trans_9 | "OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

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"OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

The battle against the Ohm raged on, and the casualties on the ground were mounting. Injured crew members got emergency treatment in the field, which largely amounted to patching them up so they wouldn't die sometime within the next fifteen minutes. After that, they were quickly picked up by shuttle and brought back to the ship, where they were sent to a medbay that was getting progressively more crowded.

The situation was growing increasingly dire, to the point that Stacy activated one of the AI's to help out.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

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Negi hugged back, glad that she was safe. But the waterbending was worrisome. He decided to ask about it later. For now, he could get a hug. A nice warm hug.

"That's good then. Is everyone safe?"

The hug worked in tandem: it was to ease Negi, but it was just as much to ease herself. Her heart was still beating pretty fast with everything that had happened today, and thinking of something bad happening to Negi scared her.

"I saw Sasami earlier, so she's okay. I have to check on Nura, but I healed her a little on the battlefield, so I think she's going to recuperate too. My teachers and someone helping to stop a fire in the house...they didn't fare so well."

And she blamed herself for the latter, but she would talk about that later.

"Oh no..." murmured Negi. "I'm sure you did your best, just like I did."

He rubbed his head and added, "It's good that you're safe though Oneesama. It's been one wild day. Did you find your brother?"

"Always," Katara said. "When you're out there, you do whatever you can, right? Otherwise, you lose, and we can't afford that."

She nodded. "Thanks for your concern, Negi. I was worried about you too. No, I haven't found Sokka yet. But I hope I do soon. I really could talk to him right now."

She really could: Negi had been around Katara enough to see that she was actually worried and a little scared.

"He's a warrior right? I think he'll be alright," reassured Negi. "After all, he's your brother and you know how he thinks. I think it'll be worth waiting for him to arrive, with a big smile on his face."

"I think he will be too," Katara said, smiling. "You know, you remind me a little of Aang, the Avatar in my world. He had a lot on his shoulders, but he was a free spirit and all about having fun. I'm sure he would be good friends with you if you'd met."

"Sounds like someone I should meet some day," said Negi. "Seems like there's always someone that I keep reminding people of."

He smiled slightly as he yawned and rubbed his stomach, wincing at the dull ache.

Katara tried to keep a straight face, even though she felt a dull ache of her own: so many months had passed and still no sign of Aang. More than anything, she wished him to be here. In fact, she was so caught up with the face she didn't realize that she'd brought a hand to her face to catch a stray tear: she didn't need Negi seeing her blubber.

"Something in my eye, sorry," she said, giving him a forced smile.

...

Yeah right, something in her eye. Long association with women told him that she missed him dearly, but he otherwise didn't comment, simply sighed. "It'll be okay," said Negi simply.

She smiled apologetically. She'd seen right though her after all: she shouldn't have underestimated how well he'd gotten to know her after all.

"Thank you," she said. "I just wish I could see him: for a fight like this, he would have been in the thick of things, helping others. I miss him...all the time."

She wondered if Negi felt the same about his girl back home.

"I miss a lot of people too," admitted Negi. "I mean Master's here of course but I do miss everyone. Oneechan, Anya, Asuna-san, Nodoka-san, Haruna-san... the list goes on. I couldn't honestly list all the people without running out of breath."

"I'm sure he's safe."

Katara smiled and ruffled Negi's hair. Negi didn't know how long she'd been waiting, month after month, hoping he'd be here and being disappointed. "I hope you meet them soon too. Even if you don't though, and even if I ever see Aang again, I have you and you have me, okay?"

It was a hard thing to think about, and not something she wanted to happen, but it was a possibility. Besides, there was something Katara wanted to talk about with Negi.

"Negi, what happened to you during our fight? I never saw you like that, it was pretty scary. Why did that happen to you?"

Negi bit his lip in thought. "I... I lost control."

His hands balled up a little, ignoring the pain of the IV in his hand. "it's happened to me before. In times of stress and emotional pain, I lose control over my Magica Erebea. It wasn't meant for humans, let alone myself. I'm always teetering on the edge with a possibility I'll lose myself completely in it. Quite honestly I'm amazed I was pulled out."

That much was clear. Katara knew a thing or two about losing control too: she had once and released Aang, and she'd done it before when Master Pakku was still refusing to teach her.

Katara quietly put her hands on his to ease the pressure he was putting on the I.V. "Negi, you can't do something like that again if you don't have control over your emotions. I'm sure you know that, but the next time you might not have someone to bring you back. Please be more careful. I..I don;'t want anything like that to happen to you again, okay? I was scared you might not come back."

Give it up entirely? Negi looked worried at the prospect of doing so. It was his primary attack ability now.

"I don't know if I couldn't go back to not using it. It triggers even if I'm not thinking about it," said Negi honestly. "It's dangerous I know. But if it doesn't put people in harms way, then I see no reason not to use it..."

It was a half lie really. He was still mostly unaware of what he was close to doing to the people he called friends and family.

Katara shook her head. It was one thing to say that he was to give it up, she certainly wasn't saying that. But she also wasn't going to allow him to say it wasn't putting people in harm's way.

"That's a lie," Katara said. "I saw at least four people who would be hurt to see you do this to yourself, and I'm one of them. Don't be negligent Negi: you are a powerful magician, but you can't use magic haphazardly: that falls for any kind of skill. Eventually, it WILL hurt someone, and I don't want to see you hurt someone by mistake and regret it."

She brought her hand to his. "You have to learn to control this power. That will make it so what you're doing becomes an asset and not a burden."

Negi swallowed. She was serious and so was he, but still... People... could have gotten hurt... because of me...

"Alright. I'll ask Master for help. If anything she'll know what to do to prevent the corruption from spreading. If not..." He then smiled. "If not, then I lose my humanity... and become like master. And that doesn't bother me as much as it should... because I like master."

Honest and straight forward. In another time and place he would have said this in front of Evangeline herself, and totally gotten blown up for it.

Katara watched him talking, and more and more her back started to be a little bothered by what he was saying. She knew he cared about what happened to others, but he was also looking at what he can do, she could see that.

Just like Aang.

And that was why she grabbed his hand, her face locked to his in a serious manner. "The hell you will," Katara said, using the slang she heard on the ship for emphasis on the words she was saying. "I am your oneesama, and there isn't a reason in the world I would let that happen to you. I love you Negi, and so do many others. Don't casually say something like that. I know your master is someone you idolize...but what you are makes you special."

She gave him a hug. She knew she was being a little overbearing, but she couldn't help it. She was protective.

Negi's eyes went wide. He had seen that look before, that damn the torpedoes listen to your big sister feeling. She cared for him and he did too but to become like master... it was still okay in his opinion but...

Negi sniffled, and then clutched to Katara. "I'm sorry... I... I don't want to upset you or anything it's just... I don't want anyone getting hurt on my account, or what I do..."

"Oneesama I..."

"My isn't this a cozy scene?" broke in the familiar voice of his, well, familiar as Chamo grinned at the pair. "Any more and you two will cross the line huh? Why don't we make it official?"

And he thrust his hands up as a circle burst to life beneath the pair. "Go on Anesan! Kiss him!"

Ok, she was having an intimate conversation with Negi and then Chamo(it was ALWAYS HIM!) popped up, saying weird things. She batted at him, mad about what he saying, and then she remembered.

The pactio. The kiss.

"You want to have something to fall back on," Katara said, "and that can be in a form of a pactio. I see that. In that case..."

She seized Negi and have him a kiss. "To make sure you have power when you need it, Negi."

"Wait wha--?!"

And then there was an explosion of light in the medbay, throwing up magical force as Chamo who had been swatted exclaiming "PACTIOOOOOOO!"

The light coalesced and formed, and drifted down as Chamo held up a card. (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/shaungarin/Pactio/?action=view&current=katara2pactiocopy.png) "Nice look Anesan!"

Negi on the other hand was stunned that she would kiss him like this, but he was really too weak to fight it or process coherent thought.

Katara, on the other hand, was hardly perturbed. Of course she had no love of Negi as some of his female students might have. Instead, she smiled gently: it was another way she could lend her strength to someone she cared deeply about, and know he had her in his corner.

She got up, smiling at the card. She looked over at Negi. "I don't let people I care about do things that could hurt them," she told the boy. "Who you are, the people you care about...never forget them Negi-kun!"

She bowed a little. "That's why I do this."

Negi blushed, stammered a little as he tried to align his brain a little. And then he nodded, smiling as he bowed a little as well. "Thank you Onesama... for being so kind."

Chamo used his magic and made a copy, handing the other one to Katara. "Hey Anesan, we'll brief you on your card abilities soon, but this ties you to Aniki now. To summon your artifact say Adeat, to put away say Abeat. And you can talk to him telepathically by placing it against your forehead and chanting Telepathia. We'll figure this out once Sasami gets enough strength to use hers too, so we can show you just how things work out."

Katara laughed softly, waiting for Negi to adjust. With his thanks, she shook her head. "You are my brother on ship: I'll protect you however I can, okay?"

She was a little confused by his instruction, but she would have to adjust as best she could. Whatever exchange of power that was happening, she had a purpose there somehow.

"What do you mean artifact? What can I do? Sasami hasn't done this yet?"

"OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

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