I do not own Black Clover or any of its characters.

Not So Welcome Home

"Hey!" Vanessa thundered. "The smartest witch ever to grace the Land of Witches has come back to say hello! I have business here, so open up!"

After a moment, the doors burst open and a flock of black birds swarmed out of it, cawing loudly. Then, they swarmed around Vanessa and Dane, and Vanessa grabbed Dane's hand before the birds swarmed down at them, pecking and grabbing at him a second before he felt himself yanked into motion. He clung to Vanessa's hand in a death grip, Vanessa likewise clinging to his, her threads helping hold them together. And then, all at once, the birds cleared, leaving them standing inside of a dim chamber like inside of a castle, lit by torches. Deer skulls decorated the walls in front of the torches, or perhaps they were the torches themselves, a dark rug decorated the middle of the floor beneath them, and aside from two deer skull torches and two decorative banners, the wall before them was bare. However, at the top of the wall, on an exposed upper level, was a throne formed from roots, or maybe bones, and seated in it, partially hidden in shadows, was a very tall woman in a light green, layered dress. Each layer of the dress had a dark symbol like a hollow diamond with a spike extending out of the top point, the section of the dress over her torso, Dane had never known what the parts of a dress were called, had patches of black, one over her left breast and another starting under her right arm and running down over her hips where it encircled her waist, and the dress extended up to a collar that wrapped around her throat like a choker. The dress had a window to show off a generous amount of cleavage, and was paired with a large, light green witch's hat with what looked like white berries wrapped around the center of the hat and multiple long, curved black feathers stuck in the right side and sticking out in every direction. Under each eye were three blue teardrops, the color of which matched her fingernails and lips, and she had on a necklace with three black feathers hanging from it, a black feather earing in her right ear, and what Dane could swear was a Magic Stone hanging from her left ear's earring.

"Imperfect," the Witch Queen intoned at Vanessa. "And I don't just mean you, Vanessa. It's also true that my plans failed to reach perfection after you so selfishly fled from the Forest of Witches."

Dane bristled, but Vanessa squeezed his hand in warning.

"If you had mastered your Thread Magic the way I instructed you, you could have gained control over destiny itself," the Witch Queen continued. "But no. You let that man tempt you away instead. Simply appalling. To abandon your own people for an ordinary human male? We are perfect witches with unlimited potential, and you let him use you. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, you bring yet another pathetic man here. You should be...ashamed!"

As she finished her sentence, she shoved herself to her feet, her eyes shining with the shout as wind suddenly screamed past them, blasting the wall behind them from the building, wherever it was. Vanessa again squeezed Dane's hand just before the blast to warn him not to react, and kept a constant pressure on his hand as he watched the Witch Queen through narrowed, warry eyes, trusting his impulses to warn him when she genuinely meant to attack. Slowly, the wind died back down and the Witch Queen sat back in her throne.

"Oh dear," she said. "What an imperfect room."

"You're the one who's imperfect," Vanessa intoned. "Here's the deal. I'll come back to the forest on one condition. Teach me to dispel ancient hexes, or never see me again!"

"It appears you don't know your place," the Witch Queen mused. "So I'll show you," she raised her hand, her Grimoire floating before her and flipping through pages rapidly, "now."

Then, she exploded forward, and in the blink of an eye, she'd formed a massive scythe from her blood. Vanessa shouted in surprise, leaping backward, but Dane raised his hand. And a moment later, as the scythe met his hand, it halted, deforming between them before suddenly straightening itself as he gripped the blade, flinging her into the wall and cratering it. Then, he cast it aside and it splashed down on the ground.

"It's a shame that blood falls under the realm of my control," Dane said, releasing Vanessa's hand and walking forward. "If it were blasts of pure mana, I wouldn't be able to do anything, but since you control blood, that makes me the worse possible match for you."

"Dane, we need her alive," Vanessa reminded him.

"I know," Dane said. "But it seems she needs some motivation, so I'll have to administer some. Let's start with the feet."

Then, just as he raised his hand, he stopped as a pair of brooms crashed to the ground, their six riders rolling to a stop. Finral, Noelle, and Asta were among them, but the other three he didn't recognize. One was a girl between Asta and Dane's age with short black hair, a fuzzy black cloak held closed with a four-sides ruby set into a gold backing and shaped for its origins in the Diamond Kingdom over an off-white shirt, a black belt, brown shorts that only barely qualified to be shorts, and knee-high, black boots. Another was a woman Dane had met in the capital's black market, who had orange hair in a ponytail with her bangs framing her face and hanging nearly to her shoulders, a black shawl, a purple dress that was dangerously high on her left thigh then hanging nearly to the ground on her right and behind her, thigh-high, white stockings, and blue boots. The third was a tall man who hadn't aged well, needed a shave, had messy, red hair, no shirt on, blue pants, and brown boots.

"I should have kept my shirt on so I wouldn't scrape up my back," the shirtless man said.

"Couldn't resist your urges," the young girl with the black cloak said. "Shameful."

"It was an accident, Mariella, I swear!" the shirtless man argued. "An accident!"

"That hurt," Asta groaned, then stopped, staring at them. "Vanessa? Dane? What are you doing here?"

"I was about to motivate her to assist us," Dane said, gesturing at the Witch Queen, who was standing and trembling with rage.

"Hey, who's blood is that!?" Noelle asked.

"It's hers," Dane said. "It's her magic. I haven't gotten started. Yet."

"Imperfect," the Witch Queen snarled. "You're so damn imperfect!"

"Don't try it, bitch," Dane warned.

"Perhaps you aren't aware of this, but I am the mother of every witch in this forest," the Queen snarled. "Your friend over there and Vanessa are my daughters, and children need to be disciplined."

"You are not my mother!" Vanessa snarled. "You are not my family! The Black Bulls are!"

"And you won't lay a hand on her so long as I'm breathing," Dane intoned. "Now, you're going to do as I say, or I'm going to break every bone in your body one by one until you do."

"I thought you were trying to be a good person," Noelle said dryly.

"Stay out of this, Noelle!" Dane snapped. "So, Bitch Queen, do we have a deal?"

"No," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I'll simply kill you first, if that's what you want."

"I don't know what's going on around here, but it seems like you're the boss around here," Asta growled. "And you may be their mom or whatever, but you can't hurt my friends!"

"Asta, stay the fuck out of it!" Dane thundered, Asta freezing as he was about to charge. "If you want to fight me, bitch, feel free."

The Witch Queen narrowed her eyes, and a moment later, her birds flooded down at Dane. However, as they did, the ground around him came alive, dozens of finger-wide spikes spearing up into the flock and retracting in the blink of an eye over and over, rapidly slaughtering birds. The Witch Queen shrieked in fury, swiping a hand and scattering the birds, Dane allowing them to retreat. Then, he walked forward slowly, hands out to his sides.

"Last chance!" Dane warned.

"That boy," the Witch Queen said, then turned to look at Asta. "You don't have any magic power at all, do you? What an imperfect little brat you are."

"No, I don't!" Asta snapped. "And now, I can't even fight you with my swords. But even still, unlike you I would never step on my own family!"

"You're going to fix his arms even if I have to destroy half of your body to make you," Dane said darkly. "We're not asking, and I'm done warning."

"Oh, so that's it," the Witch Queen said. "So all of this was for him? You offered to be my slave and live out the rest of your days here all for him? Why?"

"She did?" Asta blinked, then looked to the others. "We're here...for me?"

"When we first met, you told me about a dream," the shirtless man said. "You still have to become the Wizard King, right?"

"Let us help," the woman from the black market smiled.

"Once you have people who care about you, none of your problems or decisions you make are solely your own anymore," Mariella said. "That is what you said, isn't it Noelle?"

"Of course," Noelle nodded.

"How do all of you know them?" Dane asked.

"That day you were out on your own not long after joining because of your impulses, we ended up helping Zell and Mariella by fighting a squad of Diamond Kingdom assassins," Finral explained briefly.

"Zell, huh?" Dane asked, the shirtless man nodding. Dane shook his head. "Time to start motivating."

"Wait!" Asta snapped. "You can't torture someone! Especially not for me!"

"And on that note," Mariella said before waving a hand and sending a barrage of ice daggers streaking at the Witch Queen, only for the birds to return, smashing the ice before scattering again before Dane could target them.

"That's impressive," Mariella said. "I was hiding my intent to strike."

"I'm not saying this again," Dane snarled. "Stay...the fuck...out of this."

"Why are you so stubborn!?" Noelle demanded.

"Because," Dane growled. "I'm not here for Asta. I'm here for Vanessa. This bitch attacked her, so now I need to vent."

"Oh," Finral squeaked. "We'll just...leave you to it, then."

"Yeah, maybe we should back up," Asta agreed.

"At least until the edge of the forest," Noelle nodded.

"Why are you all so afraid of your own squadmate?" Mariella asked.

Dane looked over at her, and Zell stepped between them instantly, his eyes narrowed and calculating, a sword cloaked in Wind Magic in his hand.

"I see," Zell said. "You're the one Yami mentioned. Alright. We'll let you handle this."

Dane's eyes narrowed slightly, but he turned his glare back to the Witch Queen. She narrowed her own eyes before a pink orb floated up beside her. She stared into it as an image appeared. In the image, the location was unrecognizable for its complete and utter destruction, but what was recognizable were the corpses. All of them were dead, including Vanessa, except for the Witch Queen. And Dane himself was impaled on one of his own spikes.

"None of you can escape your destiny," the Witch Queen said. "This divination paints a lovely picture of the end that awaits you in mere moments."

"Fuck destiny," Dane growled. "I'll crush you!"

Just then, the Witch Queen's eyes went wide, and she took the orb, staring at the image inside of it, though Dane couldn't make it out.

"I didn't expect it to happen so soon," she mused. "I knew they'd be coming, but now, of all times? Then again, of course they'd choose a moment like this. The Eye of the Midnight Sun."

Dane's gut dropped. "Raya." He looked over at her as she appeared in a flash of light. "Do you sense Salamander?"

Raya focused for a moment, then nodded, expression grave. "He's on his way with the girl."

"Fana of Hate," Finral recalled.

"Shit," Dane growled. "A Third Eye like Vetto."

"No way!" Finral paled. "Another one!? We can't!"

"We don't have a choice!" Dane growled. "We have to fight her."

"Can't we let the witches handle it?" Finral asked. "I mean...Asta's basically our biggest ace in the hole here, and he can't fight! Plus, we don't have Captain Yami!"

"Doesn't matter," Dane said. "She has the Spirit of Fire with her, and from the way his power feels, he's been storing up power ever since we fought Licht. Each day, his power doubles. It has to be us. Specifically, me and Raya, but I can't handle her alone."

"It's got to be a trick!" Finral decided. "She's just making up stories to try and trick us!"

"Imperfect," the Witch Queen said. "If I wished it, I could destroy you all with but a snap of my fingers. Why would I bother deceiving you?" She extended a hand, pointing, and her crystal ball appeared between Asta's group and the whole and swelled to the same height as the Witch Queen so that they could all clearly see an army of Midnight Sun Mages flying toward the Forest of Witches, and in the lead, riding atop what looked like a horse-sized dragon, was Fana.

"He's gotten so big!" Raya breathed. "This is bad. When he's partnered with a Mage, he'll even fight me."

"I know," Dane said seriously. "We're in a very bad situation, here."

"Let them come," the Witch Queen said. "My superior power will vanquish those imperfect fools with perfect grace. Go, tell my children."

Her birds flooded out of the room, careful to give Dane a wide berth, and Dane turned to the hole. He could feel Salamander's power swelling.

"It's beginning," he said. "You're about to see why we have to go and fight."

Then, Salamander unleashed the opening attack, and in a single blast, miles of the forest were destroyed with a massive explosion and left engulfed in a raging fire. The witches began to flee instantly, and Dane growled in frustration.

"How much power have you regained from the fight with Vetto?" he whispered.

"Only half," Raya whispered back. "In all, only thirty percent. We'll have to fight exclusively with swords and speed. No teleporting or blasts of any kind."

Dane nodded, drawing his sword. "Before that, we need Asta."

Then, the Witch Queen raised a hand, and a second crystal ball appeared, the same size as the first, and revealed an army of Diamond Kingdom mages, including Mars.

"Mars!" Dane hissed. "Shit! Horrible fucking timing!" He paused. "Or maybe not. If I can get his Grimoire..." He rested a hand over his bracer. "It would come in handy for the fight with Fana."

"There's more of 'em?" Asta asked.

"No," the woman from the black market said. "Those are..."

"Diamond Kingdom forces," Dane finished.

"Right, we're close to the border of the Diamond Kingdom," Mariella recalled.

"Yeah," Zell said darkly.

"I see," the Witch Queen mused. "So...it's true. I'd thought this, too, was not yet to be. The Forest is being breached by one more entity. The Diamond Kingdom army."

"Well, we know that guy's tough," Asta said, staring at Mars. "He's the one we fought back in the dungeon."

"Yes, he is," Dane nodded. "But he's not as strong as Fana. In terms of power, he's only about level with me, which is slightly ahead of you when your arms work. If I could get him to cooperate with me, maybe..."

"He's still alive," Asta smiled. "That's so awesome!"

"That makes you happy!?" Finral shrieked.

"It makes me happy," Dane said. "He has the healing spell I want. Phoenix Robe. It's the healing spell I've been saving my bracer for." Dane sighed. "Looks like we'll have to earn some more stars now. I really didn't want to have to fight another major battle so soon after the last. Again."

"Okay, let's protect the Forest," Asta said. "I can take down the Midnight Sun and the Diamond Army."

"That might be tough without arms," Noelle said flatly.

Asta shrieked. "Right, I forgot!"

"Wow, Asta," Noelle sighed. "That's the whole reason we're here. Did you not get it the first time?"

"No, I remember now," Asta sighed. "There's just so much going on it slipped my mind."

"Idiot," Dane sighed.

"Aw, man!" Asta complained.

"Time's up," Vanessa said. "I'll my original deal so that you can have your arms."

"What makes you think I'm letting you make that deal?" Dane asked, turning back to the Witch Queen. "We can't have that talk we need to have if you're locked in a cage here."

Vanessa's eyes widened.

"I thought you promised that you weren't going to let me go?" Dane asked, stepping ahead of her so that she wouldn't be able to see his face. "After all that talk, you're just going to leave? You just brought me along so that I'd get the chance to find out you were abandoning me in person. What, you wanted to see the look on my face in person?"

"No!" Vanessa said, wrapping her arms around him and leaning next to his ear to whisper. "I brought you here so that after Asta's arms were healed, you could break me out and be my knight in shining armor. I did promise, didn't I? That if you left I'd just follow you? That means that I'm not leaving either."

Dane swallowed hard, nodding. "Fine. I'll speed things along, but it'll make them harder for us in the end. Witch Queen, Asta fights using Anti-Magic Swords."

The Witch Queen's eyes went wide instantly.

"What are you doing!?" Vanessa yelped.

"Changing Asta's fate," Dane said. "Like I said, fuck fate. Fuck destiny. I make my own choices, and I don't have time to let Fate decide how I should live. "And if Fate has a problem with it, Asta and I will kick his ass, too." He narrowed his eyes. "What the fuck are you still standing around for, you fucking cunt? Hurry up and fix Asta's arms! Powerful or not, you're outnumbered by numerous people who are strong enough together to crush you! Hurry up and heal Asta so that we can protect your daughters and your home for you, and then we'll deal with your inevitable betrayal later!"

"I do agree the strength of my daughters would prove imperfect against foes like these," the Witch Queen mused. "Very well. I will not only repair the small one's arms, they'll be more robust than before."

"Wow, really?" Asta grinned. "Awesome! You mean I'm gonna get as big and buff as Captain Yami!?"

"She said they would be robust," Mariella frowned. "That doesn't necessarily suggest you'll get bigger. So-"

"Aw!" Asta groaned. "Come on, please!"

"There really isn't much point in asking me," Mariella pointed out.

"Wow, I'm impressed," the woman from the black market said. "I don't think I've ever seen someone stand up to the Queen like you just did. "Good find, Vanessa. You chose a good boyfriend."

Dane went rigid, and Vanessa hissed in a gasp.

"No, no," Vanessa said hurriedly. "Nothing like that! We just have fun from time to time."

The woman frowned. "Really? I thought for sure you two-"

"Hurry up and fix Asta's arms!" Dane snapped, entire body trembling. "I have two extremely powerful people to fight!"

Vanessa leaned in to whisper to the woman, making sure Dane couldn't hear. "It's super complicated, but he has trauma that keeps him from letting people close, so we tread carefully in the feelings area."

The woman nodded, grimacing and mouthing "Sorry" to her.

"Blood Recovery Magic, Curse-Breaking Blood-Filled Cocoon," the woman said.

A sphere of blood formed around Asta instantly, thin enough to see through and filled with a terrifying amount of mana, and in an instant, the discoloration along Asta's arms was gone and he began to cheer.

"My arms feel so light!" Asta gaped. "This is awesome!"

"That spell was really advanced," Noelle breathed. "And quick, too! I can see why she's the Queen." She looked at Dane, who was still trembling and glaring at the Queen. "Sure you don't want that spell?"

"No," Dane snarled. "I want nothing from this cunt. Nothing but what she's just accomplished."

"Oh, yeah!" Asta cheered. "I am back in the game!" He began to flail his arms. "See? Look what I can do!"

"Oh, Asta!" everyone but Dane cheered, Dane staring at Asta's arms, which were free of even the scars he'd had before.

He hated to admit it, but Noelle was right. It was an incredible spell.

"Now I don't have to rub my back against walls when it itches!" Asta cheered. "Oh, and I can pick my nose again!" He dropped, beginning to do pushups. "But what I'm most excited about is getting back to strength training!"

"Enough!" Dane exploded, the ground under him cracking and making everyone but the Witch Queen recoil, though Vanessa only out of surprise, where as the rest was from fear. "Stop fucking around, Asta! We're all about to die! Again! In case you didn't notice, there are eight of us against almost a hundred of them! And we don't have the luxury of having our entire Squad here to help us!"

Asta swallowed hard.

"I have fulfilled my part of the bargain," the Witch Queen said. "But my pact is imperfect until-" She stopped as a stone spike breezed past her head, impaling her throne.

"Shut...the fuck...up!" Dane snarled. "We know the deal. We set the deal. You keep your goddamn mouth shut, or I'll slaughter every witch in this forest myself!"

"Dane," Raya said warningly.

"Zell," Dane said.

"Fanzell," Zell corrected him.

"Whatever," Dane growled. "You're from the Diamond Kingdom, as are the two with you, correct?"

"Yeah," Fanzell nodded.

"You'll deal with the Diamond Kingdom," Dane said. "Noelle, Asta, Finral, and Vanessa, you're on Midnight Sun cannon fodder and try to deal with the fire. Raya and I will deal with Fana."

"Be careful," Vanessa said pleadingly, setting her hand on his shoulder.

He turned, walking past her and breaking contact. "I have no intention of dying today." He formed his armor from the floor as he walked. "Raya."

Raya vanished, possessing his armor, and he formed a pair of Light Swords. Then, he and Raya exploded out of the castle, racing toward Fana and Salamander.

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