Holy cow this is a giant-sized chapter. I really didn't anticipate it would get so big! AND IT'S ON FLIPPING TIME! It's OK to praise me more!

I super hope you all enjoy it!

Our Magic!
Episode 06: Of Kami and Fey

On nicer days, the throne room had been awe-inspiring. Tapestries of all colors and designs adorned the high walls under vaulted windows that let in the blue moon- and star-light. By all colors, even colors humans could not see were represented. So many tapestries hung that if you were to blink, they would seem to shift around and arrange in new configurations. Lending an infinite quality to the long great hall. The ceiling reached too high to see, with crystal chandeliers reflecting the light of the moon and stars into brilliant constellations of lights.

The walls and floors were made of crystal brick; with the floors at times transparent, allowing one to gaze at the pool of multi-colored fish below. A thick, deep, red fur carpet led to an immense silver throne that capped the pathway. Covered in filigree that even the machines of humans could not replicate. This was perhaps obvious, as everything in the room had been forged from magic.

The grand portal to the room creaked open as if by magic and a brilliantly beautiful white haired witch appeared in the entryway. Although appearing slight and emaciated, her bountiful hips and chest gave her a curvaceous, vivacious appearance. She walked as though a bright neon sign saying, "Do not feed the wildlife or they will eat you" was following her around. She gasped as she took in the throne room, then hurriedly stepped aside as the one-ton throne flew through the air to crash into and through the heavy stone door she had just closed. The throne deformed to a lump of misshapen metal, its beautiful filigree littered the path.

The tapestries were in tatters, with neverending scraps floating down like falling leaves. The carpet was ripped up from the floor, its fur shed and torn asunder. The water below was boiling and a maleficent red light cast the throne room into a hellish glow.

At the foot of the dais that once held her throne, Ana sat brooding.

"Sister, what is the meaning of this?"

"Croix." Ana spoke simply, her voice thick with emotion.

"You cannot expect me to believe that turnip defeated you?"

"She . . ."

"What? How?"

"She took her own life to deny me my prize." Ana spit out, "I've lost both of them."

"What? You mean Chariot du Nord's lover is dead? This is wonderful!"

Ana's tone changed from mournful to full of malice. "How. Is. This. Wonderful."

"Are you serious? Overcome by grief, du Nord will throw herself headlong into battle and become the berserk warrior we all want her to be. Chariot du Nord is the real prize after all."

"The witch Croix passing is of no consequence." The low voice managed to surprise both of them as the inky darkness coalesced into a surprisingly lively beauty. The sensation of rot emanating from her contrasted with brilliant energy suffusing her body.

Ana rose to her feet, her magics shaking the walls and driving both of her sister-witches to their knees. "It is of consequence to me!"

The newcomer began to laugh, and rocked backwards, inviting Ana with open arms and legs, "Are you finally going to take this mockery you call life from me, my dear, sweet sister?" Her eyes filled with madness, disgusting Ana into lucidity. The insane witch could sense the change, "No? 'Tis a pity. I crave the death only you can give me."

"Psychotic," the white-haired beauty spoke contemptuously.

"Oh? I know! Why not just resurrect the witch you lost?"

"That turned out so well with you," the curvaceous white-haired witch sniped.

"No." Ana's violet eyes turned contemplative, "She is right."

"Listen to yourself!"

"No." Ana's voice magnified, echoing and filling the infinite hall that was her throne room, "You shall listen to me!" Ana raised her arms as though addressing a great crowd, "We are not the witches we once were! Death is no obstacle. Croix is mine and she will remember that! Living or dead!"

The insane newcomer witch cackled madly, while their other sister looked on disapprovingly.

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"This is ridiculous!" Akko stormily paced around the hotel room, pointedly ignoring the beheaded Sucy feeding herself at the table and the unconscious Croix with more bandages than skin showing.

Chariot stood by, patting the air with her hands as though she could calm Akko telekinetically, "Calm down, Akko."

"CALM DOWN! I'm supposed to be the one that gets banged up and I'm perfectly fine while my friends are literally falling apart!" In hindsight, telling Akko that Croix wouldn't wake up no matter how loud she got was a mistake.

Diana smirked wryly from her wheelchair, "Oh? Are you saying it is inconvenient to you to see those you care about hurt and in danger?"

Akko whipped around to face Diana with a look of hurt on her face, instantly Diana's stoic appearance softened and she lifted her arms to Akko. Seemingly teleporting across the room, Akko joined Diana in her wheelchair to sit on her lap. Akko nuzzled her head into Diana's hair as Diana stroked her back and comforted her.

"Good grief!" Amanda said in exasperation.

Hannah stood in the empty space vacated by Akko, "Diana's not wrong. We are all witches, there's no reason to think you have to do this on your own, Akko . . . "

"And it's kinda' rude, too," Sucy chimed in from her place as a centerpiece on the table.

Akko slowly came back to the present from amidst the blonde waves of her girlfriend's hair. "What?"

"It's rude, Akko," Lotte explained.

"I'm being rude?"

"Arrogant and rude," Sucy said simply. Her body gestured with a spoon as she was speaking and pointed it at Akko.

"Akko," Barbara leaned over Diana and Akko as she tried to gently explain. "You're amazing. What you've been able to do since you came to Luna Nova and everything with the Shiny Rod and even since losing it. No one is denying that you would do anything for your friends."

"Then how am I—"

"Are you saying we can't do anything?" Amanda asked quietly, standing with her back to Akko. "That we shouldn't try? That we should sit and wait for you to fix everything?" Amanda whirled around on Akko and finished with a growl, "That Shiny fucking Chariot should wait for you to clean up a mess?"

Akko couldn't speak to deny her, but shook her head furiously, tears began to stream down her face. Diana held her hand up to Akko's face, drawing her down to Diana's level and gently kissed where her tears fell. "Akko, everyone loves you, but you need to stop thinking that you are the only one that can do anything. We are witches. Witches are meant to be feared, not sit waiting for a hero."

"B-but look at all of you. You got so hurt."

"Really? Why do I feel like I got ahead of everyone else?" Sucy drawled with a grin.

Lotte held her hand up to her head in exasperation at that pun. Chariot finally chimed in, "But it's OK when you get hurt, Akko?"

"Yes! Yes, that's it!" Akko said happy that someone finally understood, "Yes it's OK when I get hurt! I'm not important like you! Like Diana Cavendish! Like any of you! I'm just some girl that wanted to be a witch. You're all so amazing! The world would be worse if you weren't all in it! If there's something I can do, let me do it! If I get to use magic and make others smile while I'm at it, then all the better! If someone is going to be hurt, let it be me!"

The "tch" of disgust resounded from several witches in the suite, while many looked away from Akko's unbridled enthusiasm. Diana began shaking and her hands involuntarily tightened. "Eh? Diana? Diana, that's starting to—ow, ow, Diana!"

Enraged, Diana stood and unceremoniously dumped Akko to the floor. Quivering with rage, she shouted, "You fool of a witch!" but her voice broke as she tried to continue. She turned away from Akko and moved to storm away, only to fall when she stressed her injured body too greatly.

The nearby Barbara hurriedly caught her while Akko looked on, horrified. "What? Diana? Are you OK? Why'd you get up so suddenly? You need to rest!"

Barbara shook her head in amazement at the denseness that is Akko. Diana cried into Barbara's shirt. Hannah hurried over and helped Barbara get Diana back in her wheelchair.

"There's being an idiot and then there's this," Sucy commented in annoyance.

After whispering with Diana, Hannah announced, "We're going to get some air."

"I want to go, too," Akko announced. Diana's look of pain made her hesitate to say anything more.

"J-just stay here, Akko. Diana needs some time."

"What sort of time? I don't get it."

"Please, Akko. We'll be back," Barbara asked.

Akko crawled forward on the ground and raised her hand up after them as Barbara began wheeling Diana backwards. A stanbot reached out and grabbed Akko's arm from going any farther. Akko whirled to Constanze and the diminutive witch shook her head at Akko. When the door shut after the blue team left, Akko whined, "I don't get it!"

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"Akko," Chariot said gently, trying to shake the young witch from her torpor. Croix had finally woken briefly. They got her up and into bed with a television playing (Croix insisted) before passing out once more. Chariot returned to the main room of their suite after sitting with her. The other girls had were holed up in the second bedroom watching Constanze and Sucy playing video games.

Akko morosely sat at the table with her head down as though she fell asleep studying.

"Ursula-sensei?" Akko asked as she slowly raised her head.

"Can we talk?"

Akko nodded, but faceplanted back onto the table, "shure."

"Have you figured out why everyone is so angry with you, yet?"

"Because I'm rude, selfish, and arrogant?" Akko counted off, raising her hand to do so without lifting her head again.

"Are you just repeating what they said?"

Akko leapt up with sudden vigor and grabbed onto Chariot's dress desperately, "What am I supposed to do? I just want everyone to be safe! I never thought the world was this dangerous but now that I know it is it's up to me—"

The slap caught her by surprise turning her head to the side. It was so sudden she could almost believe it didn't happen if it wasn't for the stinging sensation in the shape of her teacher's hand on her cheek that lingered. In her confusion, Chariot kneeled down and enfolded her in her arms, bringing her close in a deep hug. "Sensei? I don't understand."

"Akko. I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you." At those words, Akko involuntarily tensed up, remembering the last time her teacher wasn't honest with you. The normally dense Chariot realized immediately she chose the wrong thing to say, "Not anything like that, Akko. I don't have any more secret identities to share."

Akko relaxed in her arms, "Why did you . . . ?"

"The truth is that I do not think of you as my student."

"B-but~! I am! I am your student!" Akko protested with all her might.

"Shh. Not like that either. You are, of course, my student. You are also my precious fan that loved my shows and brought me so much happiness. But you're something more than just that."

"What? What am I?"

". . ."

"Sensei? Whatever it is, please tell me! I promise I won't hold it against you. I want to know more about you. I want to know everything about you."

"Let's move to the couch, Akko. Let me tell you more about myself." The two girls moved to the sofa in the room. Chariot looked unsure of how to sit, but she took the end of the couch and faced Akko on the middle cushion with her leg crossed under her other. Akko sat completely facing Chariot with a look of expectation. Chariot gave her a gentle smile, and Akko clasped her hands in both of hers.

"Is this OK?" Akko asked.

Chariot nodded and continued, "The truth is . . ." She coughed to clear her throat, her voice hoarse with unshed tears, "I never had a mother or a father. I never had any siblings either."

Akko's face contorted in confusion and shock, "You're . . .?"

"I'm an orphan."

Akko's eyes were wide. "No!"

"It's OK. I've had a looong time to get used to it. And I know certain features about myself that are probably because of that history and try to be aware of it."

"Certain features?"

"I-I tend to care entirely too much. It is hard for me to trust others and let them in, but once I do, I can't stop myself."

"That's a bad thing?" Akko asked with her head tilted.

"It is when they hurt you," Chariot responded at once. "When they take advantage of your unconditional love for them or when they act like they no longer care about you."

"Like Croix-sensei?"

Chariot nodded as tears fell down her cheeks. "I put too much pressure on her, and when everything happened with the Shiny Rod, it's no wonder she pushed me away. Who would want me?"

"That's not true! I know Croix-sensei loves you! You two are meant to be!"

Chariot coughed to clear her throat again, "That's not why I am telling you. Croix and I have come a long way from when we were children, but I know that I made things harder for her along the way. I've made things harder for you as well, Akko."

"You've only ever helped me, Ursula-sensei!" Akko said with no illusions.

"Akko, when I said I don't think of you as just a student or a fan . . ."

"Yes? Can you tell me now? I really want to know. But not if it makes you any sadder. You crying is making me cry!"

"I—Akko. I think of you as . . . I'd like to be your—" Chariot's tears streamed down her cheeks and she became too emotional to continue.

It was Akko's turn to wrap the other in a hug and comfort her. "Ursula-sensei, you will always be so important to me. You showed me how amazing magic is! You were there for me no matter what! You sacrificed your ability to fly to save me!"

"Akko. I don't just think of you as a student or as a fan. I think of you as family!"

Akko froze at the declaration from her idol. Sensing how rigid she became, Chariot pulled back to look in Akko's eyes with worry. "Akko?"

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"Why is she so frustrating!" Diana finally let out her rage. She faced Hannah, who was leaning against a nearby stone halfwall and Barbara, sitting next to her in a bench. They were in a park. "Does she not know how much we all care about her? How much I care about her?"

Hannah thought about it and frowned before answering, "Probably because of witches like me that did nothing but put her down and try to make her feel worthless."

Barbara blanched at the thought, "And me . . . and Professor Finneran."

"Yeah, definitely Professor Finneran. She kinda' sucks, doesn't she?"

Diana shook her head, "That has nothing to do with the present. We are her friends. Does that mean nothing to her?"

Hannah leaned forward and put her hand on the sitting Diana's shoulder, "It's not like you can just immediately forget the past. Even after we realized how important she is to you and how special she is both as a witch and a friend, it still took us weeks before we felt comfortable enough to sit with her at lunch. And that's on our side. I'll admit she pranked us good a few times, but she never made us feel like we were worthless, not like we did to her."

"I just want her to know how much I care for her."

Barbara nodded, "It will just take time. If it wasn't for all this crazy stuff that's been happening, it's not like this would have come to a head so soon. She might have been able to get past this without us even realizing she felt this way."

Hannah looked at Barbara with love in her eyes, "Right, we just need to make sure we are there for her." She turned to Diana, "And that means you need to make sure you don't go full princess and storm off on her."

"Ex-cuuuuse me?"

"Yeah, that right there," Hannah said blankly.

Diana frowned and thought of her actions, "Oh no, what have I done?"

"You mean, besides not having a healthy way to deal with emotions you're feeling from your self-destructive girlfriend that thinks she's some sort of Supergirl?" Barbara commented, trying to get Diana to realize what was going on in her own head.

"This is—this is unforgivable. What if I hurt her when I . . . " the memory of dumping her on the ground stopped her cold.

"That probably did not make her feel like she exactly matters enough to not go out and try to kill herself in the next magical emergency, either," Hannah did not hold back.

"Why did you let me leave like this?" Diana slammed her fists down on the armrests of her wheelchair.

Barbara sighed resolutely, "Because you both needed the time. You leaving is probably the best thing to get Akko to think about the things she was saying—the things she was planning on doing—even if you were sending mixed feelings with the way you left. I know that just the thought of Hannah crying is enough to drive me mad, so her seeing you crying and needing to get out of there is probably making her think about it a lot more than otherwise."

"And you need to learn more about yourself too, Diana." Hannah commented. "With emergencies it's fine to smash in and take charge like the excellent witch you are. We all trust your judgement when it comes to magic."

"When it comes to magic?"

"You're shit when it comes to feelings," Hannah continued.

Diana reeled back from the unexpected vulgarity from the aristocratic witch. Barbara hastened to explain, "We are so happy that we are your friends, Diana. We always admired you and looked up to you, and knowing how beautiful your heart is, how determined you are to do right by your family and for all witches, it's awe-inspiring."

"But?"

"But you're shit when it comes to feelings," Hannah repeated unhelpfully.

"We are your first friends, and even then you never truly became connected to us until after Akko dragged you back to Luna Nova. You always kept yourself at a distance."

"That was not my intent! I always wanted to—"

"We know, Diana," Hannah calmed her.

"But I am . . ."

"Shit. Yeah," Hannah repeated while Barbara rolled her eyes at the choice of words.

"I am shit when it comes to feelings," Diana repeated softly to herself.

"You're just inexperienced. You don't know any better. You've never had these sort of relationships before," Barbara tried to console her.

"That is no excuse. I have read about friendships and relationships in books! I need to try harder."

"Trying harder is just half of it," Hannah said.

"You need to communicate," Barbara asserted.

"I need to communicate," Diana repeated.

"That's the secret to every relationship!" Hannah said happily, "Even one with a total nutbar like Akko."

Diana nodded, accepting their advice and continuing to think about it. "Hannah. Barbara."

"Yes?" they answered in harmony.

"You two are my closest friends. I may not show it, but I care so much for you both. I am so happy—"

Diana's words were cut off as the two descended on her for a tight group hug.

"Tch ow ow ow," Diana complained.

"Hey!" Hannah said as she pulled back, "You didn't complain at all when Akko was hugging you."

"I am practicing communicating more?"

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"Akko?" Chariot hung her head in defeat. "I'm sorry. That was incredibly unprofessional of me."

The older witch began to pull away from her student. Shaking Akko from her thoughts, "No!" Instantly, Akko through herself back into Chariot's arms. "I could never hope to be so important to you! You just took me by surprise."

"What?" Chariot said in disbelief.

"It's just that I sort of maybe had a kinda' y'know crush on you so I really didn't know how to react," Akko confessed.

"What?" Chariot repeated herself, her face turning red at the same rate as she comprehended the brunette's words.

Akko stared at her and began to turn red at the same rate.

At about the time Chariot fully resembled the color of her hair, she finally reacted, "Akko! I'm your teacher!"

"Now you're my teacher, but you used to be this super-hot gay idol!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"I didn't mean you're not hot now!"

"That's not the part I was asking about!"

"You're Shiny Chariot! Of course I had a crush on you! Everyone had a crush on you! Even Diana had a crush on you!"

"DIANA?!" Chariot shrieked horrified, "It's a pure show about how a believing heart is your magic! There's no gayness!"

"IT WAS TOTALLY SUPER GAY IN THE BEST WAY! Because YOU were in it and YOU were amazing and standing up in front of everyone being as gay as you are!"

"I'm not gay!"

"Oh, come on!"

"I've only ever loved Croix!"

"Croix's a girl!"

"That's besides the point!"

"I'm telling you that everyone knew you were gay the entire time! I knew you were gay before I knew I was gay!"

"I don't understand what is happening!"

"You were such a role model to me my entire life!"

"I thought you loved magic, not me!"

"I always loved magic! That was before I knew I was gay! After knowing I was gay, I realized how much I loved YOU!"

"I don't think of you that way at all!"

"You don't have to return those feelings! I'm in love with Diana! I'm just saying I had a crush on you so I felt a little crushed to know you think of me as family!"

"What!"

"I know it doesn't make sense!"

"Ahem," the two screaming witches shrieked "ACK" and recoiled from the intruding voice.

Croix leaned against the wall and grinned bemusedly at them. "You know some people are trying to sleep here?"

Croix sauntered over to the two. Chariot's eyes narrowed as she regarded her lover, realized the saunter was hiding the pain she still felt, and chose not to point it out. Croix sat on the other side of Akko and lay her hand around Akko's shoulders.

"It's OK that you had a crush on Chariot."

"What?" Akko and Chariot said in harmony.

"It's fine. It'd be strange if you didn't have a crush on Chariot. In hindsight, part of the reason I was so annoyed with Chari's magic shows back then was because I wanted her all to myself." Chariot eeped at that revelation and began to blush again. "Seriously, Chari? You're almost thirty, you don't need to blush at everything."

"Whaaaaaaat?! Why would you bring up my age! And it's your fault I'm blushing!"

"Aaaanyway, Chariot's amazing. And she's beautiful. Everyone should have a crush on her at some point," Akko nodded enthusiastically in agreement while Chariot continued short-circuiting. "And it's not like you still have a crush on her."

Akko stopped nodding and suspiciously looked away. "R-r-riiiight. That'd be totally horrrrrrible."

Croix sighed exasperatedly as she understood Akko's deflections immediately. "Still?"

"I-I-I mean, w-when I think of her as the Shiny Chariot, err, I sometimes maybe think that way . . ." Her voice got tinier and tinier as she continued.

"And that's why you cling to calling her Ursula-sensei?"

"No! Well, partly," Akko hung her head in shame.

"Don't be ashamed about who you like, but that's your crush, right? How do you think about her as a person?"

"I love her!" Akko answered immediately. Croix responded with a grin and lifting her eyebrows, waiting for Akko to realize she was being obtuse in her wording. Akko immediately started backpedaling, "I-I-I mean! She's seriously incredible! I feel so safe when I am with her like I could do anything. She's like a less embarrassing version of my mom like she's my older sister that loves and believes in me and I want to live up to her expectations without annoying her too bad!"

Croix smiled and looked at the still short-circuiting Chariot, "You see? She thinks of you as family too."

Chariot came back to herself, "R-really, Akko? You're not just saying what you think I want to hear?"

"Of course not! I'm too stupid to lie like that!"

"Stop that at once!" Diana shouted from the opened door to the suite.

"Ack! Hide me!" Akko dove behind Chariot as Diana wheeled herself in with Hannah and Barbara close behind. Akko peered out at the no-nonsense expression of her girlfriend from behind her idol.

"A~ko!" Diana calling her name was like an order from a queen, and Akko slowly crawled out from behind Chariot. Diana took a deep breath and slowly continued, "When you put yourself down like that, it hurts us."

"What?"

"When you think that you are worthless or less important than us: we all love you and care about you," Diana's composure broke and she exclaimed in a rush, "And that sort of thing pisses me off! I cannot bear the thought of you throwing yourself into danger anymore than you can bear the thought of me doing that, but I trust you and love you and really, really, really want to squeeze you to death and keep you from ever having to experience pain but when you have to experience it I am going to be there right next to you! And whenever I can I am going to lock you up and keep everyone else from being anywhere near you because you make me f-feel these things that I cannot understand and my heart is going to burst and I just want you to understand how much it hurts to see you not value yourself!"

Diana could not hold back her tears. Everyone looked at her in astonishment. Sucy with her head finally reattached smirked and commented, "That was a lot of run-on sentences from Miss Always-speaking-perfect-English."

Lotte smacked Sucy from behind in the shoulder to tell her now was not the right time for the usual snark, and Sucy's head fell off her shoulders to be caught in her hands. "Not again!"

Ignoring the peanut gallery, Akko slowly crawled towards Diana, "Di-Diana. I'm so sorry! I knew you cared about me, but I didn't think—"

"Think! You're not stupid! We all believe in you, but you cannot keep throwing yourself into danger without a plan, without believing in us to back you up! And you cannot think so little of us that we cannot make decisions for ourselves either!"

"Diaaaana!" Akko cryingly leapt into a hug. The two wheeled backwards from the momentum.

Hannah nudged Barbara and gestured towards the two with her eyes as if to say, "Where's the complaining about her injuries now?"

Barbara rolled her eyes at her girlfriend.

"Anyway," Croix continued, "For the record, I think of you as an annoying niece or step-daughter or something."

"Croix-sensei?" Akko exclaimed.

"Well, if you're family to Chari, then you're family to me too, you know?"

"Croix-sensei! Ur-ursula-ursula-neechan!" Akko sobbed as she transferred her ministrations from Diana to the two older witches. The hug was enough to cut off their airflow, but the suffix on Ursula's name meaning "older sister" drove Chariot to tears also.

"Thank you, Akko," Chariot managed to choke out.

"I'm so sorry I was being so stupid that you slapped me!" Akko murmured as she nuzzled her head into the shoulders of the two women.

"You did WHAT?" Diana asked frostily.

"Hey! Don't be mean to Ursula! You threw me on the ground!"

Barbara sighed in exasperation, "Does nobody have proper coping and communication techniques?!"

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Croix explained what she could about her capture without going into specific details. Chariot and Akko comforted her whenever it seemed like it was too hard for her to continue, and Chariot had already guessed at what Croix was hiding from the younger witches and agreed with the decision to not share everything.

Croix was crying when she finished, but somehow looked less haggard than she did earlier. "So what exactly happened then after that evil bi—excuse me, evil witch left you to die?"

"Something I didn't think ever would happen," Chariot said reluctantly. "I reached for the magic and unlocked the seventh word without the Shiny Rod."

"The Claiomh Solais," Croix corrected.

"The. Shiny. Rod." Akko emphasized each word to the lilac-haired witch as though she were the student and Akko the teacher.

"And that's it? The seventh word was able to restore Croix-sensei?" Akko asked intently.

"It was more like it undid what had happened. Instead of healing her, it reversed the damage."

"ALRIGHT!" Akko stood up suddenly and prepared to summon forth her ethereal Shiny Rod.

"Akko! What are you doing?" Lotte asked while the headless body of Sucy tugged Akko back into her seat. Jasminka rushed over and held her down into her chair, and finally a stanbot climbed up and sat in her lap.

"Ack! You guys! I'm going to use the seventh word to heal Diana!"

"What?" everyone chorused.

"I mean, obviously I tried to heal her with Lyonne already. As soon as I woke up and saw her lying there hurt I tried. Over and over and over and over again! It didn't work! Well, the first time it worked a little bit, but only barely! My mom was f-reak-ing out and I convinced her to let me sleep with Diana to recharge my Dianabtanium *cough cough* I mean recharge my magic!"

"Akko!" Diana pouted, "I thought you had enough sense to not try something like that so soon after waking up from a coma! And what do you mean Dianabtanium?! I am not a mineral!"

"When I think of you I can cast magic no matter where I am! You're my happy thought!"

Amanda fell backwards in surprise from the chair she was leaning back in and Sucy groaned in exasperation. "You really went with the happy thought thing from when you were trying to fly again?"

"It worked! When I think of Diana it's like my bond with Yggdrasil is stronger and I can channel magic no matter what! I can do it here in Japan, I did it on the plane ride here too. As long as I'm thinking of Diana, I can cast magic. So of course sleeping in the same bed as her would help me even more!"

"YOU SLEPT IN THE SAME BED?!" several voices shouted at once, causing Diana to begin to blush furiously.

She tried to cover, "Let us put that aside for now. Akko, please do not use your magic to heal me. It is not necessary at the moment. There is no emergency that requires me to be running around and I will be fine in a matter of a couple weeks. Next, the question comes to what happened to you, Miss Manbavaran, err—Sucy." Diana did not know where to look, at the body next to Akko or the head being held up by Constanze.

"I fell apart."

Everyone's head hit the table at that declaration. "O-obviously you fell apart, Suce. Why did you fall apart? Just from seeing that Ana bi-witch?" Akko asked.

"She's a faerie queene," Sucy said dryly. "I haven't seen a faerie queene for, well, it's been a while. I wasn't prepared for the sheer terror of seeing one in the flesh."

"How could you tell she was a faerie queene?"

"Well, obviously I'm not human, you know?" Sucy waited for a reaction, but apparently everyone had already figured that out. A few seconds passed before Sucy finally started to give up and was about to continue.

"WAIT?! WHAT?!" Akko shrieked.

"There it is," Sucy chuckled.

"Akko, she already told us she wasn't completely human. Her grandmother, remember?"

"Ohhh yeah!" Akko exclaimed. "Well that explains your hair color I suppose."

Akko looked intently at Barbara, then Constanze, then Jasminka, then finally Amanda. "WAIT! There's lots of people with strange hair colors! Are you all not human?!"

Lotte sighed in spite of being used to it, "Akko, it's not the hair color, but more like the fact that her limbs and head are detachable that has to do with the fact that she's not entirely human."

"Ohh, that makes sense." Akko agreed.

"Anyway, a faerie queene has more power than even Akko did when she was wielding the Claiomh Solais," Croix subtly shot Sucy a thumbs up for her word choice, "And they don't have morals like you're used to. They can do anything they want. They're beyond selfish and do whatever amuses them. Some people say they cannot tell lies, but that is itself a lie since they can believe their own reality. "

"Ana was a faerie queene, huh?" Croix turned it over in her head.

Chariot nodded, "I could tell also. And she also said she was one . . ." She added as an aside.

Everyone's head hit the table again upon the realization that Chariot casually forgot to include that information. "Did she identify herself in anyway beyond 'Ana'?" Diana asked. Akko stared at Diana making the "jiii" sound. "What! What is it, Akko?"

"Are you annoyed that her name ends the same as yours?"

"What! Of course I am not!"

"Her name doesn't even end that way, it's only you that pronounces her name that . . . Ohhhhh," Sucy started before she figured it out halfway.

"What are you all thinking?" Diana asked in a fury.

Barbara began to laugh, and the rest quickly joined in. Croix faked a chuckle, and Chariot squeezed her hand, which she had been holding for a while now without realizing. Her eyes were full of support and love.

"Back to my question!" Diana shouted.

Akko backed her up, "Yeah! Back to my girlfriend's question!"

"Akko," Diana said softly, "It is somewhat embarrassing for you to call me that when it was because of you that we got so derailed already."

"What?! You don't like being called my girlfriend?!"

"I LOVE BEING CALLED YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Diana refuted. "Ahhh," she felt beaten down from the pressure of everyone's stares. "I do not know what I am saying."

"That's OK, Diana! I never know what I'm saying," Akko reassured her. Diana nodded in thanks, but looked like she still was pretty confused by the entire exchange.

Sucy finally continued, "So there is no doubt that she is a faerie queene."

"She said she is related to Madb," Chariot offered.

"The Queene of Winter," Croix said pensively. "I cannot imagine anyone that Winter would ally themselves with."

"Wait, why does it seem like I've heard that name before?" Akko asked.

"Even I've heard that name," Amanda began, "She's famous."

"So this faerie is someone famous? Like Shiny Chariot?"

A stanbot spoke up, "No, like legendarily famous. Like Freyja or Odin."

"Or Dracula and Carmilla," Jasminka helpfully offered.

"Oh," Akko said thoughtfully.

"Akko?" Diana asked.

"Yes, Diana?"

"What are you thinking?"

"It's probably nothing."

"Out with it shortie!" Amanda shouted across the table.

"Ack! Why shortie?! Not everyone is freakishly tall like you!"

"Freakishly tall?! I'm 5'6"!"

"What does that even mean?! No one knows what you're talking about!"

"Five foot six inches!"

"You're in Japan, you crazy American!"

"I'm only a couple inches taller than you!"

"What does that mean? Are you a meter taller than me? 20 centimeters? No one knows!"

Constanze held up a sign saying, "6 cm".

"Oh, that's not very much different at all," Akko said, dejected.

"You're impossible!"

"Why do you seem so much taller?!"

"I've got long legs!"

Having completely distracted everyone, Akko settled back down. "Will you tell us what you were thinking now, Akko?" Jasminka asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking she's probably someone like Morgana le Faye." Complete silence greeted her. "See, that's why I didn't want to say anything."

"What makes you think Ana is . . . " Chariot trailed off as just saying her fake name started to convince her.

Akko started ticking off points, "Well, the name she gave was Ana. Sucy said they're super selfish and arrogant. If I was super egocentric, I wouldn't bother with a fake name, just call myself something like A-chan." Akko ignored the mutters of "A-chan" that greeted that thought. "Then she's got long black hair like Morgana is always portrayed and she's probably tied to Luna Nova or else why would she be interested in Croix and Chariot? Everyone knows Luna Nova was founded over the portal to Avalon, where Morgana's supposed to live. But that's so obvious that I'm sure everyone else already figured out that it wasn't that. Which is why I didn't want to say anything."

Silence greeted her once more. Finally Sucy asked, "How do you know that about the portal to Avalon?"

"Well, Chariot went to Luna Nova so of course I was going to read everything I could about her school, you know? Plus it was in the brochure. Didn't you guys read it?"

Everyone nodded as though that explained it, even Chariot.

"Akko," Diana called once more.

"Yes?"

"You're brilliant."

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Not so long ago at Luna Nova . . .

"I am so proud of you, my darling. Moonlit Witch in your first year of Luna Nova. Few are even considered until their third year."

"Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without you!"

"Pish posh. Talent like yours is lucky to come around once a generation. You are a credit to your family."

The child's eyes darkened, "They seem to think this was the bare minimum that I could do. Since Mother died, my aunt, everyone. It is like nothing I do will ever be good enough. Will ever be enough to save our family."

"Listen to me, my darling. Family is not the blood that flows through your veins, but it is the ones you love. The ones you choose to stand beside. You are my family and I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. I cannot wait to see what you accomplish in the future."

"I love you so much," she blushed shyly, "Is that OK?"

"My darling, you could not possibly love me as much as I love you."

"I mean as more than family though."

". . ."

"I know you've been hurt in the past, but I promise, I promise I will free you. I will release the Grand Triskelion and bring Yggdrasil to bloom. I will do everything I can to save you!"

"Enough of that talk, my darling. It is enough that you come to visit me in this hole."

The young witch was upset at being rejected so immediately, but turned her quick mind to another problem she had been thinking about. "Does it hurt?"

"What, my darling?"

"Being imprisoned. Being a tree."

"How do I explain it? It is like your blood is flowing in reverse. There is power inside your core that wants to explode, but you are like a turtle before a tidal wave. I am not as imprisoned as I once was; not like Merlin, not like Jennifer. I can speak to you after all. In another century I should be back to myself."

"It's true that the great witch Jennifer was imprisoned?"

"It's a prison she chose at the end of her life. It was a great sacrifice on her part that enabled her to live on in a sense and be of service to the witches she loved. That was not the case with me."

"Professor Woodward said you were dying."

"That was the case."

"She said that it was done to save your life."

"That may be."

"She said I should not speak to you anymore."

"That would hurt me more than I think I could bear."

"I'm not going to stop! And I will find the Claiomh Solais! I will bring magic back to the world! I will free you!"

"My darling, Croix. It is enough that you still remember me. The magic imprisoning me here plays with the mind of those that come. You are the first in centuries to ever return."

"Doesn't Professor Woodward come see you?"

"I have asked that she doesn't."

"But that's not fair! She's a dryad! She can join you in there and leave at will!"

"I'm afraid that the last time she did that she barely escaped with her life. I was still mad with heartache."

"Your husband."

"My lover. And . . . and also my child."

"They took them from you."

"I can never hold on to the things that I love."

"I love you. I will be with you. I won't forget about you!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, my darling."

"I will give you a child! I will be with you forever!"

"You are but a child yourself. This is a passing fancy. I don't want to dream of a substitute for the life I had with a girl that is not yet a woman."

"Please make me yours! Please claim me under the laws of magic!"

"You know not what you ask."

"I do know! Please!"

". . ."

"Don't shut me out!"

"It is pervasive."

"What?"

"My love for you."

"Then you will claim me?"

"I will have you forget me."

"What? No! You can't!"

"If you live the sort of life that I believe you will, then you will never see me again."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you fall—if you fall from the path of light, if you fall from grace, then I will be there for you."

"I don't understand!"

"You are a beautiful, intelligent girl; maybe a bit too fastidious and determined, but your parents can be blamed for that. You have the brightest of futures ahead of you. I will not taint you, but I will be there for you when you need me."

"Morgana!" Silence in the visage of a tree greeted her shout. "No! Morgana! I can't lose you too! I'm so alone in the world! Please! Morgana!"

Croix fell to her knees. One moment she was crying, then her breath caught in her throat and her tears dried. "What? What am I doing in a cave?"

Looking around, she saw the great tree reaching its branches to the ceiling as though holding it up. "What a sad, old tree. Whoever heard of a tree blooming in a cave?"

She slowly rose to her feet, not bothering to dust off her knees. "Listen up you old tree! I am the newly crowned Moonlit Witch! I'm going to be a great witch someday! Just watch me!"

Croix loosened her tie and shook out her hair, already looking far more comfortable than most students ever do. Marching from the cave to rejoin her teammates in their celebration, Croix did not spare a second look behind her.

Morgana sighed and her branches shook. The voice from the darkness took her by surprise. "That was a kindness I did not expect you to still have within you."

"Woodward. To see you again after all these years."

"We were friends once, Morgana. More than that. We were family."

"You lost the right to call yourself that."

"I did everything I could for you! I slept with that, with that man for you!"

"I still never knew whose side you were on right up until the end, you were such the perfect slut," she sighed again, "It's not important anymore. Just leave me in peace."

Woodward stalked forward and placed both hands on Morgana's trunk, "Please! Please don't shut me out. Please let me join you!"

"I never loved you the way I loved her," Morgana said coldly.

"That doesn't matter! I promise Yggdrasil will bloom one day! I promise you will be free again!"

"That serves you more than it serves me. The dryad of Yggdrasil," Morgana spit out Woodward's title. "I would just be an extra."

"You'd be the best extra!" Woodward pleaded, "Please let me join you. I still love you. I still need you!"

"You would not like it if you came inside me."

"Please, I won't give up on you."

"You served the purpose I had for you and I still lost everything."

"We all lost everything."

". . ."

"Please come back to me. We might not be able to go back to the way things were, but we can find a new happiness. Please, Morgana."

"Can you return my child to life? My lover?"

"What about my guardians that you killed?!"

"There are sins on all sides I suppose."

"So that's your answer? You're going to run away from life and hide in this prison for eternity?" When silence greeted Woodward's words, "Goddamn you, Morgana!"

"Yes. You are correct. I am damned. Leave me in my hell and do not return."

Woodward slumped away from Morgana's trunk, and carefully retreated, making sure to not step on any of Morgana's exposed roots.

A black crow preened itself while nestled in Morgana's branches. Once Woodward's back disappeared from sight, it began cawing in raucous laughter.

"Can you not contain yourself for even a moment?"

The crow hopped to the ground and tilted its head at Morgana's tree before assuming the form of her white-haired older sister. "It's funny though?"

"What if she had heard you?"

"Then the dimwit would have come back to see a crow. Morgana, for our leader you sure are a coward."

"You are the Mórrígan, not I."

"Honestly, you're still going on about that. So what if history remembers me as a goddess and you as a spurned, weak woman. They're hardly more favorable to your tool that just left."

The Mórrígan stretched, emphasizing her sizable chest to the senses of Morgana. Although appearing slight and emaciated like she was always hungry, she was voluptuous and firm in all the right places. "Do not try to distract me."

"Dear sister, how long are you going to continue? The Norn is giving me trouble; I need you to help me control it."

"Dammit, I knew we should have never attempted such a thing."

"We needed three for the ritual and for the rituals to come. She was tied to us. Whom else would we have chosen?"

". . ."

"Your little fruit is not quite ripe for the picking just yet. I still hold that we should choose a warrior, but there has not been a really good war for some six decades now. The ghoul is ours now, a new sister. You should be proud of your accomplishments and not sitting here cosplaying as a tree."

"Cosplaying?"

"You are truly out of the loop, my love. Come, let us depart before your pet summons another hurricane like she did last month."

Black ether coalesced and stepped forth from the trunk of the tree. Morgana took shape and rolled her body in pleasure. "A hurricane you say?"

"Truly this form suits you. We have time. What say you we join together?"

"I do not fancy frostbite so soon after waking. Take me to our new sister."

"Then clothe yourself. We depart now."

In the next moment, the two witches were gone.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Were you surprised with the reveal of Morgana? I thought I was borrowing too much from her playbook of the legend already with her actions towards Croix to be honest. Also, I super would not be surprised at all if Trigger's Season 2 would totally have a Morgana character (since Luna Nova IS Glastonbury Tor, the supposed grave of King Arthur; seriously, go look up pictures and compare them to episode 1 when Akko gets to the leyline terminal).

Oh, also, the Mórrígan / Madb is a combination of several legends including Morgause. The final member of their coven is a bit of a secret!

AAANYWAY, please leave a comment or review if you enjoyed it! Your words keep me going!