AN: Hello everybody. Finally got back to writing this one, and I'm having a lot of fun! I really hope you all enjoy it. Like I always say, all feedback and criticism is appreciated and acknowledged. A writer is nothing without her readers. Let's dive back in then! To keep the magic of Little Witch Academia in the sky for a bit longer. I really do love the show and its fandom of wonderful people. I just wish I'd found another like it to fill the gap in the meantime. Anything like that out now? I would love some genuine recommendations.

Kudos! Thank you everyone for reading!

Cloy552: Yeah, I try to write her appropriately. Always wanting to do something big and helpful, but usually only gets the first part right. Always imperfect, always falling on her face :P

JaviInkling: A secret club eh? Not a bad idea. Could work as a standalone one-shot I think. They'd probably all band together thanks to the invincible power of Yuri!

Kettenkrad: Now that's a pairing out of left-field. I'll do my best to give it some focus, should be interesting to write. Another fan of Trigun, huh? Now there's a show in desperate need of a reboot. And thanks for the kind praise!

Felix: Happy New Year to you too. Though I'm about half a year late saying that lol. And yes, Akko being Akko I think she'd be prone to doing silly things when her trust and feelings are trampled a bit. Though I try to be careful and not make characters too wacky for the sake of a story. Fanfiction needs to stay grounded too methinks. Thanks for the continued feedback, Felix~

Horseshoefijzer: Cheers for the nice words, friend! I know what it's like to feel a little sad than not everyone can "win" when it comes to any kind of harem story. In anime, I always find myself rooting for the guy/girl who has no chance to be picked, just because I find it more endearing. Why does the "right" person always deserve the love, y'know? Anyway for the ending to this one, I might do a few, just to make everyone happy. Constanze deserves a shot too. She's just too cute~

Oscar: Hope you had a great Christmas too. It can be lovely but also difficult to be with family if yours is huge like mine. Chariot's punishment felt appropriate, or maybe I'm just mental for that wonderful outfit :P I could never wear something like that myself. I appreciate your support.

BetwixtOni: I think you might enjoy it, now that I'm finally back to updating all my work (which reminds me, need to update my profile too.) Thanks for sticking around, Oni!

Psykoakuma: Yes, I feel Akko was pushing it a little bit, so I'm trying to reel her back a little from being too OOC. Thanks for pointing that out. And I'm glad you like how I write Hannah and Barbara. For whatever reason they're very amusing to write, two sides of the same coin and all that. Bit more of that here, so I hope you like. And I wish you the best!

The Swordslinger: I understand how you feel. I really do love the cast of LWA, so it can be tricky to give them all a bit of time in the spotlight (to varying degrees of success). I love weddings, even though I've only attended one as a guest, the dress I got to wear (and not keep T_T) was so pretty I felt like a different person. I'll try your suggestion soon, and have a character ask Akko what her dream wedding would be like. Seems appropriate, considering the plot, hehe~

Your Intelligence: Heya, Kai! It's been wonderful to always hear your feedback. And for always keeping in touch with little old me. I do think some of the emotional pulls between Chariot and Diana were a bit forced, looking back. It was a very tricky part to write, and wasn't sure how it'd pan out. Could be better for sure, so thanks for pointing that out. Sometimes I can't quite tap in how to write certain characters in uncomfortable situations. But I'm always striving for improvement of course. And congrats again for getting through your exams! I know how hard that can be. All the best Kai, you've always been so kind to me :)

LilaDoesFanfics: That's cool, I'm happy we're both like-minded there. Having family over the holidays was a small nightmare I'm not keen to repeat this year AT ALL. Thank you for taking the time to review, and wish you the best of luck with your own fics.

Okay, onwards then! I'll try my hardest to finish this one. I owe it to you all, and I need to learn how to end the stories I write. Keep trying to make it perfect, but then that stalls my brainmush. Gotta just go with it I think, and hope it doesn't end up a total mess. Should be fun though!

-Queen

Little Harem Academia

Breach, those Sweet Emotions.

The scheduled meeting meant for chewing Diana and Chariot out for the ridiculous fight the day previous had been far easier to stand through than the girl had initially thought. The two of them had shown up at 7am in Headmistress Holbrooke's office like instructed and expecting the worst.

But as they'd stood there ready for judgement, with most of Luna Nova's faculty all arguing over each other rather than pay any heed to herself or Chariot, it was Holbrooke who delivered the final say in what was to become of them. The other senior Witches ceased their crabby shouting to listen uneasily.

"Well, it's been quite exciting around here recently, hasn't it? Unfortunately, everyone had a bit too much fun I think, and now our curriculum is at a standstill until the situation is resolved. Now…I really don't need to specify who exactly is at the centre of all this silliness, do I?"

Diana tensed where she stood at the end of the room near the door, with the faculty all huddled around Holbrooke's desk. Chariot next to her looked about to pass out from sheepish, apologetic embarrassment. Her demeanour had changed completely from the confident, powerhouse of a woman who had battled Diana so fearlessly, to relapsing back to the usual, timid Professor Diana was used to. No doubt another effect of whatever odd magic that had swayed them all to act so foolishly. Perhaps Diana most of all.

There was no need to answer Holbrooke's question. Judging by the pensive silence in that room, everyone knew without thinking whom Holbrooke was referring to. By the Nine, even as Diana tried to listen to the Headmistress speak, images of that girl still sang in the girl's mind. For whatever reason, the sight of Akko tumbling from the perch of that giant robot and into the mud kept repeating over and over until Diana had to bite the inside of her gums to keep from bursting out with vulgar laughter.

"As such, it seems we've all fallen for the whims of one of our more eccentric students, to varying degrees of course."

A slight twinkle in Holbrooke's eyes as she looked to Diana and Chariot when she'd said that. For a second, Diana considered casting a concealment spell and sprinting from the room. Chariot just hung her head in shame, clutching her hands tight at the waist. She'd switched out of her Shiny costume previously, but Diana wouldn't forget the sight of the woman in that attire for a long time. Those accentuated curves, those racy angles…it wasn't just shades of envy Diana felt. How irritating…!

"Although you two have escalated things, it's also been a grand failure of our own to handle the situation appropriately. As such, punishing you two would be quite pointless…"

A few disgruntled mumbles from the older Witches, some visibly shifting uncomfortably on their feet.

"I was taking bets from the other Professors!" Lukic suddenly blurted. "We didn't see that Duel as anything strange at the time! Clearly none of us had proper control of our actions!"

"It was shameful." Finnelan added with a distasteful scowl as she too averted her gaze from everyone standing there. "Miranda and I stood right there and watched. Never did I think I would allow such transgressions of Luna Nova's rules to happen so flippantly. And-And I enjoyed it! That battle was terrific-!"

Everyone ogled her for an awkward moment, even Chariot lifting her head to stare. Finnelan seemed to catch on and righted her comments after an unconvincing cough.

"AHEM! Of course I wasn't myself! None of us were!"

"And the courtyard is still destroyed!" Badcock screeched. "That giant machine is still sitting there! If word gets out of what took place here, our funding will be cut for good!"

"The custodial staff won't be able to clean the mess on their own." Nelson added with a frustrated sigh. "At this point we'll have to help them before someone finds out. But we can't just leave the students to their own devices. Especially with all the confusion surrounding Miss Kagari still flying about. That's not even mentioning the Twilight Ball we're supposed to hold in three days."

"Care to offer a solution then?!" Badcock shot back needlessly.

"You first, Samantha! I saw you cheering like a loon after every explosion!"

"You had a nice broom perch from up high yourself! Didn't see you trying to calm everyone down!"

The elder Witches started to bicker and argue amongst themselves once more, again making Diana feel as if they'd forgotten why they'd called her and Chariot there in the first place. Even Holbrooke seemed unable to curtail their petty squabbling, so Diana took it upon herself to get everyone's attention with a wordless spell. She'd meant to only loose a few red sparks with a sharp popping noise from her wand, but remembered too late that the levels of energy floating about were far stronger than normal. The result was a harmless but near-blinding blast of red light that shook the room and threw the elderly Witches hair back in unison, leaving them stunned into silence and staring at Diana as she nervously flicked her wand back to its sash.

"Apologies…my magic prowess is out of control. No doubt owing to this turn of events. But I had to get your attention somehow. I believe I have a plan of action to hopefully solve this crisis."

Their previously stunned faces relaxed with quick relief; their trust in Diana clearly unaffected by her almost destroying the academy only a scant few hours ago.

"Ahh, Miss Cavendish. That is precisely why I called you and Professor Chariot here." Holbrooke started with a sagely nod. "Please, whatever you've got in mind to help, enlighten us if you will. And Ms Du Nord-"

"Y-Yes!" The woman perked up immediately.

"I ask that you directly assist the young Witch with whatever she desires. And naturally, the resources of this school will be at your disposal in doing so."

"Of course, Headmistress!" Chariot yelped earnestly. Diana figured her enthusiasm would shine at the chance of some redemption, feeling much the same way herself. The red-haired Witch looked to Diana in turn with a serious nod. "I'll do whatever is required, Diana!"

"Thank you. Now, I'll be needing the rest of you to assist in repairing the damage in the meantime. And whomever can be spared to watch over the rest of the student body should do so. The last thing any of us need is a repeat of yesterdays…'antics.' And with the ether of magic growing stronger every moment, it's only a matter of time before someone else loses their self control."

The Witches fervently nodded their agreement.

"What are you going to do?" Finnelan asked, a slight desperation in her tone.

Diana mulled the answer for a few seconds. In truth she was still trying to come up with a more concrete solution, but at the very least she had a start-an excerpt from a tome she'd read years ago that she vaguely remembered the title of could hold the answer. It was a flimsy premise, but her sharp intuition spurred Diana to follow it up.

"I'm heading to the library to inspect a certain book."

Before she could elaborate, a soft knocking came from the front door, prompting the Witch to glance at it and then turning to Holbrooke for her input, being her office and all.

"Yes? Who is it?"

The door opened timidly to reveal a pair of Witches Diana was familiar with, namely Avery and Blair, who frightfully balked at the sight of the congregation watching them enter in tepid silence.

"P-Pardon us for intruding…" Blair bowed a little, her distinct curls of blonde hair falling at her shoulders doing so. Avery stood rigid and silent next to her, and perhaps Diana imagined it, but a slight twinge of annoyance seemed to flash across the girl's sharp brows when she locked eyes with Diana. What was that about? She chose not to dwell on it. There were more important issues to worry about.

"Oh, please come in. What is the matter? It must be important if the faeries watching the dormitory let you come here…" Holbrooke greeted them sweetly.

"It is…well…ummm…"

Avery stepped forward, taking the helm with a bit of sting on her tongue.

"Mary's gone. After that stupid fight, she hasn't shown up to our room at all. Plus she's been acting weird lately, avoiding us more and more until she stopped talking to us completely."

"We're so worried. It's not like her at all! She's like a totally different person! I've even spotted her…talking to herself, when she thought I wasn't looking…"

That line in particular spiked Diana's attention. Bits and pieces of the book she was trying to recall refocused in her scattered thoughts. The timing couldn't have been a coincidence…and that meant she had very little time to lose. Depending on what that book she sought told her, Mary, Akko…everyone could be in danger. Whilst she deliberated, the other Witches in that room carried on.

"That is worrisome…thank you two for letting us know. Professor Nelson, please borrow three of your best flyers and take to the skies to find our missing student. Leave no stone unturned within and around this academy, yes?"

"Of course, Headmistress!" Nelson barked in return. "She's probably spooked with what's been happening. Couldn't have gotten far. If I can't find her, I'll use a Mirrorstone."

"We haven't had one of those in our possession in months!" Lukic added, more disgruntled than usual. "It would take days to secure one, even on the fastest leylines we have!"

"That won't be an issue. I have a Mirrorstone of my own." Diana interjected, drawing everyone's attention to her once more. "If my judgement is still in one piece, then I have reason to believe Mary's absence is involved with our predicament. Please allow me to get started, and if it all works out, our troubles for the time being will be at an end."

They murmured a little amongst themselves, except for Avery who gave off a touchy click of her tongue.

"You'll really get her back for us?" She said haughtily. "I hope you're not just talking like that to sound cool to everyone."

Diana chose to ignore how rude the girl was acting, chalking it up to simple worry for a missing friend. All besides, she was used to Witches her age showing disdain due to her standing and upbringing.

"I'll get her back. And I'll end this madness. You all have my word."

Holbrooke sighed, showing an approving smile. Avery grumbled something under her breath and fell quiet, whilst Blair hid nothing of her gratitude.

"T-Thank you so much, Diana! If there's any way we can help, please tell us!"

"Do your part to keep the other students settled. That's all you can do for now." Diana roved her eyes across the expectant faces of the faculty, settling on Holbrooke. "May I please have my leave? Time is of the essence."

"Of course, Miss Cavendish. Please be careful. And I have faith that Professor Chariot will keep you safe."

Diana gave a short bow before whirling away and leaving them to handle the rest with Chariot following close behind, hurrying through the empty corridors basked in the bright glow of that early morning.

"The library then?" The woman said, falling into step at her side. "You mentioned a book…which one do you believe has the answer to all this?"

"The one about Love."

She picked up speed, walking as fast as she could without running and leaving Chariot sheepishly falling behind for a moment.

"Eh? Diana, wait for me!"

=][=

"Awww…mannnnn…" Akko grumbled from beneath the covers of her bed; several pillows planted on her face to hide away from the world.

"C'mon, Akko. You can't really be serious about staying like that for the rest of the year. What are you going to eat?" Lotte asked tepidly, peeking slightly over her bunk to the mass of bedsheets and assorted pillows that used to be her team-mate down below. "And I know it's embarrassing with all that's happened, but it really isn't your fault."

"Thanks, Lotte." She replied sullenly, ending her sentence with the sound of munching food; her already muffled voice now further distorted by the pickled plums she chewed on one after the other, having had the foresight to swipe the jar before entombing herself in bed. "But I should ok. If I take my classes from here I can still graduate. Plus there's a bit of plum juice at the bottom of the jar I can drink when I get thirsty."

"That's great." Sucy grumbled sarcastically from her desk chair, swivelled to face Akko. "You can use that jar as a toilet too. You sure do have your bases covered."

"Yeah, so I should be f-hey that's super gross!"

Sucy snickered, but her laugh turned to a shudder soon after.

"Ick, that is gross. Even for me." Sucy stood up from the chair, arms crossed. "Anyway, Lotte's right. No ones been acting normally, so I doubt they're thinking too harshly of you. And after all, they're probably more interested with how Diana and Chariot blew up a good chunk of the courtyard. You should stop worrying so much about it."

Akko threw the sheets and pillow covering her aside with an exasperated breath, but remained lying down with a sour, tired look on her face; a half-empty jar of pickled plums tucked under her arm.

"Still though…I feel like an idiot. All that work to break the barrier, and the stupid lecture I gave them both afterwards…why did I do it like that? And the worst of it all was how pointless it ended up being! Diana and Chariot both told me after I'd shown up that they'd decided to stop fighting on their own! And-And-!" Akko scarfed down another plum, adding to the glazed, salty mess around her mouth. "I fell on my face again, right in front of them. Ahh, geez…!"

"Sucy's right, Akko. You shouldn't beat yourself up like this. Your heart was in the right place, after all. Would it have been better to sit around and do nothing? You saw the danger and decided to act, when no one else really knew what to do. That's just one of the reasons why we-"

Lotte paused, seeming to deliberate what word to use.

"-like you so much."

"Mmmm…but isn't that just the weird magic talking? The thing that made Chariot and Diana fight each other? And both of you too?"

Sucy sauntered over to her own bed and slumped atop it with a heavy sigh, facing the wall.

"Yeah. Magic." She muttered dismissively.

"Huh?" Akko sat up, puzzled at Sucy's reaction. "What's wrong?"

It was Lotte who spoke instead, peeking over the rim of the top bunk a little more with a shy smile. Sucy herself had fallen oddly silent, keeping her back turned.

"You know, Akko…feelings are a weird thing. I think Sucy really does-"

WHAM!

The three witches jumped simultaneously from the loud noise, turning their stunned attention towards the dormitory door where the sound had blasted from. The culprit was quickly revealed when the boisterous voice of Amanda sounded through, who seemed to be talking through a wince of pain.

"Ahhh! DAMN that hurt like a bitch! Ow, ow, ow, argh…!" A much lighter tapping on the door "Hey reds. Cool for us to pop in?"

"S-Sure…" Lotte called out after a brief glance with her team-mates. "Come in."

The door swung open with gusto. Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze filed in with casual waves to greet them, although the smallest member of their team tried to scurry away after locking eyes with Akko, only to be snagged and picked up by Jasminka, much to the little German's blushing frustration.

"Heyo. All good? Sorry about that noise before. Constanze kept trying to run away and I hit my knee on the door by accident to block her." Amanda said with a pained smile, rubbing her reddened leg and then plopping down on the chair by the desk. "Yeesh, I hit it pretty hard…"

"Hey guys! What brings you all about? Heard anything from outside?" Akko asked curiously. "The professors told us to wait in our rooms but there's nothing really to do, huh?"

"Got that right." Amanda replied, sagging in the chair with a haughty sigh, though she yelped a bit when Lotte, having clambered off her bunk, administered a bit of healing magic on her knee. "I can't stand sitting around, so we wanted to see what's up here. And nah, haven't heard a peep from outside. The faeries aren't letting us through to the stairway corridor. What a pain in the ass!"

Jasminka sidled over and motioned for permission to sit on Akko's bed, which the girl happily allowed. Constanze was still tucked in the much-larger girls' arms, looking to have shrunk even smaller as the petite Witch hid her face behind her team-mates' forearms.

"You two Ok? What's wrong with Cons?" Akko pried, sitting up out of her bed proper to slide into place beside Jasminka. She kept trying to get a better look at Constanze, but aside from the shades of pink on her cheeks, Akko couldn't get a proper view. "Aww, is she sick? You can use my bed to lie down if you want. Think I lost a few plums in there though, heehee~"

Constanze chirped a sharp, tinny noise into Jasminka's arm, shaking a little.

"Constanze is shy today." Jasminka said with a big, warm smile, patting the girl's head softly.

"No need to be nervous around us, Cons. We're all friends here aren't we?" Akko poked her head closer.

Another wordlessly cute noise from the Witch, but no dice. Constanze wasn't going to move from her big comfy sanctuary.

"She's been like that since yesterday. Ahh, thanks for that.." Amanda added, saying her gratitude to Lotte briefly who sat down on Sucy's bed; the mushroom witch sitting up herself to listen. "Did something happen when you two piloted that big ass robot?"

Akko was about to shoot back on reflex, but she had to pause, considering the previous events in her strained thoughts. Something had happened. Constanze, the same girl hiding herself away in the arms of her much-larger friend close by, had gingerly kissed the top of Akko's head just before they'd launched their (entirely pointless) rescue mission using the Grand Charion. Recalling that, the familiar fluttery feeling danced about in the girl's chest. Akko had to remind herself it was the strange magic that had made her do that…right? But the longer she pondered in silence amongst her friends, who all tensely looked to her for a response, the less sure she became.

But she couldn't deny it to them either. To lie like that would break Constanze's little heart…what would she say? The protracted silence removed the ease from the room with every stifling second.

"Nothing happened."

Everyone did a double-take when Constanze's whisper of a voice broke the quiet, the tiny German finally lifting her face a little to instead stare sadly at the floor of the room.

"...Akko was very brave."

"She sure is." Sucy added with an oddly sweet smile. "I know how you feel. Akko might not see it, but what she did was really cool…"

The odd, entirely out-of-character niceness in how she'd said that drew all eyes to the mushroom Witch. As if realising what she'd done, Sucy's eye widened in mild shock before she grumbled something under her breath and brought her knees up to her chin, looking away.

"I'm just saying. Quit staring at me. Or do we need some spiders in here?"

"No way!" Amanda shouted, instinctively shielding herself. "Do NOT do that again! I flipping HATE SPIDERS!"

"You did overdo that, Sucy." Lotte agreed, a little pale. "They didn't hurt anyone, but it must've been super scary to some of our classmates."

"They've all disappeared. And they were designed to vanish from everyone's memories in a day or two. Don't worry about it." Sucy reassured, then flashed a teasing smirk at Amanda. "What kind of Witch is scared of spiders anyway?"

The American crossed her arms in a huff, feigning indifference. "N-Never said I was scared! I jus' hate em is all. Little crawly bastards scampering up my legs…ugh! You better not be lying about forgetting all about them! Or else I'll find whatever scares YOU the most and jump you with it when you least expect it!"

"So spiders do scare you."

"Waitwhat! I didn't say that!"

"Heeheehee…"

The awkward silence was shelved in the past with the laughter that followed. Amanda tried in vain to convince everyone that nothing scared her at all, but soon her annoyance gave way to her own loud belting of cheer, almost falling backwards on her chair. Akko was delighted to share such a simple moment, thankful in how it made her forget her embarrassing troubles, if only for a little while.

"Fine! You can have that one. Spiders scare me! Just don't pull any pranks with them again, yeah?"

"Whatever. Scaring people isn't my idea of fun anyway. Maybe you wanted to try one of my new potions instead? That'll be a blast."

"Fuck that!" Amanda roared with laughter with everyone else following suit at the unexpected cuss, even Constanze stifling a giggle that Akko noticed with a sly, wolfish grin.

"Ha! Saw that! You made Cons laugh!"

"No way!" Amanda shot out of her seat, leaning towards her friend who puffed her face up in embarrassment before hiding herself away again. "Shit, maybe I should swear more often! Hahaha!"

Everyone laughed again at the swear, and after a few more minutes passed the lively atmosphere in that room was back in full swing. Akko really cherished moments like those, where all her friends were happy, no one fighting…if only there was some way to preserve that forever.

Stanbot, having sat perched atop Constanze's head quietly for a while had sprung into action to help defeat the tedium of waiting; transforming into a video game console on Sucy's desk with a magical projector as a screen. Akko and her friends would cheer and laugh, occasionally trash-talking as they all took turns facing one another in some new fighting game involving Witch duels called Armageddon Arcana. Akko didn't win a single round, even when she accidentally picked a supposedly overpowered boss character, giggling and yelling with faux-dismay as Constanze expertly trounced her and knocked Akko's fighting avatar into a pool of cartoonish lava, pulling a thumbs up on the way down.

It was a really cool game, but after handing off the controller to Jasminka, Akko couldn't help but be distracted by her worrying thoughts that despite them all relaxing and having fun, there was still something off in the air. She couldn't lie to herself and think it was all back to normal. And that got her pondering about what was going on outside their little gathering. Did Diana and Chariot really get into a lot of trouble? Were they doing Ok? Were they…thinking of her? Like she was thinking of them?

Lost in that thinking momentarily, Akko absently noticed Sucy looking pensively at her from across the room as everyone else was distracted by another great match of magical battle.

Akko just smiled back at first, which Sucy sweetly returned, but her friend didn't look away. Then, to her sharp surprise the girl actually brushed aside her trademark bangs of silvery-purple hair to lock her warm gaze to Akko's with both eyes visible.

Something about that look totally threw Akko off. It was like, for only the shortest of moments Sucy had show her something she knew hardly anyone on that Earth had bore witness to. It felt like…a precious gift of sorts. Something exclusive and special. Especially coming from a girl as normally cold and detached like Sucy. It also had the effect of making her friend look so much prettier…

But, being as clumsy as she was, Akko opened her mouth to say something to her, only to let the grip on the pickled plum in her hand slack and sending it slipping downwards where it plopped on top of Constanze's head who was sitting below, sticking there like salty ornament.

"Hm?!" The girl whipped her head about to stare at Akko with a blend of nervousness and surprise.

"Whoops! Sorry about that! I dropped a plum on your head. Just let me-"

Akko moved a little too quickly to pluck it off her friends' tuft of teal hair, touching her hand to the German's tiny one as she attempted to do the same.

That brief contact of skin, where Akko couldn't help but remark to herself how chilly and soft Constanze felt, had frozen them both in place for a few seconds, until the little German Witch managed to break the awkward spell by snagging the plum herself in a lightning-quick motion and popping it whole into her mouth.

The face she made from that was one-of-a-kind. Immediately she puffed her cheeks out while pursing her lips so tight like she'd taken a huge bite out of a ripe lemon. On top of that the furious, sweating blush shining bright all over her pale skin suddenly transformed her head to look like a big tomato.

"T-Thank you very much." She managed to sputter, trembling from head to toe before turning back to the game; mouth so puckered it baffled Akko that she heard anything coherent at all.

"...welcome." Akko herself barely managed to utter the words. Feeling stranger by the second, she turned to look at Sucy again, but her room-mate had turned back to watching the game; her seldom-seen eye hidden away again.

Akko wasn't the smartest person in that room by a longshot, she could admit that much. But it was becoming much clearer to her that the nice ambience there would be short lived if something wasn't done about it. Constanze's innocent kiss, Sucy's longing stare, Diana and Chariot's frenzied jealousy that could've seriously hurt someone or worse…

It was only a matter of time. So much like Amanda expressed earlier, she had gotten sick of waiting around for things to fix themselves. Akko had embarrassed herself before, but something like that didn't mean anything in the face of another potential disaster befalling her dear friends, and everyone else at Luna Nova.

It was time to act. At the very least to quell her heart that tugged in every direction. She didn't want magic to have anything do with who loved her! Just like that annoying bee, Akko would do whatever it took to finish it, no matter how stupid it made her look!

"Everyone, please listen up!" She hopped off her bed with a wild shout, startling everyone. Amanda paused the game, cutting off its poppy music and eyed her with a raised brow. "I need to find out what's going on outside. And I've gotta see how Chariot and Diana are doing. Maybe they got into a lot of trouble…and I just can't stop myself worrying about them. Plus, I really need to apologise to them too. Constanze was there with me, but I said a few stupid things I wish I could take back. And maybe-maybe I can convince the professors to go easy on them. I don't think they understand this silliness like I do. One way or another, I'm going to help them, then see if we can all figure out a way to stop whatever's happening to all of us!"

Lotte was the first to speak up in support with a little fist pump. "I was thinking the same thing, Akko. Things are probably the opposite of normal out there. We should find a way out."

"Yeah! Can't sit around forever!" Amanda boasted, smashing her fist into her palm with a loud snap. "The professors have another thing coming if they think we'd just sit around and study like a bunch of dorks. Let's go!"

"How are we going to sneak past the faeries? None of us are exactly subtle." Sucy asked dryly, but Akko noted the slight enthusiasm in her posture when the girl stood from the edge of her bed. "Maybe this calls for more-"

"No more spiders, Suce. Got a way better plan!" Amanda replied quickly, then turned to Constanze with an expectant grin. "Or did you guys forget one of us has an underground network all to herself?"

Constanze gave a stout thumbs up. "Under my bed, there's a passage…"

The fires of courage blazed bigger and brighter in Akko's core at the outpouring of support. Whatever happened, as long they stuck together to cover their blatant weaknesses, everything would be just fine.

Well, she hoped at least!

"Awesome! Let's go!" Akko yelled excitedly and scooped up her Shiny Rod before tying it snug to her belt. "Hope you guys love minecart rides!"

"What?" Lotte asked, puzzled. Constanze gave the Finnish girl a little pat on the back.

"Hang on tight."

"Eh?! Akko's serious?!"

=][=

"Some tea, Diana?" Barbara offered a fresh cup to Diana, who was deep in the crux of investigating what could possibly be the flimsiest lead she had to go on. Diana said a quick thanks and went back to scanning page after page of one of thirty books on the subject of Love, sitting rigidly at a long desk in a nearly empty library. Chariot nearby was teetering dangerously on a step ladder in an effort to pluck yet another book from the top of a shelf, her trembling legs seconds from bucking right out from under her.

How could a woman be so lethally athletic and still so dubiously clumsy was a mystery to Diana. And had her Professor forgotten she was a Witch? Why not use magic to collect those books? Or perhaps she too was struggling to reel in their sudden burst in magical power? One way or another, Diana found it much harder to concentrate when the woman was within her field of vision. Troubling thoughts of the two of them, battered, exhausted both physically and emotionally, lying on the mulch of mud and wet grass. One moment filled with jealousy and rage and the next-something else Diana did not want to think about! She was getting distracted again!

Dropping her weary gaze back to the lines of writ on the open book titled Amorous Amalgams, she struggled to actually push the words she was reading into trains of thought. Barbara still hovered nearby, peeking at the same book with inquisitive eyes. Her friends had somehow managed to intercept Diana a few minutes earlier, and hadn't given a single inch despite her protests, insisting that they stick together as a team no matter how dangerous or ridiculous things became. Diana had to give that to them. If she'd heeded their tense concern regarding Diana's jealous behaviour towards Chariot, that entire debacle the previous day could've been avoided.

"We'll stick with you, Diana! That's that!"

"Yep! Can't get rid of us! Gotta make sure you don't do something silly again, you hear?"

Having been unable and frankly unwilling to argue, she'd graciously accepted their support. She'd sent Hannah to quickly grab that Mirrorstone from Diana's desk in their dorm first, whilst Barbara stayed behind in the library to help out any way she could. Even though it was something as simple as serving tea (normally forbidden in the library, but Diana was too strung to care), Barbara had become exceedingly skilled in doing so. Just a sip of what her friend had brewed soothed the stings of unease Diana had felt right away.

"Have you found what you were looking for yet?" Barbara asked hopefully, taking the empty seat to Diana's left and opening another book from the stack to peruse. "What's the key word again?"

"I'm not sure." She answered, feeling a bit downtrodden that she couldn't elaborate, but her weak reply didn't diminish Barbara's bright smile in the slightest. "When I happen upon it, I'll know. It's just a matter of time."

"Mhm. Hannah and I trust you, totally. Let's find what you need quick then!"

"I appreciate that, Barb." Diana replied with a grateful sigh through her grin. She'd never called Barbara by that shortened name, something the raven-haired Witch immediately noticed with a delighted laugh.

"You called me Barb! That's so awesome! Please-please do that whenever you want. It sounded soo cute coming from you! Hahaha! I gotta tell Hannah about this-!"

That sweetly innocent reaction lifted Diana's spirits, and she saw no harm in granting that request. Part of her also wished to see the three of them grow even closer; that desire spurred by the wonderful dedication and care they'd both graced Diana with after that ridiculous duel. If their kind reassurance hadn't been there, the heiress knew her confidence that day would've never rose to the surface.

"By all means. I don't mind."

"Yeah! That's a win!" Barbara giggled joyfully.

Right then Chariot entered the picture, adding one more book far larger than the rest on top of the stack in front of Diana. The desk actually buckled with a worrisome creak after the heavy deposit, impressing the girl with the ease that Chariot had handled the massive book. No matter how much she tried to ignore the fact, that impressive strength was irritatingly alluring.

"There. That must be the last one we have. I remember reading a lot of these at your age, but I can't remember much of it now I'm afraid." Chariot tilted her face a little, palming her hands together as an apologetic gesture. The shy, sheepish nature of that woman suddenly looked so beautiful to Diana, marring her own reply to come three seconds too late, and with a noticeable shake within her words.

"T-Thank you for the help."

"Thanks, Professor Shiny!"

A beat passed. A gust of curiously loud wind passed the windows. Diana slowly and awkwardly turned to Barbara, who already had both hands clamped over her mouth, eyes wide in petrified shock as they darted back and forth between the witnesses to what she'd said.

"H-H-Hang on! Didn't mean that!" She thrashed her hands about in a panic. A pink glow of a blush suddenly revealed growing rapidly on her fair, defined cheeks. "I meant Shiny Chariot! WAIT NOT THAT EITHER! EEEK!"

Chariot gaped nervously at her, the previous head-tilt she'd held now dipping almost completely lateral.

"...Eh?"

Barbara snatched one of the books from the nearby pile, knocking several off the desk, then hid her face behind the dusty tome. She did all that with such reckless speed Barbara had unfortunately nailed herself in the face with said book, the clearly audible snap echoing throughout the spacious room.

"Nevermind! And…owie~"

Before Diana could meekly ask if she was alright, Hannah suddenly entered the room, jogging over to them with a cheerful grin that slowly faded to oblivion the closer she approached the group frozen in that awkward situation.

"Uhhh, what did I just walk into? Everyone OK?" Hannah prodded warily, eyeing Diana and Chariot in particular. "You guys aren't going to duel again right…?"

"Definitely not!"

"N-no! Not again!"

They'd both talked over the other, garbling their response into a mess of words, only serving to make that situation all the more uncomfortable.

"Okay then!" Hannah recoiled like she'd been attacked, but quickly composed herself and handed Diana the item she'd been asked to retrieve; the Mirrorstone. A simple, slightly-jagged rock of quartz that fit in the girl's palm. It held a small, twisting storm of clouds within its sheen surface, complete with similarly tiny bolts of red lightning silently zapping about inside. Once Hannah had passed the item, she pulled up a chair next to Barbara, looking to her confidant worriedly. "I feel like I shouldn't even ask."

"Probably a good idea." Diana said, turning back to to the new mess of literature on the desk courtesy of Barbara's frantic reaction just before, now obscuring the book she'd been initially trying to read.

'Another new fan of Chariot. I can hardly blame her.' Diana remarked with amusement, struggling to read the random page of another book without the image of a particular outfit accentuating the figure of a woman only a few feet away butting into her thoughts. Fighting against the crawling heat of a blush itching her neck, she hurled that kind of thinking aside, only for that same visualisation to pop back a second later with a cheekily grinning Shiny Akko front and centre. And just like that the girl was close to losing her grip entirely. The phenomena afflicting Luna Nova was becoming unbearable to simply ignore…

'This accursed magic…I can't be dwelling on such things! Mary could be in danger and I'm sitting here indulging such lewdness! If I could just find what I was looking for-'

It had to be cosmic luck that the moment she'd thought that, the very thing she'd been seeking with growing desperation lay before her on the first dusty page Diana's gaze fell upon. Curbing the sudden explosion of hopeful excitement, her sharp mind consumed the paragraph with wanton haste.

Morgana Event

Spirits and other similar revenants, immortal or not, can fall in love, and become extremely lonely, just as any flesh and blood creature of the realms. Naturally the older the spirit, the more prone to such an occurrence they become, especially among those who are female. Reports of a Morgana Event are rare, but their similarities typically fall in line as follows.

A person with a high affinity to a particular arcana is chosen as the catalyst, either directly, or through an item that has chosen its wielder. Usually a pendant, a sword, sometimes a wand…

A wand! Akko's wand! The Claiomh Solais…it had to be. Her confidence boosted at finally having a thread to go on, Diana continued to read.

The yearning for love and companionship will manifest through the catalyst, affecting its wielder to become the centre for such desires, pushing those with even the slightest want for that person to seek romantic validation. These emotions only grow stronger with time, usually to disastrous results. See rendering 118-C-

-which was an image on the opposite page of some building eerily similar to Luna Nova wreathed with flames in mid-collapse; a slew of people randomly battling each other in front of the grim sight. Two at the forefront of the carnage, a pair of young Witches, were reeling from painful looking punches delivered simultaneously to the others face. The parallels to Diana's current situation were too on the nose to be mere coincidence. Determined to avoid a similar fate for herself and everyone at the academy, she peeled her eyes away from the picture and continued reading.

The spirit suffering from a Morgana Event will involuntarily possess a person nearby at random, fusing with their body and soul to create a being of neither half; a malevolent spectre driven by jealousy and love, seeking to make the owner of the catalyst theirs by any means. Destruction of the host or spirit, is the quickest way to end the coming catastrophe. The only other means to stop the Event, is a flash-exorcism, using any amount of Aglaophotis available directly on the host.

Aglaophotis…Diana's extensive knowledge recalled what such an item looked like. Essentially a deep-crimson liquid, sometimes coagulated into a pill, that expunged any spiritual or demonic entity from a host. She only prayed such a thing could be found in Luna Nova. With that, she'd learned enough about what to do. It was time to act. She wasn't 100 percent certain that Mary was the host, but her classmate's timely disappearance was reason enough to follow through.

"Professor Chariot!" She yelled, alarming the woman who jumped on the spot nearby. "Aglaophotis! You need to acquire some from the forbidden storeroom!"

"I-I-I don't know if we have something like that, but I'll go check!"

"Not just yet. First-"

Diana placed the Mirrorstone on the desk and without wasting any time, lifted her wand high and practically slammed the item with the appropriate spell, flinging the collection of now-useless books around the stone to spill all over the floor in a wondrous mess. Hannah and Barbara yelped as one at the abrupt motion, shooting out of their seats and crowding behind Diana as if on instinct.

"Somme Viator!"

The Mirrorstone rattled loudly on the table for a second then fanned out in a thick cloud of magical blue smoke that engulfed most of the table. For a moment it seemed the swirling smoke would keep growing rapidly in size, but it quickly snapped inwards whence it'd came and formed a glowing eagle-eye view of Luna Nova's surroundings in the shape of a rough circle; the signature building sitting right in the centre.

"Oooh, a map?" Barbara peeked out from behind Diana and stood beside her as Hannah echoed the movement with the exact same timing.

"Look! That shining bit!" Hannah flicked her finger to a point.

Diana focused where her friend was indicating, and sure enough, a tiny speck of golden light was glinting from the edge, a fair distance away from the image of the academy itself. A spot heavily shrouded by dense canopies of sinister trees. That place was-

"The Forest of Arcturus…Mary's there?" Chariot spoke up, the soft light from the spell reflecting off her glasses.

"I'm sure of it. I pictured her name and face when I cast the spell." Diana answered quickly. "Can you memorise the spot, Professor?"

Chariot hesitated for a second and cupped her chin, staring at the map closely with furrowed brows before replying with a new flare of confidence in her usually shy voice.

"...Y-Yes. Yes, I'll remember it. You want me to get whatever Aglaophotis I might find and meet you at that spot?"

Diana nodded, glad that Chariot was on the same page. "Please hurry then. We're running out of time."

"I don't quite understand what's happening, but I have faith in you. Leave it to me!"

The woman returned a sharp, determined nod of her own before sprinting off the mark with such sudden speed that by the time Diana blinked once Chariot had vanished through the yawning doorway of the library.

"Woah, she's fast!" Hannah remarked, staring after Chariot then turned to Diana. "So we're going too?"

"Arcturus Forest…that place is soo creepy. B-But we'll be fine with you, Diana!"

She smiled reassuringly at them, choosing to hide the slight doubt whispering at the back of her thoughts. Was Diana being overconfident? Her courage a farce, fuelled by a reckless desire to help Akko; the girl she'd loved for almost a year? And what if Chariot couldn't find any of trace of Aglaophotis to burn out the spirit that had taken Mary into the forest for who-knows-what? Too many questions, and none she had an answer for.

But much like that hyperactive ball of endless joy and bravery that was one Akko Kagari, Diana chose to ignore those misgivings and follow that lovely girls' example. And perhaps too…that might make Akko notice Diana a little more. To enthral and inspire her to choose Diana over the others as the one to take the first dance together at the Twilight Ball.

It was childish to think of such a petty thing with what was happening then, but she couldn't deny the unstoppable sense of reckless bravery such a desire filled her with.

She was going to end the madness. And it was time to win Akko's love! No matter how selfish it was to do so!

"Girls, it's time to fly."

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AN: Finally back into the swing of things. Been way too long. I'll try and update soon, just because I like y'all so much. Love and Peace, friends~

Anyone have any questions about the fic, or want to talk about anything at all really, I'm always happy to lend an ear.

-Queen