Summary: In which Diana's life returns to tumult.


Author's Notes:

I'M ALIVE. And so is Goetia lol.


Act VI.i. Grasp of the Witch - Midnight_Tryst_3.0

Retrieving the girl's broom isn't difficult. She only has to retrace the girl's steps back to where she first landed in the forest to search around the area for her belongings. It doesn't take long to find everything Yuzu brought with her.

Mutouzeki Yuzu. That is the name of the girl who is her current host.

Goetia closes her - Yuzu's - eyes and takes a moment to consolidate her memories beyond the last few hours. Her eyebrows twitch as she continues to search through her and the girl's shared mind. The further back in Yuzu's memories she pries, the harder it is to restrain herself from projecting out of this body and returning to her tree.

The girl has minimal magical talent. Worst of all, she does not come from a family with magical background; she is the first spellcaster of her line. She is kind and hardworking with a pure dream to learn magic at Luna Nova Academy to help her family and surpass her hero, Atsuko Kagari-

Goetia's hands freeze as she bends down to pick up a sealed jar of umeboshi. Numerous images of Yuzu's idol flit through her mind. Of all the memories, Goetia comes to the conclusion that she has seen this girl somewhere before. Not through Mutouzeki Yuzu's memories but her own experience.

There was someone crying with their head bent down toward the forest floor. Goetia remembers she would have revelled in her pain if not for the truth only she knew. That single light of hope stemming from the very necklace Atsuko Kagari clutched in her hands.

(An indirect relation to Diana Cavendish… Perhaps this Mutouzeki Yuzu can be useful after all.)

Diana Cavendish is alive and attending Luna Nova. That narrows down her search by one. She will need to locate Fei Wong Reed, but that should not take long once she is out of the Arcturus Forest with easier access to information.

Goetia scowls at the small jar in her hand and wills the entire container to spontaneously combust in purple flames. She clenches her fist once nothing remains but ash.

(Not a bad internal magic network; rather well balanced for a witch from nothing. Yes, this will do for now.)

Beggar's cannot be choosers. Goetia has no way of knowing when another suitable container will approach the Arcturus Forest. Along with its obscure location within the leylines, it seems the area has been blocked off with a strong barrier after she was awakened. It took months for her to discreetly analyze the barrier without alerting the casters of her intentions. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Goetia to lure any human into this forest. Even now as she readies to leave, she must take caution to not give away any abnormalities. If the casters of the barrier realize that someone has broken through it, they will surely send reinforcements to investigate. She can simply exterminate them, but that requires too much work at her current level of strength.

Though the frustration of spending all this time and effort, only to be awarded with a mediocre witch with no history to her name, almost entices her to massacre a few humans regardless of her current state.

(No, this is good enough. Her mundanity allows me to blend in with the rest of the humans. They will not suspect me, giving me time to restore my strength.)

After gathering all of Yuzu's belongings, Goetia places them on Yuzu's broom and mounts it for flight. She tightens her grip on the handle as she reminds herself how to use basic magic.

(It has been awhile since I have cast Tia Freyre.) Goetia chuckles. (No, it has been awhile since I have relied on you for my source of power, Yggdrasil.)

Goetia looks up toward the sky at the barely perceptible leylines which span the entire globe.

"In the end, it is because of their unwillingness to erase your existence that I may live. Foolish."

The winds spiral around her as she channels magic from the world through herself and into the broom. The energy circulates this way to power the miracle of flight.

"Fly, my broom." She tightens her grip on the handle, feeling the coarse wood cut into her delicate palms. "Tia Freyre."

Yuzu's feet fall limp as the broom rises and levitates above the ground. She directs the broom up toward the sky.

"Open, gateway to Luna Nova."

Yuzu flicks her wrist and creates a tear in the sky that serves as a temporary opening into the leyline.

Before entering, Yuzu takes one last look back toward the giant, withered tree and the decaying purple flower that once housed the soul of the Demon Witch.

Yuzu enters the leyline heading to Luna Nova. The moment she leaves behind her prison, Goetia the Demon Witch and Yuzu the novice witch could not longer be distinguished. They were not separate entities, but now one existence known as 'Mutouzeki Yuzu.'


The table of nine little witches is silent, save for the occasional clatter of utensils against dish and the rumble of Akko's throat.

"Mmmnnnnnn…" Akko lifts her spoon and stabs it back into her mashed potatoes. "Nnnnnnnn."

Diana rubs the handle of the fork between her fingers. She's done this long enough that even she catches onto the habit. But right now, she would rather focus on the cold metal in her grasp than the incoherent mumbling of her girlfriend.

"NnnnnNNNNNNnnnn…" Akko mixes the potatoes with her spoon, gradually picking up the pace.

Lotte glances at Akko with worry. "Um…"

"NnnnnNNNNNNNNGGGGHHHHH!" Akko circles the spoon with too much force, accidentally flinging it across the table. The sludge of potato lands splat on Amanda's face.

Amanda wipes her face with her hand and leaps onto her feet. "Okay, that's it! I'm gonna kill ya, Akko!"

Akko continues to stare at the food left on her tray, seemingly ignoring Amanda's outburst. Her lack of response forces Lotte to stand and hold back Amanda herself.

"Wait! Akko didn't mean to do that!" Lotte turns her head back while keeping her hands on Amanda's shoulders. Now that her arm's healed, she can actually keep her rowdy friends in check. Though her height difference doesn't help. "Right, Akko?"

Akko continues to ignore them. This time, she picks up her fork and stabs it into her porkchop.

Amanda's face starts to turn red in anger. Before she can blow her fuse and break free from Lotte's grip, Diana places her hand on the fist Akko has clenched around her fork. She gives Akko's hand a small squeeze.

"What is bothering you, Akko?" Diana asks.

Akko seemingly breaks out of her reverie. "Huh? Nothing is bothering me! Nothing at all!"

"Oh, so you'll listen to your girlfriend but not me or your own roommate? You shady little shit!" Amanda growls.

Diana sighs. "Amanda's face and that porkchop say otherwise. You should apologize to Amanda before she decides to flip this table."

Akko turns her body halfway to regard Amanda. She bows her head for half a second.

"Sorry," she says with a blank expression.

"What kind of piss-poor apology is tha-?!"

Barbara finds herself getting hit by a sudden idea. "Hey, has that freshman from before returned yet? She's supposed to join you guys for detention tonight, right?"

Akko's expression falls once more. She returns to brooding, much to Diana's annoyance.

Barbara gives herself a mental high five. (Just like I thought.)

"You're worried about your protege?" Hannah scoffs. "She just went home for a few days, right? She'll be back and showering you with praises before you can finish naming all the Nine Olde Witches."

"I just have a bad feeling," Akko grumbles.

"That's probably the school food upsetting your stomach," Sucy says. "That's why all of us - even Diana - have to spend an extra ten minutes in the bathroom after every meal."

Diana blanches. "How did you…?"

"Constanze noticed a few months ago. We traded information; she tells me something I can use to blackmail others while I test run one of her inventions to circumvent the professors from watching her all the time."

Diana looks from Sucy to Constanze. "There… are many questions I wish to ask. Though I am not sure I want to know the answers to them…"

"Even Diana isn't immune to Luna Nova's crappy food, huh?" Amanda sits back down, her anger dissipating for the time being.

"Their budget allows them to buy food that looks better. But I guess they couldn't pay for better cooks," Constanze writes on her sign.

Jasminka puts down her utensils and wipes her mouth clean with a napkin. She covers her mouth to hide a small burp.

The others stare wide-eyed from her tray of empty plates to the girl's satisfied smile.

Jasminka's smile falls when she notices their stares. "Hm? Are you all not going to eat?"

"Ah, right. There is someone who is immune to this death trap," Amanda says with a twitching eyebrow. "Seriously Jasna, what are your intestines made out of?"

"You'd really have to be something higher than a human to digest this stuff," Hannah agrees.


Across the dining hall, a certain red-haired professor sneezes before she can finish her bite of potatoes. She takes a napkin and wipes her nose.

"Ara, am I getting allergies at this time of year?" Ursula takes another bite of her food. "Hm, the chefs have really outdone themselves again! I have to remember to thank them after I'm done eating."


"The school's food aside, if you're so worried about that girl, why don't you ask her how she's doing yourself?" Amanda points behind her with her thumb. "Isn't that her with her teammates?"

"EH?!" Akko whirls around and accidentally splatters her food all over the table. Her porkchop smacks against Hannah's chest, her juice spills over Barbara, and the rest of her plates flies into the air and strikes against Lotte and Amanda, knocking out the latter.

Akko leaps out of her seat and rushes toward the purple team, leaving the rest of the girls behind in her mess. Diana doesn't even have time to admonish Akko.

"Yuzu! Yuzu!"

When Yuzu herself doesn't react, the one with curly hair looks back and pokes Yuzu's shoulder after recognizing Akko. "Hey, Akko is calling for you." She points to the incoming brunette.

"Hm?" Yuzu stops and follows Shuri's pointing finger. "Oh. Hel- Hi, Akko." As an afterthought, she flashes a smile and adds a quick, "Senpai."

Akko blinks and slowly lowers her hand, her enthusiasm going down with it. "Um…" Akko shakes her head and pulls back some of her previous energy. "How was your trip back? Is your family okay?"

"Oh, that? Yes, everything went well." Yuzu pauses to frown, as if thinking something over for a moment. "Everything… everything is fine! Dad… Yeah, Dad's recovering in the hospital while Mom watches over him. They keep telling me not to worry but…" Yuzu forces herself to huff. "Kind of hard not to, you know? I'm their daughter. Of course I'm going to worry."

Akko exhales. "That's good. Not that your dad staying in the hospital is good. I mean that everything went well. I hope his condition gets better."

"I… Me too."

"Say, you guys want to sit with us?" Akko asks. She points to their trays of food in their hands. "You guys need a place to sit, right? We have a few open seats."

"Are you sure?" all three members of the purple team ask.

Akko huffs. "I keep telling you guys that it's okay for you to join us. Why is it so weird?"

"Maybe it's normal for Yuzu - who's just too shy to barge in without your permission every time - but we're just nobodies," Hyunji says. "We barely know anyone else besides each other."

Akko opens her mouth in an oh. When she understands what Hyunji means, her mouth morphs into a dazzling smile. "Well, we can be friends now, right? Then it won't be awkward to sit with us!"

Hyunji and Shuri are left speechless.

Yuzu chuckles. "Sasuga Akko-senpai. I can see why the Claiomh Solais deemed you worthy enough to wield it."

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Akko asks.

Yuzu tenses. "Nothing! Let's- Let's sit down then. My arms are getting sore holding this tray up."

Akko leads the purple team back to her table. At this point, the rest of the girls have already tidied up the mess she left earlier and are once more presentable.

Akko notices two members missing. "Where's Jasminka and Constanze?"

"They went to throw away your trash. Geez, can you be any more of a dunce?" Hannah huffs. "Look, the freshman is fine. You overreacted for no reason. Again."

"I can't even be worried for my friend?!"

"At least control yourself. Don't make it a problem for everyone else," Barbara says.

Diana sighs. "This is why I always advise you to-" A shiver runs down her spine, interrupting her thought process.

Nothing physically touches her. Yet Diana feels something trying to grasp what she can only describe as her existence. As if an intangible hand perverdes her soul, trailing invisible fingers down her spine or across her skin.

The source of it comes from the black-haired girl staring at her wide-eyed.

For a moment, Diana swears she sees a hint of red surrounding Yuzu's pupils and purple irises.

"Diana?"

"Yuzu?"

The concerned voices of the girls snaps Diana and Yuzu back to focus. They both simultaneously take a deep breath. Neither of the two realize they had stopped breathing for almost ten seconds.

Yuzu's arms lower her tray. "I lost my appetite. I think I'll return to my room now."

Without another word, Yuzu dips her head down so her bangs cover her darkened eyes. She stalks out of the kitchen after disposing of her food. The strange behavior leaves Hyunji and Shuri speechless while leaving the others simply confused.

Akko yells a quick, "See you at detention!" before Yuzu is out of sight.

"What was that all about?" Amanda wonders.

"Diana? Are you okay?" Barbara asks.

Diana places a hand over her chest. She is certain Yuzu was staring intently at her for whatever reason. Yet the gaze felt wrong. She may not be as close to the freshman as Akko, but the nagging feeling in the back of her mind tells her that there is something wrong with Yuzu. Something… familiar.

Exactly what and from where she cannot determine.

"Diana?" Barbara asks again.

Diana shakes her head. "I… I'm not sure. Though I should be asking whether Yuzu is alright."

"Yeah, is she okay?" Akko asks Yuzu's teammates. "She seems a little off today."

"To tell you the truth, Yuzu hasn't been the same since she came back from visiting her family," Shuri says. "Yuzu keeps telling us that everything's fine. But it's hard to believe when she keeps making expressions like… well, what you saw."

"Yeah… I've never seen her look like that before."

"Well, it's not like we know Yuzu that well anyway. If you say it's weird then it's definitely out of character for her," Hyunji grumbles.

"Hyunji!" Shuri berates.

"Wait, what is that supposed to mean?" Akko asks.

"It's nothing against you guys. It's just the truth."

Hyunji states this with malice coated in every letter. But the hostility is not directed at the girls. Rather, it is addressing the circumstance itself.

Hyunji shakes her head. "Never mind. Just forget it. Shuri, let's go find Yuzu and make sure she eats."

Shuri follows Hyunji out of the cafeteria, only taking some of the heavy atmosphere with them. The rest of the witches sit in awkward silence for a few more moments until Amanda speaks first.

"So what was that all about? What crapped in their potions?" Amanda asks.

"I mean, I can kind of see where… um, Hyunji was it? I can kind of see where she's coming from," Barbara says. "Yuzu seems to hang out with us more ever since she got closer to Akko. It was becoming so often that it's a miracle she ever saw those two outside of sleeping."

"I ask them to join us too, though. They just don't always say yes," Akko argues.

Hannah scoffs. "Well duh. They don't have a reason to push boundaries; not like Yuzu does. Yuzu practically worships the ground you walk on. She'll definitely push past her awkwardness just to be with you."

Amanda snorts. "Worshipping the ground she walks on."

"I think that's over exaggerating it," Lotte says.

"It's an accurate description at least," Sucy replies.

"Or something close to it," Hannah says. "Anyway, the other two don't have a reason besides the fact that they're being left out. If they're still feeling awkward after the first couple of times of trying to mingle, they're just going to stop trying, you know?"

"But you and Barbara were able to fit in just fine when Diana started hanging out with us more," Akko points out.

Constanze and Jasminka rejoin the table. Amanda leans over and whispers to them to fill them in on the conversation.

"That's different," Hannah replies. "We don't have that awkwardness because we know how much of an idiot you actually are."

"I guess- Wait, you just insulted me again!"

At Diana's displeased stare, Barbara adds to amend, "We have history with you guys since the first year, something those girls don't. And even with our past behavior, we also had Diana to coax us into your group and try to change our behavior. But it doesn't look like Yuzu was doing any of that. She was so fixated on getting closer to you that she forgot to think about anyone else she was leaving behind."

"Actually worshipping the ground you walk on. Congrats Akko, you've sure got yourself a die hard fan," Amanda comments.

"Always causing trouble, even indirectly," Sucy says.

But rather than take it to heart and overthink it, Akko's attention focuses on the blonde who has been quiet since the two witches of the purple team left. Akko chooses to push any guilt to the back of her mind and first cover Diana's tightly clenched fist.

"Diana? You're thinking a lot again."

Diana shakes her head to clear her stupor. "Yes, I was just… thinking. It is most likely nothing."

"Usually you wouldn't think that hard if it's nothing."

"Yeah, is something bothering you?" Barbara asks.

Diana directs her gaze toward the dining hall exit, as if searching for the source of her unease.

Finally, Diana closes her eyes and and puts it all to rest. "It is most likely nothing."

She repeats the phrase to herself until she believes it. Even after the others drop the subject and finish their food with quiet restlessness, she continues to convince herself to ease the tension that has coiled within her core.

It doesn't succeed. The discomfort does not abate even after attending the rest of the day's classes. Not for Diana, nor for any of the others.


The purple team's room is the first option that Yuzu decides to go to immerse herself in her thoughts alone. She makes sure to walk as fast as possible without breaking into a run to reach the dormitory. Once she's inside, she locks the door and sits down on her bottom bunk to think.

(Diana Cavendish is alive. Diana Cavendish is alive. Diana Cavendish is alive.)

Yuzu's lips pull up into a grin. A chuckle rumbles in her throat. Soft at first, then gradually increasing in volume until she is outright guffawing. She falls back onto her back and continues to laugh.

"Yes, yes, that's good, that's good! This wouldn't be fun if you left this world before I could do it myself!" Yuzu covers her eyes with the back of her arm as she catches her breath. "Hah, I have forgotten what joy feels like. Yes, this is a good turn of events."

(Fei Wong Reed is dead; that I cannot change. But as long as my true target is still alive, I will always have the opportunity to amuse myself until fully plunging the descendant of Beatrix into the depths of hell.)

"Heh. She truly does resemble that altruistic wenc-"

The doorknob jiggles. Yuzu sits up and listens to the barely audible muffled voices on the other side of the door.

"Huh, it's locked?" Shuri notes.

"Guess we know where Yuzu is," Hyunji says.

"She probably wants to be alone. We should come back later."

"Screw that. This is my room too! And this distancing has to stop sooner or later."

The doorknob glows green as Hyunji casts a spell to turn the lock. Once that's accomplished, Hyunji throws open the door and stalks into the room.

Yuzu regards them with confusion. "Is there something wrong?"

Hyunji glares down at her roommate. "Oh yeah, I have a lot of things I want to say to you."

"Hyunji…" Shuri whispers meekly.

"No, I'm sick of this. It's about time we put it straight out."

Yuzu frowns. "If this is about earlier, I'm sorry for overreacting. I just didn't feel well. Don't worry so much, alright? I'm okay now-"

"We're supposed to worry!" Hyunji retorts. Her face flares red as she barely suppresses her anger. "We're your teammates, damn it. Not any of those guys, not Akko, us! So rely on us some more!"

Shuri uses some of Hyunji's anger to power her own confidence. "That's right, Yuzu. We're supposed to help you. Why don't you ever let us?"

Yuzu sighs. "I'm fine though. I don't need you two to worry because there's nothing to worry about. You're both just over exaggerating. I'll take a nap and be fine in time for dinner."

"How are we over exaggerating if you make a face like that?" Shuri challenges.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Shuri shakes her head. "You're acting weird. Did something happen when you went home? Be honest. We're your friends. Just tell us!"

"And I'm saying that there is nothing to tell!"

Hyunji holds out her arm to stop Shuri from protesting further. Her expression loses some of its anger and settles on a dark scowl. "Fine. If you want to play this game, then that's fine by us. We're getting nowhere like this. Let's go, Shuri."

"But…"

Hyunji pauses with her hand grasping the doorknob on her way out. Her shoulders slump in defeat. "We're not needed. I think Yuzu's made that clear enough."

Hyunji storms out the door without a glance back. Shuri looks back and forth between Yuzu and empty space before deciding to go after Hyunji. She figures Yuzu won't be leaving the room; finding Hyunji before she does anything rash is what she should do.

The door clicks shut. Only the silence remains to keep Yuzu company; though she prefers it this way.

(Then there is that Atsuko Kagari. I am ashamed that I took the body of someone who reveres such a middling witch. Though I suppose if she was able to wield the Claiomh Solais as she did then she may have potential to prove me wrong.)

As Yuzu replays the events that occured in the dining hall, she remembers a particular part of the conversation that she had not paid attention to at first but appears to be important.

"… Why do I have detention?"


Winter draws in a chill that seeps through skin and into the bones. Dark clouds often cover the night sky, obscuring the moon even when it is at its greatest brightness. Perhaps it will snow soon.

Diana tries not to regret choosing to stay out so late without her cloak.

It is late enough that Hannah and Barbara should have already gotten ready for bed. It does not mean that they are necessarily asleep; the two girls have taken a habit to wait for Diana to return to their room in one piece before they can rest easy. It is a new habit that Diana cannot dissuade them from no matter how hard she tries.

The decisions she made in the Arcturus Forest did not only affect Akko. Diana often forgets how Hannah and Barbara have settled into her life as well. Sometimes it is easy for Diana to forget that she has more loved ones than before. She tries to remember; and when she can't then Akko or one of the others will remind her. But it is hard when her neural encoding doesn't seem to always have the capacity to accomodate for all of her memories.

Speaking of Akko…

(She and the others should have completed their detention for the night.) When Diana exhales, the contrast with the cold air allows her to see the manifestation of her warm breath. (Perhaps tonight will grant her sleep devoid of dreams, be it nightmares or not.)

Her footsteps echo lightly in the corridor. She is alone with nothing but the shadows as her company.

A minute twitch. Diana barely catches it from the corner of her eye. She would have missed it if her instincts weren't always so on edge from past experience.

Diana narrows her eyes. (Did the shadows just…? Or is it my imagination?)

The moon should not have moved in a way that can create such an effect. Such a movement is only possible if-

She is supposed to be alone with nothing but the shadows. That is both true and false.

Diana's eyes widen. But her understanding comes too late.

The temperature drops below freezing, forcing a shiver through her tensed spine. Her hands twitch by her side as she tries to work her motor system and grab her wand. All she manages is a tremble as memories remind her of a similar situation long past.

Diana couldn't move before. And she certainly cannot move now.

She remembers. She remembers this chill. She remembers this fear. All that is left is to wait for the caresses and what follows after.

It comes.

A dark mist creeps up from around her, enveloping her vision and senses in murky darkness. The shadows trail in not far behind. They dance and wave as iff goading her into their embrace. The mist grows denser; the shadows understand that she refuses their call.

The hands do not wait for her permission. They care not for her personal space, merciless in their assault against her sanity.

The familiar nausea hits her as one of the chilling palms caresses her cheek in greeting. Despite her shock, the repressed memories of her last experience with these shadows stimulate her hand to reach toward her sash for her wand.

Diana's breath clogs in her throat. A melodious siren filters through the mist. It is both familiar and not. All Diana knows is that her assailant this time is different from the first.

"Now that won't do~"

(Who-? Ngh!)

The shadows wrap around her wand and the hand reaching for it. The snare locks Diana's hopes to save herself.

Aileen Bradley had only wanted to test her spell; Aileen had no desire to actually prolong Diana's suffering or end her life. Aileen had curiosity but lacked hatred.

Whoever is responsible this time has no such intentions. The desire to harm and torture is saturated in the mist and the shadows that continue to snake around her body. Whoever is behind this has also foreseen her instinct to grab her wand.

Diana cannot save herself. There is no one in immediate distance who can save her. The shadows encroach ever closer.

The mist breathes against her neck, releasing a rasping voice dripping with malice, "You are mine."

The moment one of the shadow hands sinks through her flesh and bone to grasp her heart, her instincts flare to life. Fear and desperation push through what remains of her sanity in a last attempt to keep herself safe.

Her wand is inaccessible. Using wandless magic is out of the question. Then all that leaves her is her one unrestrained hand. Once frozen and twitching at her side, Diana wills it to reach up and stop the shadow from ending her life.

If anything, Diana can at least summon whatever strength she has to keep her assailant from crushing or tearing out her heart. If she doesn't try something, she will truly lose her life. If she dies, she will have broken her promise once more.

She refuses. She can't. She won't. She must live. If not for herself, then at least for Akko and everyone else who has supported her for all these years. There are people waiting for her, counting on her to accomplish her dreams. Diana will not allow herself to die now.

With Akko's smile and warmth in her mind, Diana musters the strength to grasp the shadow protruding from her chest.

Flesh and shadow. Light and dark. Complete opposites come into contact, destroying a barrier neither knew existed. Nothing holds back the flood of memories and dreams from cascading into the opposite end of the connection. Two sets of existences flow in opposing directions toward the other.

The world comes to a halt.

"What is-?!"

"YOU-!"

The chill is gone, replaced by fire. She can't keep holding on. Lava. There is lava in her veins. It hurts to touch. Everything is sickening. She tries to release her hold. She can't. Not yet. Too much. Too much.

The chill is gone, replaced by fire. She can't keep holding on. Lava. There is lava in her veins. It hurts too much. Everything is sickening. She tries to release her hold. She can't. Not yet. Too much. Too much.

Screams. Pain. Hatred. Pride. Despair. Catastrophe. What are these feelings? She drowns in darkness.

Laughter. Contentment. Love. Pride. Happiness. Peace. What are these feelings? She drowns in light.

Colleagues who do not understand. Undeserving equals. Humans, nothing more than pests. Corpses upon corpses as she laughs and laughs at the suffering of others.

A mother's love. A father's efforts. Friends who support her. Adults who care for her. A girlfriend beside her.

Alone. She is alone. All there is is herself. Drown in power and madness.

Stability, strong pillars. Whole and not destroyed.

War. Famine. Death. Greed. Decay. I will destroy it all. Fools, you are all fools. Leave me, hate me, fear me as you should. I will annihilate the pests who do not deserve to share what only I can hold-

Understanding. Cooperation. Life. Sacrifice. I forgive. I remember. I love. My supports, my sanity. I promise to protect it all- all that is important to me. I risk my life to preserve this happiness-

This is wrong. This is wrong this is wrong this IS wrong THIS IS wrong THIS IS WRONG THIS IS WRONG THIS IS wRoNg thIS Is WRonG tHiS Is wROn-

Get out. Get out get out get out get out get OuT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT gET OUT geT oUT gEt OuT GE-

The hand wretches out from Diana's chest. The mist and shadows withdraw, leaving only the girl in the corridor.

The world continues on.

Diana crashes onto her back once the shadows retreat. She cradles the hand that tried to hold the shadow, curling in on herself. Her wide eyes are dry and red but she refuses to blink. Every time she does she sees a neverending flash of chaos and destruction. She is powerless to stop these visions, just as she is powerless to save those clinging and begging for some sort of hope and salvation that she cannot give.

Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. In out in out in out in out in out in-

Hidden down the hall by the corner is another girl with long, raven hair with her hand resting on the wall. Her body heaves with much needed air as well. But she is able to right herself thanks to her anger overpowering her fear.

Unbeknownst to either of them that the unseen connection remains, an open gateway for only those who know to use it.


Author's Notes:

Sorry not sorry, Diana.

I sincerely apologize for the month long hiatus. However! I am done with Act VI. To be honest I'm not entirely happy with it, but that's kind of my writer's block yelling at me XD

Big announcement: I've been accepted into graduate school! So that means starting July, I'll have even less time to write. I'm going to try to finish at least this story before that happens. Thanks to Act VI's completion, all I need is Act VII. I've already completed one chapter, so there's four more left. Shouldn't be too bad.

Is what I say but I have no motivation to write. Ugh.

Also, this story is going back to weekly updates. I feel kind of bad dragging this on haha. Weekly updates still gives me enough time to look over the chapters. There are twelve in Act VI. When the heck did it get so long?!


Fun Fact:

Avery, Blair, and Mary are often said to be part of the purple team. I actually think their sashes look closer to the color violet than purple. Hell, even Avery's hair and eye color look different than her sash, and her hair and eye color are considered purple. So I'm headcanoning them as the violet team, while Yuzu is on the purple team.

According to the databook, the members of the current purple team look considerably older than the other students. So let's just say they've left and there's a new purple team, one of them being Yuzu XD