AN: Finally finished this chapter, sometimes I thought I would never get it done before my head
explodes, but here we are. Thank you all for reading this story.
Enjoy^^
2018
Akko yawned.
She was so tired. Maybe she shouldn't have stayed up to study the new material of Modern Magic, but she simply loved it. It was by far her favorite subject. Nothing against Professor Ursula of course, only... Astronomy wasn't really her thing, like most courses at Luna Nova.
The Modern Magic lessons were her chance to finally excel at something other than causing trouble and Professor Croix did actually like her, unlike the other teachers. And besides that, she also knew Shiny Chariot, she even praised her.
For Akko, that meant a lot and gave her more than enough reasons to try and impress the tech witch. Ursula remained her favorite professor, naturally.
Her mentor, the first one who truly believed in her right from the start, who still did everything to help and support her...
Shiny Chariot surly had had a good friend in her. They must have been really close. The younger witch could totally relate to that. Chariot was, after all, her idol and wouldn't befriend someone who was blinded by traditions like...well, Diana for example. Professor Croix on the other hand would have been a great friend...too bad they weren't rivals back then.
Thinking back to the visions she saw at the Fountain of Polaris, she wondered what Chariot's school life had been like.
'Did you have the same hang ups as me?'
From what she gathered from the teachers and other students, the redhead wasn't that well received, even as a child, so she must have been pretty lonely, having only the shy blunette as her friend and not being appreciated by the rest of her schoolmates.
'Witches can be really cruel.'
That was why Akko had to find her, to tell her what a wonderful witch she was, that she inspired her to chase after her own dream, more importantly, that she gave her one to begin with. Maybe they could even search for the remaining words together. The brunette grinned brightly.
'That would be so amazing!'
"Good morning Akko."
Akko's grin widened to an impossible degree, as she spun around enthusiastically, already knowing the owner of the voice.
"Croix-Sensei, good morning", she greeted the tech witch, almost singing the words.
Croix herself had an easy smile on her lips, her cape fluttering slightly, as she walked towards her student.
"Do I see you in my class today?", she asked in an upbeat tone.
"Of course!"
The younger witch couldn't wait to show her what she had learned. She was so excited, especially since it seemed that Diana was refusing to even participate in the lessons. Apparently even Diana Cavendish had found a subject she was struggling with.
'Maybe that'll teach her that she's not All That'
...
[Isn't that a bit harsh?]
Akko blinked confused.
Where did that thought come from?
Diana didn't deserve her sympathy. Always belittling her and her efforts, her hard work. Continually making her feel self-conscious, making her feel as if she didn't belong here.
[Do you really think that?]
'What?'
"Akko?"
The voice of Professor Croix ripped her from her internal debate. The teacher stared at her quizzically.
She must have looked really ridiculous, gazing at her the whole time. The brunette smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, what did you just say, Sensei?"
Letting out a raspy, short laugh, the tech witch shook her head.
"Honestly, what am I going to do with you?"
RED...
That was all Akko saw for a moment, like a quick angry lightning bolt.
Those words...
She couldn't breathe, she couldn't talk.
Everything hurt.
'What's happening?'
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Croix, a concerned expression on her face, apparently talking to her...
But she couldn't hear a thing, her ears were ringing.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain...
It wasn't working.
'Make it stop!'
Akko didn't know how long she would be able to hold herself upright. She couldn't pinpoint the source of the pain, like it didn't even belong to her. It spread through her whole body, getting more intense with every beat of her heart and then...
It was gone.
Just as fast and unpredictable as it came.
Finally able to breathe again, Akko inhaled harshly, trying to steady her wobbling knees, only now realizing that she was being held by Professor Croix. They were in the middle of the hallway, where anyone could see them, but that didn't seem to matter to the older witch. She only began to loosen her hold on her, as the brunette's breathing became more regular.
"Do you feel a bit better now?"
Akko turned her head to look at the worried teacher, the aftershocks of what she had just endured, vanishing completely. Slowly she nodded her head.
"Yes", her voice came out squeakier than she thought, so she flashed a light smile, in hopes of convincing the tech witch, "I don't know what came over me."
She tried to laugh, but it sounded forced, even to her own ears.
Professor Croix didn't seem to buy it either but she just shrugged and stepped away from her student, her cheerful exterior returning.
"Panic attacks are fairly common, you know?", she explained in a soft voice.
"They can be accompanied by other symptoms, such as dizziness, a rapid heartbeat, trembling and, of course, shortness of breath."
'Panic attack?
Is that what it was?'
Strangely enough that sounded even plausible. Akko wasn't sure what to think, she never had had an attack like that, so why would she get one now?
"Sensei, do you think, it could be connected to the words?"
The tech witch raised her hands in a sweeping gesture, apparently clueless.
"Like I told you before Akko, I'm not that well versed in this regard, why don't you ask your Astronomy professor?"
"You mean Ursula-Sensei?"
Come to think of it, she never saw those two in the same room at the same time.
'How odd.'
The older witch nodded.
She opened her mouth to add something, but was loudly interrupted by a shrill, aggravated sounding voice behind them.
"What do you think you are doing, Croix-Sensei?"
They both turned their heads towards the perpetrator.
Professor Finneran stared at the tech witch with narrowed eyes, a grim expression on her face. She was absolutely furious.
Croix didn't even seem startled by that, never breaking her calm and charming demeanor.
"Is something the matter, Finneran-Sensei?"
The vice principal didn't even try to compose herself, as if Akko being present didn't register with her.
"Did you not hear the announcement yesterday?"
Croix shook her head dramatically, her right hand placed over her heart, a feigned, shocked expression spreading over her face, as she answered:
"My deepest apologies Finneran-Sensei, I must have been so caught up in my research that I missed it.
Was there another teacher meeting?"
Akko watched puzzled as Professor Finneran's behavior seemed to change immediately, the anger dissipating, a stricken look in her eyes, as she sighed loudly.
"Could you please inform the first year students, that Ursula-Sensei's courses are canceled for today?
They shall wait for further instructions regarding the rest of the week."
'Huh?'
"Why are her lessons canceled?", asked the tech witch, a surprised note to her tone.
Akko suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Something was wrong. But that couldn't be, because she saw Professor Ursula yesterday...right? She even had asked her about the strange nap session. She had said she would look for some hints. So... everything was alright...
[Are you sure?]
"There was an accident-"
She didn't wait for Finneran to finish her sentence, no, she ran. She ran as fast as possible through the hallway, tears blurring her vision. She stopped by Ursula's chamber, hammering at the door, forcing it open, only to be greeted by an empty room. The bed was still made and it didn't look, like someone slept in it. Spinning around Akko sprinted back, towards yesterday's classroom, but apart from the bemused expressions of her classmates, she found nothing. Ursula wasn't there.
Still trying to hold her tears at bay she walked slowly to the infirmary.
'Please no!'
Every step she took filled her more and more with dread.
'Nonononononono'
Once she stood before the door she extended a shaking hand, pushing lightly against it. The door slid open and revealed the blue-haired teacher, laying in a bed, her breathing labored, her face contorted in pain, sweating profoundly, fighting against, what Akko could only describe as, a grave fever attack.
And there, on a chair right next to the bed, head slumped against her chest, sat...
'Diana?!'
June 2006
"Croix", whined Chariot for the fifth time that day, "stop working already."
After Helena's miraculous transformation, Croix had buried herself in her research, her hair pinned up into a messy bun, not even taking breaks to eat, instead slurping down some kind of Japanese noodle cups, which were probably totally unhealthy, and every time the redhead tried to separate her friend from her beloved laptop she got shot down.
"Chariot, please stop trying to distract me, this is very important right now", the older witch said tiredly, seemingly irritated by the younger witch's behavior.
Chariot pouted, jumping from Croix's bed, approaching the workaholic silently.
Hugging her from behind, she bumped her nose against her friend's neck, kissing it softly, hearing her breath hitch slightly, pausing the endless tapping on the keyboard.
Feeling encouraged the redhead proceeded, leaving a trail of light kisses on her way to the lavender-haired witch's ear, which earned her a slight shudder.
Not at all satisfied with that response Chariot began to nibble at her earlobe, biting down gently, in the spur of the moment.
Apparently this seemed to do the trick, because in the blink of an eye, Croix spun around, causing Chariot to lose her balance, as she fell forward into the older witch's waiting arms.
The younger witch felt her face getting hot. Being so close to Croix always rattled her. Her ears flushed red in embarrassment.
She really wasn't that skilled at initiating the...more physical aspect of their relationship. She was a master of hugging, kissing and cuddling, but anything beyond that was more Croix's domain.
'She probably researched it.'
The lavender-haired witch spun the chair again, trapping Chariot against the desk. Pressing her against it, she surged forward and kissed the redhead with such fervor, that she felt slightly dizzy.
Chariot was on fire, the kiss send a jolt of electric waves down her spine, magic swirling inside her, building up, begging to be released.
When Croix slowly pulled back she felt spend, trying to catch her breath, her heart racing. Everything inside her urged her on to continue, to claim the other witch's lips again, to-
"Didn't I tell you to stop distracting me?"
Coming out of her daze, all Chariot could do was stare at her friend.
Her voice had a husky note to it, her breathing was slightly labored and her eyes were gleaming with barely restraint desire.
'At least I'm not the only one, who's affected by this.'
Struggling to get her voice back to function the redhead asked:
"So only you're allowed to do it?"
It came out raspier than she anticipated. Croix backed slightly away from the desk, an amused expression on her face, not breaking their eye contact.
"Of course", she said cheekily, "that is my right as your elder."
Chariot pouted again.
"That doesn't sound fair at all."
The older witch chuckled lightly, winking at her.
"You should know by now, that I am never playing fair."
The redhead sighed dramatically:
"Oh, don't I know it", before both broke out in laughter.
As they quieted down again Croix's gaze wandered to the clock on her desk and back to Chariot.
An apologetic smile spread over her face.
"I am sorry Chariot, but I really have to get back to my work."
She sounded sincere enough, Chariot supposed, but that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating.
"Today is the flying contest for the third years", she said softly, "I thought, maybe you would like to come with me, you know, we could search for the next word and..."
Croix raised her right eyebrow at that, totally not believing her.
Chariot ducked her head at being caught.
'I'm such a bad liar.'
"Or...just to see their performance", she muttered finally, "getting new Ideas for my shows and all."
The older witch seemed to mull that over, looking at her laptop, possibly calculating how much longer she would need to finish.
"Give me two more hours", she relented with a sigh.
She couldn't even react as a red blur leapt at her, hugging her with excitement.
"Thank you, you won't regret it, I promise!"
"Oh, I am sure of it", she drawled sarcastically, "but you have to let me work in peace, understood?
No more interruptions."
Chariot let go of Croix with a mock salute, grinning brightly.
"Alright", she said happily, running towards the door, waving at her friend, "I'll go pack a few things. We'll meet at the Leyline terminal, ok?"
"Yes", replied the older witch with exasperation, but her eyes betrayed the joy she felt, as she waved back.
Two hours came and went.
After collecting the Claiomh Solais from her room, Chariot had sneaked into the kitchen to grab a few snacks. She figured, she and Croix could have some kind of pick nick after the contest. They wouldn't have much free time once the final exams would start...
But she didn't show up, not even once another hour went by.
When she went to her room to look for her, no one was there. She wasn't at the library, she wasn't at their favorite spot, she was nowhere to be found.
Chariot even began to ask around, if anyone had seen the older witch, but...nothing.
So she stood at the Leyline terminal, a broom in her hand, leaning against the stone wall, waiting.
She had an uneasy feeling about this.
'Croix, where are you?'
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our dear Charidiot"
The unpleasant voice of her roommate, Therese, filled the area. She was flanked by three other girls, one of them, whom she recognized as Helena, who gazed blankly at her.
'How odd.'
Sighing deeply she tried to ignore the blonde, short-haired girl before her...
And Croix still wasn't here.
Therese sneered at her, obviously taking her silence as a challenge.
"Now you are even too good to acknowledge me?", she asked, as she feigned a hurt expression.
Her followers snickered, except Helena, who still gazed at her and...
Croix still wasn't here.
"How rude", she said loudly, standing with her hands on her hips, "no wonder Croix-Senpai ditched you."
'Huh?'
"What are you talking about?"
Chariot narrowed her eyes, an angry note to her voice.
'Don't let her get to you!'
"Ah, now she talks to me", the blonde drawled, which earned the redhead a round of mocking laughter.
"Cut the crap, Therese!", she said sharply, "What do you mean, 'Croix ditched me'?"
She gripped her broom more tightly, trying to suppress the urge to whack the obnoxious girl with it. It would certainly help if said girl wouldn't smile at her so cruelly.
'What have I ever done to you?'
Before Therese could respond, Helena interrupted her, in a quiet emotionless tone:
"Stop being mean to Chariot."
This sentence puzzled Chariot, it lacked...absolutely everything. Since when did the brunette seem so...vacant? There wasn't a better word for it. And more importantly...
'Why are you suddenly standing up for me?'
Helena always followed Therese around, doing everything she demanded of her. The only time they were on relatively good terms, was, when the blonde was gallivanting elsewhere and even that had come to an end as soon as the brunette had developed a crush on Croix.
Speaking of which...
'Where are you?'
Therese looked absolutely speechless, the other two witches didn't fare any better. No one dared to say a word, until the blonde let out an exasperated sigh, accompanied with a shake of her head.
"You sound like a broken record, Helena", she said amused, her eyes softening. It was barely noticeable, but Chariot could feel the change in her energy, pulling at the strings connected to the sorcerer's stone.
When she got no response from the brunette, she shrugged, turning around to face her other companions.
"Well, never mind, let's go, or we won't make it to the contest on time."
Now seemingly ignoring the redhead, they sat on their respective brooms.
"TIA FREYRE", echoed from the walls, as they took off.
"Wait!", Chariot yelled after them, "Tell me where Croix is!"
As the others flew off, Therese looked over her shoulder rolling her eyes.
"She is researching, of course, and if you weren't able to find her, then I guess she just doesn't want to see you. Guilt tripping is what you do best after all."
'That's not true!'
Everything in Chariot screamed at her that the blonde witch was lying, that Croix would never think something like that. That there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for her absence, but...
'Croix is not coming.'
Chariot felt conflicted, turning her back towards the school, she mumbled the flying incantation herself. She would talk to Croix when she got back.
'If I can find her, that is.'
The sun was slowly setting when she finally saw the stand, build on a tree, which was supported by magic, full of students, who stared at the participants with stunned expressions on their faces, obviously awed. The contest was already in full swing, much to Chariot's chagrin, but there was nothing she could do to change that, so...
'Better find a place and enjoy the rest of the show.'
She shifted her weight on the broom to begin her descent, when suddenly a piercing pain jolted her upright again. Automatically she felt herself disconnecting from the Leyline, only to switch to another one. The slight disruption in her magic flow caused her to almost fall down. Panicked she looked around. Apparently she wasn't the only one having trouble. The contestants were yelling loudly at each other, seemingly as confused as her. The students at the stand became more and more unsettled, searching for a Professor...
'Where are they?'
She couldn't spot one, did they leave already?
'What's going on?'
The first contestants were spiraling down, screaming for help.
The piercing pain returned, hot and angry, disrupting the natural flow of magic.
Chariot closed her eyes, stretching her senses...
The Leyline was trembling, shaking, clawing at everything it could get.
'It's collapsing!'
As if on cue, the Leyline quivered again, flashing bright green...and vanished.
Everything that happened afterwards was a blur for the redhead.
First started the screaming, the third year contestants fell towards the ground, the stand slowly creaking, forming cracks, breaking apart.
Then panic began to set in and everything was thrown into chaos.
Amidst the painful cries for help, Chariot saw the Claiomh Solais glimmering in a sinister red light.
'Something is wrong.'
"Help!"
Chariot froze.
She knew that voice.
The scream had come from the breaking stand. Therese, Helena and the other two witches had tried to climb down and were now trapped, as one of the tree's branches had snapped, blocking their way.
For a fleeting moment Chariot tried to feel satisfaction at seeing them like this.
Helpless, afraid, desperate...
But she couldn't.
For all the things they put her through, they were still human beings.
They were still her teammates.
'I have to do something!'
The question was what?
They needed magic!
Otherwise everyone would probably fall to their deaths.
Only...magic was generated from Leylines...and the one they had used was dead...
The next one was too far away for them to connect to...
They needed...what did Croix call that thing that allowed her to establish a link between the internet and her laptop?
'A router!'
They needed a router, something that could tie them to another Leyline and the only one who could do that was-
'Me...'
With sudden determination the redhead gripped the Claiomh Solais tightly and raised it up into the air, letting the magic flow through her. The rod flashed brightly, a mix of red and green light erupted from the young witch.
It felt as if she was ripped in half, a burning she never experienced before. It hurt...
'Make it stop!'
But she couldn't.
She couldn't stop, because if she did...
The magic pulsed through her with every beat of her heart, intensifying more and more.
She couldn't see.
She couldn't think.
She couldn't scream.
She could only squeeze the rod harder, the one thing that held her together...
And then... she was falling...
"CHARIOT!"
2018
Diana woke once her face came into contact with the hard floor. Trashing wildly she gasped for air, trying to escape the pain, which-
'What pain?'
Pausing for a moment, she looked around. It was dark.
She wasn't in pain, well apart from her pounding head that is, which she probably got from falling out of her bed. Only that it wasn't her bed at all. The white linen and the sterile odor that made her head spin even worse, did indicate that she appeared to be in the infirmary.
What was she doing in the infirmary in the middle of the night?
'Ursula!'
Yesterday's events came rushing back to her.
Confronting Professor Ursula.
That powerful blast of magic.
The blinding light.
Her teacher lying on the ground, not getting up.
Professor Finneran finding them, trying to calm her down, taking them both to the infirmary.
Making that horrible announcement.
Ursula not waking up...
'Why?'
The cold of the floor seeped into her clothes and cooled her down, making her think clearly.
The last thing she remembered was sitting beside the blunette, so obviously someone had moved her into another room. Standing up slowly she padded barefoot through the room. The only door it possessed was closed, but she was still able to hear something. A faint whimper. Silently sliding the door open she made out the source of heard noise.
Professor Ursula.
A sudden wave of guilt washed over the blonde.
'I did not mean for that to happen.'
She just wanted to get answers, she wanted to restore magic, to fulfill her mother's vision, she wanted...
'Stop!'
She didn't have time to break down right now. With newfound strength she took a few steps towards the sleeping teacher, when something caught her attention. A slight buzzing. Stopping in the middle of the room she let her gaze wander.
There, on a lone chair right next to Ursula laid one of those tablets, or smart phones, she really didn't get the difference, 'Professor' Croix had invented.
'What is it doing here?'
Quietly, Diana went to the chair, picking it up. She tapped the screen lightly and jumped a little when it lit up.
"Chronosphere", she read aloud,
"Unauthorized connection detected...
Status report: Active...
Waiting for administration...
Compatibility check: Done...
Transmitting Data: 57%..."
'What is this?'
"See, Chariot", someone said, emerging from the other side of the room, startling the blonde, "I told you, you wouldn't be able to stop me."
'Croix!'