Before either of the instructors could even begin to process what was happening, the massive root had successfully taken hold of Holbrooke's ankle and gripped it tightly.
"What in the-"
She was unable to finish her inquiry due to her elderly form being dragged out the shattered window faster than she was able to let out a surprised squeal.
Ursula could only watch in fright as her employer vanished outside, her shrieks growing quieter the farther down she went.
Her feet finally finding the strength to move, she darted to the other side of the office and peered her head out of the window, wary of the lingering shards of glass.
Ursula peeked out in time to see Holbrooke still plummeting to the ground, the root still wrapped tight around her ankle.
Moments before the root brought her to the bottom, four massive pedals broke out from the grass, each of them opening wide as if it were a venus fly trap. Ursula was only able to watch helplessly as Holbrooke fell inside of it, its gaping maw shutting tight once it detected her presence.
Not another moment later, the pod retreated back into the ground, a mound of dirt left in its place.
Her heart threatening to hop out of her chest at any moment, Ursula gripped the windowsill, her breath hitching in her throat and a cold sweat running down her brow.
For what seemed like forever, nothing else happened.
Until a flash of green light poured out from where the pod descended. As soon as it dissipated, she was just able to see a system of roots and vines snaking their way up the school's foundation in a slow, threatening pace.
She wasn't sure if it was her mind playing tricks on her, but Ursula was also almost certain that she could hear the stone cracking and breaking from the pressure.
The only thing that was able to tear her concentration away from the growing vines was the roar that echoed through the night.
Looking in the direction it had come from, her heart fluttered with hope as she found the familiar hulking white body of her childhood friend dashing through the courtyard and making his way to the school.
Arcas let out another roar, his eyes dead set on the impending vines that looked prepared to swallow his home.
He galloped across the lawn, sending a spray of grass and dirt up in the air behind him as he went until he was tripped up by a vine that jutted out of the ground. It swept low, taking out his front paws and sending him sprawling forward, his massive weight digging into the ground and leaving a trail of grounded dirt in his wake.
Shaking away his disorientation, the polar bear attempted to lift himself back up, but was dragged down by more vines wrapping around his body. The gentle giant growled in agitation and gnawed at the roots wrapping around his paws.
Arcas successfully tore off a few and flung them across the yard, but his efforts were in vain as another set wrapped around him.
Ursula's hope fell dead on arrival as another set of pedals rose up and devoured Arcas in an effortless gulp, dragging him into the ground just as it had happened to Holbrooke mere moments before.
"Arcas!"
In her dread, she barely even noticed another flash of green rise up and vanish just as quickly. In response, another wave of vines and roots went crawling up the foundation, burrowing into the brick and wood.
Another set of shrieks broke her out of her horrified trance, this one coming from behind.
Whipping her head around, she was just able to see a panicked set of students run by, screaming at the top of their lungs.
All but leaping over the desk, Ursula went back out to the hallway and found it filled with girls barreling out of their rooms, a system of roots creeping out from behind the doorways and through certain spots in the floor.
The girls hopped and leapt out of the way of the protruding roots, the panic that seized their hearts making them unable to think clearly as they ran about.
Ursula took this as her cue to step in.
One of the girls tripped over the root and fell face first to the floor, no one else appearing as willing to lend a hand to her.
The instructor barreled down the hallway and helped her to her feet. Making sure she was alright, Ursula lifted her chin and found the other girls still running amok.
"Everybody stay calm!" Ursula's voice only barely managed to reach their ears amidst their screams. All eyes turned to the teacher, each of them filled with terror and the need of direction.
With no time to think of a safer option, Ursula went with the first idea that popped into her head.
"Stay together and follow me!"
With none of them coming up with a plan themselves, they each did as they were told in the hopes that maybe they would be able to get out of this safely.
With the horde of worried students behind her, Ursula made her way to the end of the hallway until she was met face to face with another window; this one significantly smaller than the one in Holbrooke's room, but it'll do nonetheless.
Raising her wand, she summoned a massive gust of air that all but shattered the window, leaving not a single shard along the edges.
Nodding in satisfaction, she lifted her wand and turned around to see the worried students behind her.
"Everybody down!"
Doing as they were told, the girls hunched down with their hands covering the back of their heads.
Once she felt that no one would be harmed, she went through with her plan and swished her wand through the air.
Upon command, every single door in the hall were all but ripped clean off their hinges and flew towards her in a single file line.
Lowering herself to the floor, Ursula allowed every door to fly overhead and out the window. It was hard to keep her concentration however as the group of girls found themselves unable to hold in their terrified screams.
The line of doors was nearly halfway out of the building, each one swooshing overhead, sounding more like blades on a fan on high speed.
Finally, the last of them flew out of the window and into the late evening air. Standing back up, she poised her wand out the broken window and took aim to the floating doors. With a flick of her wrist, the doors shifted from vertical to face down. Eyebrows scrunched in concentration, Ursula willed the doors to form a floating set of stairs from the window all the way to the ground.
She whipped her head back to the startled students.
"Now's your chance! Get to the ground and run to the forest! Don't look back! Go!"
Not needing to be told a second time, the first set of girls rushed forward and cautiously stepped out of the window, carefully balancing themselves on the first door.
One at a time, the girls went from door to door, getting closer and closer to the ground.
Ursula ushered the next set of students out the window, followed up by the next set, and then the set after until there were none left in the hall.
Waiting until she saw the final student leap off the last door, Ursula relaxed her arm and allowed the makeshift staircase to fall to the ground.
Wiping off her perspiring forehead, Ursula smiled as she saw the last of the students make their way into the line of trees, hoping against hope that they might be even remotely safe there.
Now came the next step: getting herself out.
Holding up the doors for an extended period of time had nearly drained her dry of any energy, so remaking those steps were definitely not an option anymore.
Her concentration was interrupted as a new set of roots began to envelope the window. Staggering back in surprise, Ursula watched as the outside world became blocked off by a system of healthy roots five inches thick.
Whipping her head in the other direction, she found her access to the remainder of the hall blocked off as well. As she assisted the students in their escape, she had failed to notice an entire wall form behind her, composed of twisted vines and thick roots that also stemmed off and snaked along the walls, the wallpaper and insulation behind it beginning to crack.
Her footing began to worsen as well, the thick foliage at her feet providing her with no safe access to a flat surface.
She rapidly looked in both directions, wracking her brain and trying her best to come up with the best route to take.
Before she could come up with any viable options, the roots in front of her began to shift and twist amongst each other, taking a rather obscure shape of an oval. Inside, when she looked at it hard enough, she made out two vertical lines and a straight line underneath.
Her heart skipped a few beats once she realized that it was beginning to form a face.
It skipped even more once the crude facial features began to move.
The lines at the top blinked a few times and the mouth curved into a wicked smile.
"Oh my goodness! Hello there, Miss Du Nord."
Meanwhile,
It was hard to tell while being smothered by nearly total darkness, but Akko was fairly certain that she was beginning to see black spots dance in her vision due to the vines hugging her tightly around her ribcage, locking her securely to the ground.
Her teeth were grinding and she was grunting out very unwomanly obscenities underneath her breath as she struggled against the pull. Panic began to seize her mind the more and more she fought against it.
Her mind began to come at ease once she came to the realization that these roots were not intended to kill her. They were merely here to keep her in place until they were ready for her in the morning.
Although she wasn't in any real danger, she still wasn't too keen on being trapped here as those lying saplings destroyed her school.
She looked left, then right, then left again, trying desperately to find something that could aide her.
But without her wand to lend assistance, she found nothing that would help her out of her predicament.
Her body relaxed in an attempt to catch her breath, but the immense pressure against her ribcage made it difficult to take in full gulps of air. She laid her head back against the dirt, almost on the cusp of admitting defeat.
Once they free her in the morning, she'll come up with some way to free her friends . . .
She hoped.
But it was hard to be optimistic at a time like this; as was attempting to come up with a valiant rescue mission while the life was slowly being squeezed out of her by a bunch of sentient, magical plants.
. . .
Magical?
She only just realized that her eyes began to slowly droop closed the moment they popped back open, her mind forming a desperate game plan.
Looking down at her wrists, she found them entwined tightly to her sides like a straightjacket.
A newfound sense of determination washing over her, she took in as much air as she could get and began wiggling her body once more, focusing her efforts on her arms.
She wiggled herself left and right and back and forth, dirtying her already filthy uniform all the while.
After several minutes of more struggling and more grunting, she managed to break her right had free from their grip.
Wasting no time, the brunette gripped at another vine and tugged with all her might. It was awkward to do so with the poor amount of leverage that her current position offered her, but before long, she had successfully snapped off a piece of the root.
Bringing it close to her face to get a better look at it, Akko nodded in approval once she noticed traces of green lingering inside of it.
If these roots possess magical properties . . . Then this might just be stupid enough to work.
Raising the piece of root in the air while doing her best to avoid a new arm growing out from the ground to take its place, Akko's eyes closed in concentration.
"M-Metamorphie Faciesse!"
One puff of smoke later, the form of Akko was gone, and in her place was a tiny field mouse with overgrown ears. The roots that had previously held her captive were wailing about, trying to find their target once more.
Capitalizing on the root's confusion, Akko made a beeline for the dirt wall that obstructed her path. Stopping at the base of it, she eyed it up and down before taking a look at herself.
There's no way I'm getting anywhere like this . . .
Her makeshift wand still held clumsily in her tiny paws, she waved the root and incanted once again.
"Metamorphie Faciesse!"
Another puff of smoke later, the field mouse was replaced by a Scottish Terrier with blue spots and light brown fur.
Although it wasn't quite the breed that she was aiming for, Akko deemed it worthy enough of getting the job done.
Trying not to focus too much on the roots slithering about, Akko raised her paws and began to dig at the wall in front of her. To her delight, the dirt crumbled fairly easily beneath her paws. She panted and dug in a steady rhythm to keep up a fast enough pace so she could escape in time.
She didn't even have to look over her shoulders to see the roots closing in on her.
Ignoring them, Akko continued to dig, well aware of the fact that if she were looking at this from an outsider's perspective, she would've found the site of a lap dog pawing at a wall the most adorable thing in the world.
The vines drew closer to her tiny ankles, and even closer still . . . but at that moment, her paws fell into open air.
Her heart back flipping with joy, Akko barreled her head forward and plowed through the opening she had created, clumsily rolling on her face but inside the anteroom nonetheless.
She sprang back to her feet and immediately found her wand exactly where they left it after it was swatted out of her grasp. Akko took off like a bullet and scooped it up in her teeth the moment she was able to.
Swishing it through the air as if it were a chew toy, Akko concentrated as hard as she could on the spell, hoping that it would also work in her thoughts.
Thankfully, her efforts paid off as she once again vanished in a puff of smoke and reemerged as her regular human self, her wand still clenched tightly in her teeth.
Once she realized she was back in her old body, Akko fist bumped the air before sheathing her wand and hightailing it out of the anteroom.
She still had friends to save.
Her mind kept flashing her an awful amount of images of what Luna Nova may look like at this very moment, but she shook them away and continued on her path.
No amount of paranoia was going to keep her from her friends.
At the Same Time,
"Please stay in a single file line! Maintain a safe distance from the school and await further instruction!"
It didn't take long at all for Diana to step up and assume a leadership role in the midst of the chaos. As soon as the students on her level had caught wind of what was happening, they were quick to turn to her for guidance.
Fighting back the creeping fear that was bubbling in the pit of her own stomach, she put on the bravest face she could and led the entire floor down the steps and to the front entrance, avoiding the growing limbs and branches out of the walls as they went. Once they all reached the large double doors, Diana held the door wide open and allowed the students to spill out as if the flood gates had busted open.
Despite the cries of anxiety, she did her best to make her voice heard.
"Leave all that you have behind! It's much too dangerous to go back inside!"
Somehow, in the ocean of terror-stricken students, Diana managed to find the familiar pink and blonde hair of Sucy and Lotte making their way over to her.
Diana was about to advise them against speaking with her for the time being, but it was too late. Lotte had already gripped her hands tightly against the fabric of Diana's uniform. Her footing staggered against the sudden weight and she almost lost her hold on the door, but she held onto it with one outstretched arm as the sea of students stampeded around Lotte and Sucy.
"Diana, has Akko gotten out?! We haven't seen her since earlier!"
The young prodigy would love nothing more than to quell her friend's anxiety, but couldn't come up with an answer that wouldn't hinge on false hope.
"I have yet to find her. Don't worry, I am certain she is unharmed."
"She fought against a missile last year," Sucy drawled. "If that didn't kill her, then I doubt this would either."
Diana nodded (though she could see the worry lingering in Sucy's eyes). "She's right. Akko is one of the toughest people I know. She can take care of herself."
Lotte agreed wholeheartedly, but still found it hard to be optimistic.
In response, Diana drowned out all the noise surrounding them and gave Lotte a genuine, comforting smile. "And I know you know this too."
She finally got a nod out of the blonde.
"Now, get to safety," Diana's protective instinct retook her demeanor full throttle. "Follow the others and don't look back. I'll regroup with you and the others when this all blows over."
"But what if-"
"Go! Now!"
Flinching back, Lotte nodded again and finally willed her feet to move. Her and Sucy promptly vanished into the fray once more.
Pleased she was able to even remotely appease the worried girl, Diana returned her attention to the evacuation once more. Still doing her best to keep herself calm, she was relieved to see that the crowd was thinning out, but there were still quite a few students to make it out the door yet.
If things kept moving at this pace, then the majority of the school should be outside and safe.
It was right when she conceived her optimistic thought that she noticed a fissure form in the ceiling.
The pressure from the ever-expanding system of branches becoming too much for the structure, the walls themselves began to crumble and falter. A near earsplitting cry of panic erupted from the frightened students and resulted in them spilling outside at a faster, unsafe pace. Accidental jabs and elbows to the sides were thrown in the midst of the chaos.
"Please remain calm!" Diana yelled, this time falling upon deaf ears. "Everybody please just-"
Another fissure formed in the ceiling, this one sending a cloud of dust and drywall raining down on the students.
Diana's blood froze once a chunk of the ceiling broke loose and plummeted to the floor, directly in the path of petrified students, too struck with fear to move their legs.
Her hand took on a mind of its own as it let go of the door, clutched her wand in a white knuckle grip and took aim.
Despite her heart being seized by panic, Diana flawlessly incanted the strongest levitation spell she knew.
Her balance unsteady and her center of gravity poorly founded, she nearly fell over once her wand caught the falling debris.
The stunned students were shaken out of their trance and gaped at their savior, whose forehead was beginning to perspire from the strained effort.
"Go! Now!"
The last of the crowd had filed out, leaving the door wide open for them to escape.
Diana breathed easier once they vanished outside.
Before she could set down the debris, she took notice of a branch slithering out of the hole that was created in the ceiling. Her nose crinkling in disgust at the site of it, she wasted no time swinging her arm upward and flinging the chunk into the sentient branch.
It squirmed and writhed on impact. Diana took small pleasure in its pain and ran the opposite way.
She didn't make it a single step outside before a root wrapped itself around both of her ankles.
Falling forward, she broke her fall on both of her arms, her forearms taking the brunt of the impact.
Looking behind her shoulder, she found the root in question that had wiggled itself out of a hole in the floor that she had somehow neglected to notice. Gritting her teeth, Diana did her best to stand herself up, but the root tugged her backwards.
Her heart beating faster than a chugging locomotive, Diana dug her fingers into the floor, but that did little to stop her from being dragged backwards against her will. Out of the floor, more petals emerged. They opened up and awaited Diana to be placed inside like the others.
"Yo! Hands off the princess!"
Looking up, Diana found Amanda running towards her across the yard through the still open door, her eyes full of rage and determination. Had Diana not been in a very compromising position, she would have scoffed at the stubbornness.
But that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes.
"Amanda! Stay back and get into the-"
"Shut it, would ya! I'm saving you!"
Knowing that it would be absolutely pointless to argue with the jock any further, Diana did the next best thing.
Raising her wand, she took aim at Amanda. Her spell was barely audible as she struggled, but it was enough to summon enough magic to engulf Amanda, stopping her in place and lifting her off of her feet. Swishing her arms and legs in the air in a vain attempt to lower herself back to the ground, she cursed under her breath.
"The hell are you doing?! You're gonna get yourself killed!"
With another strained effort, Diana flicked her wrist, willing the magical aura surrounding Amanda to carry her backwards towards the forest.
Though she was a fair distance away now, Diana was able to hear Amanda promising that, if they survived this, she was going to kick her . . . well, Diana was fairly grateful she wasn't able to hear that last part.
Outside, Hannah, Barbara, Lotte and Sucy had congregated together at the base of the forest, asking whether or not they have seen their missing teammates.
Immediately after, Amanda fell at their feet, startling them out of their inquiries.
Pushing herself up to a sitting position, Amanda cursed some more, her eyes glued to the academy's entrance. "I'm gonna kill her!"
Following her gaze, the small cluster of students were just in time to witness Diana being swallowed whole by the massive petals before the entrance became entirely blocked off by the still-growing system of roots and vines.
Hannah and Barbara wrapped their arms around each other and squealed in terror, now totally lost without their leader. They both fell to their knees and bawled their eyes out, leaving Lotte to comfortingly rub their backs in a last ditch effort to soothe their worried minds.
Amanda rose to her feet, looked up, and dropped her jaw at the sight.
Being in close proximity to the school had hindered her view of the school, but from this far back, all of the students were able to take in the horrifying scene.
The entire school had all but vanished, the outside of it wrapped entirely by massive tree trunks and outcropping branches that still continued to climb upwards.
"Whoa," was all that Amanda was able to say at the moment, having totally forgotten about her failed attempt to save the drama queen.
The sun was officially behind the horizon now, leaving the moon and stars to take its place. But a good majority of the stars were entirely blocked out by the massive tree, creating an ominous silhouette that did nothing more than grow higher and higher into the air.
Despite the darkness, Amanda and the others were able to see leaves beginning to bud out from the tips of the branches and cluster together like an enormous shrub. Massive creaks and cracks were heard, more than likely caused by the walls of Luna Nova collapsing from the pressure, followed shortly after by more groaning and whining from the stress the building was facing.
And it killed every single student who was observing this, each of them unsure if there was really anything they could do to help stop.
But, thankfully, they didn't have to. The faculty members have already taken action.
Noticing a whoosh above their heads, Amanda and the others looked up to find Professors Nelson and Finneran on their brooms, their wands raised and ready for use.
Nelson hovered herself closer to her fellow educator.
"But what if some students are still in there?"
"All we're doing is slowing it down," Finneran reassured. "It'll buy us enough time to go inside and find anybody left. Besides, by my count, most of everybody is out already."
"Still no sign of Holbrooke," Nelson reminded her.
"I'm sure she's with the students, but there's no time for this. Let's head up there!"
Agreeing that little time was left, Nelson relented and followed Finneran to the smothered school. She came to a stop on one end while Finneran flew to the other, turning a one eighty so they were facing each other.
On Finneran's cue, the two of them raised their wands above their heads, the tips of them glowing blue and white.
"Now!" Finneran called out, prompting the two of them to propel themselves forward.
The moment the two of them shot forward, the blue aura from their wands began to trickle downwards and float in the air until they snagged on the leaves. The magic feeding out of their wands as if it were a roll of tape, Nelson and Finneran continued on their course, passing by each other, reaching the end of the line.
Without a single command having to be issued, the two instructors turned themselves around and went again, then again, then again once more; each lap they made resulting in more and more of the top of the tree to be smothered in their magical net.
The two of them persisted, their arms growing weak from being raised for some time. But they ignored the fatigue and continued to zig zag around the tree as if they were wrapping the world's largest Christmas present. Wind was flying too quickly by their ears for them to hear the cheering and hollering from the students bellow.
In what both seemed like forever and a mere second at the same time, they were nearly halfway done with their task.
Inside the school, however, Ursula's arm was also growing wary from the amount of swings she was throwing at a rapid fire pace, casting magic as quickly as a bullet leaving a gun. But the magic she threw the face's way was blocked harmlessly by a passing by entanglement of branches acting as sentient arms.
But that didn't deter Ursula from doing her best to kill this thing.
The face in front of her, while at first appearing genuinely pleased to meet Ursula once again, now seemed to be disappointed in the whole altercation (and maybe even a little bit bored). With every swish of her wand, a tentacle-like branch was there to block the blast with no effort at all.
Her teeth clenched tightly and her forehead damp with sweat, she continued her barrage, resulting in an eye roll from the face in the wood.
"Miss Du Nord, please," the face admonished. "I don't see any reason for-"
"Quiet!" The young instructor snarled, not breaking a single stride in her attack. "After all the lies you told me, after every spell you claimed would benefit me, you have no right to show your face!"
Her words reinvigorating her energy, she took two steps forward, her arm moving at a faster pace now. A bolt of her magic passed through the tentacles and struck the face.
Blinking in surprise, it summoned more branches to protect itself. But the outraged teacher was far from finished.
"Despite what you promised me, I've made a life for myself; a better one than anything you could've provided me!" Her bolts grew faster with every step forward she took, concern now written on the wooden face before her. "The invaluable things I've learned, the incredible people I've met, I'm not going to let you take it all away!"
The face blinked again. "That's quite amusing. Miss Akko was just saying something similar."
That did it. That brought Ursula to a screeching halt a mere few yards away from the now smug looking face. Her breath hitched in her throat and her weariness caught up with her, causing her head to spin in all directions.
Taking full advantage, the branches zoomed forward and wrapped themselves tightly around Ursula's body, her feet being lifted off the floor.
Her access to air was nearly entirely cut off, but that didn't stop her from struggling with all of her might.
Unfortunately, all of her might wasn't enough to break herself free.
Instead, as she was held suspended in the air, she was forced to watch as a closed up pod emerged from the floor, identical to the ones that have already gobbled up Holbrooke and Arcas. Ever so slowly, the petals opened wide.
"You don't have to worry about Miss Akko, Miss Du Nord. Once she comes around, she will become an exceptional witch. She shows great promise. You should be proud in all honesty."
The branches entangling her body brought her forward into the awaiting maw of the pod at an agonizingly slow pace.
"And the best part," the face continued, "you'll still be with her every step of the way."
Struggling despite knowing the futility of it, Ursula could do nothing as the petals closed around her.
Meanwhile,
Outside, Finneran and Nelson were putting the finishing touches on their trap.
With a few more zig zags and crisscrosses, the two of them flicked their wrists and halted the flow of magic from their wands, the tail ends of their wispy forms floating gently downward until they came to a rest atop the adolescent tree.
Nelson floating in place, Finneran flew up beside her as they both observed their on the fly handiwork.
The top of the tree was covered from end to end, looking more like an overflowing salad bowl with saran wrap covering the top of it. The leaves underneath the layer of protection fidgeted and pressed against the shield in what appeared to be agitation and impatience.
The two professors caught their breaths and rested their aching arms, both of them trying their best to determine the best course of action from here.
Unfortunately, they didn't come up with a plan of action quickly enough.
The leaves underneath went from a state of agitation to what looked like rage, blowing against one another as if they were being blown mercilessly away by a hurricane. Before either of them could do anything to quell it, the leaves pushed upward, going against the wispy shield with all of its might.
Their insides twisting themselves into a knot of worry, Finneran and Nelson slowly backed away from the tree, both of them growing wary by the second.
Like a balloon swelling up to the point of bursting, the tree continued to rise exponentially, the shield being stretched to its limit.
Exchanging a quick look, the two teachers silently agreed that it was time for them to get out of there.
But the tree burst through before they could even turn around.
The shield tore away with explosive force, the magic built up inside of it being released in a tidal wave of power. The force of the blast too great for either of them, both Finneran and Nelson were flung off of their brooms and launched into the air.
It took all of the students' strength to grab hold of one another and stand their ground against the gale-force winds.
It had happened so fast that the two of them hadn't even fully realized that they were tossed away like ragdolls until a few seconds after the fact. However, they didn't have enough time to even attempt to reach their brooms again due to two vines reaching out from the top of the tree and wrapping around their waists.
The students down below were forced to watch as their instructors were pulled somewhere inside the tree, which began growing higher and higher into the air with zero signs of slowing down in the slightest.
Meanwhile,
Ignoring the scrapes and slices across her face from the occasional branches and twigs as she rose out of the forest, Akko, with an all but white knuckle grip on her broom, shot out from the top and rocketed herself towards the direction of Luna Nova without a trace of hesitation.
The cold air whipping by the small cuts on her face stinging as she flew motivating her all the more, Akko's gaze never turned away from her destination, hoping that not too much damage had already befallen on her school.
Tree after tree passed beneath her at breakneck speeds, her mind slightly at ease knowing that she was rapidly approaching the school. As she rode, she couldn't help but recall the time her, Diana and the others rode into the sky to take down the grief-stricken missile not too long ago.
The memory of the near-traumatizing added a necessary boost of motivation to her already pounding heart, the victory she and Diana achieved together making her believe that she might even be able to come out of this situation on top as well.
Her self-motivation session was cut short by what appeared to be a tidal wave crashing into her in midair.
Before she could even comprehend what it was that was approaching her, a wide line of a swirling mass of blue and white cascaded over the trees like a category five storm and blew the helpless girl backwards with no added effort.
Swirling backwards as if she were in a blender, Akko hugged herself close to the broom, eyes closed all the while and screaming at the top of her lungs.
In the midst of her tumble, she had entirely lost sight of the school, a blur of dull blue the only thing she was able to see.
After what felt like an eternity, Akko fell back into the forest. Her broom struck tree after tree, almost throwing her overboard and spilling her to the ground. Finally, she met the ground and rolled end over end until she came to a stop on a hard surface, her legs splayed up in the air awkwardly.
Moaning, she rubbed the back of her head and patted the ground around her in search of her broom.
Her vision still swimmy, she managed to find her broom. But before she could lift herself up and take position on her broom, her sight returned to her, and she was able to clearly see what exactly it was that she was propped up against.
At the Same Time,
Most of the students had retreated farther into the depths of the forest in search of possible refuge from the monolith that had entirely enveloped their school, save for a select few that still found themselves unable to move their feet.
Those select few included Amanda, Constanze, Jasminka, Hannah, Barbara, Sucy and Lotte, who all stood their relatively slack jawed, gaping up at the massive tree with no plan or even idea as to how to slow it down.
They had seen a few of their teachers make their best attempts at stopping its growth, and had also seen how well it worked out for them.
It often took a lot to dampen their spirits to the point of total defeat, but this appeared to be what it took for them to reach that specific point.
Especially with their resident bright eyed optimist factory currently missing in action.
None of them knew how long they had been standing there for, nor how long it had been since the surrounding student body had fled into the woods.
They just stood there, watching the behemoth rise higher and higher into the air.
And for the longest time, none of them were at all willing to break the silence.
At least until a peculiar fluttering noise reached Jasminka's ears.
Snapped out of her reverie, the pink haired girl looked to the sky, trying to find the source.
Catching sight of her friend's unease, Amanda turned away from the tree and addressed her.
"What's up, Jas?"
"Do you hear that?"
Not expecting that question, all of the girls tuned their ears to hear anything that was out of the ordinary. For the first few moments, none of them heard anything strange outside of the cracking and shifting of the growing botanical wonder or the collapsing walls of the school.
But after a few more seconds, they all began to hear the same thing.
None of them were able to explain what it was, as it hadn't sounded all that familiar . . .
At least to anyone else besides Constanze.
The fluttering grew louder and it was accompanied with a dull rush of air. They could each feel a rumbling in the ground that reverberated into their chests.
The dull roar grew louder as the rumbling grew more and more intense. It was as the noise grew louder that they all came to the same conclusion that whatever this was, it was coming from behind.
Almost in perfect unison, the girls turned around and looked up just in time to see a large black blot sail directly overhead, a trail of white and blue magic trailing behind it as if it were a wake being created by a speed boat.
Amanda's jaw dropped even farther once her mind caught up with her eyes, remembering exactly where it was that she had seen that before.
Constanze's ship, long since presumed lost, emerged from the top of the trees and was on a collision course with the tree. The rushing air from the aircraft blew over them violently, forcing them to adjust their footing as to not fall over. When they lifted their heads back up, they found the ship growing closer and closer to the tree.
If the eye twitch of Constanze was any indication (which none of them really needed), they all reached the same conclusion as to who exactly was piloting it.
Lotte clasped her hands together excitedly, a spark of hope igniting an inferno of hope within her.
"Akko!"
Sure enough, the brunette stood atop the deck, both hands gripping the steering wheel with her broomstick tucked behind her in her sash. Her hair was whipping behind her as she flew forward.
The moment the school was able to come into her field of view, her heart plummeted into the pit of her gut.
Once she had literally stumbled upon the ship that she had lost in the woods, she thought the hardest part of the night was going to figure out how to start the stubborn thing back up. It was pretty banged up from its impact, so she wasn't anticipating it to be easy; but one would be surprised how far an equal amount of stubbornness accompanied with a never ending sense of urgency and a false sense of hope (along with a few stray kicks to the hull for good measure) can get you.
As soon as she heard the engines whir to life, she grabbed hold of the wheel, took to the sky, and launched herself forward. It was a good thing that it didn't take much to start, because she wasn't at all planning on landing it regularly.
This was going to take more than a written apology to get back on Constanze's good side . . .
Ignoring the stern look that she was picturing the young genius giving her, Akko flew towards the school . . .
Or at least where the school once stood.
It has since been replaced with the adolescent form of Yggdrasil, which was stretching higher and higher into the air. By Akko's rough guesstimation, it must be over three hundred feet high by now. She shook her head clear of any intimidated thoughts and reset her resolve, allowing the ship to carry her closer to the tree.
If she listened closely, she was only barely able to hear the whoops and cheers of encouragement from the students down below (it only took her a brief moment that those noises were coming from none other than her friends, save for Constanze more than likely). Using the cheers as fuel to her fire, Akko twisted the steering wheel and angled the bow of the ship on a direct collision course with the tree.
The sensation of her stomach rising into her throat giving her confirmation that the ship was doing as she willed, Akko let go of the wheel and took hold of her broom behind her back, untangling it from her sash.
Wasting no time, Akko ran across the deck and jumped over the railing, allowing herself to plummet.
The only thing that was louder than the wind rushing by her ears was the crushing impact the ship made when it struck the tree, its entire frame and body being demolished to nothing more than splinters, the remainder of it warped in unnatural and unsalvageable angles as it crashed into the ground.
Her insane plan proving to work in her favor, Akko took sight of the hole that had opened up within the top of the tree.
With the ground rapidly approaching, she decided that now was the best time to activate the second part of her plan.
Straddling her broomstick as she fell, Akko ignored her impending demise and focused solely on the broom itself.
"Tia Frerye!"
With no problem at all, the broom slowed her descent to a calmer pace until she floated in one spot.
The cheering from below grew louder from Amanda in particular, who was no doubt thrilled seeing Akko have little issue in piloting the broom all on her own now.
Akko spared a brief moment to salute her friends before aiming the tip of her broom at the hole in the leaves, which was now closing up fairly quickly.
Leaning her body forward, Akko willed the broom to fly ever faster towards the opening. As soon as she cleared the majority of the courtyard, Akko surprised herself when she felt her hands push up off of the broom and lift her to her feet, surfing the broom toward the tree and closer to the vanishing opening.
She knew that she needed to time this astronomically perfectly, but she also knew that if there was one thing that she could count on, it was her amazingly dumb luck.
As soon as she deemed herself close enough, Akko leapt from her broom, propelled herself forward into a horizontal nose dive, and flew perfectly inside the tree moments before a new patch of leaves sealed the entrance.
Swishing her wand in a wide arc, Akko sent a gust of air downwards to soften her fall. She succeeded in softening the blow, but failed miserably in making it a graceful landing.
Catching her body of the air she sent down, Akko misjudged the distance to the first limb beneath her and lost her footing the moment they touched, sending her into another tumble head over heels until she came to a stop against what appeared to be the trunk.
Her eyes were closed in pain as she rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head, mumbling more curses to herself. But through her closed eyelids, an orange light penetrated through. She slowly opened her eyes and was met with the upside down image of what appeared to be an amber-colored oval embedded within the bark, protruding out ever so slightly like an eyeball.
Zipping immediately to her feet, Akko took up a defensive stance with her wand outstretched in front of her, clutched in both hands and ready to strike.
"M-Miss Akko?"
Before she could release her first spell, she was caught off guard by a familiar high pitched voice coming from above. Taking her eyes off of her target, she looked just above it and was met with two beady eyes and a mouth just beneath it that appeared to be in a shocked o.
If looks alone were able to kill, there would be a smoldering hole in the trunk right now.
After a few moments of stunned silence between the two, Tilly's shocked face melted into one of what appeared to be pride.
"I knew you would be a resourceful witch with time, I just knew it. Only the smartest of-"
Akko cut him off with a swing of her wand, sending a blast of magic his way. Before it struck him however, his face vanished and the area around it returned to how it was, the magic exploding harmlessly against the bark above the amber capsule.
Her brow furrowing in confusion and frustration, she heard the wood behind her twist and warp. Looking behind her, she found Tilly's face looking up at her from the limb she stood on, his face now etched with disappointment.
"Miss Akko, can't you see-"
"Stop calling me that!" Akko finally snapped. "Miss Akko this, Miss Akko that. I'm not important enough to be called Miss! And how do you still not get it? Luna Nova is my home! I'm not going to let this overgrown weed take it away from me along with everyone I love!"
To show she was not bluffing, she pointed her wand at the amber capsule once more, the tip glowing blue and ready to release the built up magic inside. Akko smirked to herself when she saw the fear cross over Tilly's face.
"Oh, b-but Mi- Er, A-Akko, I'm not certain you'd like to do that. Especially to your childhood hero."
The magic fizzled away in an instant at the same speed that Akko's heart plummeted into her stomach.
She took a closer look at the amber capsule in front of her and adjusted herself so she could get a better look. Walking closer to it to avoid the glare, Akko's fear was confirmed when she made out the image of a silhouette inside. The closer she got to it, the more the image inside cleared out.
Inside was undoubtedly Professor Ursula, eyes peacefully closed as if she were asleep.
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened in horror. On pure impulse, Akko looked up and found another amber capsule up top, this one placed underneath a limb so it was able to look down at Akko.
She could feel her feet nearly give out from under her when she realized that Diana was inside of that one. Her well-kept dress and elegant wavy hair a dead giveaway.
When Tilly had told her of their plan to use everyone's magic as a source of power, she did believe him, but couldn't picture it.
Seeing their plan come to fruition face to face was just about more than she was able to handle.
The higher she looked, the more and more amber capsules she was able to see, each of them no doubt holding more of her teachers and more of her friends captive inside.
Beneath her feet, she could feel the rumbling of the tree, telling her that it was still not done growing bigger. But she couldn't bring herself to do anything at the moment; the image of her mentor being used as nothing more than a battery still acting as a freshly opened wound on her spirit.
For a brief moment, Tilly felt remorse for the events that were transpiring. He never wanted to see his successor hurt like this. Granted all of this was a necessary step in giving Yggdrasil life once again, and despite Akko's previous outburst, he had held out hope that she would see that this was actually for the better.
He let out a sigh, now looking content with the fact that he'd have to wait a little bit longer.
"I know it hurts now, Akko. But please give it some time."
The words never reached Akko's ears. She was too numb from the shock to let any info in at this point. She finally gave in to her wariness and collapsed to her knees, her head bowed in defeat.
Tilly gasped again. He was losing her.
"B-But please look at it this way! No one will be able to deny your magical skillset anymore. Yeah, that's it. You'll be held in the highest regard in the magical community. And with school out of the way, you'll no longer have to waste time on the more mundane aspects of witchhood. No school gatherings, no homework, no . . ."
Tilly continued to list the seemingly never ending entries of pros of allowing him to destroy her school, but only one of them made its way through to Akko's blocked off consciousness.
Homework.
She slowly lifted her head, eyes widening as the memory of Diana walking her through her homework with her just a little while ago came racing back to her.
With each passing second, the brunette found her strength and will returning to her. Though it was based purely on a gut feeling, an idea formed in her head.
Akko stood up, cutting off Tilly, who now looked up at Akko in shock.
"M-Miss Akko?"
"I told you not to call me that."
Her voice was quiet and fierce, taking Tilly off guard.
Tightening her grip on her wand, Akko swished it at her feet and released a gust of wind from it that propelled her upwards faster than Tilly could get a response out.
Mouth opening in shock, Tilly's face vanished from the limb he and the brunette were on and reappeared on the next level, where Akko had just landed.
"Miss Akko!" He ignored her previous request out of pure habit. "What're you-"
He had no time to finish his request as Akko launched herself up to the next level. With each limb she leapt up to, Tilly's concerned face was there to meet her, doing his best to persuade her out of whatever she had in mind.
But Akko was in no mood to listen at the moment.
She leapt higher and higher, passing by more students and faculty members who were trapped within their own amber capsules, unwillingly giving their own magic to the tree. Her heart ached with every face she recognized: Professor Holbrooke, Nelson, Finneran, even Arcas had his own above average capsule.
But she had no time to let their confinement affect her. She kept climbing higher, getting closer and closer to the top of the ever growing tree. With every level she reached, Tilly's face was there to meet her, growing more and more frustrated and agitated as they went.
"Miss Akko, please! Would you . . . Just listen to . . . Why won't you . . . STOP!"
With only about fifty feet to go, Akko's ankle was caught in a vine, halting her progress and nearly causing her to drop her wand. Looking up, Akko found Tilly's impatient face embedded in the bark before her.
"Just what is it you're attempting to accomplish?" He asked firmly, sounding more like a parent scolding their hard headed child.
After a few brief pants to catch her breath, Akko smiled calmly.
"I just want to make the whole world smile."
Saying nothing more, the girl vanished in a puff of pink smoke.
Tilly blinked in surprise, looking left and right, but failing to find the girl. Instead, what he found was a tiny field mouse with a devilish grin on its face. He quickly put two and two together, but it was too late as the mouse dashed forward and traversed up the trunk, making extra sure to climb over Tilly's face as she went.
Now officially done, Tilly willed even more vines to appear. One after another, they each dashed forward, attempting to catch the tiny mouse. But with precise timing, Akko managed to dodge them, dashing to the left and to the right, wincing as the vines made violent contact with the trunk.
Despite her small stature, the young mouse was making fairly good time on her way up to the top, ignoring Tilly's cries of desperation as she went.
She got closer and closer to the top, the once thick branches now thinning out.
Her heart leapt in joy when she was finally able to see the night sky.
Digging her paws into the bark, she leapt upward with all of her might, avoiding the last of the sentient branches and rocketing toward the top of the tree.
In another puff of smoke, Akko changed back into her normal self, reached her arms as far forward as they could go, and wrapped herself around the tree's top like a koala bear.
"No!"
In one last act of desperation, Tilly sent another volley of vines upward.
But before they could even wrap themselves around the girl, the young witch raised her wand straight into the air, and as loud as she could she yelled,
"Arbourore Sobenebrei!"
A/N: Okay, this chapter was originally going to be a little longer still, but after seeing this word count, I figured this was a good spot to cut off. I didn't want the average chapter length to be in between 5 and 8 thousand and then have this one be 11,000. That would just be weird . . . right? Or is that just me?
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! This was another one that I've had mapped out for a while now. And after this one . . . there's only one chapter to go.
I genuinely hope that you've enjoyed reading this thing and please remember to drop off a review!