabbed a plastic grocery bag and started filling it with sandwiches. “Did you see a stove or fireplace in here earlier?”

“I wasn't among those that was in here earlier, so I don't know.”

“Oh well then. I'll let you bag up the sandwiches while I search the store.” I said while grabbing a ham sandwich to munch on while I searched. “Here's the big cooler. Don't open that now since it is holding at... Um...”

“Um?” Rikalous asked while I was getting my cell phone out.

“It's scaled in Celsius, and my brain works in Fahrenheit. Forty degrees Fahrenheit is what this cooler is reading now. That's good for now anyway.” I said after pushing several buttons on my phone.

A moment later Rikalous heard me cheering as I discovered a fireplace in the back of the store, with what looked like several sizable logs to use, as well as other material used to start a fire.

“Aren't those too big for that little stove in the pharmacy?” Rikalous asked.

“Yep. Probably discouraged the others if they saw them as well. Hopefully we'll find a saw to cut these down to size. I can use an ax if needed, but I'd rather have a handsaw.”

“What do you want to do about the bulk meats and cheeses?”

“For the time being, lets leave them in the cooler. If we don't open the door, they will last a little while before we need to pack them in some snow.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two back-and-forth trips later, someone discovered two things. First, the pharmacy and the deli were connected, which explained why there was only one living area between them. Obviously the same family owned both businesses.

Second, it is quite comical to watch me slip and fall on my butt, according to IANCE at least. He didn't laugh, but it was plain to see he was amused when it happened. Not that I can say anything, as I have to hide my own amusement when someone I don't particularly like has something happen to them.

Schadenfreude is a perfectly normal reaction to these sorts of things. I am convinced that the reason I derive joy from other people's misery is because I have been miserable myself. Much of my misery, however has been self-inflicted. I can't blame others for the majority of my mistakes that I've made over the course of my life.

Falling on my butt still hurt though.

Once I got up, IANCE announced that Rikalous had found a connecting passage between the pharmacy and the deli. That made gathering up the firewood much easier.

I encouraged Rikalous and the others to keep transferring firewood to the pharmacy while I wandered around a little outside. Trudging around to the back of the deli, I discovered something that would help quite a bit.

A little shed. A woodshed to be precise. With quite a bit of wood in it already cut up to fit both the fireplace and the stove, as well as an ax, hatchet, and a splitting maul.

Obviously whoever worked up the wood to begin with had some strength in them, otherwise the splitting maul was just for decoration. I cheerfully went back inside with the improvised weapons and let everyone know that there was plenty of wood.

“That solves one problem anyway. Hopefully there is enough food for the next three days. I suppose I should risk opening that cooler to see what is inside,” I said as I put the ax and hatchet by the counter.

Two seconds after I did that, the front door opened and a heavy metal band wandered in.

Well, Anemoi, Sinclair and Calm was carrying enough metal things that they looked like some of the old metal bands. Calm had an ax as big as a guitar, which helped the imagery I had of heavy metal bands.

As everyone glanced at the returning crew, I quipped, “Did you get everything?”

“Denying weapons to the enemy is just as important as making sure we are armed,” Calm said as he stepped to the counter to put the oversized ax on top. “The blacksmith apparently had a thing for weapons.”

“A thing for weapons?” IANCE asked, “More like an obsession. How many knives did you find?”

“Lots more than we can use,” Sinclair replied as he dropped his armload of full scabbards in the corner nearest to the counter. “We also found a few other things that might be useful.”

“Like what?” asked EvaUnit.

“What remained of a carpenter's shop,” Sinclair answered. “There might be things hidden in other places as well. I'd like to go back and see if I can find anything useful.”

At this point several people were glancing my way. If I had been thinking a little better, I might have foreseen the trouble I was about to get into. But since I missed the obvious clue, I just shrugged before asking, “Did you see any sign of stragglers out there?”

“Nothing to suggest that there was anything or anyone else around,” Anemoi replied.

“Go for it then.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The machine shop, if it could even be called one, was a wreck, but at least it still had some basic stuff. Together with the smithy and carpenter's shop, Sinclair managed to scavenge himself a decent toolbox. Anemoi found him a half hour later, working on an overturned wagon.

"I don't think it'll work again," Anemoi said. A wheel was missing, as was half of the front axle. Fixing it was a fool's affair.

"Me neither. I'm trying to get the shock absorber out."

'Huh. Whatever for?' Anemoi thought, then asked, "Need help? The guys are about to finish making dinner."

"Sure."

After a few minutes of helping, the shock absorber was removed. It was then that the fateful question was asked.

“Why exactly are we here?”

Sinclair shrugged then said, “I have no idea.”

“We are in a strange universe, but yet we are relatively familiar with it. Did you know that Magey has the entire manga stored on his iPad?”

Sinclair glanced at Anemoi, “How did you find that out?”

“When he was complaining earlier. Not being able to access his iPad is making him upset. I can't blame him either. Even Nimrod admitted to being on Internet withdrawal.”

Sinclair nodded. The feeling was not unfamiliar to him.

“You know what worries me?”

Sinclair peered in the direction of where most everyone was, “What would that be?”

“You do remember that snippet I posted some months ago? About us raising Negi?”

Sinclair glanced at Anemoi curiously, “I vaguely remember that. What about it?”

“It seems as if we have a chance to do exactly that. I don't think everyone has realized it yet.”

Sinclair thought for a moment before replying, “Don't remind anyone of that snippet. They might react badly to that idea.”

Anemoi nodded before asking, “Ready to head back then?”

“I think so.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once everyone was back inside for 'dinner,' I made the general announcement that no one had yet to wake up.

No one seemed terribly surprised by this.

I sighed. “Am I the only worrywart here then?”

“You was unconscious during everything that happened. Considering how much effort Nekane put into healing sempai, I'm not surprised, “ EvaUnit said.

Both Limit and Sereg nodded agreement, but Sereg added, “Nagi healed me, Magey, and a couple more besides you. If healing magic is as strenuous as it looks, then Nekane will likely sleep for a while longer.”

“Honestly, you are surprising me by being awake,” Anemoi said.

“Nervous energy will do that,” I said. I paced the floor a little bit while finishing up the sandwich I had, then announced, “I think I am going to wander around a little outside for a bit, while there is still some light to see by. Matter of fact, it might be a good idea for everyone to wander outside tomorrow if the weather isn't too bad. Just to make sure we know the area.”

“What for?” IANCE asked.

“We are not in Kansas anymore,” I quipped. That earned me a few boos and a wad of paper thrown at me. I added, “Really guys, it would be a good idea to know the area, so we can defend ourselves if we have to.”

I got several blank looks from that remark. Finally Mega-dark asked, “You're afraid, aren't you?”

I nodded, “I prefer to think of it as a healthy desire to make sure we live through this. Right now, the story of Negi and Nekane has been changed by our very presence. We have no idea what to expect from here on.”

As everyone thought over what I said, I added, “And I tend to think a little better when I am wandering around instead of sitting still. A little habit left over when I did live in Kansas and had an 80-acre farm to wander around on.”

I stepped to the front door as several of the others got up from the benches, “Are you sure you want to go out? The snow looks to be getting worse,” Limit asked.

“Which is why I want to go out now really. Might not have the chance later.”

He nodded but followed me to the door, along with Anemoi, IANCE and EvaUnit.

I stepped outside and walked down the front steps before I mentioned, “All I am going to do is just wander around a little guys. I need to clear my head and get my thoughts organized. I'm not going to run off or anything like that.”

“Hoping for an idea of what to do next?” EvaUnit asked.

I turned back to the others and said, “Yep. I'm not worried. Something will hit me. It usually does.”

Two seconds later, I would regret my choice of words.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Omake
by EvaUnit

Some time after the main discussion, I was thinking to myself out loud. Nobody else was around at the time, so there wasn't anyone to make snarky comments at me.

"... pretty sure All Myths Are True doesn't apply to the concept of a metafictional multiverse. Unless, of course, it's..."

My eyes widened as I stumbled across the simplest, and yet completely impossible answer to what the hell was going on.

"...fictional..."
Madman with a box? I'm a madman with a semi, a pretzel bender and a Heart of Gold!
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Anemoi
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Just Thinking of You

It was a place where he felt on top of the world. Overlooking downtown Manhattan, he stood on the promenade. In front of him, ships navigated the East River while the sounds of the tourists and locals around him blended into familiar white noise. The only thing he noticed was the hand in his.

"You were right, it's real pretty up here." He didn't need to turn his head to know that she was tugging her bangs back behind her ear. He chuckled.

"I've been coming up here all through college. It's my Thoughtful Spot." She giggled, leaning into his shoulder. The feeling made his stomach quiver. They hadn't known each other long, but he could see the little things in her; how she fiddled with her hair when she was nervous, the joy in her eyes when she saw something new, the way she quivered, probably just as nervous as he was, when they shared their first kiss.

"What are you thinking about now?" She asked. She sounded flirty, but there was a quivering undertone of unease. He laced his fingers in her's.

"Just you."


The sounds of New York gave way to the silence of Wales. The warm summer air was replaced with a brisk autumn chill. And the joy in Anemoi's heart was replaced with a dull, aching sadness. He closed his eyes and threw the covers back over his head; hoping to be taken back to the dream; the only place he could see her now. Yet as the minutes ticked by, he knew it was all for naught. Downstairs in the hall, the grandfather clock chimed: one in the morning.

The sound of Eva Unit snoring drowned out the muffle of fabric and Anemoi threw on his robe and stepped into his slippers. He wiped the last remnants of tears away with the collar of his robe as he slipped out of the room he shared with Eva Unit and Calm and Insane. It was going to be one of those nights again. Thankfully, he knew the best remedy for them by now. Practice indeed made perfect.

He clicked the light on in the kitchen and filled the kettle with water. It had taken him two months and nearly half the household's budget, but bringing the kitchen up to modern standards had been a project he'd been proud of. The old wood-burning stove was replaced with a nine-burner gas stove, the ice box with a double-door refrigerator, and the old leaky plumbing had been re-done. Not only did it make meal times easier, it made his and the others' midnight comfort food runs a little easier.

As the water boiled in the kettle, Anemoi pulled down the fixing for his sandwich; creamy peanut butter, three slices of potato bread, and the jar of marshmallow fluff they hid from Negi and Anya. He spread the peanut butter on two slices and ripped the inside out of the third. Placing the ring of crust over one of the other slices, he filled the cavity with white, gooey fluff and capped it with the remaining slice. Just as the kettle began whistling, Anemoi realized he wasn't alone.

"Evening Nimrod." He greeted. The oldest of the Iridia waved as he shuffled in. "Did I wake you?"

"You still haven't fixed that top step." He replied, filling up the coffee machine with grounds.

"I keep it squeaky so we can hear Negi if he tries to sneak out of his room."

"Oh so THAT'S how Eva keeps him out of the library at night." Nimrod poured water through the machine, starting the drip into the pot below.

Anemoi finally retrieved the kettle, pouring it into a mug filled with hot chocolate powder. Though raised in a family of contractors and union men, never had a drop of coffee nor tea passed Anemoi's lips. While some of the others laughed at this supposed immaturity, Anemoi prided himself at being the only member of the household besides Nekane who could function in the early mornings.

"Had the dream again?" Nimrod asked. The members of Iridia found confidants in each other, more-so between the truck driver and handyman.

"Yeah," he admitted before taking a big bite of his fluffernutter.

"What dream?" Anemoi nearly choked on his food as the almost musical voice of Nekane floated into the room. "Woodrow, Matthias, what are you two doing up?"

"Sorry if we woke you," Nimrod, alias Woodrow apologized. "Just craving some midnight coffee. Old habits die hard I suppose." Anemoi, alias Matthias, couldn't respond due to his attempts at clearing his throat of peanut butter and marshmallow.

"Have you been having nightmares Matthias?" She was a bit wobbly as she stepped into the kitchen. Though she'd had her prosthetics for over a month now, she was still a bit uneasy. Her false legs were hidden underneath her long white nightgown.

"I'm fine." Anemoi was finally able to choke out. "Just, memories, that's all."

"Oh," Both men exchanged secret glances at each other. It hurt them, it really did, keeping so many secrets from Nekane. She trusted them with the care of Negi, Anya and even herself sometimes. They brought in money, he and Calm kept the house running smoothly, and they all guided the children through their school lives. But it was agreed that the blonde woman must never know the true identities of her roomates.

"Just, of an old friend." He finally admitted.

"A girlfriend?" She asked. It was uncanny how quickly she could see the root of any issue.

Anemoi hesitated momentarily. "It, we didn't know each other very long."

"Yet you loved her?"

The next words left Anemoi's throat before he could stop them. "She was the first woman to ever say she loved me."

There were some moments that were ingrained in his memory for the rest of his life. Leaning against the countertop, a fluffernutter in one hand, and suddenly finding himself wrapped up in a hug stronger than any he'd felt before. It was hard to remember, sometimes, that the five-foot six blonde woman they all strove to protect was stronger than she looked.

"I know I don't say this enough, but thank you." Somehow, she squeezed him even tighter. "Thank you for protecting Negi, thank you for rebuilding this house, for giving up a place to live. I know you all left so much behind, more than you'll tell me. But just know, that all of you mean so much to Negi, Anya, and myself."

"It," he placed his sandwich on the counter and wrapped his arms around her. It was strange the way he felt for her. She was part mother, part older sister, part girl-next-door. She was something he could never quantify or describe. He may never kiss Rebecca again, but standing here in a kitchen he built from his own two hands, hugging a woman whom partially owed her life to him, was something that could almost make up for it. "I know." He whispered.

"I could live to be one hundred, and still never pay you all back for what you have done." She somehow reached up on her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I love you all, so very much."

As she withdrew from him and turned to Nimrod, Anemoi felt where she had kissed him. So much had been left behind. So much had been lost. But maybe even more could be gained.

()()()

A week had passed since their encounter in the kitchen. Nekane had not brought it up to him in words, but the wrapped package he found on his pillow one afternoon proved that she remembered.

It was a book; an old leatherbound tome that looked like one of Negi's many reference books. Its cover was decorated in numerous arcane symbols he was still learning. The title, however, was in plain English:

Mana and The Body: Using Magic to Amplify Physical Ability

"Well," he muttered to himself. "Looks like I've got my own homework to do."
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own"
-- Every fanfiction author ever. (And Adam Savage)
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Shadow Crystal Mage
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OVERLORD OF ALL CRACK!

I really need t contribute something... but until I know for sure if I'm getting my leg reattached in-story, I cna't write anything because I don't know if I should write myself with or without a leg...
I AM THE OVERLORD OF ALL CRACK!!!!!!
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EvaUnit01
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That reminds me, I had my own thing I was going to think about in-story, but attempting to learn ki instead of mana usage, basically with the intent of trying to emulate Jan Kandou.
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I read Chunin Exam Day, so y'all don't have to.
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UberNimrod
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Mar 31 2014, 06:41 PM
I really need t contribute something... but until I know for sure if I'm getting my leg reattached in-story, I cna't write anything because I don't know if I should write myself with or without a leg...
I thought I said you was getting your leg reattached? Pretty sure I mentioned it some time ago.

You have your leg back in the D&D segments anyway...

Now mind you, you'll have to wait until the rescue to get your leg reattached. Nagi put a "Resist Decay" spell on it so it will still be viable enough to do so.

...

I think it is "Resist Decay." I can't remember the proper spell name from D&D.
Madman with a box? I'm a madman with a semi, a pretzel bender and a Heart of Gold!
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rikalous
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Creature of the Deep

No Resist Decay spell, at least as far as I know, but Vile Darkness has a Preserve Organ spell.
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Wits, magic, and hardboiled monologues.
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IAmNotCreativeEnough
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Resist Decay... huh...

Reminds me of back in the days when all you had to do to grief the crap out of newbies in L2 was to cast Decay on them and then watch them consume Health Potions and their MP like crazy trying to heal, completely unaware that it can't actually kill them...
rikalous wrote
 
Yes I am. I said I would, and I hate going back on my word. IANCE, you pustulating whoreson, I am going to find you when this is over. They will make a torture porn movie about your death, and they will have to tone it down to maintain suspension of disbelief.

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There there. Go do evil things in the name of the government to feel better.


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