Akko Kagari and the Contest of Champions
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Horologium Clock
The door of the office opened.
"Hello, Miss Kagari," said Zeref. "Come on in."
Akko walked inside. She had been inside Professor Holbrooke's office once before; it was a surprisingly small room with sculptures of the Nine Olde Witches' hats lining the back wall.
Crawford Seam was standing beside Professor Holbrooke's desk, looking as stuffy as the last time Akko had seen him, running a hand through his thick beard.
"Miss Kagari!" said Crawford jovially, moving forward. "How are you?"
"Fine," Akko lied.
"We were just talking about the night when Org turned up on the grounds," said Crawford. "It was you who found him, was it not?"
"Yes," said Akko. Then, feeling it was pointless to pretend that she hadn't overheard what they had been saying, she added, "I didn't see anyone from Black Star when I was down there, though, and I doubt Ram would let any of them out of her sight, given how protective she is of them."
Professor Holbrooke smiled at Akko behind Crawford's back, her eyes twinkling.
"Yes, well," said Crawford, looking embarrassed, "We're about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Kagari, if you'll excuse us…perhaps if you just go back to your class – "
"I wanted to talk to you, professor," Akko said quickly, looking at Holbrooke, who gave her a swift, searching look.
"Wait for me, Miss Kagari," she said. "Our examination of the grounds will not take long."
They trooped out in silence past her and closed the door. After a minute or so, Akko looked around.
"Hello, Professor Pisces," she said.
Professor Pisces, a goldfish wearing a witch's hat, floated aimlessly around her aquarium on the right-hand side of the office. Even after taking a class last year, Akko still found it hard to believe that a goldfish could be a teacher. Though, as Akko had seen, Professor Pisces was very impressive-looking when she took a human form.
Akko sat down in a chair in front of Professor Holbrooke's desk. For several minutes, she sat and searched the small office without looking at anything in particular, still thinking about what she had just heard, and running a hand across the back of her neck. Her scars had stopped hurting now.
She felt much calmer, somehow, now that she was in Professor Holbrooke's office, knowing she would shortly be telling her about the dream. Akko looked up at the wall behind the desk. She had never noticed hold old and chipped the Nine Olde Witches' hats were. They could use better care. The Magic Mirror stood in the corner of the room, partially covered by a long beige tarp. She was gazing at it, remembering how, four years ago, he mirror-self had been adamant in putting her into Eclipse, believing it was the best way to reach her true potential. Akko would be lying if she didn't have doubts in the past, especially during her second year. She quickly noticed, however, that a patch of soft green light, dancing and shimmering on the glass. She looked around for the source of the light and saw a sliver of emerald-green light shining brightly from behind the row of bookcases on the left-hand wall, one of which looked to have been moved out of place. Akko hesitated, glanced at Professor Pisces, then got up, walked across the office, and pulled open the bookcase, which was surprisingly light.
Behind it was a hidden room that was solely occupied by a massive gilded clock that was shaped like an hourglass, easily twice Akko's size. The needles of the clock face were constantly turning at random, sometimes shifting after only one second, and at other a full minute, but the hands were always on the opposite side of each other. Behind the face was a cluster of gears that creaked and rattled, but sounded strangely symphonic the more Akko listened. Underneath the gears was the pendulum, which was made of octahedron crystals that gave off an emerald-green glow, explaining where the strange light was coming from. A magic circle floated around the pendulum, made up of runes and symbols that Akko did not recognize. Something was moving ceaselessly between the crystals. It was bright, whitish-silver; it ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly – it looked like wind made solid.
Akko wanted to touch it, to find out what it was, what it could do, but nearly four years of experience in Luna Nova told her that touching a strange glowing clock that obviously held untold magical power was a very stupid thing to do. She therefore pulled her wand out from its holster, cast a nervous look at the chamber entrance, looked back at the clock, and prodded the base.
The strange substance inside the crystals began to swirl very fast.
Akko leaned closer, her head nearly touching the surface of the pendulum. The silvery substance had become transparent; it looked like glass. She looked into it, expecting to see the wall behind the clock – and saw instead and enormous room through the mysterious substance, a room into which she seemed to be looking inside through circular window.
The room was dimly lit; she thought it might even be underground, for there were no windows, merely torches in brackets. Leaning her face closer so that her nose was a mere inch from the pendulum, Akko saw that rows and rows of Demi-Humans were seated around every wall on what seemed to be benches rising in levels. In the center of the room were a pair of long shackles bolted to the floor. There was something about the shackles that gave Akko an ominous feeling.
Where was this place? It surely wasn't Luna Nova; she had never seen a room like that here in the school. Moreover, the crowd in the mysterious room in the window of the pendulum was comprised of adults, and Akko knew there were not nearly that many teachers at Luna Nova. They seemed to be waiting for something, Akko thought, as all of their faces were pointing in one direction, and none of them were talking to one another.
Akko could not make out what was going due to the crowd block the view. She leaned even closer, tilting her head, trying to see….
The tip of her nose touched the crystal into which she was staring.
The hidden chamber gave an almighty lurch – Akko was thrown forward and pitched headfirst into the window inside the pendulum –
And suddenly, Akko found herself stumbling on a bench at the end of the room inside the pendulum, a bench raised high above the others. She bumped into the woman sitting them, nearly knocking her over. Righting herself up, Akko looked behind her, expecting to see the crystal window through which she had just been staring, but there was nothing there but dark, solid stone.
Breathing hard and fast, Akko looked around her. Only a few of the Demi-Humans spared her a passing glance, obviously finding it strange that a fourteen-year-old girl had caused quite a commotion upon entrance, but quickly returned their attention to the corner. Akko turned to the witch she had bumped into, who looked a little frazzled as she attempted to readjusted her pointed hat and smooth out her clothes before facing Akko as well.
A young woman with emerald-green hair pulled back in a bun so elaborate that it made Professor Finnelan look shabby by comparison, her bright-blue eyes search Akko with curiosity. That was something oddly familiar about this woman….
"Oh my, are you all right, dear?" the woman asked politely.
"Uh – erm – y-yeah, I'm fine," Akko said in a strangled whisper. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to – I was just – I guess I kinda lost my footing and – well, you know."
"It's quite all right; no harm done," said the woman with an understanding smile. "Though you do seem rather…young to be sitting in the middle of a trial. You're wearing a Luna Nova uniform, though it seems a little…different since I wore it." She said, looking Akko up and down, caressing the fabric of her sleeve. "Softer material for sure. They must have changed it since I graduated. Are you related to someone on the Council?"
"Er…yes?" Akko squeaked out hesitantly. She had no idea what was going on, but figured it was better to go along.
"I don't mind the councilmen bringing their children to work, but taking them to something like this…," the woman muttered to herself. "Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Meredith. Meredith Holbrooke."
It suddenly dawned on Akko. That's why this woman looked so familiar; she looked like a younger version of Professor Holbrooke. Although, Akko knew the headmistress's name was Miranda, and Lotte never mentioned any other family members with their last name. And considering that Meredith thought Akko's uniform looked new, there was only one explanation: this woman was Professor Holbrooke's mother.
Once before, Akko had traveled backwards in time. That time, she had used a literal time machine to move back several hours to save a Qilin and her aunt Izetta. But this was considerably longer than a few simple hours – if Professor Holbrooke's mother was so young, then she had to be at least close to a hundred years in the past…. The only reason Akko wasn't hyperventilating right now was because she learned from her experiences last year. The past was set in stone and could not be changed – the only reason she would be thrown back so far in time is if she was meant to be here. But why? What was this place? What were all these people waiting for?
Akko looked around more carefully. The room, as she had suspected when observing it through the crystal, was almost certainly underground – more of a dungeon than a room, she thought. There was a bleak and foreboding air about the place; there was no pictures on the wall, no decorations at all; just these serried rows of benches rising in levels all around the room, all positioned so that they had a clear view of the shackles on the floor.
"Uh…are you ill," said Meredith Holbrooke, snapping Akko out of her stupor. "You haven't said anything in several minutes."
Before could come up with a response without giving away that she was from the future, she heard footsteps. The door in the corner of the dungeon opened and three people entered – or at least one man, flanked by two Heartless,
Akko's insides went cold. These heartless weren't like the Neo Shadows she had encountered before – they were tall, bulky, winged creatures with curled horns and carrying swords by their sides. They were gliding slowly toward the center of the room, each grasping one of the man's arms with their clawed hands. The man between them, shockingly looked unaffected by the Heartless' touch and seemed more bored than anything else. Akko resisted the urge to sink into the bench…even after warding off a small cluster of Neo Shadows, the Heartless still terrified her to the core, and these versions looked extremely powerful. The watching crowd recoiled slightly as the Heartless placed the man between the shackles and glided out of the room. The door swung shut behind them.
Akko looked down at the man now standing in the center of the room and saw that it was Zeref.
She didn't know why she was surprised that Zeref looked exactly the same as he did in the present day. The only different was that instead of the black robe-and-toga combo he sported around Luna Nova, he was grabbed in the thinnest and rattiest clothes imaginable. Even as Akko watched, the chains on the floor suddenly rattled and coiled to life like metal snakes, shooting up to Zeref's arms and binding him in the shackles.
"Zeref Dragneel," said a curt voice to Akko left. Akko looked around and saw what looked to be a young girl behind a podium in the middle of the row of benches. She was fairly small, so much so that she needed a stepping stool to stand above the podium, dressed in frilly pink clothes with what looked like tiny wings poking out of her flowing golden hair. "You are here to face trial for your crimes before the Magic Council. I, Council Chairwoman Mavis Vermillion, shall be presiding."
Mavis Vermillion? Didn't Zeref say that Mavis Vermillion was Chariot's grandmother; that made this tiny girl Akko's ancestor as well. This is getting very trippy, Akko thought.
Zeref straightened himself as best as he could, his arms pulled tight by the chains. He flashed the little woman a soft smile and Mavis, to Akko's surprised, looked flustered for a moment. Mavis quickly composed herself, coughing into her hand importantly.
"Zeref, you have been charged with three hundred years of crimes against humanity," said Mavis evenly. "Such crimes include tampering with time magic, the sacrilegious practice of life and death magic, the genocidal purge of the city of Milidan, creating the Etherious, the conquest of Alverez by martial force, and the deaths of thousands upon thousands of innocent souls. How do you plead?"
"Why, not guilt, of course," said Zeref casually. "I have done nothing wrong."
There was a lot of outrageous murmurs around the benches. Some of the Demi-Humans were surveying Zeref with outright spite, others with pronounced gazes of fear despite his bindings. Then Akko heard, quiet distinctly, from Meredith's other side, a familiar hissing voice saying, "Filth."
Akko leaned forward so that she could see past Meredith. Ram was sitting there – except that there was a very noticeable difference in her appearance. She did not have the curled horns that resembled her namesake, but two buds poking out of her hair that would one day sprout into them. She was looking down upon Zeref with an intense gaze of dislike.
"Vermillion is going to let him off, I know it," Ram breathed quietly to Meredith. "You know she's sweet on him, despite trying to hide it. Took me six months to track him down, and Vermillion is going to let him go. I say we throw him to the Heartless and let him rot inside his own mind."
Meredith made a small noise of dissent through her nose.
"Ah, I was forgetting…you don't like the Heartless, do you, Holbrooke?" said Ram with a sardonic smile.
"No," said Meredith evenly. "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Magic Council is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."
"But for filth like this…" Ram said softly.
"You plead that you are innocent despite the long list of crimes against you," said Mavis. "You have claimed that you have done nothing wrong. How did you come to this conclusion?"
"All the crimes against me are circumstantial at best," said Zeref with a knowing smile. "It's true that I developed the research for the R System and the Eclipse Gate, but I was not the one who constructed them, was I? It was Anna Heartfilia that opened the Eclipse Gate and it was a cult of misguided fanatics that made the R System. I did not tell any of them to do it."
"What a load of bull," sneered Ram.
"And what about the deaths of thousands that were inflicted upon by you?" said Mavis.
"You of all people know of my Curse of Contradiction, Mavis," said Zeref cunningly. "When I care for something, my curse kills all that I cherish against my will. I have no control over it unless I wish to intentionally kill. The city of Milidan where I spent many years of study in the academy was merely the first in a long line of unintentional victims when the Goddess Ankhseram bestowed this curse upon me. If you want to blame someone for the deaths of innocent, blame the cruel, heartless gods that care nothing for the lives of mortals. I have done nothing wrong."
"And why would the goddess curse him, if not to punish him for his heresy," muttered Ram. "The fact is that neither the Eclipse Gate nor the R System would exist if not for him."
"But he has a point; he didn't make those people use them," Meredith defended; Ram huffed indignantly.
"And what about the Etherious?" said Mavis sharply. "They were responsible for the deaths of entire cities, including the port town of Hargeon."
"They were created for the specific purpose of killing me," said Zeref immediately, like he had been expecting each question. "But the problem with creating life is that it has a will of its own. They were tasked with a purpose, but they didn't know how to go about it. I cannot be held responsible for their actions any more than the Council can be held responsible for the Heartless. Or is the Council trying to cover up their recent attacks in Radiant Garden and the Destiny Islands."
"No one is actually buying this garbage, are they?" hissed Ram.
"And your conquest of Alverez?" Mavis continued.
The Council call it a conquest, but I call it unity," said Zeref smugly. "I don't deny that I played a role in the empire's foundation, but is it really considered a crime when the country now prospers? In the past, Alverez was in chaos; weak and inefficient governments constantly warring with one another, crippling their own economy and plunging its citizens into destitution. I created the Alverez Empire and now its people thrive on a healthy economy. The divide between rich and poor is the smallest in any nation. People are happy. And the Magic Council claims this a conquest simply because they chose me as their ruler while the Magic Council sat on their hands and never lifted a finger to help. So tell me, Mavis, who is the real villain of this story."
Akko had to admit that Zeref made a very convincing argument. If she didn't already know him, she would have thought that Zeref wasn't a bad guy and didn't deserve to this kind of scrutiny. Mavis Vermillion seemed to think the same thing; she looked crestfallen as she met Zeref's eyes with a conflicted expression. Unfortunately, Akko noticed, no one else seemed to be as sympathetic. It probably wasn't a smart idea to insult the Magic Council right to their faces; Ram's upper lip quivered in a nasty snarl.
Taking notice of her college's expressions, Mavis took a deep breath through her nose, exhaling slowly from her mouth, and donned a cold, emotionless look in her eyes.
"You have made your argument, Zeref," she said coolly. "But your fate shall be decided by the Magic Council. It's time to put it to a vote…. All in favor of a life sentencing to Dol Guldur…raise your hand…."
The Demi-Humans seated on the right side of the dungeon raised their hands in perfect unison. Not a single person had their hand down; they were all glaring at Zeref with contemptuous glares. The crowd around the walls began to clap, their faces full of savage triumph. Meredith did not join them, but rose from her seat and walked out with a spiteful leer at the people she passed. The Black Wizard did not seem surprised by this, but lowered his head in resignation. Mavis, too, lowered her head sadly, her eyes looking a little watery, but quickly blinked them away and returned to her natural expression.
"Motion carried…," Mavis spoke in a hollow voice. "You shall be sentenced to Dol Guldur, where you shall remain until the end of your existence, for as long as that may be. Call the Heartless back in…take him away…."
Mavis's voice faded. Akko looked around; the dungeon was dissolving as though it were made of smoke; everything was fading; she could see only her own body – all else was swirling darkness….
And then, the dungeon returned. Akko landed with a hard thud on a different seat, still on the highest bench. The atmosphere seemed quite different: somber, even apprehensive. The Demi-Humans all around the walls were talking top one another, speaking in low voices as if afraid of being overheard. Behind the podium where Mavis once stood, Akko noticed Org took her place. Unlike his present-day counterpart, Org had both eyes open and his bear was dramatically shorter and still graying. Akko looked around and realized with a slight shock that she was seated next to an unbelievably beautiful woman with flawless pale skin, crystal-blue eyes and platinum-blonde hair with only a single tea-green highlight around her heart-faced face. Akko knew it was impossible, but she couldn't help mistaking this woman for –
"Diana?" Akko said before she could stop herself.
The woman nearly jumped out of her seat. She held a hand over her heart, doubling over into a coughing fit. Akko squeaked and rubbed the poor woman's back soothingly, sputtering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"It's…it's quite all right," Not-Diana gasped once she stopped coughing. "You just caught me by surprise. I have…not been in the best health lately."
"It's my fault for scaring you; I'm so sorry about that," Akko apologized.
"It's fine, it's fine," said Not-Diana. "When you called me by my daughter's name, I was a bit astonished. We do share a resemblance, but I rarely get mistaken for someone much younger than myself."
Akko immediately tensed up. Her daughter…her daughter's name was Diana…which could only mean that this woman was Diana's mother, Bernadette Cavendish.
Diana spoke very little about her second mother and Athena Cavendish's wife. It was only last year that Diana confided in her that Bernadette had died from a weak body while Diana was still only a child. She had never mentioned how strong of a resemblance they shared. The only real difference between the two was that Diana's face was more round compared to the sharp angle of her mother's, and the highlighted sections of Bernadette's hair were more pronounced than her daughter's. In all honesty, Akko couldn't be blamed for mistaking the two.
"But it's strange, really," said Bernadette, humming as she gave Akko a critical stare. "Do you…know my daughter?"
"Er…kinda?" Akko said feebly.
"But Diana is only six years old," said Bernadette, her brow furrowed. "And you're wearing a Luna Nova uniform. How exactly do you know her?"
Akko stumbled over her words, not knowing how to respond. What was she supposed to say? 'I'm the girl who is madly in love with your daughter that kissed her in the bathroom'? Somehow, Akko didn't think that would go over well.
Thankfully, she was once again spared of any explanations when the door in the corner opened, and a woman and a small child entered the room.
Akko immediately recognized the woman. It was Athena Cavendish, Diana's other mother, though several years younger; the wrinkles under her eyes didn't exist yet. The child shuffling along next to her was clinging to Athena's robe, bundling the fabric in her tiny fingers. She looked to be of Japanese origin with pure-black hair tied into a pair of spiky pigtails. She looked nervous as Athena guided her into the center of the room between the chains, but they did not bind her there as they had bound Zeref. The small child let out a frightened whimper and buried her face into Athena's robe when Org leaned over the podium and gave her a nasty look.
"Mato Kuroi, you have been brought here in front of the Magic Council to answer charged relating to the mass murder of the town of Kurogane, Japan," said Org. "One hundred and forty-seven civilians murdered in their homes overnight. You were found on the streets at daybreak, covered in blood – the victims' blood. We are prepared to pass our verdict. Do you have anything to add to your testimony before we pronounce judgment?"
Akko couldn't believe her ears. Mato Kuroi, a mass murderer?
Mato whimpered again and buried her face deep into Athena's robe. Athena patted her head softly, glaring at Org in righteous fury.
"Org, please, she's just a child!" Athena sneered. "Don't you think she is a little much?"
"That 'child' slaughtered an entire town!" Org spat harshly. "She was soaked in their blood! We have all the evidence we need to prove it! Don't let her little sobbing act fool you. That…thing is a monster!"
"Ironic for him to call someone a monster," someone muttered dryly in the seat in front of Akko. She looked down and saw the back of Ram's head, her horns fully grown and curled. "Considering all the monstrous things he gets up to, and yet always sweeps it under the rug when someone points it out. One day, I swear he will get what's coming to him…."
"Mato Kuroi, you have been found unequivocally responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians," said Org. "For this, I suggest a term of imprisonment in Dol Guldur lasting no less than – "
But there was an angry outcry from the surrounding benches. Several of the Demi-Humans around the walls stood up, shaking their heads, and even their fists, at Org.
"She can't be held responsible for her actions!" Athena snapped. "It wasn't her fault! The poor child suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder!"
"What nonsense are you blathering on about?" Org snapped crossly.
"As a professional psychologist, it is my duty to examine the mental state of everyone detained by the Custody Enforcement Unit," said Athena. "I spend all day evaluating the psyche of every so-called 'criminal' your people bring in, to assess their motives and figure out what triggered their actions. After several evaluations with Miss Kuroi, I have learned that she suffers from a mental disorder called Dissociative Identity Disorder, or multiple personality disorder as it is ineloquently called."
"And what does this have to do with anything?" asked Org sharply.
"Dissociative Identity Disorder is characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states," Athena continued. "My analysis shows that there are at least two mental states inside Miss Kuroi's head. One of them is the poor child you see here," she gestured to Mato, who looked hopefully up at her. "And the other is a more volatile, destructive mental state likely brought on by forcefully suppressing her violent impulses. Upon an examination of her history, I have seen that Miss Kuroi is a generally pleasant little girl who would never hurt others, even when they hurt her. That's because she's been repressing her darker urges for years. Many would think this is a good thing, but without being able to act on these urges, it built up inside her more and more until it exploded, like when you fill a balloon with too much air. Something must have happened that finally broke her limit and let all of those violent impulses out, creating a second personality."
"All your long-winded talk has done is remind us that Mato Kuroi is guilty as sin," Org leered. "We shall pass the sentencing – "
"No, she can't be held responsible for this!" Athena argued. "When another personality takes over, the other loses all awareness of what they are doing. This results in a massive gap between memories beyond what could be explained as ordinary forgetfulness. Miss Kuroi was not aware of what her other mental state was doing at the time. She can't be sent to prison, she needs help – professional help."
"And what would your solution be?" said Org, shooting Athena his nastiest glare.
"I move that she be committed to psychiatric ward at Alchemilla Hospital to be treated," said Athena. "I will personally oversee her progress until she is within a strong enough mental state to return to society."
There were some murmurs of approval from the crowd.
"It will be put to a vote," said Org coldly. He turned to the right-hand side of the dungeon. "The jury will please raise their hands…those in favor of imprisonment…"
Akko looked toward the right-hand side of the dungeon. Not one person raised their hand. Many of the Demi-Humans around the walls began to clap; the dungeon was ringing with applause. Relief washed over Athena as she lifted Mato into her arms, beaming.
"Despicable," Akko heard Org spit furiously, sitting down as Athena carried Mato out of the dungeon. "Letting that demon walk out because of a few crocodile tears…. Professional help indeed…they'll all see eventually. The day that monster walks free, the whole world will see what she truly is…."
And the dungeon dissolved again. When it had returned, Akko looked around. She was still sitting at the top seat of the benches and Org was still standing behind the podium, though his beard was even shorter than the last trip; she must have gone further back in time. The atmosphere in the dungeon could not have been any more different. There was total silence, broken only by the soft sniffles of Athena, who was sitting in the front row, rubbing her eyes irritably with the sleeve of her robe. Her eyes were red and puffy, but there was a righteous fury behind them that burned as bright as the sun. Akko noticed that Bernadette wasn't in the crowd.
"Grown curious have we, Miss Kagari?"
Akko had to slap both hands over her mouth to stop herself from crying out. She turned in the seat and found herself confronted by Professor Holbrooke. The headmistress leaned against her staff, smiling amusingly.
"Professor?" Akko gasped quietly. "Professor, I – I didn't mean – I was just – I didn't think – "
"Relax, Miss Kagari, you are not in trouble," said Professor Holbrooke with a soft chuckle. "At least not yet, anyway. You are technically not my student yet, so I can't punish you right now, though I'll have to make a memo for my future self to remember. Heaven knows my memory isn't what it used to be."
"…You're Professor Holbrooke from the past," Akko realized.
"The past for you, but the present for me," said Professor Holbrooke sagely. "I had a strange feeling that I would be needed here, and I was right. Something brought you to this point in time, correct?"
"This weird clock that looks like an hourglass," said Akko. "Inside Luna Nova."
"Hmm…I haven't found any clocks like that around the school," said Professor Holbrooke, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "I'll have to be sure to keep my eye out for it in the future. But, if this magic clock sent you back in time, then you must have been brought here for a reason. Something of importance must have occurred here that you need in the future."
"It feels like it would've been easier to use the Fountain of Polaris," Akko sighed tiredly.
Holbrooke chortled, and said, "Yes, the Fountain is a very useful tool…I may have to consider bringing it to the school sometime for an important job…. But for now, sit back and pay close attention, Miss Kagari. It's starting…."
As she said it, the door in the corner opened yet again. Six demon-like heartless entered this time, flanking a group of four people. Akko saw the people in the crowd turn to look toward Athena. A few of them whispered to one another.
The Heartless placed each of the four people in the center of the room where eight shackles were now bolted into the stone floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Org; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a boy in his late teens who looked nothing short of petrified. The last of them was a young woman who look like she had been savagely mauled by some beast. The left side of her face was covered in severe burns, she was missing her left eye, leaving a hollow black socket, and her left arm was nothing but a black, skeletal hand. And yet, somehow, the brutalized woman still managed to look almost triumphant as she shot a wicked grin toward Athena, who looked ready to pounce on the scarred woman at any moment.
Org looked down upon the four in front of him, and there was pure hatred in his face.
"You have been brought here before the Magic Council," he said clearly, "so that we may pass judgment upon you, for crimes so heinous – "
"As if the Magic Council didn't have a role in these 'heinous crimes'," the scarred woman snorted.
" – that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court," said Org, speaking more loudly, drowning out the woman's voice. "We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of kidnapping of a councilwoman – Bernadette Cavendish – and tortured her, believing her to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of the Star-Born Child, and your former master, the Eclipse Queen – "
"So that's the angle you're going with, huh?" the woman shook her head amusingly. "Eclipse Queen…what a load of crap…."
"You are further accused," bellowed Org, "of using the Curse of Souls on Bernadette Cavendish, when she would not give you information. You planned to restore the Eclipse Queen to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while she was strong. I now ask the jury – "
"Why don't you come clean and tell everyone what this is really about?" the woman said with a maniacal grin. "You're trying to save your own worthless hide – attempting to cover your tracks. You don't want the rest of the world to find out that the Magic Council was directly involved in everything we did. You throw around that Eclipse Queen bullshit to discredit everyone who speaks out against you. You're afraid of losing what little power you have – "
"I now ask the jury," shouted Org in a rushed tone, "to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these criminals deserve a life sentence in Dol Gulder!"
In unison, the Demi-Humans along the right-hand side of the dungeon raised their hands. The crowd around the walls began to clap as it did for Mato, their faces full of malicious glee.
The Heartless were gliding back into the room. The woman's three companions followed them quietly, but the scarred woman looked up at Org and called, "You don't know true power, Org! What you have now is fleeting! I have seen real power! Throw us into Dol Gulder; I will wait! Amon will carry on our mission; he will revive the one true master of the Seven Stars! Our master will rise again and will come for me, I will be rewarded beyond any other follower! The master will return and the world will be forced to see the truth!"
"Take them away!" Org roared at the Heartless, spit flying from his mouth. "Take them away, and may they rot there!"
The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, flanked by the Heartless, but their cold, draining powers seemed to have no effect on her as she practically strutted. Athena was glaring at her back with cold fury. Akko could understand her rage. If what Org had said was true, then Diana's mother had been….
"I think, Miss Kagari, it is time you return to your present," Professor Holbrooke spoke quietly in her ear.
Akko started. She had almost forgotten about the diminutive headmistress seated next to her in the midst of the chaos.
Professor Holbrooke stared at Akko over her square-framed glasses, then she reached a hand out, laying her palm flat across Akko's chest, and gave her a light shove. Akko felt herself being pulled backwards sharply like a rocket; the dungeon dissolved around her; for a moment, all was blackness, and then she felt as though she had done a slow-motion somersault, suddenly aware that she was flying across the hidden chamber and into Professor Holbrooke's office. She landed flat on her back, sliding across the floor, until her head connect with the wall next to Professor Pisces' aquarium. Akko sat up, rubbing the sore spot on her head while blinking the stars out of her vision, and saw the present-day Professor Holbrooke standing next to the hidden bookshelf entrance.
"Enjoy your stroll through time, Miss Kagari?" said Professor Holbrooke.
"Professor," Akko gasped, "I know I shouldn't have – I didn't mean – it was just sorta open and – "
"I quite understand," said Professor Holbrooke. She opened the hidden bookshelf a little wider and entered the threshold. She motioned for Akko to join her.
Akko did so, staring at the grand clock. The pendulum had returned to its original luminous state, the contents inside swirling and rippling.
"What is it?" Akko asked shakily.
"This? It is called the Horologium Clock," said Professor Holbrooke. "It's a recent acquisition I discovered while search for space to use for Miss Constanze's laboratory. Of course, I would never have known how it worked if you hadn't arrived in the past all those years ago. Funny how things work out that way, isn't it. As I am certain you have already deduced, the Horologium Clock possess an incredible magic that allows one to travel through time."
"So it's a better version of Professor Croix's Chrono-Accelerator?" Akko said, staring at the swirling substance in the pendulum.
"Well, yes and no," said Professor Holbrooke. "While Professor Croix's machine has limited power, it allows whoever commands it to choose how far they wish to travel. The Horologium Clock has the power to send its user to any point in time unhindered, but it does not let you choose the destination. I don't fully understand how it works, but the clock seems to send its users to certain points in time because they need to be there. For whatever reason, the Horologium Clock sent you to three different points in time, no doubt because they were important to you."
"So it is like the Fountain of Polaris," said Akko.
"Oh no, there is quite the distinction, but neither of us have the time to go into that long-winded discussion," said Professor Holbrooke amusingly. "I was observing the Horologium Clock the Chairman arrived for our meeting and closed it off rather hastily. Undoubtedly, I did not close the door properly. Naturally, it would have attracted your attention."
"Sorry," Akko mumbled.
Professor Holbrooke shook her head. "Curiosity is not a sin, Miss Kagari," she said. "But we should exercise caution with our curiosity. But for now, let's put the past behind us and focus our attention on the present."
Professor Holbrooke stepped back into the main office, Akko following her shortly, and rapped the secret bookshelf twice with her staff. The shelf creaked loudly as it slid unassisted back against the wall until the hidden chamber was completely concealed. The diminutive headmistress hobbled over to the claw-footed desk and sat down in the chair behind it. She motioned for Akko to approach the desk.
"So, Miss Kagari," said Professor Holbrooke quietly. "Before you got lost in the past, you wanted to tell me something?"
"Yeah," said Akko. "Professor – I was in foretelling just now, and I – um – I fell asleep."
She hesitated here, wondering if a reprimand was coming, but Professor Holbrooke smiled mischievously and said, "You wouldn't be the first. Please continue."
"Well, I had a dream," said Akko. "A dream about Amon. He was in an open field somewhere with an amphitheater. He wasn't alone. He was with Ruvik, Acnologia, and a third person. In my dream, I was looking through the third person's eyes. It was a girl – I heard her voice. Amon said something about the third person's blunder, and she said she took care of it. She said someone was dead. Amon was talking about me and Nico – Nico Minoru. And then…I don't know, I think Amon realized I was watching. He used bloodbending on the other person and my scars started hurting. They woke me up, it hurt so badly."
Professor Holbrooke merely looked at her.
"Uh – that's it," said Akko.
"I see," said Professor Holbrooke quietly. "I see. Now, has your scars hurt at any other time this year, excepting the time it woke you up over the summer?"
"No, just those two times," said Akko.
Professor Holbrooke got up and began walking up and down behind her desk, head bowed in deep thought. Every now and then, she would stop in front of the busts of the Nine Olde Witches' hats, most often the one belonging to the original Headmistress, Woodward, and then resumed marching again.
"Professor?" Akko said quietly, after a couple of minutes.
Professor Holbrooke stopped pacing and looked at Akko.
"My apologizes," she said quietly. She sat back down at her desk.
Professor Holbrooke looked very intently at Akko for a moment, and then said, "I have a theory, no more than that…. It is my belief that your visions are a result of the Stars of Arcturus reacting when they are under great threat."
"I thought about that, too," Akko admitted, recalling her moment of reflection when she awoke so suddenly during the summer. "But why? Is it because I'm bonded to the Shiny Rod? Did Shiny Chariot ever have visions?"
"I do not recall if Chariot ever had visions like you," said Professor Holbrooke. "But yes, I do believe, as you have surmised, it has something to do with your connection to the Shiny Rod. The truth of it all lies in the secret of your birth. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of the event like Chariot."
"So you thin…that dream…did it really happen?"
"It is possible," said Professor Holbrooke "I would say – probable. Akko – did you see any of the Stars?"
"Not in this dream," said Akko. "But the dream I had last summer – Amon was in some house with Ruvik and Ancologia. And there were two girls – two Humans. Amon mentioned something about one of them having the Star of Time inside of her. So Amon used Bloodbending to hold her down and Acnologia…."
Akko very nervously quiet for a moment. She had woken up from her dream before she had seen what happened next, but she had a strong idea of how it played out. That one girl – Max – she wondered if Amon meant what he said about not killing unless necessary.
Neither Akko nor Professor Holbrooke spoke for a while. Professor Holbrooke was gazing across the room, staring at empty space as if an answer would magically appear.
"Professor," Akko said at last, "what do you think Amon is planning? Why is he doing all of this?"
"That is a good question," said Professor Holbrooke, looking at Akko with a characteristic piercing stare the headmistress had given her on other occasions, and always made Akko feel as though Holbrooke were seeing right through her. "Once again, I cannot give you a definitive answer. I did not work closely with Amon as Chariot and the others have. I do not understand how his mind works. All I can provide is my suspicions."
Professor Holbrooke sighed heavily, and it was the first time Akko realized just how old and tired the headmistress really was.
"This past year has been marked with a number of disappearances and strange incidents," she said. "Aleister Crowley, a brilliant man who lived isolated from the rest of the world, disappeared without a trace. A few weeks later, the Purifiers attack the Chariot Racing Tournament equipped with advanced anti-magic technology…the kind that could only be created in Academy City, which Crowley helped build. Org too has disappeared…within these very grounds, when he has been known to be in correspondence with Crowley for several years. And then there was an incident over the summer, one which the Magic Council, I regret to say, do not consider of any importance, for it concerns two humans. Their names are Maxine Caufield and Chloe Price, they live in a small suburban home in Seattle with Miss Caufield's parents. Both were found in the living room, half-dead. Miss Price suffered from internal injuries and Miss Caufield was missing her left arm completely – thankfully, the wound seemed to have been cauterized before she could bleed out. Professor Croix heard about the incident over the Human news program."
"Those were the girls in my vision," said Akko quickly. "The ones that Amon attacked."
"Yes, Professor Croix and Professor Ursula matched Miss Price's injuries as a result of bloodbending," said Professor Holbrooke, looking very seriously at Akko. "All of these events are linked in one form or another. The Council disagrees – as you may have heard, while waiting outside my office."
Akko nodded. Silence fell between them again. Akko felt as though she should go, but her curiosity rooted her into place.
"Professor?" she said again.
"Yes, Miss Kagari?" said Professor Holbrooke.
"Um…could I ask you about…that court thin I was in…in the Horologium Clock?"
"You could," said Professor Holbrooke heavily. "I find my mind wandering to it many times, but some trials come back to me more clearly than others…particularly now…."
"You know – you know the trial that we met in – I mean, your past self? The one with that woman with the skeleton hand? They were talking about Diana's mom…Bernadette, right?"
Professor Holbrooke gave Akko a very sharp look. "Has Diana ever told you about her mother, Miss Kagari?" she said.
"She said something last year," Akko mumbled uncertainly. "She said that her mom had a weak body and died because it couldn't handle her magic…. She died when Diana was six…."
Which would put her somewhere around the time when Akko visited Mato's trial, if she recalled correctly. That was why Bernadette looked so sickly when Akko dropped in; she was already at death's doorstep at the time, and had been pushing herself to be there with her wife.
"Yes, I suppose it was better for Diana to believe a lie rather than the truth," said Professor Holbrooke somberly. "Athena told her daughter that Bernadette died of natural cuases so that Diana would not be consumed by thoughts of vengeance. Not too dissimilar to how you were when you believed that Izetta had betrayed your mother. But, I suppose, you heard the truth for yourself there in the courtroom."
"They used the Curse of Souls on her," said Akko quietly. "Professor Zeref said that victims of the curse are left…broken…unable to live…."
"Sadly, this is true," said Professor Holbrooke, her voice full of bitterness Akko had never heard there before. "She was captured and tortured for four days before the Custody Enforcement Unit found them. By that time, Bernadette had already been cursed, her soul mutilated beyond repair. Oh, Bernadette found hard to stay alive, using every bit of healing magic in the Cavendish's vast library and even consulting with Susan Manbavaran and even Professor Croix. But it was too much for her. She struggled for six long, painful year, trying to spend as much time as she could with her daughter, before she ultimately passed away."
Akko sat there, horror-struck. For something so terrible to happen…and Diana didn't know….
"The Cavendishes are the most powerful and popular family in the magical world," said Professor Holbrooke. "The attack on their matriarch came after the world believed that Aradia had fallen, just when everyone thought they were safe. The attack caused a wave of fury such as I have never known. The Council was under great pressure to catch those who had done it. They had personally dispatched Ram to catch them…and you saw the result of the struggle. Cinder Fall was only fortunate to keep her life when the matter was settled."
Akko sat in silence once more, eyes glancing toward the bookshelf that hid the Horologium Clock. There were more questions she was burning to ask…but they concerned the guilt of living people….
"Uh," she said, "Mato…she was…."
"…committed to Alchemilla Hospital shortly after her trial," said Professor Holbrooke calmly. "Athena worked with her for three years until she was deemed stable enough to rejoin the rest of the world. It was Athena who recommended her to Black Star Academy, believing Ram would be of greater help in keeping her stable."
"Right," said Akko hastily. She stared deeply into Holbrooke's bright-blue eyes, and the thing she really wanted to know spilled out of her mouth before she could stop it. "And um…you're sure that Mato is…really stable? It's just that…if Mato really does have a second personality, then…well, there's this…thing…."
"You are concerned for the unknown name that appears in Shiny Chariot's guide," Professor Holbrooke hummed. "I can understand your concern, but Ram has assured me that Mato has everything under control."
"But how can you be so sure?"
Professor Holbrooke held Akko's gaze for a few seconds, and then said, "Miss Kagari, this is a private matter between Miss Kuroi and her caretakers, and I would ask you not to force your way into their business."
Akko knew that the interview was over; Professor Holbrooke did not look angry, yet there was a finality in her tone that told Akko it was time to go. She stood up, and so did Holbrooke.
"Miss Kagari," she said as Akko reached the door. "Please do not speak about Bernadette to anybody else, especially Diana. That is another matter that is not yours to butt in."
"I understand," Akko mumbled, "but the last time I kept secrets from Diana, who stopped talking to me for almost a year."
"Yes, I remember," said Professor Holbrooke. "But this is about her family, and she deserves to hear the truth from Athena, when she is ready."
"Yes, Professor," said Akko, turning to go.
"And – " Professor Holbrooke, looking older and wearier than ever, "good luck with the final game."
Again, please show your support for Serenity Academy, because you know I'm just going to keep repeating this message over and over again.
Next chapter: The Final Game