The Games we play
by RBF
It was late in the afternoon in the Mahora university robotics lab. Many of the lights dimmed as the members had set to take a break or were away for the summer. One member remained hard at work, the youngest member and only junior high student in the club.
Satomi Hakase.
The professor had drowned herself in work since her Partner had transported back to her own time. Finishing up long ignored projects, planned a new life-like skin for her 'daughter' Chachamaru, and generally anything else to keep her busy. But along in the lab she looked up from the blurry screen laced with code and let out a small sigh. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes hoping to refocus...
Satomi had always considered ties to other people extending no farther then co-workers, friends had never been in the equation. At least that was the case until she met the brilliant transfer student from China. Chao Lingshen, a girl with genius that rivaled that of her own though coupled with a grand vision and broad sense of the world. It was through Chaos vision and knowledge that Satomi was able to create her most precious invention, Chachamaru, which until that point had been a faint wish at best.
From then on they had been side by side, working out the details of various machines. Upgrading the Chao Bao Zi had not only allowed her to meet Satsuki but eventually became a place she could unwind and allow Chachamaru to get her first interactions with the general populace. Playing second to Chao never felt like a burden, Chao worked hard at everything she did... especially when it came to her goal.
A goal that ultimately failed in the face of the young genius teacher Negi Springfield. Well... failed isn't exactly what happened, Chao's arrival and subsequent plan had already altered how the future may go. The very fact that she still existed means that there is hope yet for the future. Though good intentions aside it didn't change the fact that the first girl she could likely call her friend was gone and the lab would always feel that much more empty because of it.
"I think I better take a break," she muttered despite being the only person remaining. She set her glasses back in place and started to stand when 'ding' reached her ears. "E-mail?" she sat back down and opened up her account. Looking at the top of the list her jaw dropped a little. "That address..." after a moment hesitation she clicked the link. Her eyes widened as she read through the text.
Yo Satomi,
How's it going? I hope this message reaches you well. If the timer works properly then I've only been gone a week or so. I'm sorry to bother you as it is but I have one last request to ask of you... please go to the location below and follow the instructions given.
Thanks in advance
Chao
"No way... an automated message. How far ahead were you thinking?" she whispered in wonder before she shook her head and quickly print out the message. A bit more of a spring in her step as she rushed to her segway and rolled out, steering through pedestrian foot traffic even as she studied the directions.
It was a little out of the way but Hakase was not at all surprised at the destination. It was one of the hangers were they had set up for the Tanka droids. Driving through the large entrance she was not surprised to see it stripped bare, the faculty had done a thorough job of disposing/confiscating of the robots and any unfamiliar technology Hakase had not managed to hide. But that did not mean they found everything. "Okay... the entrance should be the sixteenth panel on the right. Stepping off her segway she traced along the right side of the wall until she reached the sixteenth panel. It looked identical all the rest of the panels down to the last bolt... as expected from Chao.
"It says here to place my thumb on the fourth bolt from the bottom on the left side and." The professor blinked and giggled lightly shaking her head. "Honestly Chao-san," she knelt down and placed her thumb on the bolt indicated. "Amicus," with beep of confirmation the wall shifted and descended into the floor revealing a hidden room. Lining the room were several crates, the first had a strange visor sitting on tip with a folded note. "Project Freedom V3," she could hardly believe her eyes. It was their first mutual project, something they worked on and off for nearly a year before Chao began to fully prepare for the Mahroafest plan. "When did she find the time to mass produce these?" she worked her way over to the note looking over the visor for a moment with a slight smile before she unfolded the note and began to read over her instructions.
She would not let Chao down.
1234321
Konoemon Konoe, Headmaster of Mahora, was finally getting a chance to relax. The festival this year was particularly exciting as not only was the world tree at it's peak of power a huge power struggle came up right under everyoneÆs' noses. It had all turned out well in the end thanks to Negi and his classes' hard work but it still showed several glaring flaws in his protection of the campus. Beyond the sheer amount of clean up needed after the Mages vs. Mars 'game' he had set to work to cleaning up the holes in Mahora's defenses. Her clear and blatant exploitations of said weakness was an unexpected final gift from Chao Lingshen. Hard to imagine such an amazing student had arranged such a plot and even more amazing how her classmates managed to counter it with such little warning. He'd watched the spectacle in it's near entirety alongside Evangeline though he felt a little robbed... after all he would have made a great hero unit.
The elder allowed himself a chuckle at the thought, maybe a decade or so back. Besides it would have been quite embarrassing if he had been eliminated in front of his students. So in the end it was probably just as well... save for all the requests that they do it again next year. Kids these days.
"Konoe-sama?" his intercom buzzed bringing him back to reality.
"Yes?"
"I have Satomi Hakase here, she says she has a proposal for a school wide event." the secretary said with a note of uncertainty. The Faculty had heard of Hakase's involvement in Lingshen's plan and though she had been lightly punished several still regarded her with unease.
"I see, please do send her in." Konoemon was not one of them. Shortly following, the door opened revealing the top student of the 3rd year juniors. Unlike most times she would go about the campus her clothes were clean and unwrinkled, hair tied up into a bun looking very professional. Under her arm a nondescript box, that was shifted to in front of her as she gave a respectful bow.
"Thank you for seeing me Konoe-san."
"Not a problem at all Hakase-san." the headmaster smiled brightly. "You've caught me with a bit of free time. So please what is this proposal of yours?"
"You won't be disappointed." She replied with total confidence as she set the box down and pulled out a laptop and a visor. As she explained her proposal the headmaster raised an eyebrow in interest, this had promise...
1234321
Negi left the academic building at a jogging clip, doing his best to avoid crowds. Nowadays many students and workers at Mahora had a habit of trying to get his autograph or want pictures. It seemed many people followed his exploits during the festival and had been him a measure of local celebrity. It was nice in a way but never good when he was late.
"I hope it she's not mad..." he muttered glancing down to a slightly crumpled note. It was simple and to the point, Satomi had something important to tell him and she wanted to meet him at the classroom. The topic was left unsaid but given the events at the festival it was likely something relevant. Though even if it was a simple 'thank you' for petitioning to lighten the punishment for her assistance to Chao's plan he hadn't wanted to keep her waiting. With a boost of wind magic he pulled double time, only slowing himself down to a more sedate pace in the hall as he reached the door. Opening the door greeted him with an unexpected sight... the members of the 'Negima clubÆ (unofficial title) sat about chatting lightly. "Everyone?" most of the group turned and passed him a greeting as he slowly made his way in.
"Ah Sensei glad you could finally make it." At his usual podium stood Hakase, looking much more cleaned up and professional then usual.
"Sorry I got held up in a staff meeting..." he explained joining his companions in the classroom area, seeking out Asuna in particular.
"Well now that everyone is here I would like to get started." Hakase took a breath and looked over the confused, and in some cases bored, crowd. "Well I may as well start at the beginning. Three days ago I received word from Chao-san."
"What?!" came a shared exclamation of several sprinkled through the group.
"I thought she was come kind of time traveler? Didn't she go back?" Kotoro, loud as ever, spoke up from the back of the room.
"Yes but she left a timed message that I just received, in that bore a final request."
"A request from Chaorin?" Asuna muttered, unsure of where this could go. Though the Martian admitted defeat she had outmaneuvered them several times. Could this be some last ditch reach from beyond?
"Ah, well the request for me was to do the finishing touches on an old project of ours and pass it on to her worthy opponents as a parting gift." The professor smiled a little bit at the disbelief hangings on several faces It seems you really did a number on them Chao-san. She pulled out the visor from behind the podium and placed it on the desk. "According to Chao-san... these Visors will connect the wearer to some sort of training program. One she designed herself, in order to aid Negi-kun and the others."
"A program?" one of the more recent additions to the group, Chisame, spoke up. "What kind of program?" Her tone was even, not giving an inch; she was not one to underestimate Chao. Hakase gave an odd smile before replying.
"A Virtual World Simulation of an alternate realm, specifically designed to aid you all by training your minds and skills... in short... an Interactive Game."
end snippet
This idea came to me a little ways back and recently began to bounce ideas after the ever awesome Windfalcon and came up with a storyline to follow... if grew at first as a way to include character not normally used in fics (Chao and Satomi both make prominent showings) and sprinkle in a little fun... Basically these visors allow them to play in a game and are specially tweaked mix of science and magic that alone those playing with these special headsets to train themselves. Other people will be playing the game as well but only those with the special headsets will gainin power in the real world by playing.
This AU is the ala alba using this game to train for their trip to england as opposed to working in eva's resort... but there's more to the game then just training but that will be revealed in the next parts.
by RBF
It was late in the afternoon in the Mahora university robotics lab. Many of the lights dimmed as the members had set to take a break or were away for the summer. One member remained hard at work, the youngest member and only junior high student in the club.
Satomi Hakase.
The professor had drowned herself in work since her Partner had transported back to her own time. Finishing up long ignored projects, planned a new life-like skin for her 'daughter' Chachamaru, and generally anything else to keep her busy. But along in the lab she looked up from the blurry screen laced with code and let out a small sigh. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes hoping to refocus...
Satomi had always considered ties to other people extending no farther then co-workers, friends had never been in the equation. At least that was the case until she met the brilliant transfer student from China. Chao Lingshen, a girl with genius that rivaled that of her own though coupled with a grand vision and broad sense of the world. It was through Chaos vision and knowledge that Satomi was able to create her most precious invention, Chachamaru, which until that point had been a faint wish at best.
From then on they had been side by side, working out the details of various machines. Upgrading the Chao Bao Zi had not only allowed her to meet Satsuki but eventually became a place she could unwind and allow Chachamaru to get her first interactions with the general populace. Playing second to Chao never felt like a burden, Chao worked hard at everything she did... especially when it came to her goal.
A goal that ultimately failed in the face of the young genius teacher Negi Springfield. Well... failed isn't exactly what happened, Chao's arrival and subsequent plan had already altered how the future may go. The very fact that she still existed means that there is hope yet for the future. Though good intentions aside it didn't change the fact that the first girl she could likely call her friend was gone and the lab would always feel that much more empty because of it.
"I think I better take a break," she muttered despite being the only person remaining. She set her glasses back in place and started to stand when 'ding' reached her ears. "E-mail?" she sat back down and opened up her account. Looking at the top of the list her jaw dropped a little. "That address..." after a moment hesitation she clicked the link. Her eyes widened as she read through the text.
Yo Satomi,
How's it going? I hope this message reaches you well. If the timer works properly then I've only been gone a week or so. I'm sorry to bother you as it is but I have one last request to ask of you... please go to the location below and follow the instructions given.
Thanks in advance
Chao
"No way... an automated message. How far ahead were you thinking?" she whispered in wonder before she shook her head and quickly print out the message. A bit more of a spring in her step as she rushed to her segway and rolled out, steering through pedestrian foot traffic even as she studied the directions.
It was a little out of the way but Hakase was not at all surprised at the destination. It was one of the hangers were they had set up for the Tanka droids. Driving through the large entrance she was not surprised to see it stripped bare, the faculty had done a thorough job of disposing/confiscating of the robots and any unfamiliar technology Hakase had not managed to hide. But that did not mean they found everything. "Okay... the entrance should be the sixteenth panel on the right. Stepping off her segway she traced along the right side of the wall until she reached the sixteenth panel. It looked identical all the rest of the panels down to the last bolt... as expected from Chao.
"It says here to place my thumb on the fourth bolt from the bottom on the left side and." The professor blinked and giggled lightly shaking her head. "Honestly Chao-san," she knelt down and placed her thumb on the bolt indicated. "Amicus," with beep of confirmation the wall shifted and descended into the floor revealing a hidden room. Lining the room were several crates, the first had a strange visor sitting on tip with a folded note. "Project Freedom V3," she could hardly believe her eyes. It was their first mutual project, something they worked on and off for nearly a year before Chao began to fully prepare for the Mahroafest plan. "When did she find the time to mass produce these?" she worked her way over to the note looking over the visor for a moment with a slight smile before she unfolded the note and began to read over her instructions.
She would not let Chao down.
1234321
Konoemon Konoe, Headmaster of Mahora, was finally getting a chance to relax. The festival this year was particularly exciting as not only was the world tree at it's peak of power a huge power struggle came up right under everyoneÆs' noses. It had all turned out well in the end thanks to Negi and his classes' hard work but it still showed several glaring flaws in his protection of the campus. Beyond the sheer amount of clean up needed after the Mages vs. Mars 'game' he had set to work to cleaning up the holes in Mahora's defenses. Her clear and blatant exploitations of said weakness was an unexpected final gift from Chao Lingshen. Hard to imagine such an amazing student had arranged such a plot and even more amazing how her classmates managed to counter it with such little warning. He'd watched the spectacle in it's near entirety alongside Evangeline though he felt a little robbed... after all he would have made a great hero unit.
The elder allowed himself a chuckle at the thought, maybe a decade or so back. Besides it would have been quite embarrassing if he had been eliminated in front of his students. So in the end it was probably just as well... save for all the requests that they do it again next year. Kids these days.
"Konoe-sama?" his intercom buzzed bringing him back to reality.
"Yes?"
"I have Satomi Hakase here, she says she has a proposal for a school wide event." the secretary said with a note of uncertainty. The Faculty had heard of Hakase's involvement in Lingshen's plan and though she had been lightly punished several still regarded her with unease.
"I see, please do send her in." Konoemon was not one of them. Shortly following, the door opened revealing the top student of the 3rd year juniors. Unlike most times she would go about the campus her clothes were clean and unwrinkled, hair tied up into a bun looking very professional. Under her arm a nondescript box, that was shifted to in front of her as she gave a respectful bow.
"Thank you for seeing me Konoe-san."
"Not a problem at all Hakase-san." the headmaster smiled brightly. "You've caught me with a bit of free time. So please what is this proposal of yours?"
"You won't be disappointed." She replied with total confidence as she set the box down and pulled out a laptop and a visor. As she explained her proposal the headmaster raised an eyebrow in interest, this had promise...
1234321
Negi left the academic building at a jogging clip, doing his best to avoid crowds. Nowadays many students and workers at Mahora had a habit of trying to get his autograph or want pictures. It seemed many people followed his exploits during the festival and had been him a measure of local celebrity. It was nice in a way but never good when he was late.
"I hope it she's not mad..." he muttered glancing down to a slightly crumpled note. It was simple and to the point, Satomi had something important to tell him and she wanted to meet him at the classroom. The topic was left unsaid but given the events at the festival it was likely something relevant. Though even if it was a simple 'thank you' for petitioning to lighten the punishment for her assistance to Chao's plan he hadn't wanted to keep her waiting. With a boost of wind magic he pulled double time, only slowing himself down to a more sedate pace in the hall as he reached the door. Opening the door greeted him with an unexpected sight... the members of the 'Negima clubÆ (unofficial title) sat about chatting lightly. "Everyone?" most of the group turned and passed him a greeting as he slowly made his way in.
"Ah Sensei glad you could finally make it." At his usual podium stood Hakase, looking much more cleaned up and professional then usual.
"Sorry I got held up in a staff meeting..." he explained joining his companions in the classroom area, seeking out Asuna in particular.
"Well now that everyone is here I would like to get started." Hakase took a breath and looked over the confused, and in some cases bored, crowd. "Well I may as well start at the beginning. Three days ago I received word from Chao-san."
"What?!" came a shared exclamation of several sprinkled through the group.
"I thought she was come kind of time traveler? Didn't she go back?" Kotoro, loud as ever, spoke up from the back of the room.
"Yes but she left a timed message that I just received, in that bore a final request."
"A request from Chaorin?" Asuna muttered, unsure of where this could go. Though the Martian admitted defeat she had outmaneuvered them several times. Could this be some last ditch reach from beyond?
"Ah, well the request for me was to do the finishing touches on an old project of ours and pass it on to her worthy opponents as a parting gift." The professor smiled a little bit at the disbelief hangings on several faces It seems you really did a number on them Chao-san. She pulled out the visor from behind the podium and placed it on the desk. "According to Chao-san... these Visors will connect the wearer to some sort of training program. One she designed herself, in order to aid Negi-kun and the others."
"A program?" one of the more recent additions to the group, Chisame, spoke up. "What kind of program?" Her tone was even, not giving an inch; she was not one to underestimate Chao. Hakase gave an odd smile before replying.
"A Virtual World Simulation of an alternate realm, specifically designed to aid you all by training your minds and skills... in short... an Interactive Game."
end snippet
This idea came to me a little ways back and recently began to bounce ideas after the ever awesome Windfalcon and came up with a storyline to follow... if grew at first as a way to include character not normally used in fics (Chao and Satomi both make prominent showings) and sprinkle in a little fun... Basically these visors allow them to play in a game and are specially tweaked mix of science and magic that alone those playing with these special headsets to train themselves. Other people will be playing the game as well but only those with the special headsets will gainin power in the real world by playing.
This AU is the ala alba using this game to train for their trip to england as opposed to working in eva's resort... but there's more to the game then just training but that will be revealed in the next parts.
