Blytonbury
Upon arriving at Blytonbury, the Red Coven are greeted by the sight of a sea of people, many of whom are dressed in Nightfall cosplay. Posters of the Nightcon are hung on every lampposts in the town. The chatter from the crowd is almost nothing but discussions about Nightfall and it's author, Annabel Creme, who apparently will be showing up in person today.
"Is this all... Nightfall?" Akko wondered as she observed the ever growing crowd. "You were not joking when you said it was the second most-"
"Look! That's the huntsman who saved Belle from a bear in Volume 80 of the novels!" Lotte said excitedly while pointing at a Nightfall cosplayer. "That's the elf princess from novel Volume 113! And that's the reanimated skeleton of a British redcoat from novel Volume 152!" The Finnish girl continued as she pointed out more cosplays that she recognized. "That's the time travelling assassin from the 24th century that Edgar fought in novel volume 301! And the prototype android from Issue 52 of the graphic novels! Arthur's ancestor from Season 13 of the TV series! The unnamed final boss of the Nightfall Adventures video game! That girl's holding a replica of the legendary shoehorn from Nightfall Online!" Lotte easily identified every cosplay that she pointed out, and may probably keep doing so if not stopped...
"What. Is. Nightfall?" Akko stuttered as her brain struggled to process what she just heard.
"I think the better question would be: 'What isn't Nightfall?'" Sucy also struggled to process the same bits of information.
...
"Seriously, there's so many people here I could barely walk!"
Hannah complained as she struggled to squeeze through the crowd.
"Seriously, Nightfall? What kind of moron reads that bloody piece of shit?!" The auburn-haired witch added.
"Didn't you just refuse to translate my French earlier for being 'too vulgar'?" Barbara pointed out to her friend.
"I was being sarcastic to that idiot, Kagari!" Hannah said back. "Who'd ever expected her to actually speak French?!"
"She's a Shiny Chariot fangirl, and Chariot is French." Barbara pointed out again. "Do the bloody math."
Hannah narrowed her eyebrows. "Gosh, has O'Neil rubbed off of you?"
The Blue Coven duo continued to push their way through the crowd of Nightfall fans until they reached the town square, where the crowd seems to be headed.
"Look at this!" Hannah pointed all around the town square and complained again. "They even have a convention! I can't believe that stupid book can be popular enough to warrant all this!"
"Actually, Nightfall also has graphic novels, TV series, video games..." Barbara muttered.
"What was that, Barbs?" Hannah heard Barbara's muttering, and asked.
"Nothing." Barbara denied. "Speaking of, maybe we could go to the town auditorium and, uh, heckle the convention?"
"Heckle?" Hannah rolled her eyes. "Why?"
"To, uh, disapprove of Nightfall. Yes, disapprove." Barbara explained nervously.
...
Blytonbury Town Auditorium
Lotte, upon noticing the Nightcon banners hung above the town auditorium, excitedly pointed them out to Akko and Sucy before dragging the both of them toward the building.
The inside of the town auditorium is jam-packed with rows upon rows of Nightfall fans, both in and out of cosplay. Almost all of them are holding something related to Nightfall - from official installments of the franchise to merchandise and concept art books.
Akko had always believed that nothing could possibly be more popular than Shiny Chariot. But now she found herself proven wrong. Nightfall could very well make Chariot green with envy. The Japanese girl wondered why she hasn't heard of Nightfall before in Japan if it was this popular...
"Lotte, you said Nightfall was created by this witch called, uh, Kurimu, right?" Akko asked, again having the name mangled by her Japanese accent.
"It's Annabel Creme." Lotte corrected. "And ever since she started it in 1872, she hasn't stopped churning out new sequels, and even spin-offs in other mediums such as-"
Sucy quickly put her hand on the Finnish girl's mouth before she could continue. "Yes, you told us that earlier." She reminded. "Now, why are we here again?"
Lotte removed Sucy's hand from her mouth. "This is the first time Annabel Creme is appearing in person! She has never done this before, and everyone who loves Nightfall came here today just so they can have a shot at getting her autograph along with Novel Volume 366!" She excitedly explained.
Just then, all the lights in the auditorium went out.
"It's starting! Quick, find a place to sit!" Lotte told her coven mates, as they all went to look for empty seats in the auditorium.
Despite the tightly packed venue, it didn't take long for the Red Coven to find three empty seats, just in time for the beginning of the event.
Soon, some of the spotlights in the auditorium turned on, shining their lights upon a sharply dressed man standing on the stage, behind a microphone. He is presumably the announcer of the event.
"Ladies and gentlemen, including those of you who are not human, welcome to the 11th annual Nightcon, the one and only fan convention for all things related to the Nightfall franchise!" The announcer greeted the entire audience, who all responded with a cacophony of loud cheers. "Today also happens to be the 147th anniversary of Nightfall! And to commemorate that, we have brought along a special guest star! A very special guest star, if you may!"
The entire audience started chanting "Annabel Creme!" all at once, except Lotte, who looked on excitedly with her eyes practically gleaming.
"Ladies and gentlemen, including those of you who are not human..." The announcer grabbed everyone's attention. "May I present to you, the one and only, creator of the Nightfall franchise for the past 147 years..." He then turned to his right, pointing a hand at someone standing in an unlit part of the stage. "Annabel Creme!"
More spotlights turned on to reveal who is standing on that spot: a girl of about 15 - 16 years old with long blonde hair, wearing a pair of headphones as she stared disinterestedly at her smartphone.
The audience went ballistic upon the reveal of the blonde girl.
"She's so cute~!" Lotte uttered in excitement and awe.
"That's Annabel?" Akko wondered.
"She looks a bit on the young side..." Sucy pointed out.
The girl called Annabel began to slowly shuffle her way toward a fancy chair that is placed to the announcer's left, and then sat down on it, all without tearing her eyes away from her smartphone.
"So, Annabel, got a word for your sincerest fans?" The announcer asked the blonde girl as he brought his microphone close to her.
Annabel briefly looked up to say "Hello..." in a disinterested tone before turning back to her smartphone.
It appears that the announcer didn't expect Annabel's response to be this short. "Uh, is that it?" He asked the blonde girl.
"What? You asked for 'a word', didn't you?" Annabel said in an annoyed tone while she kept her eyes fixed on her smartphone.
"Wow, she's pretty rude." Akko commented.
The announcer stood there with an "uh..." before bringing his microphone back to his mouth. "Well, there you have, folks! A meet-and-greet from Annabel Creme herself!" He said to the audience. "Now let us get to the main event, shall we?" He then took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, and unfolded it. "As you all are all aware, for this year's Nightcon, we will be holding a quiz for the lore of the entire Nightfall franchise, ranging from the obvious to the obscure! And whoever can answer the most questions correctly will receive a special gift from Annabel Creme herself!"
The audience cheered loudly upon hearing that. Meanwhile, Annabel smirked as though she has something planned.
"The rules are simple: all questions are First-Come-First-Serve! So if you want to get the highest score possible, make sure you can get my attention first for each question, and then answer them correctly! Be warned: spoiler alert for the entire franchise!" The announcer explained. He coughed a bit before starting to read from the paper. "Question One: What time is the Great Ben clock tower showing when Belle first met Arthur in Novel Volume 1? Be sure to specify if its AM or PM."
The audience murmured among each other. Apparently this is a very hard question, and it is just the first...
"You! The girl in the Red Riding Belle cosplay!" The announcer pointed at Lotte as one of the spotlights shone on her. "What's your answer?"
"12:34 AM!" Lotte shouted her answer.
The announcer looked at the paper to confirm the answer. "Correct! One point to this young lady!" He announced. "Question Two: Which actor portrayed Arthur in the first ever Nightfall movie, released in 2006?"
"Tom Holland!" Someone in the audience shouted his answer.
"Sorry, wrong! That's actually a different Tom!" The announcer said. "Anyone else?"
Lotte raised her hand, catching the announcer's attention again. "Tom Hardy!"
"Correct! Another point for this young lady!" The announcer declared before going to the next question. "Alright. Question Three: In the Nightfall TV series, all the brand names seen in episodes set in the present day are real brands, with the exception of one, which is a completely fictional one. In which episode is that fictional brand seen?"
Lotte raised her hand as with the previous two questions. But someone else is able to draw the announcer's attention better than her this time.
"You! The, uh, one in the Great Ben costume? That's the weirdest cosplay I've ever seen..." The announcer said as he pointed at someone dressed up as a clock tower. "Anyway, what's your answer?"
"Season one, episode seven! 'Orange Submariner'!" The Great Ben cosplayer answered.
"Correct! One point for the lady in the Great Ben costume!" The announcer said.
The Great Ben cosplayer cheered as she raised a fist into the air.
"Onto Question Four: What is the surname of the family that Belle, Arthur, and Edgar saved from the Category 8 hurricane in Issue 13 of the graphic novels?"
Meanwhile, several rows behind the Red Coven, Barbara slowly and meekly raised her hand amidst a crowd of other people who did the same.
"Why are you raising your hand?" Hannah, who sat next to Barbara, asked her friend. "Are you bloody seriously considering to answer that?"
Barbara quickly lowered her hand. "No! I, uh, am just stretching my hand!"
...
"Question 15: What is the weapon that Arthur used to take out the advancing horde of zombie cyborgs in novel Volume 284?"
"A M163 Vulcan loaded with depleted uranium shells!"
"Question 32: Ignoring the upcoming novel Volume 366, which historical figure has not appeared at any point in the franchise as of today?"
"Adolf Hitler!"
"Question 68: In the Nightfall Mystery mobile game, what is the minor detail that allowed Arthur and Edgar to distinguish the fake Belle from the real one?"
"The fake Belle spelled 'defense' with an S instead of 'defence' with a C!"
"Question 104..."
"Di-hydrogen Trioxide!"
"Question 142..."
"Reykjavik, Iceland!"
"Question 178... Question 185... Question 199... Question 234... Question 249..."
That actually is a lot of questions about the lore of Nightfall, and it took nearly two hours until the announcer went through all 250 of them ("That is a lot!" Akko exclaimed).
Of course, the quiz quickly turned into a competition between Lotte and the Great Ben cosplayer, as the two answered one question after another. At about Question 100, the two have attained such high scores that the rest of the audience saw no more point in answering the questions themselves, and resorted to just watching the rest of the quiz unfold.
By the time all 250 questions have been answered, Lotte and the Great Ben cosplayer are neck-to-neck with both of them having scored 125 points each in the quiz. The announcer declared that the prize cannot be split, and as such, a tiebreaker is set in place to determined who will be the winner.
For the tiebreaker round, Lotte and the Great Ben cosplayer are both called onto the stage to stand behind specially prepared podiums (both fans wondered where the podiums had come from, as they weren't there when the quiz began).
"Alright, you two! The questions in the tiebreaker round are also on a First-Come-First-Serve basis!" The announcer told Lotte and the Great Ben cosplayer. "If both of you gives the wrong answer to the questions, the tiebreaker round will keep going until one of you gives the right answer!"
In the meantime, the Great Ben cosplayer leaned slightly toward Lotte and asked her, "Psst, hey, young lady. Is your Twitter handle FriskyFinn69?"
Lotte was surprised by that question. "How do you know? Are you GreatBen810?" She asked.
The conversation is short-lived as the announcer grabbed both fans' attention.
"Are you two ready?" The announcer asked them.
The Great Ben cosplayer answered "Of course!"
Lotte paused for a bit as she looked at Akko who is cheering for her from among the audience.
"You can do it, Lotte!" Akko cheered on for her coven mate.
Lotte then turned toward the announcer and nodded.
"Alright, then! Here's the first tiebreaker question..." The announcer said as he unfolded another piece of paper. "In the town where Belle grew up, there is a bakery own by a kind old lady who lives not too far away from the Great Ben clock tower where Belle lives. That old lady has a neighbor likes to take care of her flowers..."
The announcer is interrupted by the sound of a buzzer being pressed.
"That neighbor's name is Sefeia!" The Great Ben cosplayer gave out her answer.
"Wow, that was quick!" The announcer said. "Unfortunately, that answer is not even close to the question, which I haven't even finished yet! So sorry, Great Ben!"
Saying that, a big red cross appeared on the Great Ben cosplayer's podium, causing her to sigh in defeat.
"As I was saying, that old lady has a neighbor who likes to take care of her flowers, and she has many flower vases in her garden." The announcer continued with the rest of the question. "And no two of those vases have the same variety of flowers as the others. What is the flower in the third vase of the second row at the eastern side of the garden?"
As the Great Ben cosplayer lost the chance to answer that because of her impetuousness earlier, it is up to Lotte to answer this question. However, Lotte is stumped, as she racked her brain trying to find the correct answer.
Not roses. Not hibiscus. Definitely not snapdragons. Lotte thought to herself. What could it be? I can only remember that it was Annabel's favorite flower too...
As Lotte continued to search her vast knowledge of Nightfall lore for answers, she momentarily glanced at Annabel Creme, who is still sat on the fancy chair, totally engrossed in her smartphone.
The Finnish girl noticed what is on the cover of the author's smartphone.
That's it! Lotte gleefully thought as she finally got the answer she needed.
With that, she slammed her hand down on the buzzer on her podium, grabbing the announcer's attention.
"Hydrangeas!" She loudly shouted her answer.
The announcer took a second to read from the piece of paper before declaring, "Correct! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"
The auditorium is swiftly drowned in the loud applaud of the audience.
"Way to go, Lotte!" Akko loudly cheered for her coven mate.
"You did well, young lady. I accept my defeat." The Great Ben cosplayer told Lotte.
"And now, as promised..." The announcer announced. "The winner of this quiz will be receiving a special gift from Annabel Creme herself!"
Lotte stepped away from her podium, then froze in the center of the stage due to stage fright. At the same time, Annabel stood up from her fancy chair, still engrossed in her smartphone, and slowly made her way across the stage. It was only upon reaching Lotte did the author put her smartphone away and took something else out of her sleeve.
It appears to be a very fancy fountain pen.
Annabel presented the fountain pen to Lotte. "You must really love Nightfall..." The author commented. "This is the pen given to me to write Nightfall. It is yours now..." She then handed Lotte the pen.
Lotte had doubts about why Annabel sounded so eager to give the pen to someone else, but nevertheless reached for and grabbed it.
As Lotte's fingers touched the pen, Annabel's lips formed a smirk that didn't seem so friendly. "I hope you won't be missing your real name..." Saying that, the author released her grip on the pen.
At the same time, Akko suddenly experienced a headache as she massaged her head with her hand.
"What's wrong, Akko?" Sucy asked indifferently.
"I don't know..." Akko answered. "It was like I just got zapped in the head by something..."
On the stage, a confused Lotte stared at Annabel, wondering what the author meant by that.
"From now on, you should be able to write your own Nightfall stories..." Annabel, still smirking, told Lotte. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, though..."
With that said, Annabel suddenly vanished in a beam of light, presumably having teleported away.
Lotte is left standing where she is, as she stared at where Annabel stood just a second ago, and wondered about what the author told her.
"I hope you won't be missing your real name... I'm sorry it had to be this way, though..."
"Well, that was abrupt!" The announcer said. "What a twist, the way the winner of this quiz left just like that! Just like Nightfall!"
Lotte blinked. Did the announcer just refer to Annabel as "the winner of this quiz"?
At that moment, Akko and Sucy joined Lotte on the stage.
"Way to go! You blew through the quiz just like that!" Akko congratulated Lotte with a pat to her back.
"I officially declare Nightfall to be the strangest work of fiction, ever..." Sucy commented. She then placed a hand on Lotte's shoulder. "And some fan she was, Annabel..."
Lotte giggled at Sucy calling Nightfall the strangest work of fiction ever...only to stop herself upon realizing that Sucy just called her Annabel...
"Sucy, what did you just call me?" Lotte asked the pale Filipino.
"That's your name, isn't it?" Sucy answered indifferently. "Annabel Creme?"
Akko, who looks confused as to why Sucy said that, stepped forward. "Sucy, why are you calling Annabel tha-" The Japanese girl stopped herself instantly, putting a hand to her mouth, upon realizing what she just did.
She too called Lotte Annabel...
An extremely confused "何?!" came out of Akko's lips.
Lotte didn't even need to understand Japanese to know what Akko just uttered, because she too is asking the exact same question.
What?!
Well, I got carried away, and made this chapter extra long...
As you can see, I've made Nightfall even crazier here than it was in canon. Here, it doesn't just exist in novel form, it also comes in graphic novels, movies, TV series, video games (including both microtransactions-filled mobile games and MMOs), etc. Surely, Annabel Creme must be swimming in money thanks to how massive Nightfall is? (Fun fact: I'd say that the Nightfall franchise is so big that it make Star Wars look tiny in comparison)
Speaking of Annabel Creme... well, it's kind of difficult to explain what is going on here with words. You'd just have to wait until the next chapter to get it explained...
"Just remember: a believing heart is your magic..."
Afterwords end here.
NOTE: So having a vacation in another country where FF Dot Net isn't banned meant that I can use the opportunity to post chapters that I've posted to AO3 but not here...