X

The sounds of her own screams echoed with in her head, the loud shriek pounding against her eardrums almost deafening, Akko, saw nothing, but darkness even the ground she stood on wasn't there, "HELLO!" Akko cried out so far only the sounds of her own voice echoed back. Akko ran in void to see if she can get anywhere, but it felt like she was on a treadmill like she wasn't moving at all, "ANYONE THERE!" she yelled out again. No one answered her, Akko, was alone in the void.

How'd she got here was a mystery last thing, Akko, can remember was being cornered by the thing that took her friends, is she dead, is this place heaven or hell or niether, is she trap in some sorta limbo, is this the end, Akko, pulled out her wand, but the wand didn't respond to her comand. There was nothing, Akko, can do she was trapped, she was never going to see her friends or family again, she crumbled to the ground and started. Tears rolled off the cheek and dripped onto the floor as the sound of sobbing could be heard, but it wasn't, Akko. The sobbing was coming from somewhere else, Akko, wasn't alone, she got up looking over her shoulders trying to find where the crying was coming until she saw it.

Far off in the distance, Akko, saw someone was there, she ran towards that person the sobbing becoming less fainted as she got closer, when she was close enough, Akko, saw that the person crying was a boy. Small, crouched down to the ground balling his eyes out, "hey, are you O.K?" Akko asked kindly, but the moment the boy heard her he got up and ran. He ran so fast it was like wind, "no wait!" Akko cried out after him, but he was gone in a heartbeat nowhere to be seen, "please, come back!" Akko cried out again. She looked over to where the boy disappeared hoping he'll come back, she then heard foot steps, he was coming back, Akko, smiled in relief glad she didn't scare off the boy.

But something was off the steps were becoming louder, booming like thunder, someone was coming right towards her, but it wasn't the boy, charging at her was a full grown man with a beard, his eyes shined in anger, his teeth clenched, with one hand extended out towarss her, and the other raised high gripping an axe. He was so fast, he roared at her before grabbing, Akko, tightly by her shoulder, then swung his axe down at her, and, Akko, screamed.

X

Akko screamed from the top of her lung form complete horror as she was about to die... except she wasn't, Akko, found herself sitting on a sofa confused, Akko, looked around to see she was in a small lit room, there were no windows, just hard brick walls, and when, Akko, set her foot down she accidentally stepped on what looks to be an old toy soldier. She picked it up off the ground seeing how neatly painted it was, but then, Akko, started hearing music and faint laughter, she looked over to her side to see a door with light streaming from the bottom.

She got up to approach the door setting the toy to the side, Akko, grabbed hold of the handle finding it unlocked, she took in a deep breath getting ready to see what's on the other side, and when she pulled it open, Akko, found all her friends sitting at a table enjoying themselves. Lotte, Sucy, Diana, Amanda, Constanze, and including Jasminka, they were all fine, laughing and talking with cups of tea on the table with the music playing in the background, "hey look someone's finally awake," Amanda nodded to, Akko. Everyone looked over to see the last member of the group was now standing at the door way with confused expression on her face, "heh? am I still dreaming?" Akko asked rubbing her eyes and, Sucy, pinched her, "nope," she giggled.

"Come join us, Akko," Lotte asked her friend pulling a seat next her, Akko, saw that, Lotte's, shins had small bandages on her, but before she could asked what happen another door opened to reveal a tall young man carrying a silver tray with a cover. Akko jumped at the sight of the new face she never seen before so she pulled out her wand, and the girls waved their hands at her, "no, Akko, it's alright!" Lotte pleaded, "yeah, Akko, he's actually pretty cool," Amanda stepped in to calm her down. Akko gave a puzzled look to everyone, "what!?" she shouted, and the young man sets down the tray and lifts off the cover to reveal a perfectly baked roast beef.

"I think he just wanted to invite us to eat," Sucy figured, "you guys can't be serious, Lotte, look at your legs," Akko suggested not believing the man, "it's when I fell on the stairs, he bandaged them pretty good," Lotte explain, "Sucy?" Akko moved on, "he just caught me, I'm actually pretty fine," Sucy said. Akko then turned to, Diana, "yes he did yanked me into the air, but it turns out he was just playful, turns out he need help looking for a cook book, probably why he was in the kitchen earlier," Diana explained.

"What? how about you, Amanda, Constanze, and even you, Jasminka?" Akko looked over to the three, "Jasminka, told him about, Constanze's, secret lab," Amanda told her, "I think he was just lonely, Akko," Lotte suggested. But, Akko, still felt the man was dangerous, "what about that music saying "i'm gonna die" over and over again before I blacked out?" she demanded and if on cue the song came back.

"you're gonna die... you're gonna die... you're gonna die... you're gonna die..."

Akko landed her sight at the record player which again started skipping on the record, but the man hit it firmly making it play right.

"You're gonna dance all night and play until the morning comes, so let's get the chance to write to, Abbe, that it's really such a joy to be in, France,"

It has turned out when the record kept playing uninterrupted the song was actually a playful tuned, "yeah that record has a huge scratch," Sucy noted, "and it's actually our fault you blacked out, we opened the door and you banged your head on the floor," Diana admitted. Akko looks over to the all feeling relaxed, "so... this is all just a misunderstanding?" she asked to make sure, and they all confirmed it by replying "yeah", "yep", or just humming.

Once they resolve the situation the girls looked over to the young man getting the table ready for dinner, the tea cups, plates, and other kitchen utensils oddly didn't match, like they were pulled from different sets, some where brass, others were copper, iron, or silver. Akko sets his sights on the man himself studying his features, he easily towered over the girls with his slender frame, he had short blonde hair that reflected the lights in the room, his eyes were green as lush grass, so full of life like on the academy's lawn, and his skin had this pale complexion like he never been out in the sun, but looked so smooth and healthy.

The clothes he has on were odd, his shirt was very long which reached passed his knees with the tail end being being cut into three separate ones, two large pieces in the back and one smaller piece in the front between his legs probably to make it easier to move freely. Strangely this shirt had a flap, that overlaps his chest kinda like a coat and it also didn't have any sleeves. He also had bandages wrapped around his wrists and hands, and even his shins and feet leaving his toes exposed. Then lastly he had a sash for a belt kinda like the girls' except his was more larger, wide enough to cover his midsection, but looking at him whole his clothes looked worn with tears on the edges and holes his pants sleeves.

"Come join us, Akko, it's time for dinner," Jasminka offered, Akko, complied by taking a seat next to, Lotte, plates were then passed around as the girls' host cut into the beef releasing warm steam and revealing a juicy pink center. The girls' mouths watered (except for, Diana) at the sight of the roast beef and smell flooding through their nostrils, the man then laid out the slices onto their plates, and the girls digged in. The food was delicious as the flavor overwhelmed their tastebuds with great pleasure, "this is so good," Amanda complimented, and the others agreed.

After a while of enjoying her food, Akko, thought to be polite to say hello, "I'm pretty sure my friends introduced me already, but just in case, I'm Atsuko Kagari," Akko introduced herself, "what's your's?" she then went on to ask the young man. There was a moment of awkward silence between everyone at the table as the man just darted his eyes around and just tapped the tips of his fingers together nervously, "we asked him that already, and we're pretty sure he doesn't have a name," Sucy leaned in to tell her. Akko glanced back at the man seeing he that he looked uncomfortable, "that's O.K, you don't need to answer that," Akko said trying to lighten the young man's mood.

After the dinner the girls helped their host clean up afterward taking the plates and tray into the kitchen, Akko, on the other hand noticed that there were four doors, one on each wall of the room, the first was the room, Akko, awoke from, the second was the kitchen, the third was the exit, and the last was one no one has been in yet. Akko approaches the door and enters into what is the man's bedroom and, Akko, must say... it is a sad sight.

This room like all the others is very small, his room contained only a small cot, no sheets, no blankets, the cot was rusty, and the mattress was thin, there was no source of light so, Akko, had to pull out her wand to light up the room. Akko then approached the cot to have a better look at it, when she did, Akko, could see how old the man's sleeping arrangements are, "at least he has a pillow," Akko noted to herself patting on the head cushion, but when she pressed her palm against it she felt something was under the pillow.

She moves the pillow out of the way to find a hard green book that's tilted "Peter Pan", Akko, opens the book reading the tale of "the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" about his adventures on the island, Neverland, talking about his encounters with Mermaids, Native Americans, Pirates, and his joyous times with, Tinker Bell, Wendy Darling and her two brothers, and the Lost Boys.

Akko fanned throught the pages until a piece of paper fell out of the book, Akko, thought it was a page of the book that fell, but it turns out it was actually an old drawing, it was childlish drawn depicting a picture of what, Akko, assumed was probabaly the man trying to draw himself when he was younger. As one would except from a child's drawing it was just poorly lined out shapes trying to be organized to resemble a person, but it wasn't the only drawing in the book. There were more and more drawings each seemingly being better than the last, what started out to be a collection of circles for heads and squares for torsos soon became nice well drawn out pictures.

There were sketches of figures in poses, mass drawings those drawing seem more depressing showing a figure hunched over, face buried in his hand seemingly weeping, but others show more familiar faces. Drawings of the working staff also popped up, the Cyclops janitor moping the floor, the Goblin chef cooking at the stove, and the Minotaur handyman hefting a ladder over his shoulders. When she went onto the next piece, Akko, instantly recognized the face of the drawing, "Mistress Holbrooke?" Akko gasps confusingly.

The picture was a drawing of a young, Holbrooke, looking to be middle aged, she was holding hands with a little boy, his eyes filled with hope as he looked up to a young, miss Holbrooke. Something was written on the back as well, Akko, flipped it and read aloud.

"My feet are like thunder"

"My heart is like a drum"

"My lips raise in awe and wonder"

"My hands carry power"

"And my lungs breath fire"

"No fear out there could shake me"

"Because of your love"

"Because of your spirit"

"It lives inside me"

"And I will never be afraid"

"Because you taught me to be brave"

So focused on the words that she didn't notice that the man was sitting right next to her, "uh... how long have you been sitting there?" Akko asked nervously. The young didn't look at all mad, instead he looked curious, and finally he spoke, "... not too long," he weakly answered, Akko, remembered when over hearing the professors' conversation earlier saying "for over a decade", "have you really been down here for ten years?" she asked caringly. The man just slowly nods his head, "... I've never seen the sun... or felt the gentle breeze of the wind... I've lived my life in darkness as long as I could remember... I feel forgotten," the man whispered sadly.

There was a moment of silence between them as, Akko, could tell that the man was greatly depressed, but she glances down at book in her hand and started thinking, "you know if you don't have a name why don't we give you one then?" Akko prompted and the young man looks at her in a lighter mood. It didn't take much thinking for, Akko, to come up with one, because it was sitting on her lap, "how about... Peter?" Akko offered. The man quickly smiled happy that someone was kind enough to give him a name, "... I love it," the man now known as, Peter, said.

A While After

Akko has told her friends that their gust shall now be called, Peter, soon everyone gathered back around the table again to play a game of cards, but after a while the sun was beginning to rise and the girls could tell, so the girls asked, Peter, if they could have a moment alone, "Akko, we have to get back," Lotte informed her friend, "but what about, Peter?" Akko asked not wanting to leave the poor fellow in the dark again.

"Yeah are we really just gonna leave him here in the dark?" Amanda sided, "but what are we suppose to do? take him out in broad daylight?" Diana questioned. They quietly argued trying to come up with an idea to help, Peter, but there might be one person that could help them.

Somewhere Else

Still sleeping peacefully in her bed, Ursula, was then woken up by a knock at the door, "Miss Ursula, are you up!" Akko called out on the other side, the once famous witch pulls herself out of bed and drags herself towards the door, and opens to find the whole group standing on the other side. Surprised to see all the girls there, but not as surprised to see, Jasminka, with them safe and sound, "Miss Ursula, we really need to talk," Diana suggested.