All Purpose Negima Fanfiction Thread

Negi felt the icy flow of the waterfall washing over him as Chachamaru flew through it, gently setting him, Chisame and Yue down facing the tall rock wall before them. The boy gasped in awe. Even with his magic being nullified, he could feel a faint pattern of magical energy dancing over the rock, drawing the contours of a door before them.

Yue watched intently how he ran his fingers over the stony surface, his eyes wide and mesmerized, moments before part of the rocks moved aside to reveal a large gate leading into a tall and dark flight of upwards stairs.

"Well, who would have thought it...?" he laughed lamely. "What a stroke of luck...!"

"Right," Yue scowled with a disbelieving expression.

Right then, Ku, Kaede, Makie, Haruna and Asuna arrived at their side, the latter two panting frantically.

"Whooo!" Saotome wheezed. "How can such a huge thing run so fast...?-!"

"You need to re-take whatever training you had before-de gozaru," Kaede told her. "You have a good basic condition, but you clearly have slouched down at it..."

"Leave the fitness advice for later!" Makie pointed up at the door. "Look! Chachamaru-chan unlocked a hidden way out!"

"Actually, it was—" Chachamaru stated, but Chisame hushed her with a finger on her lips. After a split second, Yue discreetly copied Hasegawa's action, and the robot nodded accordingly. "Never mind. I'll lead the way up in case there are any traps."

Without waiting for a reply, she dutifully headed up the steps. Behind them, the golem's walking thundered menacingly.

"Boy, talk about being between a rock and a hard place..." Asuna sweated. "But there's no time to think this over! Come on, everyone! We'll take our chances up there!"

She quickly ran up as well, making Negi to blush crimson as he got a full view of her behind.

"Oh, for the love of—!" Chisame pulled him up with herself. "Stop gawking like an idiot! As if it's the first time you see a naked woman!"

"HUH?-!-?" Makie, Haruna, Ku and Yue said at once. Kaede only chuckled.

"I-I-I WASN'T THAT WOMAN!!" Chisame yelled while putting more speed into her feet, never looking back. No one was fooled.

"... bet she has had dozens of wild trios with him and Asuna already..." Haruna was muttering. "Hell, wouldn't shock me if they roped the Prof in too..."

"God helps me, I'm starting to agree with you on it..." Yue mumbled.

"And to think Dad wanted to put me at Tomobiki," Kaede commented amusedly.

As Chachamaru ran up, she activated her communication links to the surface as well. Hakase-san? It's me.

CHACHAMARU!! the voice rang on her head, almost bawling. Was that really Hakase-san? The voice was a 99,99998% match for hers, but she hadn't heard her ever bawling... well, not outside of the battle at the bridge. The memory confirmed it was, indeed, Hakase's voice when she sounded anguished. Are you okay? How much of you is still operational? Have you found Negi-sensei? And Chisame? And— A pause. Who else was lost, again?

Chachamaru repressed an unusual new urge to express the far too human sound known as a sigh. We all are in perfect physical conditions so far, Hakase-san. Please tell Iincho-san she doesn't need to call on her mercenary operatives. I'll get everyone back before the scheduled hour.

Roger! Good to hear you so confident, Chachamaru-chan!

Hakase-san, may I ask you a question?

Anything! What is it?

Have you been crying?

Uh...

Because your voice does sound strangely sniffling and tired...

I have no idea... what are you talking about...

Another voice bursted through the link. WHERE'S MY CHISAME-SAMA?-! I'M GOING THROUGH WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT HER!!!!

Chachamaru nearly felt like sighing again. We'll be there right now, Tsunetsuki-sempai.

Then they all reached another, closed door blocking their narrow way up. "Crap!" Asuna cursed. "Chachamaru, punch this door down!"

The gynoid's eyes glowed green. "No. There seems to be some sort of security device hooked onto it. Any violent attempt to force it open will make it to explode."

"There's a problem written on it," Yue read. "It says, 'What is the past participle of the English verb 'Read'?"

"Another riddle?" Makie complained. "Was the guy who built this library born at Gotham City?"

The giant's voice still came from below, as the behemoth stampeded beneath them, making its own way up. "FOOLS! WAIT! YOU WILL GET YOURSELVES KILLED!"

"Chachamaru!" Asuna barked. "You said you had the book, didn't you? Give it to me!"

"Huh?" Karakuri asked. "But, why—"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to see if it works!"

"But, I can—"

"Your grades are barely better than ours! Now hand me the book!" Asuna pressed on.

Chachamaru obeyed, and Asuna held the tome, closing her eyes and placing her other hand's fingers upon the door. Her expression grew solemn and focused as she said, "The answer is 'READ'!"

"Yes, that's it!" Negi cheered.

The door immediately opened itself with a whirring sound.

"Whoa, Asuna, it really works!" Haruna marveled. "From ignorant but sexy hick, you just went to Hot Genius worth the Saotome Seal of Approval!"

"You're now smarter than the likes of Hellsender and Jorlem!" Yue gasped aloud.

Asuna smirked, holding two fingers against her forehead. "Naturally. Haruna, through simple deduction, I have figured out the reasons behind your attention-catching attempts at depravity. Yue, I have deciphered the motives behind your morbid fascination with unhealthy drinks. Chachamaru, I've just thought of a few modifications that could help your aerodinamic performance in flights above the mark of 100 feet of height. Negi, I can now tell, from the subtles clues in your behavior and attitude, you are starting to undergo through—"

"RETURN THAT BOOK! NOW!!" the golem howled.

"— But mostly, I do believe it's for the best if we continue our escape immediately," Asuna began to run up again.

"Now that's the mark of a true genius," Yue exhaled, following her steps.

And boy, is chapter 321 going to be hard on 2814.