Wow, it feels so weird to be sitting here at my work computer typing up a fanfiction after all these years. For those of you actually reading this little blurb before we get into the chapter proper. Yes, this is the first chapter of this series that I wrote. I happy to be a huge fan of card games myself and so the idea of a Shiny Chariot TCG tournament got my brain going. Before I wrote this though I already had PLENTY of notes on where I wanted this series to go so I knew what elements I wanted mixed in.
This took months longer to post than I had hoped for because I kept running out of time to edit and had no one to help Beta Read. Please enjoy and forgive my insanity.
Anyway, to anyone reading this I hope you are enjoying the series, and if no one is reading then this at least I get to scream into the aether for a little bit.
"I tap three sun mana and cast The Grand Triskellion!"
Akko annunciated her action with such passion that one only sees in Shakespearian monologues and anime speeches about friendship. She thrust her card high above her head, showing off the picture of Chariot holding the woven Celtic spiral, before bringing it down to the floor alongside the other cards sprawled out between her and Sucy. Sucy grimaced, either at the boisterous nature of her opponent or at the knowledge of a coming defeat at the hands of Akko.
Lotte could not help but giggle as she watched from her upper bunk, though she was only paying attention half the time, with most of her focus going to r/Night Fall, a page dedicated to her favorite book series on the witch forum site: Ribbit.
"The Grand Triskellion's ability activates! It allows me to search my deck for any spell I wish and add it to my hand. I add A Believing Heart is Your Magic to my hand, the shuffle my deck. And now I tap-"
"I forfeit."
"Oh come on Sucy I was just about to pull off a super impressive combo."
"And you would have completely wiped out my life and won. This way it's over with sooner."
Akko threw her head back and flopped her arms legs out on the floor.
"Winning isn't the point," she sulked. "It's about having fun and doing crazy card combos."
"Whatever you say Akko."
Sucy pulled herself up to their shared desk and went back to grinding herbs and mushrooms in her pestle.
"Do you wanna play Lotte?" Akko asked, a twinkle of hope her eyes.
"No thanks Akko. I'm currently writing a post discussing the tense rivalry between Edgar and the famous gunslinger Wyatt Earp in volume 154. The tension between the two during a high stakes poker game while Edgar was visiting Deadwood was absolutely palpable!"
"I'm lost..."
"Don't ask Akko. That'll just get her started talking about her headcanons again"
Lotte continued tracing her finger along the crystal ball scribing out her theory for her fellow fans to read. Many felt that Earp was simply a mindless gun-toting hick, but this post would surely convince them that his mastery of poker was proof of his ability to bluff under stress, and that when he saved Edgar from the werewolf he never had a silver bullet loaded to begin with. The only thing silver about him was his tongue. Lotte knew this in her heart of hearts.
"And post."
She watched as the Ribbit frog spun its own tongue above its head before transitioning to her now published post. To the side were ads depicting cards fluttering down in a golden light, revealing an image of Shiny Chariot.
"I'm actually starting to believe that theory about ad companies hire invisible servants to listen in on people," Lotte sighed. "I just got an ad for Shiny Chariot cards."
"No way! Really!?"
With a single mighty bound, Akko was up from where she had lay on the floor and was seated next to Lotte, investigating the crystal ball.
"Click on it Lotte!"
"I dunno Akko. What if it's-"
"It'll be fine!"
Lotte was not a weak person. She would not surrender when things got tough, or would ever back down if she knew in her heart that something was right. She was, however, susceptible to peer pressure. She tried her hardest to find some excuse not to, but the sparkle behind Akko's ruby colored eyes was too brilliant and radiant to ignore. She clicked on the ad, brought her to a WhoTube page.
"A legendary power, sealed for millennia," a man's voice, which sounded familiar to Lotte, though she could not tell why, echoed out of a black screen. Their words appearing in fiery letters. "A hero, chosen by the stars." Now an image of Shiny Chariot wielding the Shiny Rod took up the screen. It looked like someone had take the art from the Shiny Rod card and added some animated light effects over it. "And..." The return of the black screen. " A New Age of Magic!"
With a flash of green light, a cardboard box appeared on screen. The label across the box read "Shiny Chariot" in tiny golden font and "New Age of Magic" in much larger, green vine-like font. The rest of the box was decorated to look like the starry sky above the clouds.
"The Shiny Chariot card game is officially being rebooted by the Last Wednesday Society publishing. Trademark."
A picture of the café proprietor, Chummy, raising his thumb and winking to the camera appeared on screen.
"The Last Wednesday Society will be hosting a special prerelease tournament next Friday, with special guest star..."
The dramatic pause was accompanied by a silhouette of the guest star.
"Shiny Chariot herself!"
A bright light shone down from above revealing Chariot, still in her Luna Nova uniform.
"H-Hello everyone..." Professor Ursula's voice cracked slightly as she waved to the camera.
"You gotta announce the prize."
"Oh! Right! Right... Um..." Ursula fumbled at her pockets, drawing out a small note card. "The winner of this tournament will receive an autographed booster box of the New Age of Magic set."
The camera turned to show Chummy's face, his arms outstretched holding the camera.
"So come down to the Last Wednesday Society today, and register for the tournament."
The video cut off abruptly, not even a cheesy jingle to end with.
Many thoughts ran through Lotte's mind at this moment. She thought about how poorly shot the video was. She wondered how Chummy had managed to get the rights to produce a new expansion set. But the most prominent of all her thoughts, was a simple:
Oh no.
"Oh yeah!" Akko bellowed at the top of her lungs.
The intensity in her eyes was like a fire. Maybe she simply WAS on fire, these things were difficult to tell apart with Akko.
"I am so gonna win that tournament!"
"You might be right," Sucy muttered, pouring the continents of her mortar into a beaker of boiling water.
"Sucy!" Akko gasped. "You believe in me!?"
"I believe your the only person whose going to enter the tournament."
"Hey!"
"Now, now you two," Lotte spoke gently. "Though you are one of the only people I know of that collected those cards Akko. It was never a super popular game."
"Really? Back in Japan it had some really dedicated fans up until the publisher discontinued it."
"I didn't know that."
"Yup! More card games are born and die in Japan than any other country in the world!"
Sucy looked up from her concoction. "Is that really a fact to be proud of?"
"Well is there anybody else here at Luna Nova that might enter?" Lotte asked.
After living with Akko for all of their first year at school, Lotte had learned to read the girl's facial expressions. It was not hard to do. Sucy was hard to read with her monotone voice and drooping face. But Akko was not only an open book, she was an open comic book, ever expression was big and over the top, from her snotty nose and watery eyes when she was sad to her pearly white teeth and twinkling eyes when she was happy. Lotte could practically see clockwork gears inside the girl's head as she thought. Then, Akko's expression soften. There was still a sparkle in her eyes and a smile on her face, but this was not Akko's toothy, troublemaking grin. This was subtler. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile, and a slight pink touched her cheeks. It only lasted a moment before her face went back to her normal goofy smile.
"Diana!"
Akko leapt down from the bed and hurriedly slipped on a pair of shoes before charging out the door at top speed.
I haven't seen that face before. Lotte pondered the meaning of that subtle smile just a moment, before going back to checking for comments on her post.
Akko was excited. She had never been one for fancy English words, so if she were to describe herself right now it would be very excited.
Growing up, she idolized Shiny Chariot and the card game had been the closest thing to real magic in her life.
Aside from those few times she practiced flying where she got high enough to consider herself airborne when she jumped. Her favorite memory of those days was jumping from the top of her roof, just before crashing to the ground below. She had just barely avoided breaking her arm that day. She thought her father would be furious, but he was not. A quick trip the clinic took care of her scraps and bruises, no cast needed.
"Hope you learned not to do that again," her father's deep laugh brought a smile back to her face that day.
Now was not the time to be lost in memories of her father though. Now was time for war.
If there was one skill set Akko was certain she was better at Diana than, it was the Shiny Chariot card game. How could she not be afterall? Not only did Diana give up playing much earlier than Akko, since Akko had never given it up, Akko was considered top of her local store back in Chiba. She was carrying the pride of Japan as top of the card game world. She could not afford to lose. And this would be a chance to prove herself to her rival.
Prove myself? That phrase tossed over in her mind a moment. Show up is more like it! Right?
She was not sure anymore. Once upon a time, during their first year together, Akko had thought of Diana as stuck up and full of herself. She would have loved to see Diana look bad, to wipe her prim face in the dirt. Ever since she followed her back to Cavendish estate though, she felt different about the girl. The rivalry was still there, there was no doubt in her mind. Each time she saw Diana she felt a flame ignite in her heart, and a desire to do great things in front of her worthy adversary. The childish desire to see Diana humiliated was gone though. She wanted Diana to see her as equal. As someone worthy of...
Worthy of what?
A bump to her forehead brought her back to reality. She had walked all the way to the blue team's dorm lost in thought and right into the door.
No time to worry about that now.
She knocked on the door loudly.
"Hey Diana!" She called. "It's me Akko! Are you home?"
She could here shuffling from the other side and a some slightly annoyed muttering. Hannah opened the door, rubbing her forehead.
"Akko? What are you doing here?"
"You're not in your maid uniform," Barbara leaned in to join the conversation. "Do you need help studying for the quiz next week?"
"No I don't need- We have a quiz?"
"Did you dose off in Medieval history again?" Hannah chided.
"No, of course not."
She had.
"I actually wanted to talk to Diana about something really quickly."
Hannah and Barbara shared a look together. Akko sometimes swore the two were psychically linked and these brief looks were all they needed to communicate.
"Okay," Barbara shrugged. "She's not here right now though."
"Come on in," Hannah gestured her inside. "You can wait here till she's back."
Akko stepped inside. She was, admittedly, jealous of their room. Her room was nice enough and bunk beds were lots of fun, but the blue team was given a room large enough to fit an entire double sided bookshelf, three beds, a coffee table, and a desk. Akko had gotten quite used to seeing this room in her part-time job as a maid.
"So where is Diana?"
"She ran to go get a book from the library before it closed for the night," Barbara answered.
"I'm making some tea," Hannah said. "Would you all like some?"
"Sure," Akko smiled. "Also... About that quiz that I totally didn't forget about..."
It was nice to be on friendly terms with Hannah and Barbara. Akko spent the ten minutes it took for Diana to return enjoying black tea with Hannah and Barbara. She was more of a fan of plum tea herself, but Hannah added extra cream and sugar to her cup. She also borrowed some notes from Barbara she "definitely" did not need
"I'm back," Diana announced as she stepped through the door. "I hope I didn't keep you-Oh. Akko."
"Hey Diana!" Akko shot up from her seat and stepped close to her rival. "I have something important I want to talk to you about!"
"Is that so?" Diana took a quick step back from her. "D-Do you need help studying for the quiz next week?"
"Why does everyone keep asking that?" Akko pouted.
Diana's giggle in response brought a smile back to Akko's face.
"No! I am here to challenge you to a duel!"
"What!?" Hannah and Barbara practically spat their tea.
"Akko," Diana cleared her throat, "I understand that you think of me as your rival. However, I would prefer not to engage in something as dangerous as combative magic."
"Not a magic duel. Chariot cards! See next Friday the Last Wednesday Society is hosting a prerelease tournament for the new set. I'm challenging you to be there!"
A moment of silence passed.
"Oh good," Barbara sighed.
"I thought you had ACTUALLY lost your mind this time," Hannah added.
"I appreciate you thinking of me," Diana's smile was warm, "but I haven't played in many years. I fear it would not be any fun were I to enter. Perhaps you could ask one of your teammates, or perhaps Amanda?"
"No, no, no! Lotte's too busy with Night Fall discussions and Sucy quits the moment she starts losing. Besides, you collected the cards growing up as well. So that means you could build a deck for the tournament."
Diana scratched her left cheek with her index finger. Akko knew her tell very well, Diana was trying to think of some excuse. Akko would find a way around this though. Akko always found a way.
"As I said," Diana turned her eyes away from Akko, "I have not played in quite some time. I do not know if I would remember the rules well enough."
"We can practice together this week! We'll play in the library during free periods!"
"We are supposed to study during those periods."
Diana Cavendish was a tough nut to crack. Unfortunately for her, she was up against Astuko Kagari. Akko knew she would have to break out the big guns, the same weapons she has used against her own father when she wanted a cat.
Akko took Diana's hands in hers. She stepped closer, Diana was already backed to the wall and had no way to back step any further. She mustered up all her power and channeled the force of a thousand sad puppies into her pouty face.
"Please Diana! It's gotta be you!"
Puppy dog eyes worked more effectively than she would have ever expected. She swore for a second that she saw a touch of pink on Diana's cheeks.
"Very well," Diana's sighed. "I will also register for this tournament, but we will only practice IF we have both already finished our homework."
"Yay!"
The stage was set for an epic duel between rivals. Akko threw her arms around Diana and squeezed her tight.
"I will train you well!" Akko laughed as she let go. "And then I will crush you on the field of battle!"
Diana stood staring at her for a moment, a look of confusion on her face. With a small cough and brush of her fingers through her hair though, Diana returned to her normal composure.
"We shall see when the time comes."
"I bet Diana will beat you at the tournament," Hannah laughed.
"Oh that'd be fun to watch!" Barbara added. "The apprentice overcomes the master."
"Yeah right!" Akko stuck her tongue out and winked playfully. "Anyway! I'm gonna go tell Sucy and Lotte! Thanks for the tea, Hannah! And I'll get your notes back to you tomorrow, Barbara."
"No problem."
"Make sure you do."
Diana opened the door for Akko as she stepped out.
"Rest well my rival," Akko laughed.
"Goodnight Akko," Diana smiled warmly, as she gently closed the door.
Akko skipped down the hall, humming happily. She'd spend the next week retraining Diana in the ancient and sacred art of a children's trading card game.
Just the two of them...
Together every day...
There was that fire in her heart again.
Amanda was bored. This would not come as a shock to her or to anyone else. Amanda was always bored. She never wanted to be sent off to some dumb magic school across the pond anyway. She would much rather be home in New York, causing trouble with her boys on the streets. She managed to cause some trouble here and there around the school, but they always found a way to track her down after the trouble and make her clean laundry for a week. Still, at least here she had Constanze and Jasminka waiting for her everyday. That was a lot better than mom or dad.
She buried the twinge of pain she felt at the word "or".
Plus, even if she did not have the boys she used to run amok with she always had Akko. In New York her gang of friends were known for setting off fireworks in trashcans. Here at Luna Nova, Akko was practically a firework in her own right.
Maybe she should go find Akko and see what colorful explosions occurred today.
She was done with classes for the day afterall. Not that all her classes were finished today. Simply at she was done for the day.
She threw her arms behind her head and wandered off towards the dorms.
Girls were whispering as they saw her pass. Some seemed to look at her with fear or maybe a twinge of spite. Others saw her coming and started giggling and blushing. She smirked to herself. Amanda knew who she was and she was happy about it. Whether you loved her or you hated her, you payed attention when Amanda O'Neill walked down the hall.
As she turned a corner, she saw to girls walking ahead of her. One with auburn hair tied up in a ponytail. The other with neatly brushed black hair. Hannah and Barbara talked amongst themselves without noticing her behind them.
Time to ruffle a few feathers.
She quietly, yet quickly approached them from behind, throwing one arm over each of their shoulders like one of those sleazy mafia characters from 70s films.
"Well, well. If it isn't her majesty's loyal ladies-in-waiting. Where is Princess Diana right now anyway?"
"A-Amanda!" Hannah stuttered.
"You are being quiet rude," Barbara retorted.
"What?" Amanda played as innocent as she could, but even she new the smile she gave reeked of mischief. "I'm just curious about where our good friend is."
"If you must know," Barbara replied, firmly lifting Amanda's hand from her shoulder, "Diana is practicing with Akko in the library right now."
Perfect! Cause some chaos with Akko and give Diana some trouble. Two birds, one stone.
"I never thought I would be excited to go visit the library. Thank you for the information."
Amanda suddenly lost her balance. She managed to catch herself though, years of practice broom dancing had honed her reflexes to the point where only a real solid shock could knock her down. She only then realized how much of her weight she had leaned against Hannah. When the girl ducked out from her grasp, her weight suddenly had nowhere to go but down.
"J-Just don't cause Diana any trouble okay?" Hannah seemed nervous. Maybe she was afraid she could catch troublemaking like it was some disease.
"I would NEVER."
She already had three different plans for causing Diana trouble in mind.
"With that ladies," Amanda gave the most exaggerated bow she manage, "I bid you adieu."
It took a little time to get from the dorm building to the library, but Amanda had plenty of time. She enjoyed a nice stroll across campus, enjoying the bright sunlight warming her hair. By the time she reached the library, her fiery hair felt warm as she ran her fingers through it.
The library was large but it would be easy to find Akko; listen for the loudest voice amongst the stacks and head towards that.
"Okay so first we..."
That was Akko's voice for certain. Amanda follow its echo towards the back of the hall, to tables where more dedicated students than her pored through books studying for exams. There she saw Akko and Diana, each with a hand full of cards.
"Alright! Poker!" Amanda smirked as she approached. "Deal me in. What're we bettin' with?"
"Hello Miss O'Neill," Diana greeted, polite as she always was.
"We aren't playing poker," Akko chuckled. "I'm retraining Diana in the Shiny Chariot trading card game!"
"Akko..." Diana's face turned a little pink. "Please try to keep quiet."
Amanda could not help but wonder whether Diana was asking Akko to be quiet for the sake of library rules or so no one in the school found out that she was playing a children's card game.
"Didn't this game die like ten years ago?"
"The Shiny Chariot card game will always live on in our hearts."
Akko's express and how she touched her hand to her heart made it look like she was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That was another good thing about Luna Nova; Amanda did not have to swear an oath to a colorful banner every morning.
"Also," Akko continued, "there's a new set coming out soon. The Last Wednesday Society is printing it."
"Uh-huh..."
Amanda picked up the deck of cards in front of Akko, without asking permission of course, and began flipping through the cards.
"You two SURE you wouldn't rather play some poker?"
"Gambling is not permitted on school grounds, Amanda," Diana chided. "I will have no part in any such activities."
Here we go again. Princess Diana. Always a stick in the mud.
Amanda flipped to the next card in the deck and stopped: A Believing Heart is Your Magic. There was nothing special about the card, not her knowledge. The picture of Shiny Chariot in the nude save for a beam of light was fun. There was a part of her brain that wondered if Professor Ursula had modelled for the card during her time as Shiny Chariot. She added this thought to the pile of mischievous plans in her mind. But something about this card drew her in. Her eyes focused on it. Her mind seeking an answer as to why this card was important.
Her vision went hazy, then black.
From within the dark she watched visions play out, the way she had watched television in a dark room as child when she was supposed to be sleeping. She saw cards being placed on a table. As they were set down, seeds of light emerged from them, taking the shape of the monsters on the pictures. The monsters grew bigger and bigger as the battle became more intense. It was a battle. It was a battle between Akko and Diana. Akko smiles as she draws a card from her deck. She plays the card she has just draw: A Believing Heart is Your Magic. There's a great flash of light. Her vision cuts off.
"You wanna try playing? You seem to have taken an interest in my cards."
Akko's voice pulled her back to reality.
"What?" Amanda blinked. "Oh. No thanks Akko. If it doesn't involve money or physical contact I don't think I'd be into it."
"Are you alright?"
Any hint of disapproval was gone from Diana's face and replaced with concern. Being friends with Diana was like being friends with a mom; she disapproves of the foolish things you do but would drop all of that if you needed any help.
"Yeah..." Amanda had to think of an excuse. "I just forgot that I gotta get back to the dorm. I promised Conz that we could play a couple rounds of Smash Bros together."
"Okay," Akko beamed. "Well if you decide you wanna check it out there's gonna be a tournament next Friday that Diana and I are both entering."
"That sounds fun," Amanda faked a smile. "Maybe I can earn some money if I bet on Diana winning."
"Hey!"
Amanda laughed, but her laugh felt hollow.
"Anyway. Sorry I interrupted your play time kiddos. Catch you later."
"Have a pleasant evening," Diana still looked concerned. "Please be safe."
"Say hi to Constanze and Jasminka for me."
Amanda smiled and waved as she walked away. When they could no longer see her, she stopped smile. When she made it outside the library, she started running.
No... No. No! It couldn't be! I went seven years without one!
She never wanted to believe it would happen again, but the vision felt the same as the few times she had experienced them before.
Amanda had not told anyone about her family's magical forte, save for Constanze and Jasminka, and she had not even told them the full extent. The witch's of Amanda's family were fortunetellers. Amanda's great-great-grandmother had fled Ireland at the age of 16 because she foresaw the blight. She had warned anyone she could of it, but at the time the Irish people were not wealthy enough to escape their troubles. Her great, great, great-grandparents apparently spent their whole life's savings just to send their daughter to America for a better future. There, her great-grandmother earned money fortunetelling, predict the rising and falling trends of business. Hatred of witches never ends though, and some small conspiracy circles still blamed the O'Neill witch for the Great Depression. And Amanda's parents wanted her to be just the same; another fortuneteller to the business elite of Wall Street
I hate it.
Her magic or her family? She was unsure.
While she was still in elementary school, she had a vision of her friend crashing his bike and breaking his arm. Amanda had tried to warn him of her vision, but he had laughed it off and called her a worry wort. Less than a week later he broke his arm when he hit a trashcan at top speed and flew from his bike. Rather than admit she had been right, he called her a freak. He told all their classmates that it had been her, that the witch girl had cursed him and that was why his arm was broken.
No one wants to know about the pain coming to them.
She slowed herself to a walk and eventually stopped under one of the covered walkways leading towards the dorms. She leaned herself back against one of the pillars and took a deep breathe.
You might have just been daydreaming.
Her daydreams were never like that. She stood there a minute, mulling over the thoughts and feelings racing through her mind.
Akko said the tournament is next Friday.
She wondered if it would be easier to just ignore it; to stay home next Friday and not know the end result. She could not do that. The annoyance of not knowing if the vision was true would bother her like a ringing in her ears. She would go to the tournament, she would confirm whether or not she had seen the future, and she would bet money on Akko.
If I have to suffer through visions I can at least make a quick buck off 'em.
Chariot was nervous about the night she had ahead of her. She had done signings and hosted small events before, but that was over ten years ago. She was not Shiny Chariot anymore, or at least she did not feel like she was, she was Ursula Callistis now, Professor of Astronomy at Luna Nova. Unfortunately for her, she was a professor at Luna Nova, a school that even with new applicants was still suffering from financial hardships. The situation was improving but such wounds do not heal in a single term, so all staff had suffered a "minor" pay cut.
Minor my butt.
It had not been much for most of the teachers, most of whom were older women, well established in their magical fields, and with years of savings to back them up. Ursula was a 29 year old former entertainer who started working at Luna Nova only three years ago. She had none of those.
So with a need for a little extra spending money, she had agreed to host a card tournament based on her former merchandise.
She flipped through a small booklet that café proprietor had given her. It contained the basic rules of how the Shiny Chariot trading card game worked, what was considered legal and illegal moves, and what out of game actions were considered poor sportsmanship and should lead to a ban. Ursula had to learn these for she, Shiny Chariot herself, had never played the Shiny Chariot card game.
She had played a rather small part in the games creation. All she had done was lend her image to a game company and gave them a few notes about her magic and some vague ideas about seven magic words. They had filled in the rest and added in cards based on more common magic creatures like unicorns and giants.
Fortunately for her, the basic rules were quiet easy to under.
Basic Setup. Each player will begin with a deck of a 30 to 40 cards, with no more than two copies of a single card per deck. The game is won either when one player loses all 13 life or when their deck has no more cards at the start of their turn. Players begin the game by shuffling one another's decks, then revealing the ante, the bottom card of their deck, whoever's ante has the highest mana cost takes the first move.
"Easy enough," Urusula sighed.
"Professor Ursula!"
The sharp voice of Finnelan nearly made her drop the rulebook.
"P-Professor Finnelan. Does something seem to be the matter?"
Finnelan motioned for them to continue walking down the hallway together. Ursula obliged her and they made their way past a small cluster of students.
"Nothing in particular, though I have heard a rumor from some students that 'Shiny Chariot' will be making an appearance at the Last Wednesday Society tonight."
"Oh... Yeah about that... I just-"
"I do not need to know your reasoning. I do, however, feel I must remind you that you are a teacher of Luna Nova. If you are hosting a event as your celebrity persona, I simply ask that you act in a manner which still reflects Luna Nova's principles."
Ursula felt a small twinge of anger in her heart. She knew that older witches like Finnelan did not approve of her days as Shiny Chariot, but she thought they had moved passed this.
I guess not.
"I'm SO sorry," Ursula's voice came out harsh. "I would have thought maybe showing people magic can be fun would get them interested in our school. Should I lecture them about the historical significance of every card played?"
"C-Cards? Nevermind that. Professor Ursula, I will not judge you if you wish to portray magic as 'fun'. I am speaking of a matter of professionalism."
Ursula blinked.
Her small outburst had pulled the eyes of several students onto them. Finnelan cleared her throat loudly, all the girls seemed to understand and moved elsewhere. Once the last student had clear, Finnelan took her wrist and pulled her into a nearby empty classroom, closing the door behind them.
"Your outfit."
"Excuse me?"
"I understand if you will be hosting this event as 'Shiny Chariot'."
The way she emphasized the stage name made it sound as though she were speaking of a different person.
"However, I ask that you refrain from wearing your previous outfit. Although it may attract attention to our school, I believe it will attract..." She cleared her throat. "The wrong kind of attention"
Ursula stood dumbfounded a moment. The meaning of Finnelan's processed through her mind slowly.
Me wearing the Shiny Chariot costume...
Her face suddenly felt hot.
"N-No! No!" Ursula waved off the idea. "I wouldn't... No! I mean I couldn't... I mean no one wants to see ME in that old outfit anyway."
"Just please act in a way that Luna Nova can be proud of."
"Yes ma'am..."
Finnelan walked toward the door, but stopped just as she opened it to leave.
"And Urs- Chariot."
Usula did not expect to hear her real name spoken, let alone in such a kind voice from Finnelan.
"I think you underestimate yourself."
Finnelan closed the door behind her, leaving Ursula alone in an empty lecture hall.
What does that mean?
Ursula had one final class before classes ended for the weekend: Introduction to Astrology. She assigned the students the tasks of reading one another's star charts to "familiarize themselves with the process and their classmates". In actuality, she needed more time to continue reading the booklet. The rules had remained simple right up until she got to the list of keyword abilities.
How does a game that ran for only two years have so many keywords? Pierce. Quick. Grand Finale. Do people actually memorize these?
"Professor Ursula?" One student called out.
"Yes?" Ursula looked up from her booklet.
"We don't know her exact time of birth. What do we do?"
Once more, responsibilities catch up with me.
The rest of the class time went by and Ursula never got a chance to look at the booklet again.
As the evening bell rang and students were dismissed for the weekend, Ursula hurried to her office and living quarters. She had only two hours till the tournament official started and she was required to be there, one hour before that for set up and introductions.
She quickly threw off her robes and searched her wardrobe for something to wear.
Track suit? No, that's too casual. My black dress? No, I'm saving that for a date. How about...
Her cheeks burned once more as she passed the Shiny Chariot outfit on its hanger.
Ultimate she decide to wear a white button up shirt and blue skirt that draped down to her knees. Thinking it was not quite "Chariot enough, she added a cloak which was the same shade of blue as he skirt on the outside and red on the inside. For a finishing touch, she added just the hat of her old outfit.
Oh! One last thing.
Ursula removed her glasses from her face and placed them on her desk.
She took a moment to examine herself in the mirror.
Perfect. A more matured Shiny Chariot.
Alcor began screeching from his post.
"What?" Ursula laughed. "Do you wanna come too buddy?"
Alcor shook his head negatively. He pointed to her ticking clock with one of his wings. She had taken nearly half an hour getting ready.
"Oh crap I'm gonna be late!"
Ursula hurried out of her chambers, slamming the door behind her.
It had become much more difficult getting around Luna Nova and Blytonbury since she lost the ability to fly. What once would have been an easy ten minute flight through the ley line and across the town was now over half an hour of walking. She continued her hurried pace down the stair well and down the first floor hall, towards the courtyard.
I feel like I deserve this though, because of what I put Akko through.
"Professor Chariot!"
Speak of the devil and they shall appear.
Akko and her roommates were gathered together around the statue of three witches, along with Diana and Amanda.
"Hello Akko. Hello girls. How are you all this evening?"
"Well classes are over," Amanda threw her arms behind her head, "so I'm happy."
The rest murmured their agreement to Amanda's sentiment.
"Well I hope you all have a great weekend. Unfortunately, I'm running a little late so I-"
"Wait Professor," Akko stepped in front of her. "Aren't you going to the Last Wednesday Society?"
"Yes. That is indeed where I'm headed to. How did you know?"
"Diana and I signed up for the Shiny Chariot tournament. We were going into town early to have dinner."
That's a surprise. Not Akko. I should have figured she would sign up for it. But Diana? I didn't even know she played.
"Well that's wonderful. I have to be impartial as a judge but know I am secretly routing for each of you."
"Would you care to ride with us?" Diana asked politely.
Ursula paused a moment. Not to think about the answer, it would be foolish of her not to say yes, but to smile and appreciate that even after everything her students were still kind enough to offer to help her.
"I would greatly appreciate that."
"Alright!" Akko shouted. "Are we waiting on anyone else? Hannah, Barbara, Constanze, or Jasminka?"
"Hannah went home for the weekend and Barbara was so engrossed in her Night Fall book that I'm not sure she even noticed I left," Diana giggled slightly.
"Conz is in her workshop right now," Amanda commented. "And Jazminka got stuck with with washing pots and pans this evening for stealing food again."
"Do I even need to come along?" Sucy seemed less than enthusiastic about the evening ahead. "Aside from Akko and Diana its probably gonna be a bunch of smelly old guys."
"Sucy," Lotte chided. "We promised we would support Akko."
"Fine..."
"Alright!" Akko pumped her arm in the air, if she had a baton she would look as though she were leading a parade. "Let's go!"
With that, they were off. They walked to the ley line gate at the edge of the school grounds. Each of the girls readied their brooms.
"Professor," Akko beamed, "would you like to ride with me? I'd love to show off how much better my flying is!"
"I would love that Akko."
Ursula felt proud of her young pupil. Only a few months ago, Akko was unable to even levitate on her broom, now she was capable of flying through ley lines the same as her classmates.
"Have you been practicing?" Ursula asked as she seated herself behind Akko.
"Yup! Amanda has been showing me some tips!"
How very kind of Amanda.
A small grin played across Ursula's face.
...Amanda?
Her grin fell away.
AMANDA!
Ursula tried to brace herself. She opened her mouth to say she would ride with someone else, perhaps Diana.
"Tia Freyre!"
At Akko's incantation, the broom shot off like a bullet into the gate. Ursula had failed to brace her mind and scream escape her lips. Her hat flew away at the wind force, but she caught it with one hand and held it tightly to the top of hand.
Akko laughed like a child on a roller coaster.
"Isn't this fun Professor?"
Ursula only managed to babble incoherently.
"Amanda even showed me how to turn the broom upside down. Wanna see?"
Nine Olde Witches give me strength!
"Akko," a voice called from behind. "I believe you are going far too fast."
Diana moved up next to them but left plenty of distance between the two brooms, a common safety practice for witches.
"Professor Ursula-" Diana shook her head. "No. Chariot needs to appear her best tonight, and your reckless flying nearly cost her hat."
Akko suddenly lurched her broom over, pulling her face only inches away from Diana's. Ursula was tempted to use to close proximity to climb onto the other broom.
"Don't be a killjoy Diana," Akko pouted. "I just want to show off how much I've learned."
"Well... That's..."
Ursula could not believe it. Diana Cavendish, pride of Luna Nova, was fumbling for words.
Diana cleared her throat and the serious and studious demeanor returned.
"The ley line is no place to perform risky flying tricks. If you wish to prove your skill, please do so somewhere less dangerous. Also..."
Is she... Blushing?
"Please let me know when you do. I would love to see how well you have improved over these few months."
Ursula moved her eyes from Diana to Akko, who also had a tint of pink to her cheeks.
"You wanna watch me?"
Akko shook her head and pulled the broom back away from Diana's. The sudden movement nearly toppled Ursula.
"I'd love to!" Akko smiled. "I can prove to you how worthy I am as a rival!"
Rivals? It looks more like-
"Akko!" This time it was Lotte's voice from behind. "You guys have to slow down! Sucy and I can't keep up with you."
"Sorry," Akko laughed nervously. "Wait. If you guys just caught up. Where's Amanda?"
"Oh I'm up here."
Ursula had failed to notice when or how Amanda had approached them, and positioned herself above all of them. Amanda was laying her side across her broom, lazily kicking one foot through the air.
"I was gonna try to race you Akko," Amanda smirked, "but I was enjoying the sparks between you and your 'rival' way too much."
Does she see it too then?
"What's the supposed to mean!?" Akko yelled. "And if it's a race you want it's a race you'll-"
Ursula threw her arm forward and grabbed Akko's shoulder. The younger girl turned back to look at her.
"Please don't."
The rest of the flight was peaceful. They passed through the ley line terminal and flew over Blytonbury. The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon and the town was painted in the golden glow of twilight. It always felt nice to Ursula to look at the world like this: to look down at the town and its people from a height that made it all look like a toy city. She had not felt this way in months.
The girls dropped her off at the Last Wednesday Society and excused themselves to go get dinner. They promised to return in an hour and asked if she wanted them to bring her anything. She accepted and asked for one of the sandwich trays from the bakery.
The bell rang as she entered the magic item café.
"Mister Chummy," she called into the seemingly empty room, "I'm here to help set up like you asked."
"I'm down here!"
The voice echoed up from an open door which lead into an old dark wood flight of stairs. Ursula carefully stepped her away down. At the bottom of the stairs was a cluttered room that smelled of dust and mildew. There was a workbench cover in tools at one end and at the the other end, stretching to the middle of the room were piles and piles of items. Old crates and barrels, forgotten artifacts, rusted machinery, and, most likely, a variety of other junk.
Chummy was pulling a large wooden table. Its top was decorated to look like fields and grasslands, while on the side was carved intricate magical runes.
"I'm so glad you're here," Chummy was trying to catch his breath. "Can you help me get this upstairs?"
"Oh! Certainly," Ursula drew out her wand. Animus Martius."
With a flash of green light the table sprung to life, shaking dirty from its surface like a dog shaking itself of water.
"Take yourself upstairs okay?"
With that command the table lumbered its way to the staircase. It got stuck at a wrong angle at first until it backed itself up and went at the stairs straight on. Every step of its legs made a loud clunk sound against the creaking stairs.
"Thank you Miss Chariot. I don't know if I would have gotten it upstairs in time."
"It's no trouble. Why that table though?"
Chummy's smile brighten, she could see he had some surprise he was planning.
"It's a surprise for later."
He headed back up the stairs and Ursula followed behind. He took a few minutes rearranging the room to make sure the decorative table was at the center, with two chairs at either end. Ursula took the time to gather a tray of snacks Chummy had bought, as well as a pot of tea and a pot of coffee and set them on the front counter. Chummy wiped the decorative table of any remaining dust with a wet rag and set one rubber backed playmat in front of each chair.
Chummy and Ursula talked while they waited for participants and spectators to arrive.
Twenty minutes to the start of the tournament the front bell rang. In to the store stepped Akko and her friends.
"Are we the first ones to make it?" Akko asked excitedly.
"That you are," Chummy responded.
"Yay! We get to go first!"
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Akko had seated herself in front of the red playmat on the table.
"Not yet," Chummy shook his head. "I have brackets set up for the matches today so you have to wait for your match."
"Boo," Akko pouted. "Can't we at least play a practice match?"
"Not on THAT table. But if you want to practice on the coffee table go ahead."
"What do you say Diana? A quick practice match before the real battle begins?"
"I suppose a warm up would be nice."
"Alright! Loser buys the winner a snack cake!"
Akko grabbed Diana's wrist and pulled her along to the back table. .
Ursula took the quiet time to talk with Lotte, Sucy, and Amanda. Something seemed off about Amanda tonight. She was joking in her usual way and even asked Chummy if there was an official betting pool or if she had to make one herself. Under all that though, Ursula could tell something was bothering her.
Several other folk arrived for the tournament. There were very few players but they seemed to bring friends or family to cheer them on. One participant was a boy of about nine, who came with his parents.
After about ten minutes, Akko walked over, her face drooping slightly.
"How much are these?" She asked pointing at the snack cakes.
"They're free tonight," Chummy responded.
"Kay."
With that Akko took a banana flavored sweet and walked back to Diana.
The door swung open and the bell clanged loudly.
"Alright!" Wangari yelled. "We made it before it starts!"
Wangari was flanked, like she always was, by her roommates Joanna and Kimberly.
"Hello girls," Ursula greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Well Prof- Miss Chariot. It's not everyday that a celebrity like you hosts an event."
"Oh that's sweet of you."
"Probably just another slow news day," Sucy stated in flat yet harsh tone.
Ursula's heart sank just a little.
Only a few minutes before the tournament was scheduled to start, the front bell rang yet again. Ursula cringed at the sight of the man that stepped in. He was overweight, his hair was greasy and slicked back into a ponytail. His facial hair was wiry thin and grew only in patches. The worst thing though, was his smell. Ursula was unsure if it was his clothes were unwashed after spilling food on them, if he himself was unwashed, or if it was a combination of the two. His eyes scanned the room a moment till he spotted her.
"It's really you," he said. "You are THE Shiny Chariot. In the flesh."
He moved over to her, Ursula wished she could find a polite way to excuse herself, but she could not. He took one of her hands in both of his and began to shake them.
"I'm so honored to meet you. I am your biggest fan! I have washed this chariot shirt since I went to see one of your performances."
OLDE NINE PLEASE SAVE ME!
"Hey!"
Akko suddenly put herself between Ursula and the foul man.
"You can't be Chariot's biggest fan! I'm Chariot's biggest!"
Of course Akko would make it a competition.
"Oh really, little girl?" The tone is his voice was disgustingly condescending. "If you're such a huge fan. Then tell me who was it that sponsored the 2008 London show?"
I don't remember who sponsored that show!
"How am I supposed to know something like that!"
"That's a trick question," Diana inserted her voice into the conversation. "Chariot's London show was supposed to be sponsored by Funtom Toy Company. But the performance ended up being cancelled due to excessively poor weather that summer."
The man turned his attention towards Diana. He smiled, revealing teeth of yellow and green.
"See this cutie knows her stuff. She's gotta be a REAL Chariot fan."
If Akko had looked frustrated before, after looked furious at this moment. Ursula swore their were heat waves rolling off her head.
"I AM a real Chariot fan!" Akko yelled. "I don't need your approval to be one! And don't go calling my friend 'cutie' like you know her!"
The man looked taken aback by this. He clearly did not expect some as small as Akko to pack so much volume.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You don't gotta be rude."
He backed away from them and took a few snack cakes to a corner of the room.
"Akko," Ursula started, "you okay?"
"I'm fine," Akko grumbled. "I got so mad the way he talked to Diana."
She does not even know how bad she caught this bug does she?
"Hey," Chummy whispered to them, "do you need me to ask him to leave? I don't want any of you to be uncomfortable."
"No," Akko clench her fist with determination. "It'll make it all the more satisfactory when I beat him."
Chummy scratched his head a moment before looking down the brackets.
"I think I can arrange that."
He erased some from the board and wrote names down differently.
"Alright everyone! The tournament is officially starting! First match: Atsuko Kagari versus Jeff Albertson."
Akko and Albertson, the foul smelling man, seated themselves at opposite ends of the table. Albertson pulled out a set of gloves from his pockets and slipped them on his fingers before drawing out his deck. Both players shuffled, cut one another's decks and drew their starting hand of five cards. Next each player flipped over their deck revealing the bottom card.
"Briton Red Dragon," Albertson said. "Cost of five moon mana."
"Ooo..." Akko looked disappointed. "White rabbit. Two star mana."
"Very well. Then I go first. I place one Blue Moon into my mana zone and end my turn."
"Well at least I get to draw a card," Akko shrugged.
Akko drew the top card from her deck.
"I set a Moonlit Witch into my mana zone. Tap it to produce one star mana."
As Akko turned the card sideways a small glowing star, like the symbol at the top of the card, emerged.
"Woah," Akko stared in amazement at the star. "And now I play Will-o-the-Wisps."
As she set the card down on the mat, the star mana entered the card, causing it to glow the same pale green as the star. Out from the card popped a living version of the art on the card: a small figure made of gentle flames.
"It's so cute!"
Akko grabbed up the Will-o-the-Wisp and rubbed her cheek against it.
"You look just like Lotte's spirit!"
She set her creature back on the table.
"Well now I must win! My cards depend on me!"
Akko and Albertson continued play. Each turn they added new mana and new creatures were summoned to the table. Ursula was too distracted to focus though.
"I don't believe it," Ursula said astonished. "The table summons the creatures. How?"
She did not mean to ask anyone in particular, but Chummy spoke up to answer her.
"That table is a magic item. It was made and enchanted for King Wilhelm of Prussia in 1813."
Ursula wondered which Wilhelm he meant. As far as she remembered from history, every king of Prussia was named Wilhelm.
"See Prussian nobles liked war so much that they invented the concept of wargames. And that table, was enchanted to bring the battles to life, so any game that has some for of battle, summoned monsters, clashing armies, even boxing robots, it will give the combatants form."
This magic is incredible! But also probably dangerous. Maybe I should-
"I won!" Akko shouted.
As soon as the other player had conceded victory, the creatures on the table vanished.
Akko walked over to Albertson and reached hand out to shake his.
"That was a fun match."
"Indeed it was," Albertson took her hand in his. "I was very impressed by your strategy. I would have never been able to pull that off."
"...Right... Strategy..."
Well... It should be fine right?
Ursula did not pay much attention to most of the matches, unless her students were involved.
Diana's first match was against the young boy who had come with his parents. The boy seemed nervous and forgot rules occasionally. Diana kindly reminded him of things he was forgetting or helped him make intelligent plays. In the end, she still won but she played in a gentle manner, never using too harsh of moves and letting the boy have fun with his creatures.
"That was an excellent match," Diana said shaking his hand. "You played very well."
"Thank you miss! Can we play again sometime?"
"Perhaps if we should meet again."
Diana walked back over to stand with Ursula, Akko, and the rest of their friends.
"That was very kind of you Diana," Ursula praised.
Diana opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short.
"Affection is the motto of the Cavendish household," Akko quoted. "That's our Diana for ya."
Akko's words had no sarcasm, and her smile showed it. Diana blushed, though Ursula suspected it was not from embarrassment."
"I was simply playing gently. He seemed like he was new to the game and it would be rude to ruin his fun."
A few more matches went by, till finally only the championship match remained.
"Alright folks!" Chummy announced. "It's time to the final match of the tournament. Our competitors have fought long and hard but at last here we are. Taking the red mat will be Atsuko Kagari. And at the blue mat is Diana Cavendish. Let's get a good handshake before the match begins."
Diana and Akko locked hands and starred at each other as they shook.
"I am so going to beat you today Diana."
"We will see," Diana paused a moment, "my rival."
Both girls giggled a little before heading to their seats.
"Alrighty," Chummy continued. "The duelists are ready and the decks are cut. Let's begin the match."
Ursula noticed Amanda's irritation had grown.
"This is it..."
"What is?" Lotte asked.
"Oh..." Amanda seemed to think about her words. "This big match. I bet Wangari and them that Akko would win. Go Diana!"
"If you bet money on Akko why root for Diana?" Sucy asked.
"So Akko doesn't get a big head."
"That's fair."
Akko had the higher ante.
"I set Grand Triskellion into my mana and end my turn."
"No immediate summoning this time?" Diana quipped.
"I don't have a one drop."
"You really should not give away what you do and do not have."
Diana drew a card from her deck.
"I set a wyvern into my mana zone and end my turn."
Diana kept a rigid poker face while Akko smiled happily.
"I draw. I set Alcor in my mana zone and then I summon a goblin."
As Akko set the creature card into play, a goblin resembling the janitors of the school appeared on the table.
That's strange. He's about the size of a normal goblin.
"Goblin's are quick, so he can attack you immediately upon beings summoned."
Akko turned the goblin card sideways and the goblin ran towards Diana. It swung at he like it was going to punch but its fist never connected. Diana marked off on a sheet of paper next to her that she was down to 12 life.
"That ends my turn."
"Very well then. I draw. I set another card into my mana zone. And I will cast mana tap. This allows me add the top card of my deck to mana zone tapped. Then I end my turn."
"You not have anything you can play Cavendish? My victory will be easy."
Akko tried to laugh like an evil villain, her adorable nature did not make this easy.
"I draw, then set a card into my mana zone. I summon another goblin and both attack you for one damage each."
Diana marked her life down to ten.
"I end my turn."
"I draw. I set a new card in my mana zone and untap all mana. And now I summon a unicorn."
As Diana set her card into play the table began to shake. With a flash of orange light, a unicorn leapt from the table and landed next to Diana. Everyone stood starred at the beast in its full size.
"How'd you do that Diana?" Akko seemed to have stars in her eyes.
"I-I'm not certain. I just played it as normal."
Oh dear this isn't good.
"I think your magic is causing this girls," Ursula spoke up. "I've seen it a few times before. Magic items enchanted to be used by common folk get more powerful when used by witches. Its probably reacting this way because two witches are pouring magic into it now.
"Should we stop the match?" Diana asked, her concerns darkening her face.
The unicorn stood up on its hind legs and whinnied angrily, its hooves nearly knocking over displays on the wall. The two goblins let out a screech and started grabbing Akko's face, pulling at her cheeks and hair.
"I think they want us to finish the match," Akko said, her voice odd from her pulled cheeks.
"Yes! Finish the match!" Chummy yelled. "Just do it outside please!"
Ursula cast the same spell as before to move the table out onto the street. Akko and Diana quickly followed it, leaving their chairs inside, and their creatures followed them out.
"So..." Akko began. "It's still your turn Diana."
"Oh! Right. Umm... My unicorn cannot attack the first turn it is summoned so I will have to wait. I end my turn."
"My turn! I draw. Play a new mana and untap all used mana. I spend all four star mana and play the moonlit witch."
The crowd watched in awe as an image of Chariot, like she had look when she was younger, appear in the regalia of the moonlit witch.
Another me?
"Moonlit witch's special ability. She inspires all around her to be greater! So both my goblins get a plus one bonus to power. Now attack goblins!"
The pale glow from the moonlit witch washed over the goblins as they ran forward to strike at Diana.
"I will not guard."
At this the unicorn began stamping its front hoof to the ground angrily. The goblins stopped their advance and grumbled.
"Diana, I know you could block this attack and the unicorn would be fine and so do they. We have to play at our best or else I think they might start ACTUALLY hitting us."
Diana bit her lip in thought for a moment.
"Very well. My apologies. I will block one goblin with my unicorn."
At this the goblins cheered and continued forward. The unicorn got between one and Diana, thrusting its horn into the goblin, which disappear into a puff of smoke. Akko moved the goblin's card to her graveyard. Diana marked her life down to eight.
"I end my turn," Akko laughed.
"Akko. Is now really the time for laughter?"
As Diana spoke she drew her next card and set up her mana zone.
"I can't help it. I know this is supposed to be serious, but I'm just having fun against you."
"I... I'm also having fun with you."
Diana shook her head and put her serious face back on.
"I will spend the cost of two sun mana and summon a cupid bee. Then I end my turn."
"What? No attack?"
It would be pointless to attack now. Akko's moonlit witch could block the unicorn and it would easily destroy it. Apparently the creatures want good strategies too.
"Oh well! I draw. Set a new card into my mana zone and then for the cost of three mana. I play the horologium chamber. When this card enters the field, I can activate the affect of any card in either players graveyard. I choose mana tap, so now I get to add the top card of my deck to my mana zone. Then I attack with moonlit witch and goblin!"
The goblin and moonlit witch both stepped forward to attack.
"I cast solar flare!"
A blinding burst of sunlight shone from Diana, the creatures stopped moving and covered their eyes.
"This spell prevents you from attacking during this turn."
"Oh man. The I guess my turns over."
The sunlight faded away and Diana drew her next card.
"I set a new card in my mana zone. Now, I spend three mana and activate cupid bee's special ability. I can take one of your creatures and make it my own."
Diana raised her hand above her and point to the moonlit witch.
"I will take her."
The cupid bee followed her command and flew over to the moonlit witch, stinging it on the neck. Hearts appeared in her eyes as walked form Akko's side of the table to Diana's.
"Hey don't go!"
"Sorry Akko. It's simply how the rules go. Now then! I attack with my unicorn and moonlit witch."
"I block moonlit witch with horologium chamber and unicorn with my goblin."
"I will spend three mana to cast dragon fire. This deals three damage to a creature on the field. I choose horologium chamber."
As the moonlit witch and the unicorn charged Akko and the goblin moved to meet them, a gout of fire burst out and struck the horologium chamber, shattering it. Moonlit witch stepped next to Akko, pulled her face close to her own, then smacked her across the cheek, before walking back to Diana. The unicorn struck this goblin the same as the first. This time though, it continued charging even with the goblin still impaled on its horn.
"My unicorn has pierce, therefore you still take the remaining two damage."
"Ouch. Six damage all at once."
Akko wrote her life down to seven.
"I end my turn."
Diana managed to turn this whole fight around in a single turn.
"My turn again! I set a new mana card and I summon Alcor!"
Akko's card exploded with white light as the image of a great white bird with a star on its chest landed on the table.
Alcor used to look like that when we did shows. He's so old and grumpy now.
"Alcor is quick and flying. Which means he can attack right away and can only be blocked by another creature that flies. Go get her Alcor!"
The bird spread its wings and took to the air, doing a loop over Akko's head before diving towards Diana.
"I block with cupid bee."
A moment of silence passed.
"Huh?"
The cupid bee flew up from where it said on the moonlit witch's shoulder and into Alcor's face. The great bird shook its head and thrashed its wings before pecking its beak through the bee, shattering the creature.
"Is that the end of your turn?"
"Yeah I guess so."
"Very well. I draw. I set no new mana card, but I do summon a pegasus."
A light shot from her card into the air. It burst like a firework and from it a pegasus galloped down to Diana's side.
"Pegasus is not quick so it cannot attack this turn. Moonlit witch and unicorn, however, can attack and both do so."
Once more the moonlit witch and unicorn charged Akko. She panicked and looked at her cards.
"I cast shield! I prevent one creature's attack from hitting me this turn. I choose the unicorn."
A kite shield made of crystal appeared in front of the unicorn, halting its attack. The moonlit witch strode forward and batted Akko with her cloak. Akko marked her life down to only three.
"It's been a lot of fun Akko. But I think this will end next turn."
"You don't know that yet!" The sparkle never left Akko's eyes. "I believe in the heart of the cards!"
Is that a reference to something I should know about?
"You're right," Diana giggled. "Let's see if you can turn it around. I end my turn."
"I draw!"
Akko's eyes became wide as saucers and her mouth fell open.
"It couldn't be..." Amanda muttered.
"I set a new card as mana. And now I summon A Believing Heart is Your Magic!"
A white light rose up from the card and in a flash, a new image of Chariot appeared. This new Chariot clutched a staff of pure white light in her hands, pressed against her chest. Her bare chest.
It's naked... IT'S ME NAKED!
"E-Everyone!" Ursula yelled out. "Please avert your eyes this is not appropriate for children!
Ursula heared the click of a camera.
"Joanna do not take pictures!"
"This card is very special," Akko continued. "In more ways than one. Her power and toughness are equal to the number of star mana I control, making her an eight and eight creature. And she has a grand finale ability! When I have 3 or less life remaining, she gains flying, quick, and pierce!"
Diana looked at her cards in play then to the cards in her hand. She sighed and smiled, clearly seeing her defeat ahead.
"Well then let's see how this ends?" She smiled at Akko.
"First I attack with Alcor!"
"I block with pegasus!"
The two winged beasts circled one another in the air, then collided over the street, shattering into sparks like fireworks.
"And now! I attack with A Believing Heart is Your Magic!"
The image of Chariot spread her arms out and a bright white light enveloped the whole street.
As the light reached them, Ursula heard Amanda speak.
"It actually happed... Akko beat Diana."
Diana woke up the next day feeling much better. Although the creatures had never actually hit them, the bright white light had given her a powerful migraine. She had stayed long enough to see Akko receive her award and congratulate her, before excusing herself back to Luna Nova. Akko had asked if she needed help, but Ursula insisted that she and Chummy needed help cleaning up the store from the tournament. Akko had reluctantly agreed.
"How do you feel today Diana?" Barbara asked bringing her tea.
"Much better, though I don't believe I'm ready to leave the room just yet."
"We were about to go get breakfast," Hannah said. "Want us to bring you anything?"
"Something light like oatmeal would be wonderful. Thank you."
"It's no trouble," Hannah smiled.
"We'll let you get some more rest."
Hannah and Barbara made their way out and closed the door quietly behind them. A minute or two later, there was a soft knocking at the door. Diana stood up and walked towards the door.
"Hannah? Barbara?" She called. "Is that you? Did you forget something?"
"No. It's Akko. May I come in."
Diana looked down at herself. She was still in her pajamas: a snug white camisole and pair of sky blue shorts that exposed almost all of her legs. She felt her cheeks warm
Not like this!
"Just a moment Akko."
She hurried threw on her white fleece bathrobe and tied the sash around her tightly. She grabbed a long pair of pajama pants, blue with stars and moons adorning them, and pulled them up her legs. Finally, she tucked her feet into a pair of white house slippers that matched her robe.
More presentable.
She opened the door. Akko was not dress in school uniform, it was the weekend after all. Instead, she wore a loose white Shiny Chariot t-shirt and a pair of very short shorts. Akko always seemed to wear outfits that kept her legs free, Diana had noticed. She wore a pair of ankle high socks and a pair of pink bunny slippers on her feet. She held something behind her back, though Diana could not tell what it was.
"Good morning Akko."
"Morning Diana. How ya feeling?"
"I'm much better. I think it hurt my head so much because the light was directly aimed at me."
"I'm sorry."
Please don't look so sad.
"There's no reason to be. You won. And in spectacular fashion I might add."
Akko's face slowly changed, from a worried frown, to a gentle smile, and finally to her normal, goofy grin.
"It was a lot of fun. So... May I come in?"
"Oh. Certainly."
Diana stepped aside and allowed Akko to pass within before closing the door behind her.
"Did you need something?" Diana asked.
"Well yes and no," Akko grinned. "I wanted to know if you want to split these with me."
She stopped hiding the item behind her back and extended it out to Diana. It was the, still unopened, box of new Chariot cards Akko had won at the tournament the night before.
"Akko these are your prize. I can't take them from you."
"It's not taking its sharing. I had a lot of fun with you last night and I don't want to stop having fun with you. So maybe use some of these and we can still play once in a while?"
Diana was taken aback. Akko had always been competitive for as long as she had known her, so she never expected her to offer half her prize to the person she had beaten.
I should not be surprised though. Utterly selfish and wholeheartedly selfless. Akko is a living oxymoron.
Diana felt a smile creeping up her face.
"I'd love to look through them with you."
"Alright!"
Akko moved not over to the table but to Diana's bed. She leapt up and bounced off the mattress once before landing with her legs crossed and the box placed on top of the covers. Diana giggled a little and climbed onto the mattress as well.
Diana lost track of time, she could not tell how long they sat there watching one another open packs. Hannah and Barbara had returned at one point, but when they saw Akko was there the two exchange a look, gave Diana a smile, and excused themselves elsewhere. Now Diana's bed was covered in aluminum pack wrappers and small piles of cards. She mindless looked over some, but her eyes kept drifting back to Akko.
"I think I found my favorite new card," Akko smiled.
"Oh really? What is it?"
Akko shuffled herself over next to Diana, knocking over some piles as she did so. She press herself again Diana, arm against arm and held the card with one hand so Diana could see. Diana took the card in one of her hands and they held it together. A smile and a blush lit her face as she looked at it.
The card depicted two young witches dressed in white together against a starry backdrop. They stood on top of the Shooting Star, holding hands and facing the big dipper. Diana read its name.
"I like this one too."
Two Hearts United.