POV Narrator:
Friday 28 August 2020, Colinas de Doras
The escape from Arcturus ended up working out, as well as the mission to recover the Fluit An Neart that ended up not being as much as expected, since the boss gave the faces, revealing her identity to the girls that ended up being surprised, but after a fight that was a complete beating given by Miranda to Laura, they had to escape from Arcturus, being teleported to a nest of cockatrices, where they were rescued by Fafnir who revealed what his plan really was and that he had something even bigger as a threat than the director of Luna Nova herself, since his threat could involve the end of the whole humanity and even the life of the planet Earth, dangers that went beyond what they all expected to be and could become a fight for the greater good.
Due to this they all went back to Sifla's cottage to rest after what happened that day, and then plan what to do, since they would still have a long mission and with a greater danger that will be imminent, where they simply won't be able to return home so soon.
POV Diana:
I wake up and honestly, it seems like I lived a nightmare, I dinnae think we were really in the situation we're in, but it's real, it's nae a lie, everything that happened is true, that's what's been scaring me a lot, fae the nine witches, I dinnae even know if I'll be able tae go back home, since there's a very complicated situation fae us, weird that my mum dinnae even wake us up tae train or anything, she just kept sleeping, she must be pretty shaken by all this.
I look atAkko, she is awake and also shows an expression that is nae what I usually see, she is a little depressed, nae all happy like she always gets.
"Good morning love" she said in a very melancholic tone.
"Good morning... I'm still in disbelief by everything that happened, it seems like a nightmare" I say shocked and she went to sit on the bed.
"Worst of all is knowing that all these years my suspicion was true, I wanted to be happy to know that, but I'm just sad, the reality is that despite everything, even us fighting, Miranda represents what most witches think, for them I'll never be a real witch" Oh, poor thing, I dinnae expect her tae be like this.
"Akko... Ye're just falling fae her talk, that's nae true, ye're a real witch aye and we're going tae make a revolution sae that this all gets cemented even more, ye're even a hero among us" I'll try tae put her a little higher up, I even sit down and keep stroking her hair.
"The reality is that if we need a revolution it's a sign that the way we are I would never be seen as a witch, honestly I lost hope, I just really want tae put an end to all this, I can't even think about being ShinyAkko anymore... "I hold her face looking right into my girlfriend's ruby eyes.
"Listen here, you are the most incredible witch in this world, these evil witches shouldn't even have a voice tae say these things about ye, look where ye are, I have nae doubt that ye are a better witch today than I am, even ye are already on paper, I haven't even graduated, ye can graduate Akko, now come on, let's defeat this boss, find the last word of Claiomh Solais, shut these witches up, let's find all the sounds of Fluit An Neart, appear with the Mecha, live a witch revolution, the best of all, let's form our own family of several little witches" I say tae her that still keeps the same expression, only ending up taking my hands off her face.
"I'm sorry Diana, I can't cheer up today, my believing heart is no more, it's bad that I wasted your time, you said something so beautiful, but it has no effect on me" Wow I'm all down fae this.
"Oh... I honestly dinnae know what tae do... SorryAkko, I just wanted tae see my ruby eyes smile again, seeing ye like this makes me sad too" She puts her hand on my chin.
"Just leave me alone for a while reflecting, I just want to be alone for a while, I admire your attempts love, but right now I just don't want to..."- I hug her afterwards, I get feeling all down, I dinnae expect tae see Akko this bad.
I leave the room, I'm a bit devastated with all this, I decide tae go tae the room where my mother is, when I open the door I see her simply sitting on the bed, also devastated as Akko is, I see that my little sister is also there, and I also reach there holding my mother's hand, who even tries tae give me a smile.
"Now it's going to be the end of us" said the mother.
"What?" We both said, both of us wondering at my mother's reaction, she's nae that despondent either.
"You were so motivated yesterday and now you're like dis" said Hellene.
"And what can I do? Do you see de level dat dings are at? We're simply going to be wiped out by a thousand year old dragon, dere's nothing we can do to stop it, what do you dink? He already has knowledge of several intelligent alien races before us, do you really dink a powerful mecha can defeat him? Obviously not... I'm already accepting it, we won't be able to defeat Fafnir anyway, not to mention dat now I'm just a burden in all this, I'm a paraplegic, I'm not de same as before, de powerful witch I used to be doesn't exist anymore" Wow my mother is really bad, I take a deep breath, I stand up.
"Diana?" My sister notices since I look different, I quickly grab the collar of my mother's t-shirt.
"And ye're going tae lower yer head? Seriously mum, would ye rather die without any honour? Would ye really prefer that? Ye who motivated us sae much tae never give up, now ye're going tae do that? Ye who helped Bernadette tae stay up? We can nae stay here and wait fae the inevitable, we need tae believe in ourselves, it is nae impossible, it may be extremely difficult tae the point of being almost impossible, but even sae, we have tae make 0,0000001% be a possibility, even with the minimum of chance we can nae give up, Akko, Chariot, ye yourself taught me that, I will nae let my head down fae any of this and believe in myself, this is my true magic" I tell her and then let her go, I even feel a little bad after holding my own mother like that.
"You know what, you are right in spite of everything, but it is hard to dink of leaving 'ere to a certain death, I could see something now in you Diana, a different glow coming from inside you, you are definitely believing in yourself, we should do it, but honestly it is hard after seeing everything dat happened" My mother said and I understand her.
"Well I will go and see how each one is doing, we can't stay here and wait fae the world tae end, we can't give up on saving humanity, If we have a tiny chnce, it is this tiny chance that we have tae believe" I say going tae the door.
"Diana?" I was about t open the door when I saw my mother calling me "You really are my daughter" She smiled at me and I smiled back leaving the room.
I just really want tae motivate everyone, we can't in a situation like this lower our heads, it's the good of all humanity and all magic, we have tae put an end tae this cycle that Fafnir has been doing and in my mother's absence I'll have tae be the one who motivates everyone, we dinnae have tae be sae dependent on her like this.
Through the corridors I notice that Mary was sitting on the balcony looking outside, I move closer tae her, seeing that Brooks displays a look that is even a little bit with motivation
"You know, from all this I can only think of putting an end to these things, to give some meaning to my life that was simply lost" said the Englishwoman.
"And we will succeed Mary, seeing that Akko and my mother are without motivation breaks me, but we can't stay like this, we have tae organize ourselves and make the witches' revolution possible, finally, it shocks me how much yae have changed, before ye used tae be a sweet and lovely girl, ye were all delicate and today ye are sae different" I say tae Mary.
"What can trauma do to someone, right? I lost all motivation to live sincerely, if I were to die in the middle of this fight I wouldn't care, I know it might be a lost cause, but I'm not going to stand here, when we might have the minimal chance of defeating the boss and this dragon" Brooks said.
"Sae we all have tae be up, we will nae lower our heads" I say clearly tae her who nods in agreement.
Fae this part at least there is some motivation, I continue my walk, where I enter Hellene's room I see that Mari is sitting on the bed, with her hair loose and she looks quite discouraged, it seems that I will have tae motivate each one, at least try something.
She smiles at me a little and I go getting next tae her, I see her gets a little less discouraged, but still I want tae help her
"And sae ye've been feeling bad about all this too?" I ask Leclerc.
"Just devastated that we can die, gives me a huge fear because the chances are high, the boss does not mess around, she almost killed your mother, now she does not even move her legs anymore, the most powerful witch among us, only makes me discouraged with our victory" I understand the Frenchwoman.
"We can't let ourselves get sae carried away, because then we will lose, I see a lot of reason tae be rational because I am very, ye know me well, but it's nae time tae feel bad, it's time tae turn things around, it's time tae hit head on, nae run away, Time tae show that we will be the witches who will end the cycle of Fafnir and also defeat the boss, imagine us in the future, ye and Hellene full of children, with yer daughters playing with mine, all of us watching them grow tae become Luna Nova students of these new times" I say putting my hand on my sister-in-law's shoulder.
She even smiles a little at me and ye can tell they are all frazzled by this moment, the most serious being my mother and my girlfriend just those who put everyone up, now that's my job from now on.
I reach the downstairs, see that Chariot was there having breakfast with Croix and I also decide tae sit down, waving tae both of them.
"Good morning" I say tae them.
"Good morning Diana" Croix said tae me.
I'm going tae eat a little bit, I'm a little hungry after yesterday, it will help me recover my energy and I'll honestly take it tae Akko, maybe that will put her up, but she soon arrives and comes sitting next tae me, without saying anything, just giving me a little kiss on the cheek and then just eating, which is quite different from the reaction she had.
"This mission really changed you" Meridies said.
"Ye have nae idea, look before I would have been furious with ye, trying tae avoid talking tae yerself, but this situation we are in has become sae big that it is the least of our problems, now we are going tae have tae deal with the threats tae our own lives" I tell her.
"After what you guys said yesterday I was really scared, the boss is nothing compared to what was coming, so the mechas were no exaggeration, we were just preparing for what would be a very fierce battle, well we have to rely on our power now, we can't just stand still we will need to expand" said Croix.
"And how are we going tae do that?" I ask her.
"I've been thinking of a plan that might be a bit risky, I was just waiting for an all or nothing, it would involve a huge loss of magic, which might make some witches unable to use magic for a while, but it's necessary, I count later with everyone gathered, but only then we'll have enough magic power to defeat these threats" said the Italian and I'm already imagining something horrible.
"Let's nae steal magic from anyone Croix" I tell her.
"It's nothing connected to that, you'll soon find out" Croix said and I hope it really isn't, I dinnae want tae ruin lives in the name of getting the witches' revolution.
I even eat again, I see that Akko is still in the same melancholic expression as always, I wonder how all this must affect her in a way, well anyway we have tae think of a way to act, I am still moved by all this, but I cannae stay down and allow the world tae destroy itself while we sit here.
Later with everyone gathered in the mecha-building lab...
We are well advanced, but we still have a huge danger ahead of us, a battle that could be worth the cost of our lives, I am even trembling tae imagine, my mother is still very discouraged, she was nae even the one who led the meeting, sae I make a point of taking the lead in this, before the whole atmosphere is destroyed.
"Very well, we are here because things are serious, even too serious, now we have two threats of proportions above ours at any moment that can attack, but this can be avoided with us fighting together, we can nae give up even if there is a tiny chance of victory, We must go against every chance of going wrong, go head on and show that we are the chosen ones, or do ye think Woodward dinnae know that we could get this far, we will put an end tae the cycle of genocide of the Fafnir, put an end tae the imposition and traditionalism of Holbrook, we will bring new times to humanity, the way magic was meant tae flow, revive Yggdrasil, bring Lilith back, all we need tae do is plan, get back into action, bring the odds back tae us, now that we have the three relics in hand, we shouldn't be like this, We should be excited, now that we have the
pieces that will destroy once and fae all the old world of magic for a new world" I say this tae all of them speaking until well, I dinnae want tae let any down, I even see that they are clapping, which is good, but we have tae go ahead in the mission.
"Look Diana, if you don't mind, now I'll tell you about the plan I have in mind, it's nothing involving the stealing of magic, the mechs are powerful and consume a lot of magic, I believe we won't be able to use only the power of the relic, we will need a very high source of magic, sorcerer stones, my suggestion is that we take sorcerer stones from the witches on earth and bring them here to give us energy and then we can use them to have magic on our side" It's an idea to take, but I dinnae know if it can be a good one
"No, we need dem on earth, if we are going to defeat de boss we will need to film everything Croix, show it to the whole world live, a fight like dat needs people to see de importance of de witches revolution and people on earth can send magic to us on earth, it helps to regain faith in humanity, like it or not dey are essential to our fight and you are a professional at doing dat" Said my mother finally stepping into the middle for the discussion.
"And how are we going to get magic then Laura? Sorcerer stones are essential for that" Croix asks and that's a good question.
"We are in de most magical place of all, dis whole planet is full of wizard stones, we can mine dem somewhere, it is not so difficult to have magic, de problem is to find dem and dey are probably in de hands of fafnir, which will give us a lot of work to locate, but anyway, with de Fluit An Neart in hand we will succeed" said my mother.
"Sae that's what we're going tae do, we have tae focus first on finishing Claiomh Solais and also Fluit An Near, I'm sure we'll find some sound that can help us besides the teleportation sound itself, there must be many others, that's our focus, we shouldn't clash yet with the two if we dinnae have the powers, we have tae put everything in our help tae defeat the boss" I say motivating the lassies.
"Besides I need to make one ding clear, we won't be able to leave 'ere for a while until we solve dis, probably de boss will come after us, before we put de whole plan in action, we will 'ave to bring some people 'ere, since dey are in danger" said my mother.
"Are they in danger?" I ask her.
"Do you dink de boss will stop de search? She will go after us, she will try everything to find us, for dat she will go after all de people close to us, even we can run de risk of losing whole families because of dat, so it is good dat we start doing a very important step in dis mission which is to bring all our friends 'ere to Doras before deir lives are in danger" I understand my mother completely.
"Sae this will be our first action?" I ask her.
"Exactly Diana, and we 'ave to do it now, who knows how much time de boss has before she causes some damage, so let's get everything dat is most precious at home and bring it 'ere, I'm afraid dat maybe she will destroy your house again, but not only yours, but everyone's, so we also need to get de sorcerer stones from these houses so dey don't get in the boss's hand" I nod.
"Sae let's go" I say to my mother.
"You're going, I can't even walk with you, you forget, how am I going to carry de stuff when I'm de one carrying it 'ere" Oh... I always forget that.
We go walking back tae the room, where we ask Sifla tae open the portal, and with that we go home, I get a little emotional, we get the things, I see that after sae much effort the beautiful house that I made with Akko and my family and friends, will be completely destroyed with nae trace left, it only makes us even more afraid, tae think that things were tae take this proportion.
"I hate this" I say looking at the house.
"Love?" Said Akko coming up to me worriedly.
"Oh ye came tae cheer me up honey?" I ask her who shakes her head.
"Even too unmotivated I cannot stop being with you, what is the reason for all these pains?" I take a deep breath.
"All this love, we'll end up losing everything because of that damned Holbrook, she'll come after us wanting tae kill us" I say sighing and a bit tearful.
"Oh Diana... Even though I think it's inevitable and I feel destroyed... We have to live each moment as if it was the last, if not, even if we lose, at least we have to prioritize our life, the house, if we win, we will all rebuild it" said my girlfriend and she is right.
Even sae it was all work that will be thrown away because this cursed witch, I will lose everything again, she will destroy our legacy in the name of the power she cursed, well at least we will manage tae defeat the boss and have more chances, we can even get the sorcerer stone, since the place will be unusable, we will only leave some fake objects here tae deceive and she will think she had some victory.
Later on by taking everything from the Cavendish house...
Now it was all fae real, I take the wizard stone and go through the portal, seeing that outside the house is still full of boxes, well now it will be a big job tae organize all this, now Doras will be our new temporary home, before we can enjoy our new house, I wish I could enjoy my house that I built, but the wretch is going tae destroy it.
"There you go, the Cavendish house has been evacuated, everything important has been taken and now it's just a matter of safekeeping, we also have the sorcerer's stone with us" Chariot said.
"Now how are we going to bring the others?" Akko asks.
"From now on we will have to create some chalets to hold de people who will arrive, our focus is on getting everything ready, we have to dink of a defence before going on de attack" said my mother.
"How are we going tae do that?" I ask.
"We 'ave a forest in front of us Diana, just build shelters with this wood, basic little houses that when the new residents arrive we will have tae have enough space, the revolution will start in Doras, now Sifla, please create a portal tae my house" said my mother.
And off I go with my mother and Hellene tae the house, this even a little after having sae much carried the boxes from my house tae Sifla's cottage, we still have a lot tae do ahead, when I arrive there my grandparents go running tae hug us and mainly do that with my sister, noticing that she finally appeared.
"Hellene! You came, we missed you so much" said my grandmother.
"How nice to see you 'ere my granddaughter, we heard about your arm and we were worried to death, but your mother forbade us to go to Edinburgh because of Covid, now dat you showed up 'ere out of de blue we could kill de nostalgia" Said my grandfather and I see my mother all serious what my grandparents notice her sitting in the wheelchair.
"Laura!" say my frightened grandparents.
"It's a long story, we don't 'ave time to keep talking for long, we 'ave to empty de house and bring everything to de gate behind us, dings are going to get serious, de boss might come 'ere and do much worse dan she has now done to my spine" My mother said and my grandparents become apprehensive.
"Laura first of all dat wheelchair stuff is really true, what do you mean we 'ave to go?" said my grandmother.
"It is unfortunately de fucking truth, Miranda Holbrook did dis to me, now I can no longer walk, I recommend dat we all take everything from home and take to de portal all our most precious dings, call Holly dat I will explain everything is much more complex dan you dink it is" Said my mother and now yes that we will cause a huge panic.
And we went inside the house, Holly went downstairs, now the situation is going tae get even more tense, she notices her mum is in a wheelchair now, she gets all shocked, starting tae cry, going into the hug with my mum, which she still has nae idea what has happened or how it was a huge shock.
And there they were talking in a summarized way about the whole situation of the boss, what wascausing even more shock, but not a panic in the more after they told it was starting there anorganization to bring the things from the McLaren house being put in boxes ready to leave the
house, as well as in the Cavendish house even the cars were taken through the portal, what wasfilling more and more the other side in the hills of Doras...
At the witches' council in London, a visitor was turning up, it was Miranda Holbrook who had cometo show who's boss...
POV Miranda:
It is time to show them that I am the new minister of magic and not the incompetent Dorlin, from now on I will be in charge of magic, I arrive at the door, I am welcomed, I even wear a mask pretending to be the good old lady, I walk as if it were nothing, I even wait patiently for Dorlin's call.
"Very well Miranda Holbrook, Minister Dorlin is already calling you, come with me" said one of the secretaries.
I make my way down the hallway, looking at all the witches on guard, they simply think those staffs will do something when I break out on top if need be, but I don't want to use violence, I want to avoid it, I just want to show here who's boss.
I get to Dorlin's office, she lets me sit in the chair, I wait for the secretary to leave and she goes being as always full of manners.
"To what do I owe your very special visit Miranda? If it's about Covid's untraditional measures it's because I had no choice, I wish I could keep the classes as they were, but I had to press Luna Nova, I'm really sorry" It's nothing like that, I even get up and take off my mask locking the door and she gets startled.
"Dorlin, this is the real me, I am not the all innocent old lady you think I am, I want you to understand that from now on you will serve me" I tell her and the minister even gets up and takes her staff in fighting stance.
'So you're breaking a law of nature? Did you use the forbidden jade stones to bring you back to a young form? Besides, you think you can intimidate me because you're young? I am the minister..." I snap my fingers and place her against the wall pinned and with some blades piercing through her clothes holding her, some even sticking to some parts of her body which I see her agonizing with pain.
"You have to understand one thing Dorlin, you may be the minister, but it was by sheer luck, even though you are in the highest position of the witches you better obey me from now on, if you want to continue to be the minister of magic" I say coming very close to her and the minister lets go of the strokes and holds her staff to attack me.
"This won't hurt me either, you will be arrested now for high treason Miranda Holbrook and you will be deposed as director, don't think it will come out like that..." I just give a bigger intimidation by punching Dorlin in the stomach with a mere swift movement.
"You don't want to get killed, do you? I can kill you right now" I say to her, and then she walks backwards and raises her staff.
"I have all the witches on my side, you are just one, may you pay with force, I will arrest you is now Miranda" Said the minister and I was just laughing.
"Then send in your troops" I even get a smile on my face.
After simply a massacre with the troops of the magic council being destroyed and killed by Miranda'shands, comes the realisation for Dorlin that she was facing immeasurable danger, it was not like anywitch, she still stood laughing in front of the minister of magic like it was nothing...
"I haven't had this much fun in years, now tell me what are you going to do now?" I say staring at her as I get all shaky.
"What do you want with me? Why are you doing this to me, Holbrook, just because I shut down Luna Nova? I just wanted to protect the students. Do you have any idea how dangerous Covid has been in the outside world?" Oh, she has no idea.
"I don't want you for anything in the matter of Luna Nova, I just want your obedience to me, I want you to do whatever I tell you to do, or these scenes of what just happened, will repeat themselves, I don't mind sweeping away another one of your troops, I'm doing this for the good of magic, Dorlin, Dorlin, all I want is for you to do things as I tell you to do, I don't want to kill any more troops, I want them to be useful in not
allowing the slightest chance that Laura McLaren and the revolutionaries have the slightest chance against me, They know the proportion of my power, you know as I do that Laura Mclaren is a threat to the status quo, well Dorlin, if you are on my side we can defeat her once and for all, I have already managed practically, but I know that she is hard to die and probably she is hiding somewhere, although that witch will never walk again hahahahahaha" I say to Dorlin who is trembling, but she gives in.
"All right Holbrook, all right I'll do as you say, just don't kill any more of us, this way we won't have witches on our side, the mundanes will take over for good" She said on her knees begging me.
"Good, as a first demand I want troops, troops that will go with me to Luna Nova, they will keep watch there so that they do not allow any pupils to get close, I will get the minotaurs and also some strong witches, I want Luna Nova to become an impenetrable fortress, after all that is where Laura McLaren will carry out her attacks" I say very clearly to Dorlin who swallows her saliva.
"But who will protect here and our troops?" Dorlin said and I replied with a jab to her shoulder.
"The troops are my property now Dorlin, you get on with your protection, I'll show you here that I'm in charge" She agrees with her head already crying out in pain.
POV Narrator:
The girls are still trying to motivate themselves to move on, but thanks to Diana, they have already been reacting to give the first steps, this one is to guarantee the protection of all witch friends and allies of the girls so that they don't run any danger of suffering any attack by Holbrook that is already starting to make the steps to show that she really is the boss, Being a threat even to the system itself, fighting head on with the minister that she simply made her as if she was nothing, and on top of that commanding the very one that is under orders from the director of Luna Nova.
See you, recovery witches...