Your follows and favorites have made my day! With this final part of Episode 1, don't expect any updates from me for at least a couple days (although I seriously have an addiction to LWA at this point so who knows).

For this one, I had Episode 23 on repeat while I wrote (especially the Diana x Akko coffee shop scene and the Diana confronting Chariot scene).

Where were we?

Little Witch Academia S2
Our Magic!

Episode 1: The Legacy of the Claiomh Solais
Part 4

Diana jumped.

She did it without thought or fear. Akko was falling, and she was going after her.

She did not have a wand. She did not have a plan. Akko was falling, and so was she.

Quickly, Diana caught up to and grabbed her. Clutching Akko's body, now she began to panic.

"I have possibly made better decisions than this," Diana said wistfully.

"Diana," Akko roused herself briefly. "It burns, Diana."

"Akko!" Akko closed her eyes and faded back to unconsciousness. "No, Akko!"

I have to save her. I have to!

Channeling magic without a wand was hard, but Akko had increased magic all over the planet. If it had ever been possible, it would be now!

Diana closed her eyes and tried to feel for the magic all around her. She began to pull deeply only to be shook from her actions by Akko's scream. "Akko, Akko, what's wrong?"

The ground was getting ever closer. "It's now or never!" Beginning her spell again, Akko opened her mouth once more in a scream, this time with no voice and not waking during. That, coupled with their freefall was enough to break the delicate concentration channeling without a wand required. Akko! I'm sorry I couldn't save you!

"Paleis Capama!" The green bubble popped into existence and arrested both witches' motion fluidly. Chariot breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cutting it a little close, weren't you?" Croix asked once she was able to breathe again.

"You were as terrified as I was, Croix. You saw what happened."

"Yes. I saw. It's worse than we feared."

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As soon as Diana and Akko reached the ground, Diana moved between Akko and Croix, and stared suspiciously at the latter. Croix raised her hands in surrender, "This one's got nothing to do with me."

Chariot tried to calm her, "I brought Croix here when we heard where you girls went."

"Forgive me if I do not trust your judgement when it comes to this individual, Professor."

Chariot hung her head in disappointment, "I can understand that, but I brought her to help Akko."

"Too bad it's already too late," Croix said resignedly.

"Croix!" Chariot rebuked her.

"Sorry, my therapist says it's healthy to be honest with those around me." Chariot couldn't tell if Croix was joking or being serious, so she took her at face value.

"Explain yourself immediately," Diana commanded.

"Diana," Chariot tried to intervene.

"Professor Chariot, if you do not start speaking or let this individual speak, I am going to lose my temper with you."

Chariot let Croix speak. "It's just a theory, but it makes sense. Akko used too much of the Claiomh Solais. When it left, it grabbed onto her magic, rendering her powerless once it completely left her system."

"She is definitely not powerless now." Diana said smugly.

"No, this is more concerning."

"How so?"

Chariot answered, "If she can use the Words, it means that when you girls started the Grand Triskelion, she stayed connected to Yggdrasil. With the void left by her magic, Yggdrasil itself flowed back into her."

Croix finished, "No one witch is meant to handle that much power. There's a reason why objects like the Claiomh Solais and the Sorcerer's Stone exist. Without it, the witch will burn out. She'll be lucky to die."

"I believe in Akko!" Diana declared, "I believe in Akko's believing heart! If anyone can overcome this, she can!"

Croix conceded the point with a nod of her head, "If anyone could, you'd be right to put your faith in her."

Chariot handed her a wand and asked, "I need to escort Croix back. We'll wait for Akko to wake, but need to leave as soon as we can. Will you be able to make it back on your own?"

"The other hounds?"

"They're back to normal now. They won't attack unless you attack them."

"What?"

"Something twisted the leader of the pack, the other members were lashing out to defend her, but they are normally friendly, if skittish creatures."

"The alpha, it had been shot many times with arrows and, I think, guns."

Chariot frowned in pain, "Corruption."

Croix spoke up, "The rise of magic means we can use more powerful magic and in more places than ever before, but it also means slights that would otherwise pass by will become magnified. Magic is neither good nor evil, but can be used for both. Creatures that reach for power for the wrong reasons will become corrupted. The world has become more dangerous."

Diana kept herself from putting down her former professor, instead she asked, "Could the alpha have been saved? Did we do the wrong thing?"

Chariot shook her head, "Probably not. The corruption had spread too far."

Akko groaned, bringing all of their attention to her. "Akko will recover for now?"

"Magic overuse. Without the Shiny Rod, the magic she used for every spell came only from her," Chariot said.

"She had used the Shiny Volley and used Shiny Arc at least four times."

Chariot and Croix couldn't believe it. Chariot asked in awe, "How could anyone use that much?"

"There's something else too. When I was trying to cast as we fell, Akko kept screaming in pain."

Croix perked up with interest, "Without a wand?" At her nod, she continued, "She's tapped into the leylines. You were trying to pull directly from the leylines. You're bright enough to figure out what happened."

Diana didn't think she could hate herself more, "I was draining her directly?"

Chariot nodded. "Diana, this is a lot to take in."

"I assure you that I have understood everything so far."

Chariot nodded again, "About Akko, what will you tell her?"

Diana stared at her disappointedly, "How did keeping secrets from Akko work out for you last time?"

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"So I have magic again is what you're telling me." The two friends were stumbling down the mountain together, their path lit by a magic orb hovering above them

"Akko! Are you listening to what I've been saying?"

"Yes, you protected me from the words of our professors."

"Akko."

"I'm taking it seriously, Diana. It's a lot to take in. And I wish they would have stuck around. I haven't seen Croix-sensei in months."

"Akko."

"Have you noticed that you pronounce my name perfectly?" Akko asked her with sudden interest.

"What?!" Diana's blush rose from her chest to her ears, she could only hope her magic light didn't give away the color to Akko.

"And you say my name a lot. A lot, a lot. I mean, you say my name better than I say my name. The exact amount of hesitation before the second syllable. 'A~ko'. Somehow pronounced perfectly, but still in your hot English accent. And you're not even very good at Japanese!"

Diana stumbled over her words, finally latching onto the one thing she could respond to, "I am proficient in Japanese."

"Hai, hai." Akko blushed herself, glad Diana didn't notice her slip of the tongue saying her accent was hot.

"Ak—So what shall we do about this?"

Akko smiled, "Please don't stop."

"A—I cannot. You have made me self-conscious. Do I really say it that often?"

"Only every other sentence or so." Akko grinned in victory, "But I love it."

"Akko," she grinned wider, "Akko, I want to know what you think about everything we have spoken of."

"About my death sentence?" Akko asked bitterly.

"Akko," Diana began.

"See, just the sound of my name on your lips is enough to make me smile."

"Akko," Diana was crying.

"Diana." Akko stopped, bringing Diana into a hug, "We'll figure it out. As long as I have you—as long as I have all of our friends, it's not over, right? You guys won't let me go quietly at least. Right?"

"Definitely not. I won't ever let you go at all. And you will definitely not go quietly yourself."

"Diana," Akko laughed through her tears, "We're having a moment here. Don't make fun of me."

"And how about the way you say my name, A~ko?"

"Huh? What's wrong with the way I say your name?"

"You don't even try to hide your accent when saying my name, 'Dai-ah-na'."

"What? What's wrong with that? That's how you're supposed to say your name!"

"If it was Japanese! In English, it's pronounced, 'Di-an-ah'."

Akko's blush was only a few inches from Diana's face and she was able to see it without any trouble under her magical light.

"You're so mean, Di—ugh, so mean." Diana hugged her tighter, both were crying once more. "Sure, pick on the dying girl."

Diana sobbed and laughed, kissing the shorter girl on the forehead. "We are going to figure this out. I will not rest until we do."

Akko looked up and cupped Diana's face in her hands, kissing her on one tear-stained cheek, before turning her head and kissing the other. "No. We are going to rest. I want to attend the school that Chariot attended with you. I don't want to live with this over our heads."

"Akko. I'm not going to be able to stop myself from figuring this out."

"It's OK, Dia~na . . . did I say it right that time?" Akko asked, laughing and crying.

"Not at all!" Diana laughed through her own tears.

Akko nuzzled her head into Diana's chest, muttering, "So mean."

It did not take long for Akko's tears to soak through enough for Diana to be able to feel them against her chest. The two girls continued to hold each other until they could continue on.

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Hours later, the two were walking hand in hand, finally on an actual road. "Diana! Andoru's scooter!" Akko hurried over to the wrecked scooter in their path.

"What happened to it?" Diana asked aghast.

"I don't know, I just remember wrecking and getting thrown over this cliff. Oh, looks like it was a flat tire."

"Akko!" Diana said with sudden intensity.

"Ack! What?"

"Promise me that you'll never ride one of these again!"

"Diana, how many times have we had broom accidents? We don't stop riding brooms."

"Promise me, Akko. Please!" Diana grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"OK."

"Really?"

"Yes, I don't want to worry you, Diana." Akko turned away uncomfortably, but Diana wasn't having it. She pulled her close for a hug.

"Um. Hello?" Andrew's voice called out from the bottom of the cliff.

Diana actually went "eek" and pushed Akko out at arm's length at his voice.

Akko couldn't help but laugh, she grabbed Diana's hand and walked to the edge of the cliff, "Andoru!"

"Akko! You made it back! Were you able to make a difference?" Andrew called up from the darkness.

"Oh, you could say that," Akko replied coyly.

"Andrew! Can you step into the light?" Diana willed her light to brighten and focused it over the side of the cliff.

"Diana? Is that you?" Andrew came into sight, scooting along the ground.

"Who else would it be?" Diana asked scornfully. Akko began to laugh, "What?"

"When you talk like that it reminds me of how you used to talk to me."

"What?" Diana became very upset, "Akko, I never thought of you the way I think of Andrew, even from the beginning."

"Um, I'm right here. I can hear you."

"It's fine Diana, I was just nostalgic I guess. It made me laugh to hear you talk down to somebody."

"I'm literally at the bottom of a cliff listening to this right now."

"If they're fond memories, I do not mind." Diana replied.

"Fond? That's not quite it. They've become fond because they're memories of you."

"Oh come on! Are you going to help me?! I'm trapped at the bottom of a cliff in the mountains during a monster attack!"

Diana rolled her eyes up and away, "I suppose I should do something about him."

Akko nodded, "Hai!"

"Paleis Capama!" Diana encased Andrew in a green bubble, effectively cutting off his complaints. She directed her wand up, and wind rose to meet her command, blowing Andrew back up over the cliff and to them. The bubble popped as suddenly as it had encased him, dropping him to the ground.

"Ow!" Andrew grabbed his ankle in pain. "Thank you very much for the assistance, Diana. Akko."

"It is the duty of a witch to help those in need. Think nothing of it."

Akko giggled again, "That's so Diana."

Diana directed her light away from her blushing face once more. Andrew asked, "So we can return to the village now? I haven't heard any sign of the hounds in hours."

"They have been neutralized for now, but you will have to educate the people of this village to not abuse magical creatures. It would be well if they took it to heart for non-magical creatures also, but the risk is too great if they can access magic."

Andrew frowned in thought, "Explain to me as we make our way down the path."

Akko bent over to put his arm over her shoulder, helping him to his feet. Diana stuttered, "W-w-what is this?"

"He sprained his ankle in the fall Diana, if it's not broken he'll be lucky. I don't think I have it in me to cast Lyonne, so we need to help him."

"I do not like this!"

Andrew asked sincerely, "Do you have a better idea?"

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About an hour later, Akko and Diana crossed the stone bridge to town with Andrew floating in a bubble behind them. Sucy and Lotte were the first to greet them. Diana released the magic on Andrew gently this time, so he merely sprawled on the ground instead of flopping on it.

The witches and Andrew made their way to the Wasdale Head Inn to get as much sleep as they could. In the morning, the witches departed for Luna Nova. Lotte thoughtfully offered her broom to Diana so she could fly with Akko, and Lotte rode double with Sucy.

When they neared Luna Nova, Diana trailed back far enough to speak privately with Akko. "When will you tell them?"

"Soon," Akko smiled wearily at Diana. "Soon, just not today." She leaned her entire body into Diana's back. Diana straightened up rigidly on her borrowed broom. "Hey, what are you trying to do? You know that's not how you fly a broom."

Diana slowly relaxed back into a proper flying stance, and Akko settled into her once more. "Akko."

"Diana." Akko mimicked.

"Thank you for coming after me."

Akko smiled with her eyes closed. "I'll always come after you."

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PHEW. I couldn't stop writing this. Don't expect the next episode for at least a couple days. As always, thank you for reading!