//------------------------------// // Arc 16 Chapter ?(4) // Story: Student 32: Sunset Shimmer // by Show Stopper //------------------------------// The fight was as brief as it was one-sided. “So, what exactly was Chao’s trap?” Sunset asked, Negi walking by her side and occasionally glancing worriedly back at the unconscious Gandolfini. “I mean, I can guess the general framework, but…” Negi shook his head, turning fully forward as he and Sunset started north. “It looks like Chao-san did something to Evangeline-san’s villa. We were still only in there for twenty-four hours, but according to you and Akira-san, more than a week passed out here.” Sunset nodded. “A simple enough re-write to the villa’s temporal distortion. I’d probably struggle with it, but this is someone who knows enough about time magic to create a functioning time machine.” Her gaze turned down to Negi. “Speaking of which, how’s it looking?” Negi took out his device and examined it. “Not good. I can’t even get the dials to turn. It’s completely dead.” “We’ll have to figure out how to un-dead it, then.” At Negi’s surprised look, Sunset sighed. “Look, I didn’t do a thing to stop Chao. Even helped her a little by taking out Takamichi for her since I didn’t get a chance to fight him in the tournament. I thought that her revolution might bring about a positive change in the world, and I was content to sit back and watch it happen. “But that’s not what happened.” Sunset grit her teeth, glaring ahead. “Chao played me. Made it sound like she had this grand plan to change the world for the better. But she’s been MIA ever since her ritual revealed magic to the world. She hasn’t taken command of the situation. Hasn’t tried to guide the world or set up diplomatic relations between the magical and mundane worlds. She hasn’t even raised a faction on either side to call for peaceful integration. There’s been no sign of Chao - or anyone who knew what was going to happen - taking action. As a result, the world is about to descend into chaos and discord.” Negi paled. “And that’s where your little time machine comes in,” Sunset continued. “If the past can be changed once, it can be changed again. If you can get that working, you, Asuna, and the others will be able to go back and stop Chao from winning.” “B-but,” Negi stammered, “we don’t even know what Chao-san’s plan was! Or how she pulled it off!” “Well then, it’s a good thing I do.” ***** “...And those are the contents of my plan ne. From now on, the chaos will probably continue for another five to ten years, and I realize that it’ll cause you guys some trouble as well. But you know, if you can just try living in it, you should find that it’s not that bad of a world yo. Now then, let us meet again sometime, everyone.” The magical hologram faded and Sunset grit her teeth. “I was right, then. She never intended to take responsibility for her actions. She’s content to let the world spiral into discord for the next decade.” Sunset and Negi had found Asuna, Setsuna, Konoka, Nodoka, Yue, Homura, Chisame, Ku Fei, and Kaede in the basement of Evangeline’s cottage, watching as a magical letter that Chao had left behind had explained the full extent of what she’d done. The time-traveling mage was herself long gone, having declared victory without a battle having even been fought. “It was cleverly done,” Chisame admitted begrudgingly. “She probably chose this era with intent, since the internet has just finished spreading around the world. Even experts in the field would have a hard time countering her spread of information, and I’m guessing that mages have an unfortunate dearth of such experts.” “And with international communication being instant and easy to access,” Yue added, “it’s a simple matter for the thousands of people who saw the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament firsthand to confirm that the videos Chao-san shared were real.” “The magical world has always counted on widespread skepticism of magic as our biggest shield against discovery,” Setsuna admitted. “With that gone, it’s only a matter of time even without those videos. I hate to admit it, but the subtlety hidden beneath her ostentation is brilliant.” “Eh? Brilliant? What? What do you mean?!” Unsurprisingly, Asuna had had a hard time following Chao’s explanation, and Ku Fei and Kaede were looking just as lost. “What are you saying?! What was Chao-san talking about with all those difficult terms?!” “Geh, you really are an idiot, Baka Red!” Chisame turned to shout at Asuna. “Basically, Chao’s plan was a total success! At this rate, the world is heading straight for a magical fantasy filled with magic and dreams!” “I understand that that’s your personal hangup,” Sunset said, “but the real problem is much worse than that. This world happily accepting these events and becoming a fantasy land of magic and dreams is a naive best-case scenario. The world is already in uproar over this revelation and how it’s been kept secret for so long. Several third-world countries are already seeing bloody coups, revolutions, and civil wars because their leaders kept - or are still trying to keep - magic secret. Worst case scenario, this world is going to tear itself to pieces.” “In any case, we need to go back and stop this from happening!” Negi turned to Konoka. “Konoka-san, do you still have the Caseopia’s instruction manual?” Konoka handed it over, and Negi started flipping through. “I was afraid of that. Not only does this machine need a huge amount of magic to work, it’s built specifically to work with the World Tree’s magic. Even if we found another massive source, there’s no guarantee we’d be able to get it to work.” “Then it’s the World Tree or bust,” Sunset said. “Let’s get over there. Magic like it produced doesn’t come from nothing. If we investigate the tree, we might be able to find a way to force it to reactivate early.” Negi nodded. “R-right. We’ll have to hurry, though. We don’t want to have to fight any more mage teachers.” “One flaw with that plan.” Everyone turned to Kaede, who was looking up to the cottage above. “It appears,” she said, “that they have come for us already de gozaru.” Sunset, Setsuna, and Negi tensed. “How many?” Setsuna asked. “Two that I can sense,” Kaede replied. “They are quite skilled. They got close to the cottage before I could sense them de gozaru.” She shared a glance with Setsuna, who nodded, before the two of them darted silently up the stairs. “This could be bad,” Sunset muttered. “I doubt they’re going to just let us walk out of here.” “Did they follow us?” Negi asked. “Probably not. The woods are pretty thick. They would have had to stay right on our tail to follow us here. More likely they came here looking for Evangeline. She leant Chachamaru to Chao, after all, so they might think that she’s an accomplice. Or they could be after her for her connection to you. Either way, they must have used some sort of divination to find out that people other than Evangeline are here.” “What makes you think that?” Ku Fei asked. “If they thought it was just Evangeline,” Sunset muttered, “they wouldn’t have revealed their presence. Even without her magic, she’s not an inconsequential threat.” Setsuna returned a moment later. “It’s bad. There’s two of them up there. They say they just want to talk with most of us, but they’re demanding we turn over Nichibotsu and Negi-sensei before anything else. We have five minutes.” “That’s no time at all,” Sunset said. “They’re trying to force us to either surrender or act rashly and without a plan. They’re experienced.” “We’d better form a plan quickly, then,” Haruna said. “I don’t think any of us are willing to hand over Negi-kun like that.” “Chisame-san,” Yue said. “Are you able to connect to the internet? There’s something I want to search for.” “Not here,” Chisame replied. “But if I can get to the wireless LAN hotspot in front of the station…” “You have a plan, Yue?” Nodoka asked. “Something like that. A hope, at least.” “Good enough for me,” Asuna said, slamming her fist into her palm. “Let’s go break through those mage teachers!” “Just a minute, Asuna,” Setsuna said. “We don’t have much time, right? It wouldn’t make sense for all of us to stay behind and fight. Let me and Kaede-san hold off the teachers for a while. We’ll catch up later.” “I can create some decoys,” Haruna offered, pulling out a pactio card. “Keep them off our scent for a bit.” Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “When did you…” She shook her head. “Never mind. Not important. You sure you two can handle them, Setsuna?” Setsuna hesitated only a moment before nodding. “I doubt we’ll be able to defeat them,” she admitted. “But we can stall them while you do what you need to do. Kaede-san can catch up quickly, and Negi-sensei can summon me with his card.” “Besides,” Yue added, “we don’t know that they won’t send other teachers after us once they realize we got away.” Everyone turned to Negi, looking for confirmation of the plan. He allowed himself a full minute to think before nodding. “It’s the best chance we’ve got. Setsuna-san, I’m sorry to ask, but could you-” Setsuna smiled and nodded. “Not a problem, Negi-sensei.” ***** Getting away turned out to be as simple as they’d hoped. Between Haruna’s art clones and Setsuna’s paper golems, they were able to leave simulacrums of themselves behind and sneak out the back while Setsuna and Kaede kept the teachers’ attention. “That’s an impressive artifact,” Sunset admitted as they raced back towards Mahora. “Is there any limit on those clones?” “Not really,” Haruna bragged. “So long as I can draw it, I can bring it out. They aren’t too powerful, though, and they get weaker when there are more of them.” “Still, very useful,” Sunset said. “The biggest issue in planning for any expedition is how much to bring without weighing the party down too much. If you can create any mundane object you can draw, that cuts down on weight and planning issues significantly. Looks like the Library Exploration Club’s three for three on support roles.” She turned to Yue with a smirk. “What do you say? Ready to give it the ol’ smackeroo and see if you make it four for four?” Yue rolled her eyes. “Later.” “Oh!” Everyone looked ahead at Chisame’s shout. She pointed ahead on the path. “Look! A telephone box!” “Eh?!” Ku Fei cried. “All the way out here?!” “Evangeline-san doesn’t have a telephone at her house,” Negi said. “She must use this whenever she needs to call someone. Chisame-san! Can you connect to the internet with that?” “Yeah,” Chisame said, reaching the phone booth and pulling out her laptop. “But it’s an ISDN, so it’ll be a little slow.” “Slow is better than nothing,” Yue said. “Once you’re connected, look for the home page of Mahora University’s ‘The World Tree’s Most Devoted Lovers Club’.” “What?! Why do you need the home page of such a pathetic-sounding group?!” Ku Fei suddenly looked up. “They’re coming, aru!” “Stop right there!!!” On the path ahead appeared three girls and a small army of cloaked and masked figures. Sunset recognized two of them immediately. Takane and Mei, she thought. And I’ll bet that other girl is another of Takane’s ministras. And those shadowy figures must be Takane’s dolls. This could be- “Wait!” Haruna shouted, pointing at Takane. “You’re that stripper from the tournament!” …I’m really starting to regret missing her matches. Takane seemed sorrowfully resigned as she accepted the title without complaint. "W-well alright them. If you people are willing to come with us peacefully, then that’s fine. But if you try to resist at all…” She threw off her humiliation, standing strong and proud as she pointed dramatically at them. “Then I, Takane T Goodman, Ally of Justice, shall pass down judgement on all of you!” Sunset raised her fists, ready to fight. Ku Fei and Negi prepared for battle as well. Asuna, while she had pulled out her artifact, seemed more contemplative than anything as she stared at her harisen. Her magic-canceling harisen. While they were facing down summoned dolls and girls in magic-generated clothing. …huh. Sunset stood upright and turned to Asuna, gesturing to Takane and the others. “They’re all yours.” ***** After another brutal, one-sided battle, Mei, Takane, and the third girl lay unconscious and disrobed by the side of the path, covered by a few tarps that Haruna had conjured. “Seriously,” Sunset muttered. “With the myriad of ways that magic can be dispelled, you’d think she’d stop clothing herself and her cronies in it.” “It’s actually a really strong defense,” Negi defended, his face red. “She’s one of the strongest mages at Mahora. But, well, she keeps coming up against opponents who specialize in dispelling magic. Or me, who just managed to break through.” “Still,” Asuna muttered, “maybe they’ll start wearing underwear from now on at least.” “I hope not.” “You wouldn’t, ero-Nichi-chan.” “I see. So that’s it.” Sunset turned back towards Chisame, who was examining her laptop intently. “You’ve got something?” Chisame nodded, turning her computer around so everyone could see it. “Look here. This is an observation record of the World Tree’s luminescence level before and after the school festival period, from the World Tree’s Most Devoted Lover’s Club. More than sixty years worth of observation records have been organized and placed on their home page.” The screen displayed a graph with several overlapping bell curves. “On an average year, the luminescence ends along with the school festival. But if you look at the so-called Great Luminescence Years of nineteen-eighty-two, sixty, and thirty-eight in the record, the lumination, although weak, continues on for seven to eight days after the school festival. This year is the same.” “But that means…” Realization dawned on Negi’s face. “It’s possible that there’s still magic left, even though it’s been a week!” “The World Tree’s magic comes from the leylines,” Sunset added. “If there’s any magic left, it’ll be deep underground.” She shared a glance with Yue and nodded. “Follow me! There’s a passage in Library Island that goes beneath the World Tree!” ***** They reached library island without incident, finding it unguarded. Sunset and Yue led them quickly through the labyrinth, taking ever shortcut they knew. Eventually, they found themselves racing down a dark, stony tunnel. “The library itself doesn’t go any further,” Yue said, “so the Club has never explored this passage entirely. But we’re pretty sure it leads right beneath the World Tree.” “There!” Ku Fei pointed ahead. A number of large roots had broken their way through the stone and grown along the walls and floor. Roots which were glowing with a familiar luminescence. “This must be it! Asuna cried. “The World Tree’s roots are still glowing! That’s good, right?” Negi quickly fished out his Caseopia and started fiddling with the dials. “It’s moving! We can use it!” “Now we just need to wait for the other two,” Asuna said. “Negi-kun, call Setsuna!” “Hah! Thank goodness it’s over,” Haruna sighed. “Though I’m kinda surprised we didn’t have to fight any monsters or a final boss or something like you see in games. This place is kinda like a dungeon, after all.” “Monsters?” Chisame scoffed. “Please. I’m willing to accept the existence of magic, but there’s no way monsters can be real.” “B-but we did run into a dragon down here a while ago,” Nodoka said. “Ha!” Chisame shook her head. “Spare me already, Honya. Your jokes aren’t-” *SPLAT* “Um, Chisame, you’ve got a little something…” Sunset trailed off, her eyes turning upward as Chisame hurried to wipe the slimy liquid from her head. “Um, Honya? Where exactly did you encounter that dragon?” A massive creature loomed overhead, having somehow snuck up behind them. A body that seemed almost crafted of stone, rippling with powerful muscles, it was altogether more monstrous and terrifying than the intelligent - though ill-tempered - dragons of Equestria. It glared down at them, growling deep in its throat. “Ah! Look at that!” Asuna’s shout stole some of Sunset’s attention away from the dragon. “The World Tree’s light is disappearing!” “I think we have bigger problems right now,” Sunset said, taking a shell-shocked Nodoka by the arm and pulling her slowly down the path. “Bigger problems?! What do you- WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?!” Oh good. You finally noticed. Asuna’s shout dispelled whatever hesitance the dragon had been laboring under. It roared ferociously, lunging for Chisame. “Chisame-san!” Negi was there in a flash, scooping Chisame into his arms and hopping aboard his staff. Sunset scooped up Nodoka and followed suit, running from the dragon down the corridor, following the World Tree’s fading light. “What the hell is something like that doing beneath the school?!” Chisame demanded as Asuna and Ku Fei scooped up Haruna and Yue respectively and rushed down the tunnel beside them. “Forget ‘why,’” Sunset shouted. “Just get out of here! Wildfire! Did you call Setsuna yet?!” Negi nodded. “Kaede-san is on her way. Setsuna-san is ready to go at any time.” “Better get her over here now,” Asuna said, chancing a glance behind them at the pursuing dragon. “I don’t think we’ll have a lot of time once we get there!” “R-Right!” Negi held up Setsuna’s card. “Summon! Ministra Negi, Sakurazaki Setsuna!” Setsuna appeared in a flash of light, running by Negi’s side. “Setsuna-san!” Negi pointed desperately behind them. “Can you beat that thing?” Setsuna raised a curious eyebrow before turning to look behind. Her eyes went wide, her jaw slack. “A-ah. I see. A-a western dragon, is it? It l-looks fairly strong. First time I’ve ever actually seen one. Yes. Right. Um, no, Negi-sensei. I think it would take several days and the right equipment to, I mean, even then I wouldn’t-” “Just say ‘no’ and keep running!” Sunset shouted. “Where’s that damn ninja, anyway?!” “Where do you think?” It took a colossal effort for Sunset not to stumble. She glared to her side where Kaede ran beside her as if she’d been there all along. She’d even managed to snatch Nodoka out of her hands somehow. “One of these days,” she muttered, “my reflexes will be good enough for you to regret doing that.” “Perhaps,” Kaede acknowledged before turning around, running backwards and easily keeping pace as she observed the dragon chasing them. “And I think this thing might be a little beyond me as well.” “Look!” Asuna shouted. “There’s an exit! And there’s still light ahead!” They burst out into a massive chamber, a sphere of stone bricks that could have housed several buildings. Thin walkways led to the center of the chamber where a large, intricate device sat, a sphere of glowing white energy hovering above it. Tree roots lined the walls of the chamber, growing fainter with every second. “Over there!” Yue shouted. “That center area must have the last bit of the World Tree’s magic! We need to hurry before the dragon-” A great roar sounded from behind. Sunset looked over her shoulder in time to see the dragon burst from the tunnel and stand fully upright, dwarfing even the golem from their hunt for the Book of Melchizedek. It glared after them, spreading its wings and preparing to take flight. Sunset glanced from the dragon to her group. To the center of the chamber. Back to the dragon. She did some quick figuring. She stopped, turning around fully to face the dragon. “Keep going!” she shouted. “Don’t stop! Activate the time machine as soon as you can!” “Wha- Nichi-chan!” “Nichibotsu!” “Oy! What are you doing?!” “I was never going to come with you!” Sunset confessed, staring down the dragon who seemed puzzled by her halted retreat. “I made my choice. I chose to stand aside and let Chao do as she would. I chose to trust her. And I have to live with that choice.” She looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with Negi. “Wildfire, when you get back, find me. Tell me to help you. Tell her that Chao’s plan will bring nothing but Discord. Tell her ‘Code: Black Sun.’ She’ll know what that means.” “Nichibotsu-” “You don’t have time to argue!” Sunset shouted. “The magic will be gone any minute! And this dragon won’t stay still forever!” As if to prove her point, the dragon roared again, taking to the air with a great flap of its wings. Sunset turned to face it, fists raised. “GO!!!” “Negi-sensei! The magic!” “We have to go!” “But, Nichi-chan-” Sunset stopped listening. Focussed on the creature barreling towards her. It opened its mouth, light building in the back of its throat. “An honest-to-goodness fire-breathing dragon,” Sunset muttered, licking her lips. “Been a while.” She raised her voice to a shout. “COME ON THEN! LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF!” The dragon unleashed its fire with a great roar. Sunset brought up her hands. “Equis equis alicor-