Another day another chapter. This thing is way longer than I thought it would get! I'll do my best to try and finish it, I've got a bad habit of not seeing things through, but it's one of the main things I've been trying to improve on as a writer. Now let's go for a ride my friends! This cracktastic romance action nonsense sallies forth! Also, for anyone reading this, would anyone be interested in reading a romance fic with Chariot and Akko as its centre? In terms of fanfics, the idea isn't too out there, and there aren't any fics out there that explore that to my knowledge. Could be fun, and a little scandalous…!

Side note: You know that feeling you get when you finish watching a great anime…that melancholic tug of sadness…man I hate that. Part of the reason I write fanfics is to somehow keep the spirit of a show like this alive in my own little way through the imagination of fiction. I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way with your respective works. But! There's still Chamber of Time on the way! Soo many games coming out that just don't interest me at all, but that'll be the first one I get day one for sure! I need my Little Witch Fix.

Now for the replies from my dear readers & reviewers. Thanks so much you guys, your kind words and support gives me a dizzying high like no other.

Kid face1028: Hello again. Well, Zero is supposed to be this mystery girl who may or may not be completely crazy. The reveal will be underwhelming! Trust me ;)

Your Intellegence: Thanks so much for your input again, friend. I always take your critiques to heart to better my writing. Yes, some of Chariots lines are a little 'off' but I think that was intentional (at least that's what I tell myself to sleep at night.)

The Swordslinger: Dream weddings? Uh huh, that would be pretty cool to write. I got to up the fluff somehow, I'll try and fit that in if I can. Cheers!

Jules12345: Haha, thanks a bunch! Tell you the truth it wasn't the car ride that made me sick, but the onset of a nasty flu I caught before hand. It suuucked so bloody much. Anyways, yes I'll be sure to add in some fluffy dreams courtesy of our warring ladies. I got some coy ideas for that for laters.

Measured Kindness: Lol! Oh you don't have to apologise at all. I did the same thing on a few occasions. Mindfull is heaps of fun, I highly recommend it to everyone. Also, give Lucky Sharms a go too, it's unique and excellently written.

Psykoakuma: Yeah! Thanks so much! And hey, you're very perceptive I gotta say. Those two could've been OC's, but it's more fun to mess with those girls in the background who don't get to do much. Also, yes Team Diana is easy to root for. Her and Chariot will get another chance to steal that yay before long.

Oscar: Thanks for reading and reviewing, friend. Diana is great and all, but I really am trying to keep that harem dynamic in play as much as I can. There's some things I'm going to try, and hopefully it'll be to everyone's liking.

DuwangChew: Hey there! Thanks again for reading my work. I'm happy you enjoyed that action scene. I find them really fun to write. There's no need to hold back the ridiculousness when Magic is involved in a fight. No restrictions!

Allrighty then, let's go!

Little Harem Academia

Duelling and Drilling

A part of Akko had held out a naive hope that Diana and Chariot would come to their senses and talk things through instead of throwing themselves into a magical maelstrom of battle against each other with the sole purpose of somehow "winning" her favour. She saw a rose-tinted recollection of all the times she'd shared kind smiles, laughter, and even warm welcoming hugs with those two. All their conversations, meaningfully guiding or pointlessly beautiful. Exciting moments of rescue, thrilling knife-edge adventures that had intertwined their emotions closer than ever before…

Those two meant so much to her. As dear friends. As mentors. People she looked up to as paragons of all the virtues that combined created the perfect Witch she still dreamed and aspired to be!

Which was why, when it finally dawned on her as she watched stiff and baffled through a clear protective shield of energy at those two people she admired so much trying to blow the other up, Akko's determination flared into a raging inferno fuelled by a sense of both desperation and betrayal.

They were really fighting. The spells shot from their wands were not being held back, nor were they the kind someone would use without the intent of humbling an enemy with hateful pain. Akko pursed her lips tight as her teeth grit down painfully under them at the sight of Diana firing off salvo after salvo of that Murowa spell at her cherished idol with the same cold detachment the heiress would confer as if she was pouring a cup of tea. Akko grimly remembered how much it had stung being hit by that spell only once by accident, but the ones Diana was shooting out with reckless abandon seemed four times the size! Akko tentatively reassured herself that a Witch Duel probably wasn't to the death, but it didn't seem either of the combatants had gotten that memo. Diana Cavendish was clearly trying to blow Chariots head off, or at the very least set her on fire.

That was not Affection! That was not Diana! Chariot too was not innocent in the eyes of Akko's wrathful gaze of judgement. Especially when the lithe woman catapulted off the barrier wall after a gravity-defying sprint and lashed out a vicious showtime kick right into the face of the Unicorn Diana had been riding atop of. The creature's eyes bugged out as Chariots heeled boot dug into its maw as time seemed to slow to emphasise the ludicrous impact. The crowd gasped in a symphony of shocked outbursts, punctuated by Amanda loudly declaring: 'What the fuck?!' just as the kick went through and promptly caused the summoned beast to burst into a torrent of showering water, leaving Diana to sail through the air and land unceremoniously with her butt on the grass against the wall of the barrier.

Akko could not hear what Diana was shouting over the roar of the crazed audience as the frost-blonde Witch roughly picked herself up from the knock-down, but the sheer burning malice in her eyes told the brunette all she needed to know about what those words could have been. The expression looked so…ugly coming from the girl who barely half a day ago had smiled so sweetly to comfort a tearful Akko in a gentle time of need. Now Diana was throwing herself at Chariot with wild, savage swings of her wand, loosing out spell after hateful spell with accompanying snarls snaking across her once noble features. Chariot met those attacks with dance, twirling and spinning and even back-flipping around the beams with a practised ease that seemed to infuriate Diana further. Shiny Chariot would use every opportunity between Diana's frenzied attacks to pose and wave at the crowd, her chipper, exuberant smiles and flirtatious flourishes of her blue-skirted hips echoing her experience in similar feats of performance. Several delighted whooping cheers rang out from the Witches enjoying the show, with some close to Akko visibly swooning into a lovestruck mania as they slapped their hands to their faces to hide their brightly burning blushing, all the while hopping on their tiptoes like a pack of excited puppies.

"Looks like Shiny Chariot is getting a lot of new fans today." Sucy murmured with an annoyed twitch in her eye as a starstruck boisterous redhead kept shoving obliviously into her right shoulder with annoying frequency. "This is why I don't like live shows."

"Look at Ursula dancing about in there…girl's got moves, let me tell ya! Yowza, look at those curves!" Amanda added with an amused, wolfish sneer as Constanze peered at the ensuing battle through a pair of binoculars as she sat easily on her friends shoulders again; the slightest trickle of drool dripping from a little gape in her mouth. "You enjoying the show up there, Cons?" Amanda leaned her head back a little to glance at her passenger and noted something as a coy smirk and raised eyebrow sparked on her mischievous face. "Hey-yo! Try closing your mouth, Cons! This ain't that kind of show!"

Constanze responded with a little bop of her fist atop Amanda's head, but didn't glance away from her binoculars for a moment.

"Yeowch! Hey!" Amanda snickered, enjoying herself a little too much in spite of the situation. Akko's reprimand was to glare at Amanda with puffed cheeks as she pointed to the show behind the barrier with both hands.

"C'mon! We didn't come here to enjoy this nonsense! We've gotta put a stop to this!"

Amanda nodded, narrowing her eyes seriously as she tore her gaze away from the spectacle. Constanze followed suit and lowered her binoculars to look at her apologetically with a tiny puff of her own minuscule cheeks.

"Akko's right! We've got to think of something to break up this fight! Someone's definitely going to get hurt if this keeps up!" Lotte spoke up heatedly, her demeanour taking a rather surprising resolute air. Akko blinked at the fire in her words, welling a fortified comfort in her heart that her dear friend might have felt just as strongly as she did in wanting to end that chaotic madness. Lotte was always such a sweet girl, so it made a lot of sense to Akko that she would be against such displays of violence.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Sucy piped up as she ushered the group to huddle a little closer so they could speak clearer through the din of all the yelling. "Better make it fast or I'm going to melt that girl who keeps bumping into me straight into the ground."

"H-hold that thought, Sucy! I'm sure Akko's got a plan, right?" Lotte pressed earnestly, giving a hopeful smile to Akko as the five Witches looked to the Japanese girl in anticipation.

"Hm! Hm!" Akko nodded twice in quick succession with her crossed arms tightly wound in confidant posture. Truth was she had absolutely no clue how to get past the barrier, and every second that ticked by caused another worrying explosion or bone-shattering impact to rip out from within the sphere of energy, provoking ever louder cheers for blood from the Witches gathered. The aspiring looks from her friends fell slowly into awkward trepidation as Akko started to sweat profusely under their scrutiny. She had to say something! Had to try anything!

"We…we need to get past this barrier first!" She stumbled for words, forcing a shaky bravado as she spoke, turning back to glare at the barrier with the naive wish that perhaps her frustrated stare would be enough to shatter it. "There has to be a way to break it! Maybe if we combine our magic together we can shoot through it or something?"

Sucy shook her head. "With this many people around, I wouldn't try that. They're packed like sardines around the thing. And if a shot bounces off, it could be real bad news. Though on the plus side it would make a lot more room."

"Ugh…you're right…" Akko relented, shoulders sinking as her one and only flimsy plan was shot down in seconds.

"I don't think we'd be strong enough to break it, Akko." Lotte said shyly, adding a gentle pat to Akko's back when the brunette's face sank into an over-dramatic moping, blubbering mess. "N-now, now…! I'm just saying with the power of the spells they're using in there, we'd need something more than just a combined spell from us to get through."

"Maybe they'll get hungry soon?" Jasminka added with an innocent tilt of her head. Amanda twiddled her finger at her team-mate with a brisk shake of her head, with Constanze copying the movements with cute enthusiasm from her comfy perch atop the American's stout shoulders.

"Don't think that'll work this time, Jasna. Sorry." The redhead shot her down, but her kept her tone even so as not to appear too admonishing. Jasminka understood and nodded apologetically with a slight hunch of her broad frame. Amanda turned back to address the group, throwing up a clenched fist as she shouted: "C'mon guys! We can think of something better than all this, can't we?"

An uncomfortable silence followed, made all the worse as yet another massive explosion shook the ground at their feet from the fight, causing the wordless Witches to flinch nervously as the spectators surrounding them cried out in excited joy.

"Gah! I can't believe they're all just sitting around watching this happen!" Akko shouted angrily at the crowds with a little stamp of her feet. "It has to be that weird thing going around making them crazy! This isn't how Witches are supposed to act!"

"Damn right. I love a good fight but not when it means someone might be blown to pieces in front of everyone, besides-huh?" Amanda spoke up in agreement but was interrupted by Constanze leaning down a bit and whispering something into her ear. The American smirked at whatever it was Constanze had said shortly after. "Right. You got it, Cons."

Amanda took a brief knee to allow Constanze to clamber off, after which the small girl removed her trademark gloves and scurried over to take hold of Akko's hands, cupping them together in front of her blushing face as her teal eyes gazed unblinking up at the startled Japanese girl.

"Eh? W-what's this? You ok, Constanze?" Akko asked as she slightly reeled from the surprise contact, but held a nervous smile towards the girl. Their friends were staring at the curious development with mouths gaping in anxious surprise, aside from Sucy who simply narrowed her one visible eye to a leering slit.

"I need you." Constanze said suddenly, keeping firm hold of Akko's hands and staring right into the brunettes eyes with a firm confidence utterly unlike her, especially so considering the girl hardly talked.

"Need me? Huh? W-what for…?" Akko stammered her reply as the soft contact from Constanze's surprisingly warm grip sent a nervous heat up her arms and onto the back of her flushing neck.

"We need to drill." Constanze followed just as Amanda erupted in a delirious, piercing yell from behind her, throwing up her hands for emphasis. Akko only tilted her head, not understanding what was happening at all in that exchange. Sucy hissed out a scattering snicker as Lotte simply gaped her mouth open and petered out a single dragging noise that Akko likened to a balloon slowly loosing its shrill air into the wind.

"WOAH! Too fast, Cons!" Amanda shouted, sporting a crimson flush of her own that matched her fiery, unruly mane.

Constanze seemed to follow what it was her friend was trying to tell her, and immediately ripped her hands away from Akko like she'd just caught aflame; planting her palms instead to hide her face as she shook her head furiously, making her pink bow flutter about with the rapid motion. She then whipped out a notepad and pen tied to her green sash and started scribbling onto it so quickly her hands became a whizzing blur. Three seconds later a still furiously blushing Constanze flipped her writings about for Akko to see.

"Huh?" Akko poked her head lower to the German's height to get a better look at the page. She'd drawn a diagram of the big barrier with cutesy frowning stick figure versions of Diana and Chariot tussling from within it. What caught Akko's attention and made her eyes light up in excited realisation were the several bold arrows pointing to the very top of the sphere with the words 'Weakness: Drill.' marked all over them. Akko loosed a delighted laugh when she understood what Constanze was getting at. In lieu of having no clue what else to do, it was a terrific idea. Plus, Akko had been itching for another chance to pilot that thing again. Lotte and Sucy had always logically but politely curbed her enthusiasm onto something else any time she'd brought it up, noting that Akko was enough of a force of destruction without the need of a giant robot. None of Akko's childish pleading had helped back then, but right there and then was as good a time as any to give it a shot.

"Of course! We can attack the giant enemy shields weak point for massive damage!" Akko shouted, clapping her hands together. "You really have that ready to go, Constanze?"

The small German girl scribbled her response on a fresh sheet, her flush embarrassment most likely stamping out her nerve to speak out loud in that moment.

I know you've been wanting to pilot again. I kept it combat ready just in case. Also, your memes are outdated by several years.

Akko giggled in joy at that and leapt at Constanze before snagging the little girl into a spinning, laughing hug. Constanze went stark white in Akko's embrace, looking mere nano-seconds away from passing out before the brunette set her down on her own feet before that came to pass.

"Yeah! You're the greatest, Constanze! Let's get to it right away! But first-!" Akko swung her gaze across the rest her group who looked to her expectantly. "Amanda! Jasminka! I need you guys to try and find the other Professors! They have to be around here! Let them know what we're going to do, and if you can, try to make em get everyone away from here just in case! Lotte, Sucy, you two please help them any way you can!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down a little. What exactly are you going to do?" Amanda asked exasperated.

"They're going to use that big dumb robot again, that's what." Sucy muttered distastefully, answering in Akko's stead.

"Ugh, really? Well one stupid plan is better than nothin at all. Let's go, Jasna! I need you to clear a path!"

The Russian Master of Delicacies emitted a high-pitched yelp of power as her burly body inflated outwards with an accompanying flash of twinkling green light, effectively doubling both her height and width.

"Holy…!" Akko had not expected that as she gaped upwards at super-Jasna already roving through the crowd of Witches who all sported similar looks of shock when they saw her and quickly parted out of her path as Amanda, Sucy and Lotte took their place behind their friendly walking barricade. They gave a collection of encouraging waves to Akko and Constanze as they started to move away into the breach.

"Good lucks guys! Break that thing and put a stop to this lovers spat! Tell em to just kiss already!" Amanda joked, her foxy grin already obscured by the rims of several Witch hats converging around her form.

"Be careful in there!" Akko yelled out to them as they disappeared amongst a sea of navy-blue Nova uniforms, well except for Jasminka who she could still spot quite easily, unless there was some other student Akko didn't know about who was three times bigger than everyone else. Akko then felt a small and firm hand grip hers tightly, prompting her to turn about to see one of Constanze's rare unguarded smiles beaming up at her, the teal-green of her eyes reflecting an explosion of neon-rainbows form the barrier at Akko's back.

"I…need you." She repeated in a quiet, soft tone, but then followed with a much sharper inflection with a determined crease of her thick eyebrows. Akko remembered that look, it meant it was time to blow something up! "I can't pilot it by myself."

"Yeah! I'm with you, Cons! Lead the way!" Akko responded with her most winning smile, planting her other hand over Constanze's own, making the petite German jump as another pink flush dusted her bantam, pale cheeks. "The two of us and a giant robot, there's nothing we can't do!"

Constanze composed herself with a sharp intake of breath, then resumed her own smile before yanking Akko away into the screaming crowds.

=][=

"Hey Lotte, what's a meme?" Sucy asked her ginger-haired friend and partner in crime as they moved in step behind Jasminka and Amanda, the latter rudely but befittingly roaring out that everyone should get the hell out of the way. Lotte cocked her head at the innocuous question, wondering for a moment why the Mushroom Witch would ask something like that, but she figured not many girls at the Academy in general were familiar with the internet, let alone something as meta as memes.

"Well…" Lotte paused as she realised it would be tricky to explain such a thing to someone who knew little or nothing of the medium they'd spawned from, but her eyes quickly lit up when she figured out an appropriate response for her friend. "I guess you could say it's just another form of poison…only, y'know, from the internet!"

"Hmm." Sucy mulled the answer over carefully, smirking ruefully as she did so. "Somehow I don't like the sound of that."

Lotte burst out in a fit of giggles at that, infecting Sucy to do the same, albeit in her unorthodox, hissing cackle.

=][=

"WAAAAAH!" Akko shrieked as she hung on for dear life to Constanze's warm hand as the two of them rocketed through one of the many tunnels beneath Luna Nova. Before the fun little ride, Constanze had led Akko to yet another hidden passage hidden within the base of one of the pillars of the Academy lining the courtyard. The mine-cart's wheels rattled so roughly on the tracks that the brunette expected every sharp turn to send them both careening spectacularly into a wall. Constanze stood unmoving throughout the whole trip, never letting go of Akko's hand, occasionally glancing at her with that same sweet smile of hers that just for a moment, would appease the Japanese girls' wailing fear.

Finally, mercifully, the ride came to end after one last arcing launch over a black chasm in the cart as the tracks beneath it turned from a gnarled mess of rails into absolutely nothing.

"Donkey…KONGGG!" Akko blurted out in a delirium as they soared over the gap and landed with a heart-stopping lurch on another set of rails that had spurted from the blackness at the far end just in the nick of time. One last burst of speed and the cart shot through a yawning doorway into a familiar hanger dotted with blinding spotlights all along its wide ceiling.

Before Akko could make any further references, the mine cart that had surged along on a set of rails far above the hanger suddenly did a 180 lateral spin and put the two Witches upside down.

"Eh?" Akko piped as she hung there for a second before gravity took hold and sent her plunging downwards again with her trademark scream ringing out throughout the room. "YAAAAH!"

The sensation of falling was brief, Akko's piercing yelp catching in her throat as something soft and moving cushioned her back, leaving her staring up at the lights of the hangar with a series of puzzled blinks. She heard a staccato of chirping robotic voices all around her as Akko sat herself up, or rather was pulled into a sitting position with a gentle tug of her hands still somehow coiled around Constanze's. The little German girl still held that same precious smile, the warmth from her hand glowing along with it.

"It's Akko. Akko, Akko, Akko!"

"She's back! Back!"

"Akko is here. Akko is here!"

Akko looked about herself and noticed a wide blue safety mattress had broken her and Constanze's fall as they sat upon it; the soft fabric shifting slightly beneath them as a great number of Stanbots spilled out from under it, holding the two of them aloft in their stumpy little arms as they all sang out Akko's name, excitedly welcoming her. The brunette saw the exterior makings of the mighty Stanship all round her little landing pad, putting her and Constanze right on the bridge and right on the money for where they needed to be.

"Aww, hey guys! I'm glad to be back!" She waved at them happily, but her cheer was cut short when the little robot helpers abruptly lifted the end of the mattress at Constanze's end at a sharp angle, sending the girl falling into her as they were both poured into a hatch that snapped open to meet them.

"Ugaah!" Akko yelped and fell painfully head-first into a familiar seat upside down. After ungracefully righting herself, the console of Grand Charion sprung to glorious activity right in front of her, basking her sparkling eyes and toothy grin in its bright shades of magic energy.

Akko made to yell out something hopeful, but her words sputtered to nothing when she felt a soft, caressing sensation brisk the back of her head. A slight yet not unwelcome chill ran like a cool gentle breeze down the point of contact, petting the smoothness of her neck as it settled into a prickling, warm tremble in her shoulders. Had Constanze just…kissed her?

Constanze's soft, small hands roped around the crest of Akko's sternum, linking together shaking fingers to her own elbows as the German girl held Akko tight in that hug for a few seconds, all the while the start-up sequence of the ship escalated its obnoxious light and noise without input. Constanze's short whisping breath tickled the exposed skin of her neck, coaxing a minute shudder from the brunette.

Akko was startled by the loving gesture, but as the Stanship continued to boot up, her initially tense body relaxed into the girls' silent embrace. Part of Akko thought that Constanze probably wasn't being herself, that such a bold statement of love would never have come about without all the strange happenings at the Academy as of late. But…did that simply mean the girl was holding back those feelings? Just like Diana, just like Chariot…held back by logic, by the trepidation and expectations of others, restricted by the misty clouds of shyness…

Was that what was happening? Were their emotions and desires overriding everything else? Because to Akko, no single atom of Constanze's trembling embrace felt forced, nor artificial. It was a Love fuelled by magic, but Love all the same. Akko didn't know if she even deserved such unmitigated feelings from the precious girl, or from anyone else for that matter. It was a dizzying hurricane that she was still trying vainly to grasp in her thoughts. Those animes she'd watched in the past made these things out to be so simple…

"Constanze…" Akko started but a loud whining beep from the console at eye-level interrupted her. The magic fuel gauge was lit up to absolute maximum, meaning the Stanship was all set to go. Constanze broke her hug and launched back into her own seat, strapping herself in and gripping her controls with gleaming fire blazing in her eyes. Akko watched Constanze yank an overhead lever with a grunt, initiating a blast transformation from ship to mech meant to conserve energy, as indicated by a crackling heads-up-display of the sequence from the hangars' camera feed. The army of Stanbots nearby scurried away from the much larger and flashier robot, disappearing into several hatches lining the walls.

"Let's talk more. When there's time. First comes friends." Constanze said evenly as a heavy lurch rumbled through the small space accompanied by the deafening roar of the Charion's newly installed back thrusters surging to life, lancing out in four spears of blinding teal flame that kicked the giant mech from the ground.

Akko almost lost her lunch from the sudden jump to being airborne, secretly thankful that she hadn't had the chance to scarf down that cake her friends had snatched for her.

"Right! Let's do this! And Constanze…" Akko swivelled in her seat to fix the girl with another beaming smile. "Thank you so much."

Constanze returned the smile and attempted to hide the bright blush on her puffed cheeks behind her control wheel, and promptly yanked another nearby lever that launched the Charion off the grid with such a force Akko was immediately plastered screaming back into her seat.

"Time to fly!" Constanze screamed alongside Akko's wails as the Grand Charion torpedoed through a wall of rushing water before blasting out spinning into the endless, dizzying blue of the skies.

=][=

Another one down. A million thanks to all you lovely readers out there. Anyone got any good anime recommendations? Chamber of Time is still a ways away and I need something else to fill that void in the meantime. Anyway, hope this amused you. Later and love~

-Queen