Shiny

Hey everyone! I have Chariot chapter here. Make sure to keep the reviews rollin in! Thanks and enjoy!

Ursula sat in her room, illusion spell inactive, Syl floating off to the side.

Wait, If she isn't Ursula then is she just Chariot? This multiple personality thing is confusing me. Syl thought. She thought about asking, but then decided not to, as she thought she would just get more confused.

"Syl, It's been a while…" Chariot said. Syl let out a nervous giggle

"Yeah I suppose it looks that way. You're all grown up now!" Syl said, "But I don't really remember anything between now and then."

"It has been a few years hasn't it…" Chariot let out a little laugh, "Ironically, I don't remember much either." Syl eyed her, confused.

"What do you mean?" Syl asked.

"After our bond broke, I fell into disarray. It was like I was disconnected from my body. I could barely comprehend what was going on around me. All I remember semi-vividly is getting taken here by...someone. They gave me to the school who locked me up in this very room for years." Chariot said, gazing off into open air.

"They fed me and cared for me while I was here, making sure I could recover. Hoping I could recover." She continued.

"Recovered from what?" Syl asked.

"Woodward called it a 'Soul Wound'. When the bond broke, something happened to me. It was like a part of what made me me disappeared. I don't remember hardly anything from over those 8 years. What I was told is that all I would do is sit and stare blankly off into space, or I would cry for hours until I couldn't cry anymore at which point I just sat and stared again."

"Chariot…" Syl said.

"No Syl! Don't feel sorry for me. I'm the one that broke our bond, I'm the one that hurt you and made you a mindless spirit again. I'm the one who did that to myself." Chariot said. Syl just looked at her with a sorrowful look.

"Do you remember why you came to? How you broke out of your state?" Syl asked. Chariot slowly nodded.

"I started to get better eventually. Responding to simple yes or no questions. Actually walking around the room instead of sitting and crying all day. But it wasn't until the last visit that things got better."

"Last visit? Who's last visit?" Syl asked.

The answer was simple and short, but full of malice.

"Croix."


Croix stood on her magical hoverboard as she travelled through the leyline. It had been eight years since she dropped Chariot off at Luna Nova. In that time, she had done extensive research on integrating technology with magic, as well as some minor soul searching.

In her time away, she had determined that she still hated Chariot and everything she stood for. The only reason that Croix had helped her all those years ago is that it was the only humane thing to do. In addition, if anyone knew about the incident with the moon, like the common people who had seen Chariot's show on that day, then there would have been massive problems for the magical community in general.

So far, Croix hadn't heard anything about Chariot in that time, and she didn't care to either. She had moved on to her own ideals and work, that would hopefully allow her to accomplish what Chariot had failed to do.

Croix was visiting Luna Nova because she believed that working there could be imperative to her work, as the school had access to resources that Croix could never get ahold of on her own.

As the leyline vanished from sight and replaced with the green hills of the edge of Luna Nova's campus. Croix made her way towards the headmistress's office.

Croix confidently strolled through the hallway, noticing the confused looks she got from young witches as she passed. She made her way past the old classrooms and through the dimly lit hallways, then up the seemingly endless sets of stairs that led to the main office. She finally made it and opened the door.

"Ah there you are Miss Meridies. Just on time." Headmistress Holbrooke said from behind her desk, "You requested this meeting?" Inside the room, in addition to the headmistress, was Professor Finnelan.

"Yes. It is a matter of importance to me. I would like to request a job." Croix said.

"You mean to teach here? You must certainly be working on some magical innovation! Why would you want to work here?" The headmistress asked.

"I believe that Luna Nova would have access to some resources that may be imperative to my research. I would like to ask if I could work here in return to access to those resources." Croix said. The headmistress seemed to consider for a moment.

"I don't even know what resources we could provide to you, but i'm sure we could help out somehow. Hmm…"

"What class would you even teach? We have all of the basic magical subjects covered. The astronomy teacher is retiring next year, but if I remember correctly, astronomy was the one class you did not fare well in." Finnelan interjected.

"Actually, I would like to teach a new class. It would be called 'Magitronics'. That's the working name for it at least. The concept is the merging of technology and magic." Croix explained. Finnelan visibly cringed.

"That is untraditional! Technology has always been banned at the school!" Finnelan argued.

"Even if it lets you use magic without the power of a sorcerer's stone?" Finnelan stared at Croix in disbelief, "It is a work in progress, but I believe that I can get it to work soon." Croix said.

The Headmistress finally spoke up, "We are a bit low on funding right now, and it sounds like this 'Magitronics' is still a work in progress. How about I make a deal with you, Miss Meridies."

"I'm listening."

"Come back in a year or two, once you've perfected this 'Magitronics', and we will give you a job then." The headmistress suggested.

It wasn't ideal, as she would have liked to get to work on her new project as soon as possible, but it was better than nothing. Finally, Croix nodded.

"That sounds like a deal to me. Thank you Headmistress." Croix said, turning to leave.

"One more thing, Croix." The headmistress stopped her, using her first name. Croix turned back to look.

"Chariot has gotten...better. Slightly. I think it would be good if you visited her." She said. Croix went stiff.

"I think-" Croix started.

"You should go see her." The headmistress said, cutting her off. This time it was more a command than a request, "Her room is directly above us."

"Of course." Croix relented. She left through the door and made her way up the staircase. She did not want to have to see Chariot again. She made it to the top of the staircase, and turned towards the door. Steeling herself, she knocked on the door.

There was no answer. Guess I shouldn't be that surprised She thought to herself before easing the door open.

Inside the room, Chariot sat on the bed up against the wall, staring off across the room. She wore a blue and white striped gown that barely went to her midtheigh. Her hair had grown out over the years, but it was unkempt and messy. She didn't even seem to notice Croix come in.

Looking around the room, Croix noticed a few things that you shouldn't see in a normal bedroom. There was a thick layer of dust on most objects, as if they hadn't been touched for years. There was no messiness, not because someone had cleaned, but because nothing had been moved in the first place. Within the room, the decoration was non-existent, with only a small dresser with a few object on top of it and a desk with a chair.

Strangely, Croix felt a surge of emotions well up inside of her. She felt pity for Chariot, being stuck in this state. She also felt a slight amount of sadness for her ex-friend. But most of all, she felt disappointment. Disappointment that Chariot wasn't even strong enough to push through this after eight goddamn years.

How is this any better than when I left her here Croix asked herself. She looked around the room a little bit better, walking over to the dresser. Inside the drawers were a few nightgowns identical to the one Chariot wore right now.

She doesn't need any other clothes, as she probably doesn't leave this room.

On top of the dresser, there were three items. A wand, a pair of glasses, and a picture frame. Croix noticed them as the items that were sitting on Chariot's table in her dressing room. Someone must have gone back for wand had a layer of dust on it, and it looked like it hadn't been used. The pair of glasses were in a similar condition.

The picture frame held a photo of Chariot and Croix as children, when they were still attending Luna Nova. There was something off about it though. It wasn't covered in dust like the other two. Like it had been handled recently. Croix picked up the picture frame, walking over to where Chariot was sitting.

Croix grabbed one of Chariot's hands, forcing the picture into her hand. Surprisingly, Chariot took it, her glazed over eyes averting to what was in her hand. Croix just looked on as Chariot stared at the photo for a moment. One moment turned into two moments. Then a few minutes. Eventually, Croix noticed something.

A single tear running down her cheek.

Croix staggered back in surprise. Chariot scooted down on her bed until she was near to the bedpost. She leaned over the edge and placed the photo frame back on the dresser, exactly where it had been, before returning to staring off into the distance.

Croix stood in silence, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Of all the things to do in the room, of all the things that cause a reaction, it's a photo of us as kids. Why? Croix thought. Why do I even care? I've moved on. I don't care If Chariot gets better or not Croix turned to leave. She had her hand on the handle when she stopped herself.

I can't do it. God I can't do it! Croix said to herself. I can try to hate her as much as I want, but in the end, I just can't do it. Croix turned back to where Chariot sat. An emotion started to surface. Sadness.

As much as Croix had tried over the last few years to move on from all things to do with Chariot, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was still angry at Chariots failure with the Claiomh Solais, and the fact that it didn't choose Croix herself. She could be as mad at her as she wanted, but she couldn't sit here and not try to help Chariot. No decent human being could.

Croix sat on the bed next to Chariot. She grabbed Chariot's face in her hands and turned her so she was looking Croix directly in the eyes.

"Chariot. I know you're in there." She started. Chariot just stared back with the same blank expression.

"I know you're in there somewhere. Under all this, the real Chariot is there. You're strong. I know you are. Just push!" Croix said. She felt herself start to tear up slightly. She fought back the emotions, suppressing them.

"Chariot. This isn't you. You didn't just give up when things got hard. You persevered. You kept going, because that's who you are! Whatever this 'Soul Wound' thing is, you can't let it stop you." Croix said. She had hoped that by talking to Chariot, something would happen. That she would garner some type of reaction. Nothing happened.

The emotions started to fade, and Croix began to return to her normal, analytical state. Then something clicked inside her head as she watched Chariot return to her curled up position, staring off at the wall. Croix shook her head, disappointed once again.

Shouldn't have let those dumb emotions best me. I knew nothing was going to happen anyways. At least I cans say I tried Croix thought to herself, walking towards the door.

"Guess you are just as much of a disappointment as I thought. You can't even get through this." Croix muttered, shutting the door behind her.


Chariot's muddled mind with a memory of less than a few moments numbly took in what Croix was saying to her. Then it was gone again, like it had never been there in the first place. Croix turned to leave. Something In Chariot's mind clicked. Like a fog had been lifted from over her mind. The first thing she heard after coming to was Croix's voice.

"Guess you are just as much of a disappointment as I thought. You can't even get through this." Croix said, then slammed the door.

She still hates me...But why? Why did she ever hate me in the first place? I never asked for the Shiny- She cut off as she remembered what had happened with the Shiny Rod and Syl. The last thing she remembered was curling up and crying in her dressing room. Where was she now?

Chariot looked around the room, thoughts of Croix shoved aside for the time being. For some reason, she was in a room with a large window on the roof. Chariot tried to stand up, but as soon as she got her feet under her, her legs collapsed under her, as if she hadn't used them in a very long time.

Carefully, Chariot stood up again, leaning on the dresser for support. As she made her way slowly to the door, she noticed that her hair wend down past her shoulders, even a foot past them.

What is going on here? Chariot thought to herself. She opened the heavy wood door slowly, being careful as to not fall. She went down the stairs, until she heard a conversation in a door to her right. She rapped on the door, and heard a voice.

"Come in!"

Is that Headmistress Holbrooke? Am I at Luna Nova?

Chariot opened the door slowly, leaning on the doorframe. There was a gasp from both the headmistress and Professor Finnelan, who was also in the room.

"What is going on?" Chariot asked.


"The two then proceeded to explain the whole situation. They decided I could secretly live in the upstairs room until the end of the semester, when I would take over being the Astronomy teacher under an alias." Chariot explained to Syl.

"What about Croix?" Syl asked.

"They said that she had stormed off just a few moments prior with matters to attend to. She has her own agenda, and I don't like it. Whatever it is, based off of the way she acted the few weeks before our bond broke, It's something to do with the Grand Triskelion. And also, She has it out for me." Chariot asked. Suddenly, her expression went dark as a thought came to mind.

"Syl, tell me." Her voice was barely a whisper, "Did I affect Akko with the Dream Fuel Spirit?"

There was only silence from Syl.

"So I did then. That's why she can't fly or do magic as well as everyone else." Chariot said, sadness evident in her tone.

"It's not your fault. Croix-" Syl started.

"Croix may hate me and she may be the reason I used the Fuel Spirit in the first place, but I was still the one that did it. I took Akko's dream from her."

"Chariot…" Syl said.

"Akko is my responsibility now. No matter what, I am going to help her become a great witch. And that's going to start with helping her find the words." Chariot stood up.

"Thank you for listening, Syl." Chariot said.

"Of course, Chariot. I do have one question." Syl said. Chariot looked at Syl, indicating that she was listening.

"Are you going to tell Akko?" Chariot stopped for a moment.

"Eventually. Probably soon." Came Chariot's simple answer, "Anyways, Akko is probably wondering where you are. I need to get some sleep anyways." With that, Syl flew off and Chariot made her way to her bed, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. She had too much on her mind.


My thoughts were a bit skewed at the end, but I think I got across all the ideas I wanted. There is still tension between Croix and Chariot, but Croix isn't TOTALLY coldhearted. Finally, I have gotten the worldbuilding I want so far out of the way, it's time to get to the words. Next chapter :]

Also, some slightly less serious chapters come up, but still very important. I am going to do some things with special magic Akko can do because of her bond with Syl and stuff, and It'll be great!

Anyways, remember to follow if you haven't, and LEAVE ME REVIEWS! I love reading feedback!