I found more time to write, so here's another update. Like I said, ED is coming to an end in the next few chapters, so please read and review.

Akko tapped her fingers on the desk on repeat, waiting for Chariot to come. The whole class has been waiting for the teacher, and while she would come late at times, she was running too late now.

"Where is Professor Ursula?" Lotte was the first to ask. Sucy didn't really care, so she just shrugged.

"I wonder if something happened." Akko stopped tapping and looked around in worry. "Diana hasn't come either, and she's never late."

Akko felt something was wrong, but what was it exactly? She had no idea. It's as if her whole being was screaming at her to get up and run to look for them. She anxiously stared at the door, waiting for anyone to come. Unfortunately, someone else walked through the door.

Finneran walked in and announced. "All classes have been cancelled today. I suggest you all go back to your dorms." Her words made the students look at each other with questioning looks. They started murmuring between themselves, and before Finneran could speak again, another professor walked in.

"Professor, perhaps you should explain things first instead of scaring the students." Croix said with a smile, and seeing her seemed to reassure the brunette a little. "I'm trying to do an important experiment, so we thought we should hold off all classes in case accidents happen."

Croix had a feeling things were about to get out of control, she was starting to sense the darkness' presence, which was why she asked the professors to help her evacuate without causing panic.

She was however, too late, because in the blink of an eye, the whole room was filled with screams and cries. It was as if time was frozen. Croix saw the pure horror on the students' faces, and dark orbs coming out of their chests. She looked at Finneran who seemed frozen as well, and that's when she realized that they were seeing illusions.

Akko herself was shaking.

The lilac haired witch quickly took her wand and used a flash of light that seemed to snap them out of it. After years of being with him, she knew that a third person intervening would break his illusion.

"Was that...?" Finneran spoke, taken back.

"Yes. It's him." Croix muttered. "Everyone! Don't leave the school and stay together!" Croix announced and turned to the older professor. "I'll locate his position and tell you. You and the other professors should be prepared to form a barrier. Take routers with you just in case!" She instructed then turned to Akko, who recovered from the shock and nodded. Just as Croix was about to leave, she felt pain in her stomach and her back burning. She almost lost her balance and collapsed if it weren't for Finneran catching her.

Croix didn't hear what the professor said, because there was only one thought in her mind.

Chariot was in danger.

-Everlasting Darkness chapter 26: Menace at Luna Nova-

Chariot tried to grasp into the shadowy hand, hoping to prevent herself from falling to her death. She tried to look at Diana and reassure her, but all she could find was his red eyes. She knew Diana could see through those eyes, and knew that she was yelling, desperate to stop her body from doing it.

Chariot wished she could give her reassurance, but all she could do was whisper an apoology before he would let her fall.

She was falling, with no broom or wand to save her. All she could think of was that Diana and Akko were in danger, that she couldn't do anything to help her student. And most importantly...

She did not want to leave Croix behind.

Chariot wished to spend the rest of her life with her, to grow old with her... But now, it seemed like it was a dream that could never happen.

She closed her eyes, and waited for the impact that never came. Instead, she was caught into strong arms and was immediately pulled into an embrace.

"Croix?!" Her arms quickly wrapped around the lilac haired witch, as she grasped for air, shaking from her almost death.

"I got you..." Croix said with a shaking voice. "I got you Chariot... you're alive... I got you." She said as if to reassure herself. Her heart was beating to the point it could jump out of her ribcage. If she was late, even for a second, she would have lost Chariot forever. She didn't even realize she was crying. "You're hurt." She said as she pulled away, and Chariot cupped her cheeks, wiping the tears with her thumbs.

Chariot kissed her with a sense of urgency.

Their dreams, their hopes, their future... it was almost gone in the blink of an eye.

It was scary.

"Thank you." Chariot whispered against her lips. They were both a mess. "He... He got Diana..."

Croix turned to look at him floating around in Diana's body. He didn't see them, his eyes were focused on the school, and the sorcerer's stone. Croix felt anger that she has never experienced before. She was furious, and she wanted to destroy him now more than ever. She glared at him from a distance and pulled her wand.

"This is the last time he'll ever hurt someone I love." She promised.

"What should we do?" Chariot asked. "Should I use the same spell to separate them?"

Croix seemed to think about it, before handing her traditional wand to the red head.

"I think I have a plan." She said with a confident smile.

The darkness stared at the building with bored eyes. He didn't seem satisfied with the anguish he was causing, perhaps he should take his time and murder the students one after another? Or should he toy with them first. He smiled at the thought. He tried to use his magic on the building, but a barrier blocked it. He frowned, and looked down to see the professors standing around the school, shielding it.

He then scoffed. He could break it with a few hits. Besides, some of his dark orbs were still inside, that means they could cause enough chaos on their own. What he needed was to break the shield to get the sorcerer's stone.

"Hey, you red eyed cloud!" He rolled his eyes, before turning and finding Croix standing on a Roomba, crossing her arms. "Did you miss me?" She asked.

"Meridies, fancy seeing you here. I thought I inflicted enough damage on you the last time." He said, and Croix had to stop herself from wincing at hearing his voice coming out from Diana. "Nevermind that, at least I got rid of Chariot. How does it feel to lose a soul mate, Meridies?" He smirked.

"How does it feel to be a cloud with a lame name like 'the darkness'?" She countered his question, and it seemed to upset him.

"I'm not wasting any more time on you." He said, before launching a beam from his palm.

Croix smirked and raised her hand, blocking it with her palm and absorbing it into her hand. She felt a chill go through her body, and winced, but it was gone when she saw the look of shock on his face, well, Diana's face. Croix's cape and hair were flowing with the wind, and she almost looked like some sort of hero. Her right eye turned red, while the other remained green.

She smiled as she whispered. "Noir fuel spirit."

"What is the meaning of this?" He yelled as he fired more magic at her, which she absorbed. She made sure to glance at her watch so she won't take an amount that her body won't handle, but she didn't let him see her worry. She only made him more furious. "I don't know what you're planning, Meridies, but I will not let you get in my way."

Croix pulled her modern wand and gripped it tight. This was it, the last battle.

Meanwhile, the students were panicking inside the school. Some of them and the professors were fighting back, but the others were too scared to do anything. The dark orbs that the darkness took from them had nowhere to go because of the barrier, so they possessed objects instead, and were now attacking the students.

"What is happening?" Amanda groaned as she protected herself by destroying some flying desks. Jasminka and Constanze were helping her.

"It's that thing that calls itself the darkness!" Akko answered, trying to help some students escape the objects.

"I guess it's the apocalypse." Sucy commented, throwing some explosive mushroom at them.

Akko groaned. She had the shiny rod on her but she couldn't do anything if she was trapped here. Croix didn't tell her what to do either, she just ran off on her own. She had no idea what happened back then, maybe she sensed his presence or something? She was trying to find a way to defeat those 'monsters', then an idea came to her.

"Lotte! Maybe you can sing that song to calm them down?" Akko asked with a smile, while her friend glanced between her and the objects in concern.

"I'm not sure if it will work."

"It's worth a try though, isn't it?" Sucy shrugged, and lotte looked at them both before sighing then staring in determination.

"It's worth a shot." She said, and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, then started singing.

The girls watched in silence, hoping that it would work, and fortunately, it did. The object stopped moving, but there were still ones that weren't affected because they were in different floors.

"Good job lotte! Now you just have to do it at every part of the school!" Amana patted her shoulder with a smile. "You think you can handle it?"

"Of course she can." Sucy smiled, making her blush.

"I'll try my best." Lotte said, feeling nervous. That was a lot of work, but if she could help, then she had to. "We should tell the professors though. It would be done faster if someone helped me."

Akko grinned, hopeful. The shiny rod then started beeping, and she heard a voice coming through it.

"Akko? Can you hear me?"

"Chariot?!" Akko yelled, holding the rod close to her. "Where are you? How are you talking to me? Are you okay?!"

"I'm okay! I didn't think this could work, but I guess the rod still likes me enough to allow me to talk to you." Chariot smiled, using the wand Croix gave her as a way to communicate. "Listen, you have to take the rod to the sorcerer's stone! It will absorb the magic from it, and the stone will have no use anymore!"

"What? What about our magic?"

"Use the routers Croix gave you! You'll be able to use your magic without the stone!"

Akko looked at her friends who gave her reassuring smiles.

"I can take you there. I know you can fly now, but I'm pretty fast." Amanda said.

"Constanze, Jasminka and I will help Lotte, I guess." Sucy said, barely affected by the scenario.

Akko stared at her friends then smiled. She recited the fifth word, transforming the shiny rod into shiny volley. Amanda whistled at the broom.

They both left through one of the windows, and headed to the tower. The broom was a bit hard to control because it was too fast, but that was just the way Amanda liked it. They were flying at full speed. Akko was holding into her friend for dear life, still not used to the speed. She looked outside the barrier, and gasped when she saw Diana floating, with darkness around her.

"He… He got Diana!" Akko yelled, making Amanda look at that direction as well.

"What is going on?!" Amanda asked, clearly surprised by the sight. "Dude, shouldn't we do something?"

"Akko!" They both turned to see Chariot flying in the same direction outside the barrier. "Croix and I will handle this! You have to get to the tower!" She yelled before flying away.

Akko looked at Diana, feeling as if she failed her again. She closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Amanda.

"Let's keep going!"

-ED-

"Is that all you've got?" Croix asked as she avoided another attack from the darkness. She was flying around, trying to gain time for Chariot. It was easy to anger him, and while she couldn't attack, she could provoke him enough to distract him from what was happening behind.

"Enough of your games!" He yelled and created a bunch of shadow ravens that went after her.

The lilac haired witch pulled her cubes and jumped off her Roomba. The cubes created a road on which she slid, escaping them with ease. She used her green fire to burn them, then jumped off the slide to avoid another attack from him. She landed on her broom and quickly shielded herself with a combination of her cubes.

The darkness gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

"Didn't I tell you?" Croix used her cubes to trap him. "I'm immune to death!"

Wings appeared on his back, and he flew around, escaping them. He made his way towards her, his human hand surrounded with his shadow claws. Croix escaped him at the last second, jumping off her broom, and transforming her cubes into a ball that trapped him.

"Now!" She yelled, falling on her broom.

Right on cue, the same arrow that separate her from him once, went through it. A bigger claw came out of it and Croix barely escaped it. The cubes got destroyed, and Diana fell from it while the darkness escaped, changing its form into a dragon. He fired at Croix, preventing her from catching Diana and causing her to absorb more of his magic.

He flew towards the barrier, while Croix tried to go after Diana, only to lose her balance and fall off her broom. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she used both her hands to create fire that helped her fly. She didn't expect it to work, but it did.

Chariot caught Diana, and brought her to the ground. Croix sighed in relief and used her flames to land safely. However, she fell to her knees, coughing blood.

"Croix?!" Chariot called for her.

"I'm fine… I took too much magic from him." She said, wiping the blood.

"Your eye is red." Chariot stated, clearly concerned for both her lover and her student. Croix looked at her in surprise. She didn't realize that her eye color changed.

"It'll probably go away. Like I said, I'm taking away his magic." She said and watched as the red head gently placed Diana on the ground.

Her eyes were open, but they were still red. If it weren't for her chest rising up, showing that she was breathing, they would have thought she was nothing but a corpse due to her unblinking eyes.

"Diana?" Croix called, gently shaking her shoulders. "She's not responding." She said, looking down. She was thinking about anything that she could do.

"Professors!"

They both looked up to see Akko flying towards them and almost falling down her broom.

"Akko? How did you-" Chariot was about to ask, but when she looked back, she realized that the darkness broke the barrier, and was being restrained by the other professors. The moment he finds out the stone isn't working anymore, he will go after the shiny rod.

"Professors! Diana and I performed that protection spell, so maybe I can do something!" Akko suggested after landing and running towards them. She sat down, and stared at her friend with both worry and determination.

Croix's eyes widened, and she looked between them, then at the rod.

"Akko, hand me the shiny rod." She said. Chariot and Akko exchanged a look. Chariot knew that Croix couldn't use it, so why would she suggest taking it? The brunette handed it to her, and she took it, waiting for it to shock her.

It didn't.

Croix stared at it in surprise, a feeling of joy went through her as she finally managed to hold it. Chariot smiled at her, aware of the feeling.

Croix closed her eyes, then looked at Akko. She was going to take the rod with her, and use herself as bait for the darkness. Akko would eventually have to use the shiny rod to finish him, but before that, she had an important job to do.

"Since you're the one Diana used the spell on, I will send your consciousness into her mind to bring her back."