The last thing Croix Meridies had expected was for her plan to fail. Not only had she underestimated Akko, but she had also completely lost her way after leaving Luna Nova. She had abandoned her best friend (after having tricked her into stealing the magic of innocent people), had almost killed a student after abandoning her in a cursed forest and had almost destroyed a country with a missile. Her actions, of course, came with consequences, from their ministry of magic. But, while Chariot and the Headmistress had spoken in favor of her, she still had to pay for her crimes. And that's the way she wanted it to be. She had enjoyed her time teaching in Luna Nova, and was looking forward to coming back once she found a cure for Chariot.

After all, that was the least she could do for her best friend.

Looking around her new lab, which came with continuous surveillance from the ministry, all she had done since she left Luna Nova was try to find a cure for Wagandea's curse. There were many tells about people inhaling the pollen and its after-effects (which included loss of magic and ability to fly). Chariot had been lucky. But Croix believed that it had to do with the power Chariot had (both her natural talent and the magic she absorbed during her time as Shiny Chariot). That, was what Croix believed, had helped minimize the effects of the pollen once Chariot inhaled it. Specially since she spent so much time up there looking for Akko. But alas, while it did say that the effects of the pollen would disappear naturally after an undetermined amount of time, she didn't want Chariot to suffer.

Chariot who had always loved to fly.

Then again, she knew that there was something else going on. Her punishment had been too soft, and that to Croix meant only one thing: The Ministry of Magic needed her in a lab. For what, she had no idea. Ever since Akko released the full power of the Grand Triskellion by using the Claiomh Solai, there had been an overage of magic. The Sorcerer's Stones that had previously been on high demand were becoming unnecessary because of the amount of overflowing magic moving through the Ley Lines. In fact, it had been just like Akko and Chariot had said it could be: Witches using their magic freely and making it more accessible to people.

Still, there was something that didn't seem right. The Ministry, which had congratulated the young witches of Luna Nova, had not been as ecstatic with this new amount of magic freely becoming available. Croix could see it in the way they spoke with each other during meetings: They were scared. And Croix could understand very well why…

Now anyone with the knowledge could use magic.

Not only that, but magic was now going to become more difficult to regulate. In fact, very few people knew that the whole purpose of the Sorcerer's Stones was to facilitate the knowledge of who was and where magic was being used. With that gone, it meant that the Ministry of Magic was going to have a harder time with knowing who was using magic. And that meant a problem. Because if she, who was a familiar face in the magic world, had had the capacity of scheming the creation of the Sorcery Solution System; then who knew what someone else, far away from the Ministry's regulating controls could do.

Which is why Croix believed she was here and not in a cell.

Standing up from her chair and going to get some ramens from the fridge, Croix almost failed to notice the red-light warning coming from one of her many monitors. Quickly moving back to her chair, with some precise movements from her wand and her hand, she reached the encrypted file someone had just sent her. Surprised, because her system was almost impossible to hack, Croix was hesitant about opening it. Still, if someone took the time to crack her firewall to send her that, it meant that the person knew who she was and her current situation. Clicking on the link, Croix stared in complete shock at the video playing on all her screens. It wasn't long, but it gave her enough information to know that things were already starting. That there was someone out there taking advantage of magic and using it for their own gains.

Someone using magic to destroy magic…

I must go back to Luna Nova. I must warn Chariot!