'Well this looks lovely.'

After coming to terms with the loss of her most recent partner, the little witch ventured further into the darkness. Into the unknown.

After awhile the unknown quickly becomes known for it's increasing amount of desecrated areas. Evidenced by all the plaster still glued to the walls. And doors. Lots and lots of doors. She would spend countless minutes trying to open them all, see where they all lead and hopefully give Akko an idea of her surroundings.

Most of the doors wouldn't budge, even after slamming her shoulder against them. Attempting to kick the door down doesn't work either, and she made sure to kick the side of the door near the doorknob, right where the key hole would be. No matter what, the doors wouldn't yield and almost seemed like they were made of a completely different material.

Whatever. In the end, it doesn't even matter. There were too many doors in here, like an apartment complex. She had half a mind to think people used to live here, but who in their right mind would live in this hole? So yeah. Too many doors, not a lot of time. And as such, she was going to twist the doorknobs to every door but won't do more than that to try and gain entry. If it was locked, it's locked. She was still going to try each door of course, but she was going to leave the ones that wouldn't budge alone.

It was a relief in a way, kind of like taking the choice out of her hands. That was a good thing, less decision making for her. She was going to proceed here with a "What can you do?" approach from now on. Any other day this would go against her determination to see things through, but she didn't come here solely to explore or unlock every door she could find. She also had to find a way up, and right now, that took priority.

Maybe some other day she could dedicate an entire night opening as many doors to her heart's content, but right now this was not that day.

Akko tried another door, this one dull and gray and blank with nothing but numbers marked on it with a rusted nameplate. It was bland and nothing special to look at just like everything else here. This place sucks.

The little witch twisted the doorknob. It wouldn't budge.

"It won't budge? Of course it won't budge. That's the story of this game, not budging." Akko gave up, sauntering off further down the hallway to try the next door. This one looked relatively the same but with a different number written on it.

'They sure went all out with designing this place.' Akko snarked. 'Couldn't they have decorated even a little to make it less...I don't know, gloomy?' Well she had to give credit where it was due, there were some potted plants here and there. But that was pretty much it. The fact that the plants hadn't wilted and withered away told her they were all plastic, but the bright green and brown colors clashed against the dark colors of literally everything else was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

The little witch turned the knob, yielding the same result. She simply shrugged and stalked off further the hall. At the end of the hall was a different door that marks the end of this hallway and the beginning of another one.

It didn't escape her notice how only those doors were the only ones that open. How the only doors she could go through were the ones going forwards, and none of the adjacent ones. It almost felt like she was being led somewhere, but that was crazy. As interesting as that would be, Akko didn't think the superstitious feeling held any real merit. Yes, sometimes she could trust her instincts, but other times they could be wrong too. Like the time she let herself be fooled by professor Croix which led to her questioning the only teacher and mentor who actually looked out for her ever since she enrolled. She let herself be led astray because Croix told her the words she wanted to hear instead of the hard truth that professor Ursula gave. And that was enough reason for Akko to begin second guessing her hunches, at least the ones that made no sense whatsoever.

The door to the hallway exit clicked shut behind her. Immediately her nose picked up a scent of something..familiar. A distinct scent she hasn't detected for a long time.

'Don't tell me.' Akko turned around, nose twitching at the nostalgic smell. Her eyes narrowed. 'It is.'

Instead of another hallway filled with doors like she expected, she was standing in a room splitting off in four directions. Forwards, backwards, and left and right. The passage to the right was filled to the brim with junk and debris, so much that it filled the entire corridor. Junk like desks, drawers, chairs all hastily stacked on top of each other in a disorganized pile. Basically anything that could be found to use as some kind of barricade or something.

Moving all of that trash was out of the question. She didn't have the time or energy to surf it all out and just by looking at it, it gave the impression that the slightest disturbance could send it all crashing. Yes, it was that messy. Better leave it alone.

The passage to the left was equally inaccessible, but not because of some messy abomination. No, it as far more anomalous. Instead of a random collection of items haphazardly thrown together, the pathway to the left was blocked off by strange dark metal bars. All of them protruded from the ground straight to the ceiling, like a cage or a prison cell. The smell of rust and metal sifted in her nose as she stared at the oddity.

The way they were just left there, the very nature of their existence was unsettling. The bars just looked out of place and foreign. From the shape, the texture, the length, the appearance, the thickness of the bars, and the smell. It was clear that it didn't belong. At least, it wasn't intended to be there at first. Just being close to them raised a small cautionary flag in her head.

Those metal bars were erected for a reason, she just didn't know if it was for a good reason or a bad one. The bad vibes she was getting just from their appearance alone made her unsure. Was it to keep something out, or was it to prevent Akko from getting in? To limit her options?

She turned to the only direction she could go, An old stairwell that went straight forwards but also further down. It also happened to be where the familiar scent was coming from. The nostalgic smell of dripping limestone and, Akko sniffed the air, a heavy presence of water. Old, dank, musty water.

"Well this is going to be fun." Akko narrowed her eyes at the prospect, shining her wand down the steps. True to form, her light was being reflected at the bottom where the landing was. 'Gee, I wonder what that smooth reflective surface down there could be?' definitely not water she was smelling from all the way up here. She descended the stairs, scoffing all the while. 'Lets just get this over with.'

The lower she went, the stronger the smell of limestone and musty water became. She tested the water with the tip of her boot. It was plain water. It didn't look, feel, or smell particularly dangerous, but she knew appearances weren't everything. For all she knew it could be littered with microscopic bacteria or parasites, or be toxic or poisonous.

What could she do about it though? Those were nothing but speculations, of which she didn't have the time or resources to test. She sure wished she had a rat right now. So she could see if it would actively avoid the water or not.

She looked around, eyes narrowed into thin slits searching for a rat or a mouse or anything with a pulse scurrying nearby to be used as a guinea pig. 'There has to be something.'

Her eyes spotted a door, only this time, it's open. "Oh wow, a door that's not already locked?" Amazing. How can she resist? The brunette skipped over to the door, opening it further and peered inside carefully before swinging it open.

It was some kind of staff room. There were desks, tables, and drawers where she assumed all the records and paperwork were stored. She traced a finger along the wooden surface of one of the desks, inspecting her finger and flicking off specks of dust.

The light of her wand reflected against a shattered mirror hung above one of the desk counters. Shards of the broken mirror strewn on top of the counter top along with a pristinely white sheet of paper. There were words written on it. "Hm? What's this?" Akko picked up the paper, indulging her curiosity.

[Jeff, welcome to the team! I'm sure the supervisor has already filled you in on the basics, but here's a few things you might want to know!]

The paper breaks off into a numbered list.

[1.) This cave is wet, cold, and filled with puddles, watch your step! 2.) Cigarette breaks every two hours. ( Most important!) 3.) The supervisor is a dick. 4.) You're gonna be going back and forth all day so be sure to memorize the code to section D. The code is 279-]

…

279 something.

Two seven nine what? The last number was blotted by the ink, she couldn't read it. "Oh well, let's just hope that I'm not going to section D then, wherever or whatever that is." Not like she knew where anything even was. Would it kill these people to leave signs up or something? Akko continued reading the note.

[PS: We've filled up some of the holes and gaps with a light mixture. The mixture was cheap and by all means not that durable, but it's strong enough to hold for us. Not like we're planning on staying here for long anyways. Still, be mindful of dark spots on the water. We don't want any more unnecessary injuries. Not after the last incident.]

Huh, okay. Be mindful of any dark spots. Akko stepped out of the room, shining her light and peering at the water.

Was he talking about that or some other body of water she has yet to find? There weren't any dark spots she could see, at least from where she was standing. "Well alright then buddy boy. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." The little witch retrieved the note, folding it up and tucking it in her collar. She didn't want the off chance of her stumbling into Section D and not have the note as a reminder of the clue. Even though she only needed to remember four numbers with the last being unknown. In that case she can always rely on guesswork. Still, she'd rather have the note. Just in case.

It never hurt to be extra careful. "It pays to be vigilant." or something like that.

Akko stepped into the water. The cool temperature of the liquid engulfed her boots, sending waves up her spine. The grimy wet texture of the water making her take heavy sloshy footsteps as the liquid resisted her leg's motions. Though thankfully, the water level only reached up to her shins.

'Thank goodness for mandatory uniforms.' The boots they had to wear were high enough that the water couldn't reach the uncovered skin of her knees and thighs. She wasn't going to be a happy camper if she got all wet here. Especially by this dank, questionable water.

The little witch trudged on, flashing her light in front of her as she searched for the way forwards. Brick walls lined up both sides and occasionally splitting off to make corridors that seemed to lead to dead ends.

The brick walls, the partially flooded room, the perpetual darkness, it was all so typical to what a sewer looks like. Her body involuntarily shivered at how gross the water could be if that were true.

'Just don't dwell on it.' she reassured herself frantically, her discomfort levels rising. Think about other things, literally anything else.' things like the law of conservation of energy, projectile motion, how to catch a hammer with your teeth, or how to properly pose for a head shot, the periodic table!

Her foot went through empty space where solid ground should have been.

"Wah-!" Her yelp cut off as cold water suddenly filled her mouth, some traveling down her throat and into her stomach. Her entire body lurched forwards as she plunged into the water and kept on sinking. Cold water engulfed her whole body as she closed her mouth and held her breath, writing and struggling from the shock of suddenly being underwater.

It was dark all around her, she couldn't see, couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Her head ached as she flipped and turned underwater, some water rushing up her nose and intensifying the throbbing sensation in her skull. From the corner of her eyes she saw a faint light below her. It was sinking and going further away gradually. A familiar glowing green light..

Panic surged through her as she realized how empty both of her hands suddenly felt. The little witch searched her waist and sash, then padded her chest and tunic just in case.

She didn't feel her wand anywhere.

In a rush, Akko immediately dove down to the depths, chasing after the glowing light. That must have been her wand! She must have let go of it in her panic and now it was sinking further and deeper into darker waters. That wand was her best chance of getting out of here, of navigating through these dark areas. She was not about to lose it and grope the walls all the way back.

The light continued to fade as it sank. Her ears felt a sharp pain from the sudden change of water pressure, which only intensified as she swam deeper. Akko pushed her arms and legs violently, adrenaline coursed through her veins giving her tunnel vision. That light was the only thing she could see, literally. It was still so dark underwater. Just how deep was this thing? She hoped to god she didn't stumble into an underwater cave river that led to a bigger body of water. Who knows what kind of magic creatures dwell here and were probably sensing her with all the commotion and noise she was making flailing around.

Her wand suddenly stopped moving, the light continued shining illuminating a small radius of it's immediate surroundings.

'it must have finally reached the bottom. Alright, with this it's only a matter of time before I finally get it back.' she thought to herself, relief washing over her. She could see small crab like creatures with hard shells on the edges of the illuminated circle created by the light of her wand. They were all moving towards it's center, gathering towards the light.

'Ew so there were tings down here.' now that regaining her wand back was all but assured, she had the moment to think of less troubling thoughts. Like being grossed out by alien looking crab lobster things. The bottom was only a few yards away, she could reach if if she continued to swim straight down only a few more seconds.

A long dark mass darted through her vision in front of her, disappearing out of her field of view as quickly as it appeared. She felt the water below her shifting towards the direction of the mass, a slipstream effect that comes after a speeding object.

Akko froze. Fear gripped her heart as every warning bell and alarm suddenly went off within her. Her skin felt sensitive against the cold water, every hair on her body stood rim rod straight despite being underwater. She floated motionlessly, fear and apprehension overtook her body as she waited. Maybe if she stayed still it would go away, or maybe convince herself she imagined it.

No, no way she imagined it. She felt the slipstream, she physically felt the water shift and move as it passed. She saw it's silhouette as it passed in front of her. It swam right between her and her wand, the light gave her a darkened outline of it's body. And it was big.

Big enough to eat a person, bigger than any fish had a right to be. and considering Akko's small stature…

Akko felt the water shift once again, this time above her. The slipstream confirmed her fears. She was not alone down here, and she was not imagining things. It also raised more disturbing questions.

How many were there around her? What else could be swimming in the dark?

Red eyes dilated, springing into action as she dove straight to the bottom. Her body moved on its own. Heart slamming erratically in her chest as more adrenaline raced through her bloodstream.

'I need to get out of here! something's in the water, something big and fast! My wand is my only chance, I doubt I could out swim whatever it is without transforming.' the best plan was to transform herself into a fish or an animal that can sure as hell swim faster than a person. Human beings definitely weren't made to live in water, hell, a goldfish could probably swim faster than her.

The little witch reached the bottom, swatting and batting away any crab like animals that were crowding around her wand. 'Move! Get out of here!' She grabbed a handful of the offending creatures and tossed them away. 'Shoo!'

Almost in response to Akko's frantic movements, the water around her grew restless. She could feel the water shifting and moving more and more frequently, getting closer each time.

By the time she cleared out most of the scavengers, the slipstreams and movements were close enough to be heard. She could hear the sound of water rushing. Except it was a sound she heard in her bones.

Akko's lungs burned as she cleared away the last few bottom dwellers and gazed at her wand stuck between a crack between two large rocks. Not wasting a second, she shoved a hand into the slit, her fingers splayed outwards in a desperate attempt to reach and grab. The tips of her fingers grazed the handle, barely making contact.

'OH, COME ON!' Akko's cheeks puffed, her chest ablaze from the lack of oxygen. She could feel her time running short. There was no chance for her to swim all the way back to the surface to breathe air, it would take too long. And that was assuming she even made it safely to the surface, there was no telling that she wasn't going to get attacked by whatever this thing was lurking around her concealed in the dark. She was lucky she hadn't been attacked already, but that only left her feeling even more apprehensive about the inevitable.

It was coming. She was going to get attacked. It was basically unavoidable at this pint. The question was the "when" it would take place. It could be 20 seconds from now, it could be the second she finishes this train of thought.

The bones in her hand shifted painfully when she tried to drive it deeper into the small crevice. Pulling out her fingers, she looked around for one of the small crab things. Some of them had long and thin pincers, so maybe…

Red eyes roved to the sea floor. There!

The brunette snatched the little critter, practically shoved it into the fissure until she saw the claw clamp down on the thin metal shaft of her wand.

'All right!' she raised the insectoid animal, bringing up the wand it was holding along with it. The metal shaft of her wand was out, now she just had to pull out the thick handle part, which was still stuck. It was like forcing a round peg through a square hole, but she knew it would come out, it was already loosening. It only took a little more time and effort, both of which she was already running out of.

The little witch wiggled the handle of her wand, shaking it and moving it around in an attempt to wring it free little by little. For every movement she made, every second she struggled, was a second's worth of air used up and gone. The pressure in her chest worsened and the tightness was suffocating.

'Just a little more, come on please!' She pulled the exposed part of the handle frantically, panic starting to set in as the tight pain in her chest became unbearable. Still, she held her breath. Willingly suffocating herself to buy more to time in order to prevent drowning. She knew she couldn't end the pain, knew she couldn't give in to her instincts to open her mouth for the sweet inhale. Because as soon as she does, she would be inhaling her lungs full of water. If that happens, she can kiss her friends and dreams goodbye.

Her ears now hurt so bad from the intense water pressure, she wouldn't be surprised if blood was leaking out of them, giving her an intense headache to go along with the slow torture of suffocation.

The handle gave way. 'There it is!' it wasn't lose yet, but it was almost there! One final tug should do it!

Both of her hands grasped the wand, fully prepared to give one final yank to set it free. It was time to put an end to this torture. 'Time to get out of here.'

Alarm bells went off in her head, even louder than before. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to move, to get out of the way, anything to not be in the spot she was right now. She leaned back and looked to the side.

Just in time to see several sharp jagged teeth barreling towards her, a pair of pale white menacing eyes glowered hungrily at her.

Akko gasped internally, kicking her feet and sending herself away from her spot.

The creature bit down ferociously at the exact place she would have been had she not moved. A second later and she would've been bleeding from all over, possibly in pieces.

The thing whizzed past her after failing to snatch her up with it's deadly Jaws. Her face got caught by it's massive tail, smacking her roughly on the cheek. Bubbles escaped as she exhaled from the force, being careful to only let air out and not let anything else in.

Akko felt the skin on her cheeks being grazed and pulled harshly along the rough and coarse texture of it's tail before her skin peeled away, leaving a thin cut on her cheek where it was scraped. She could see blood flowing freely out of the cut from the corner of her eyes.

Akko saw what looked like a bundle of cloth floating at her side. 'Is that..?' her witch hat. It must have gotten soaked and sunk down, in her panic she forgot all about it.

The brunette grabbed the hat, kicked her feet, and propelled herself back towards the glow of her wand. She doubted the thing was just going to stay hidden in the darkness forever.

The little witch yanked her wand loose, not bothering to flick away the crab thing still clinging on to it and aimed towards the sky. Her other hand held her hat firmly on her head.

'Metamorphie Fasciesse!'

A puff of smoke and the smothering pain in her chest and legs vanished.

Akko couldn't stop to feel the sweet sweet relief of being able to breathe again as she transformed into her shark form, making a beeline to the surface without missing a beat. She needed to get out of here, stat. Now that she was in shark form, she was able to sense things she couldn't as a person.

Her vision was improved. Shark eyes were different from a person's so she guessed that they are able to capture light easier. Her surroundings were significantly less dark, but another of her new senses was raising danger flags.

Other than a shark's enhanced night vision, they were sensitive to electricity. Specifically electric fields. Akko wracked her brain trying to remember the word she was looking for, it was something called "electroreception" or something. Sharks were able to feel electric charges that other animals were giving off. The slightest movement of a muscle creates a change in the surrounding electric field that sharks can detect.

It felt weird having an extra sense she normally couldn't detect. It was exactly like having a sixth sense, in every "sense" of the word.

When she transformed, her electroreception immediately picked up a wild disturbance a little further behind her. She felt it get closer and closer by leaps and bounds and it's movements were not hard to miss. It was wildly thrashing as it barreled after her, fully intent on sinking it's serrated teeth into something.

It didn't take a genius to guess what that "something" was.

Akko could feel the creature rushing to her at a dangerous rate. No no no! Even as a shark she still wasn't fast enough. It was going to close the gap sooner than she could reach the safety of the surface. She had to think of something.

Transform back into a human and fire every spell she has? Assuming she can even aim properly with her heart racing like a sports car, she doubted she could muster up a spell strong enough in the short window of time. Most of them would probably bounce off harmlessly, but if they didn't, anything less than a kill spell would not stop the momentum of a massive animal the size of a car that's already moving like a charging bull.

Her spells might damage it, again, assuming that damaging it would be enough to stop it from tackling from the sheer momentum and gutting her alive in it's gaping maw.

Those were risks she wasn't willing to take. Not when her life was on the line. Any half cocked plan will get her killed, she was absolutely sure.

Akko's mind whirled in overtime as she thought of a valid escape.

'Come on come on come on, think! What can I do?!' she could see the hole where she fell from. The surface of the water she had to break to be home free. Her new shark eyes were better suited in the darkness, which must be why she was able to see the top from a distance she couldn't even hope to see normally.

It was right there. So close.

So close yet so far away…

…

Wait. That was it! So close yet so far away! She was able to see further in the darkness because of her new eyesight!

Sharks are adept at hunting even in the dark because their eyes can better take in light. That goes the same for some other species that regularly hunt in the dark. In order to be able to see in this void, their eyes would have to be much more sensitive to light.

What would happen if she were to flood this entire darkness with sudden blinding light? it's going to have some effect. It has to.

She was willing to bet on it. This time, it was a gamble worth relying on.

The brunette spun around and switched back to her human form, wand clutched in her hand. She raised her wand and uttered the spell in her mind.

Akko closed her eyes as brilliant beaming light burst forth illuminating everything.

It was so bright that the light was going through her eyelids, making her see violent streaks of white in her closed eyes. She had to actually put a hand over them but it was still so bright that she could see the silhouette of the bones in her hand and fingers through her eyelids.

After the brightness receded, she opened her eyes again and shined a weaker light down below. She could see the shape of the creature bucking and thrashing wildly in place as if trying to shake off the temporary blindness.

Akko chose that moment to escape, transforming once again to a shark and high tailing it out of there. She neared the surface, putting the pedal to the metal and reached the top. She broke the water surface, feeling the air brush her sharks skin. She uttered the transformation spell again, turning into a bat and flying through the darkness of the tunnels once more.

She didn't stop until she could no longer see a single drop of water in a fifty mile radius.

/ - /

"Owowowow.." Akko hissed in pain as she applied alcohol to her cheek with cotton.

The rough texture of the creature's tail pulled at her skin like several tiny hooks. In the end, it left a tiny gash on her face where it made contact.

She wanted to disinfect it as soon as possible. A regular open wound normally wouldn't phase her, but this was an open wound she got while in the water. Who knows what kind of bacteria, waste, or chemicals contaminated it.

She still wasn't entirely sure if the water was actually sewage connected to an unusually large amount of groundwater which in turn connected to a river cave going to an ocean or something. Because seeing actual animals down there was weird and out of place.

And what the heck?!

Akko pulled out her note. The one she stole from the mine staff room. 'I thought the guy said they covered the holes up with a light mixture!' the people before her were unreliable and their methods more so.

'Saying they covered up the holes and then years later the hole gets progressively worse until it gets big enough and deep enough to float a boat in.' Akko grumbled uselessly, putting away the note after rereading the part she was looking for.

'They could have used a sturdier mixture that would last longer. Sure, it would be more expensive, but it would have made my life easier. Was that so bad?'

The little witch pulled up a shard of a nearby reflective window and studies her cut. It was probably going to scar. It was going to scab over and heal itself completely at best or leave a slight pink discolored scar at worst.

The little witch sighed, placing an adhesive bandage on the cut.

Man, she was going to have some serious explaining to do about why she suddenly had a bandage on her face when she appeared just fine earlier today. They were going to think she had an injury seemingly overnight.

'Well, I kinda did.' Constanze especially is going to be confused. The little German was going to wonder what the heck Akko was doing after they split up. 'Oh nothing much. Just getting lost and then having a swim and then almost drowning, then almost getting eaten. How about you?' Yeah, that was going to be a fun conversation.

The brunette stood up, closing the first aid kit she was so lucky to find in those breakable glass cases. Those "emergency break glass" things, whatever those are called. Though her stinging elbow would disagree, after she used it to smash the glass just to get first aid to treat her wounds. Which ironically caused her more injuries.

"I better think of a good lie then. I still don't know how they would react." she wasn't sure what telling the truth would entail. Part of her didn't want to deal with keeping up a charade, but another part didn't want her friends to make a fuss about it.

Oh you mean the whole "almost dying" thing? Yeah, it would suck so bad that they would be worried. Her annoying conscience piped up.

Shut up.

And another part of her was worried that they would make such a huge fuss that they might actually restrict her from coming here ever again. Or take measures to watch her every move as a result. Like what Diana did with the whole Wagandea tree incident. All she did was scold and talk some sense into her but Akko wasn't sure someone like Sucy would be so lenient. At least at the prospect of losing her property, her "precious" guinea pig.

Akko rolled her eyes. Kinda sad how Sucy would be worried for her not as a friend, but as an owner. That's what Akko thought anyway. After all the tests and experiments, what else could she see it as?

And Lotte. Akko totally would have trusted Lotte with the truth and not interfere, until the whole argument in the library. The orange haired girl showed a new side of her there, and it opened Akko's eyes to the possibility of Lotte actually stepping up and going the way of Sucy.

If Lotte hadn't confronted Akko and stood her ground like she did, Akko definitely would just tell her the truth. But the argument in the library showed the very real possibility of Lotte once again bucking up and fighting with Akko to stop her from coming here "for her own good" or "to prevent things like this from happening again." yada yada yada.

All in all, it was hard to predict what kind of train wreck would happen at telling the truth.

Akko stood up, dusting herself off.

'Lying it is then.' it would be a hassle to play a charade, but it would be even more bothersome getting in an argument with both of her teammates over this. This decision just happened to give less headaches down the road.

"Now, where am I?" Akko wondered, waving her wand around the room to look for any semblance of familiarity.

Akko had not been paying attention to where she was going when she escaped she just flew around in the dark as a bat, using the bat's echolocation ability to see in the dark so as to not smack face first against any obstacles.

Being in a panic induced state, Akko wasn't interested on where she was going, just that wherever she went would lead her away and into safety. She had just gotten out of a life and death situation after all. Anyone would get lost in the moment.

Well then, now that the adrenaline wore off she better start figuring out where she was. The little witch looked around, taking in her surroundings. The layout was familiar enough. Just the usual maze of doors and hallways with the occasional clutter being everywhere.

But something was different here. Akko roved her flashlight wand on the ground, sweeping over it.

There were candles all over the place.

The brunette took a few wary steps, pacing in a perimeter to check all around her. The candles were left on the ground and extended up and down the hall she was taking a break in. they were left and placed in random groups, all standing together in bunches. Groups of five, four, three, and even two candles all clustered together randomly throughout the floor.

But despite the randomness, she could see a pattern. The candles were all lined up near the walls. None of them were more than a couple of inches away from the nearest wall. Not a single one was placed in the middle of the hall where someone might step on them or knock them over while walking. And judging by the pools of wax on the ground, as well as the dried wax dripping on the sides, all of these candles were lit at one time or another but then got snuffed out.

"I wonder what all these candles are for.." Akko bent down, inspecting some with a questioning gaze. No way that one person did all of this, there was just way too many laid out and other people would have either stolen them or thrown them away. So the people that were here allowed these candles to stay, the question was why and what for?

Did a special event take place? A holiday, celebrations, birthdays?

'What kind of special occasion calls for a bunch of candles being laid all throughout the hallway? It already looks like a major fire hazard leaving them out in such a public place where other people go through on a daily basis. Akko knew that if she tried the same stunt in the hallways of the dorm rooms the teachers would flip.

The brunette marched cautiously, keeping an eye out for any disturbances. Maybe if she kept going straight, she'd find something to point her in the right direction or something. Seeing all these candles everywhere was giving her the creeps. It reminded her too much of old abandoned church buildings for some reason.

"I'm not staying here any longer. I can't take this." Akko speed walked away from the hall, clicking the door open as she heard scuttling behind her.

Oh. right. She forgot.

Akko twisted halfway to face the crab like isopod behind her. Its beady red eyes stared up at her from the shadows of it's shell, the only part of it's face Akko could see.

Akko stared at it.

It stared at Akko.

Neither of them moved a muscle and neither made a sound. The two waited in silence for the other to do...what, exactly? Why was she staring at this thing, she had things to do.

"...shoo." Akko made a shooing motion with her hands, turning back around and walking through the door. The scuttling noise started again, surprising no one.

Apparently that lobster thing hid under her hat when it was at the seafloor and hitched a ride when Akko grabbed it. She didn't feel the weight because she thought it was all of the water inside of it. Either that, or Akko didn't notice or care in her panicked state. The little thing must have been cooped up in her hat as she escaped.

And as Akko very well knows, her clothes disappear when she transforms into an animal and then magically reappear when she switches back. Essentially the sea cretin went into the same magical pocket dimension her hat went when it disappears during transformation and then reappeared along with the rest of her clothes.

It has been following her around since then. Akko didn't know what to think about that. About a little crustacean following her around. Crustacean, isopod, whatever. There was just too many things going on right now and too many uncertainties with keeping a pet, especially one of this nature.

Akko shook her head. No, she wasn't about to delve into this. Maybe she'll consider having a pet at least at a better time. That thing was on it's own, if it continues following her around then whatever. Point is, whatever happens to it is none of her business.

A sharp piercing headache manifested in her skull. She buckled, falling to her knees as she brought a hand to her temple, trying to massage the sudden throbbing. It was so hot! Her brain felt like it was being boiled by it's own fluids! She bit down hard, screaming behind her closed lips.

Static filled her vision, like a corrupted video player. She grit her teeth as violent ringing erupted in her ears. Nothing she could do was helping the pain. Putting her hands over her ears did nothing to lessen the assault in her hearing. Slamming her eyes firmly shut did not stop the barrage of static playing violently and uncontrollably in her retinas. And no amount of scrabbling, scratching, and wringing could ease the pain in her head.

'What's...happening?' The little witch writhed on the ground, helpless, trying to ride out the torment.

Then almost as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. The headache, the static, the ringing. Everything. It was all gone.

Her body felt right as rain. No lingering pain or residual effects. It was as if all the pain she experienced never even happened.

Akko stood up, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What the heck?" What was that just now? She never felt anything like that before and it just came out of nowhere. Was it her body's way of paying for how hard she's been pushing it? Lotte said something like that. Something about the body "paying for it in different ways." was this what she meant?

No, it doesn't sound right. If her body is suffering from some type of fatigue then why was she feeling completely fine now? The pain appeared and then disappeared completely. If her body was spent then she should be feeling tired consistently, not switching on and off between dying and light as a feather.

This had to be something else.

'Come on, get it together Akko.' She smacked her cheeks with her hands. She opened her eyes, determination shining through as she leered at her surroundings, taking in the orange yellow glow in the room.

'Wait, a glow?'

Red eyes snapped to her surroundings, astonishment clear on her face as she looked at the countless numbers of candles which were now lit. Their small embers casting flickering orange against the walls.

Every single candle around her was lit. orange yellow light clashing against the dark, some splotches of black remained on the ceiling and crevices where the candles couldn't reach.

'No way. Impossible. How could someone have lit all these candles so quickly?' There were too many, it just wasn't possible.

Walking forwards, the brunette could see words and markings on the wall and all over the floor. Some words were in English and some were using letters she's never even seen. There were symbols written on there too, again, symbols she never saw before.

Along with the markings and symbols marring the hallway, there were random dark splotches of color too. Is that..blood? Running across the floor and smearing the walls. The little witch gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as the metallic smell finally registered in her mind.

'This is wrong. This is all wrong! All of these weren't here before!' The words, the markings, the symbols on the walls, the blood on the floor, the candles! Where did they all come from?

Her pulse quickened, unease creeping up and growing with each second. This had to be a dream or a hallucination, she had to be imagining it all. Things don't just show up out of nowhere in the blink of an eye. There was no other explanation.

The loud static sound rang loudly once more. She couldn't tell anymore if the sound was real or just in her head.

She was running now. Full on sprinting down the hallway, pushing each and every hall door open that stood in her way, but each new hallway looked exactly the same as the last. There was just no end, no escape from this cult like den.

With each door she sprinted past, the surroundings became worse and worse. She could see blood practically dripping from the walls, slash marks on every broken furniture and scratches on the doors.

"hmm hmm hmm." A chilling voice hummed somewhere around her, resounding in the darkness and echoing off the blood stained walls. Despite it's calm tone, the sound rattled her to the bone worse than the chaotic ringing in the background.

Who was it? The voice was clearly of a young woman's. Another young teacher she never knew about? Another student? She doubted it was either of the two. Something about the voice, just humming like nothing was wrong. As if they felt right at home, like they belonged in this...this shit!

The humming soon turned into singing. The song sounded like a nursery rhyme, except in a language she wasn't familiar with. It didn't sound like any language she'd ever heard of, or any language that even existed at this point in time for that matter.

The voice continued to sing, progressively becoming louder, more distorted and twisted the longer it went on. Akko's eyes dilated into smell pinpricks as the soft and calm voice morphed into a hostile static rumble.

It sounded like it was singing through a really bad walkie talkie held up right against her ear. But there was still no one around her.

Several thunderous banging sounds could be heard as each and every door in the hallway swung open. The very same doors that wouldn't budge were now all hanging ajar, each one peeking into a seemingly dark void that Akko couldn't see into.

Loud guttural screaming and roaring came out from the now open rooms, reverberating in her bones and draining whatever courage and bravery she had left. Her knees shook, her legs feeling like jelly. It took a surprising amount of effort just to keep herself on her feet. Her throat was dry and she felt like fainting from the sheer amount of fear wracking her soul.

The screams, they kind of sounded..human. A very twisted roar of having their voice boxes crushed and distorted to produce such an ear splitting sound. It was animalistic and crazy, but still definitely human.

Akko's ears twitched, picking up yet another disturbing sound among the unnerving noises. There were choking sounds in one of the open rooms up ahead. The noise of someone having food lodged in their throat, struggling to breathe.

She really didn't want to go towards it, but fear and dread kept her staying her course. Its not like she wanted to turn around and expose herself to this hell much longer either.

The little witch ran past the room, dread turning into horror as the choking sounds became violent furious roars accompanied with a rush of footsteps that weren't her own.

Akko bolted, willing her body to fly and break the sound barrier. She could hear as well as feel whatever it was chasing her, it's feet stumbling around awkwardly yet quickly in pace. It's wails growing more angry and desperate, taking short breaths in between only to yell even louder and angrier than before. It was less yelling and more of an animalistic howl of a bloodthirsty predator.

Akko kept her eyes forward, not daring to steal so much as a backwards glance.

The next hallway door was up ahead, anything that breaks her from the line of sight was a blessing at this point. She didn't know how long she could keep running at this speed. If the chase dragged on for too long, there's a chance she will be the first one to run out of stamina. She could not let that happen.

The stomping and wailing behind was louder than before, it was gaining ground. Akko pumped her legs harder, she had to shut the door behind her before it closed the gap between them. The door was only a few steps ahead.

She reached out with her head, fully prepared to push past it and shut it closed.

Akko tripped, falling forwards with her hands stretched out.

No no no! Now was not the time to reenact the biggest horror cliché! Of all the times she could have tripped why now when she was actually running for her life?

The brunette tried getting up only for a sharp pain to roll up her body. "Ack!" an involuntary shriek tore from her throat. She looked at her legs where the pain was. She wished she didn't.

Both of her feet were severed completely from her legs at the ankle. Pools of blood grew where they separated.

'What..?' no..no way.' The little witch grit her teeth, raising her hand up to point her wand behind her. Her legs were out. If she can't run, then she was going to use magic to boost her forwards!

Her hand dangled delicately by a shred of skin and dropped to the floor, falling limply. Her red eyes stared in horror as the light of her wand died uselessly, still being held by her bloody disembodied hand.

Her heart stopped. She stared incredulously at the bloody stump where her hand used to be. She swallowed the bile threatening to rise up in her throat at the whiteness of her bone jutting out grotesquely. "N-Noo!" Akko shrieked in fear and desperation as she turned back towards the door, crawling on her stomach, using her knees elbows, and forearms to push her now helpless body. Whatever was left of it.

'This. This can't be happening. This can't be happening!'

She could hear heavy foot falls getting closer and closer. Like a shark sensing blood, the thing let out a vicious roar as the foot falls beat harder and faster on the ground.

Tears fell freely from her eyes as the ground shook and vibrated against her body. It was close enough for her to feel it right behind her! 'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die!' Akko choked out a sob. "Please don't let it end like this. Not like this."

With the last of her dwindling strength, Akko crawled past the doorway, rolled on her back and ruthlessly kicked the door behind her. The creature let out one final desperate cry, leaping off the ground in an attempt to close the gap before disappearing from sight as the door slammed shut.

As soon as the door banged shut, everything stopped. The voice stopped, the ringing stopped, and any lingering pain disappeared. Everything was back to normal and she was feeling absolutely as if the damning traumatic experience never happened. The panicked haze in her mind cleared as the adrenaline rush faded away.

She checked her body, staring at her feet and hands as she moved them experimentally.

They were still there.

Akko laid on her back, panting from the exercise. She laid her head back, resting it on the ground as she caught her breath.

She rested an arm arm on her eyes as relief flooded in like a deluge. "I never thought I would be so glad just to see my body parts where they belong." She really thought she was never going to see them again, that she had lost them for good and was going to live the rest of her life as a cripple.

Her mind wandered back to the sight of her seeing her bloodied stump of a hand, blood spurting as the arteries were severed. The sight was sickening and one that would never leave her memory. Seeing your own hand on the ground and the gory mangled stump left behind...yeah, that wasn't going to be forgotten for a long time.

"So what the hell was that? Hallucinations?" It felt so real. A vivid psychotic episode. She never knew any hallucination or breakdown that made her feel actual pain. It was just..so realistic. From the illusions she saw, the things she heard, the stuff she felt. It was all too real for her liking. "Am I going insane?" She just might be.

The little witch hoisted herself up. She only got a couple of steps before her legs brutally protested the movement. "Ow ow, okay. Nope, I can't do it. I can't even walk." Moving around was a big 'No no.' Apparently all that sprinting she did was the final straw, because her legs were sore and ached like a b- well, like that, to put it lightly.

She fell against a wall, sliding down until she sat comfortably leaning against it. There was no other option than to just...sit here and rest until her body could move again without feeling like spikes were embedding themselves into her muscles.

'I wish Sucy was here. I'm sure she would have some type of concoction to make me feel better. She wouldn't leave a friend in this state, if not a friend, then as her personal plaything." Whatever, either one was fine with Akko.

A chuckle escaped her lips. "She definitely doesn't like it when her toys break." Akko said, smiling fondly as she thought about her friends.

The little witch grabbed her chest, squeezing the cloth covering her heart. When was the last time she saw either of them now? Yesterday? Hah, not that long ago, but it sure felt longer than that. Sure felt like forever ago since she last talked with her team, had real meaningful conversations with them. When the three of them did stuff together, before the Grand Triskellion..

Those times were fun, back when her goals and dreams didn't take up so much of her personal time. Like they do now.

Akko's shoulders slumped, she rubbed her hand with her fingers, caressing herself gently. Her eyes drooped, looking down and blocked by the rims of her hat.

What did they do the last time they were all together? What did they talk about? What did Akko say to them?

The memory of their last interaction was so 'run of the mill', so ordinary and unimportant. It was hard to remember because of how vague and insignificant it was.

"Haha.." Another somber chuckle escaped her. "Ironic then, that something so minor could suddenly mean so much to me. Can't say I saw this coming." Nobody could have, if they were in her shoes. It wasn't unusual for people to forget events in the past that had little value at the time. Nobody remembered exactly what was said in a conversation they had last week. It didn't matter because another conversation was going to happen the next day, and so on and so forth.

But now it mattered.

Now, the last interaction Akko had with her team might just be the last interaction ever. And that goes for all her other friends and family too, huh?

'What's going to happen to me? Will I see them again? I'm lost, I have no idea where I am, and I have no idea where I'm going.' There were so many twists and turns, Akko didn't know which one went where. Her best chance of going back right now was to wander around and hopefully stumble on to something that looked familiar. Either that, or find a map of this place or a sign or something.

The little witch calmed her frayed nerves. This wasn't exactly a normal situation, the status quo did not apply here. Her safety and well being were not guaranteed, and there was a real chance she might not leave this place.

She was scared.

That seemed to be a common occurrence lately.

She was scared. She didn't know what comes next, or what other incidents might happen after she gets moving again. For now she was safe, but she can't just sit here forever. She was going to have to get up on her own two feet and make change happen if she wanted to reach the comfort and safety of a more familiar environment like Luna Nova. She had to make a move. She had set things in motion. And that means stepping up and facing whatever terrors lay waiting. Its the only way.

The only way.

It was just her. It had to be her. There's nobody else around that could help, nobody even knew where she was right now, assuming they were even awake. Well, nobody but Constanze. But even then she wouldn't know about the dire situation Akko was in. No help was coming.

The realization seemed to finally sink in. She was by herself in this, just her and this carnival house of trials. She had no one to rely on, no one to turn to. There was no Lotte to support her, no Sucy to save the day with an innocuous potion, no Amanda to whisk them away from this place. Nothing. It felt like a thick wall separated her from everyone else.

She was truly alone. Whatever was left of her small smile faded away. Her shoulders shook, hands gripping the cloth of her skirt and uniform as she felt warm tears welling up her eyes. An intense sob creeped up her throat but she held it in, sniffing as she willed her jaw to clamp shut. Trembles wracked up and down her body more and more, getting stronger the longer she resisted. She couldn't control it.

Akko brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them securely in place. The little witch curled into a ball as she choked out a sob, her grief echoing off the dark walls going unheard. It didn't take long for the quiet sobs to become tearful wails and crying. Like a deluge after a broken dam, she openly wept, bearing her sadness and soul out in the open for...nobody.

Absolutely..no one.

Wiping her eyes, her sobs reduced to sniffles and occasional hiccups.

'What am I going to do? I'm in way over my head, just like all the other times I got into some kind of hijinks. But all those times I either had luck or had other people to help me.' and right now, she didn't feel so lucky.

Her drenched clothes and the bandage on her face served as a reminder. Her future was uncertain, much more so than all the previous adventures. And that terrified her.

For once in what seemed like a long time, she only had herself and her strength to rely on. She was her own pillar of support now. If she wanted to pull through this, it would be by her own will and fortitude.

She already established that, but still. It would be nice to at least have someone be here with her, even if they don't help. Just having someone else accompany here along the ride to stave off the loneliness would really be helpful for her heart and mind, if nothing else.

A scuttling noise reached her ears. Something poked and prodded her leg. The little isopod from earlier, it was trying to climb up her thighs. it's shadowed, bright red beady eyes staring up at her.

'This thing again. What does it want? Why does it keep following me?' Akko gazed at it with mild curiosity, her half lidded eyes still heavy from her tears. It's red eyes were bright and fierce, just like her own. They looked up at her, lingering, giving her a meaningful stare as if trying to convey something.

Akko couldn't help but feel a tug on her lips at how cute it was. Yes, it was weird, calling this alien looking thing with multiple jointed legs "cute". She never would have guessed the day that she would describe it that, but here it is. You never know where life takes you, apparently.

As weird as it was, it was true. She found the thing endearing how it was staring at her and trying to climb up her leg. It was acting like any other pet, not that this thing was her pet. She couldn't help but empathize with it. It's determination, it's strong will to look her in the eye and face her scrutiny head on.

This bottom dweller held so much of her own qualities, but given this situation, this shelled insect was doing a much better job of being Akko than she was. Look at her, she was currently crying and having self esteem issues while this little guy was giving her a stare down with fire in it's eyes.

The thought brought a smile to her face as she pet the small animal, stroking it's hard shell.

"You have some nerve trying to steal my identity, Mr. Crabs." Akko cringed. "wait no. I'm not calling you that." She'll think of a better name later. Akko never really was good at naming things.

She lifted the shell creature in the air, the underside fully exposed and it's spindly legs giving her goose bumps. Some of the pointy appendages grasped her hands, holding on to them tightly. Akko screamed internally, her skin crawling from the freaky sensation. This was going to get some getting used to, but at least she had a companion, of sorts. So she appreciated it's presence nonetheless.

Her new friend latched onto her arm, crawling onto her shoulders and up the back of her neck, causing waves of discomfort and awkwardness rolling through her body. It reached the top of her head, more specifically her hat, and settled there. it's legs ( more like claws) latched themselves tightly on her head so as to not fall off, making her shriek like a little girl in her head. 'This feels so weird!'

Well, this little guy did hitch a ride in her hat, maybe it grew attached to it or something?

Akko leaned back against the wall, this time her back was straight and her gaze was vibrant and piercing as ever. It was by no means a person, but just having another living thing keeping her company lifted her spirits up by a lot. Especially since Akko could see a lot of her own qualities in it.

She reached a hand up, patting her new companion.

"Thanks for snapping me out of my funk, little guy." She could feel the thing licking or chewing on the fabric of her hat. Akko didn't know what the heck it was doing. And she didn't care.

All that mattered was that she wasn't alone anymore.

Maybe her situation wasn't so hopeless after all…

/ - /

"Left or right, what do you think?"

Akko stood, looking at a fork in the road. Or more accurately, loooking down two long hallways that were identical to each other. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't Sherlock Holmes. She can't use super detective powers to look at tiny microscopic signs to give an idea of where they would lead. It was like choosing between two blank pieces of paper. Absolutely nothing to go on.

She brought two fingers over her head, just letting them hang there. After a few seconds she felt claws grasping both of her fingers.

Ugh.

"That does not help me." She brought her hands up, grabbing her little parasite. Instantly the legs loosened themselves and she pried it off, bringing it in front of her for a heart to heart talk.

The multiple legs didn't even bother her anymore, you can only be creeped out by something so much before you got used to it.

And the fact that they've spent the last hour hanging on to her head might have something to do with it.

"We've already talked about this." she held him (because apparently it's a him now.) by one hand and brought two fingers up. "You grab one finger, just one! This finger for right." She wiggled one finger. "This finger for left." She wiggled the other finger for emphasis.

One claw lightly tapped her left finger.

Akko's face brightened. "Okay. Left it is-" As well as her right.

Her face hardened, leering with impunity.

The claw on her left finger slowly retracted itself.

"That's better." Akko smiled and pointed down the hallway to her right. "Now, Avante!"

She felt her companion crawl back up to her head as she sprinted. One would think she should be more careful in her unknown surroundings especially considering the things she experienced, but the quicker she moved, the quicker she can explore and find the way to the exit, AKA back to the tram.

Akko stopped, coming across some winding stairs. Something other than running up and down hallways? What a fascinating experience.

Stepping into the first few steps with more gusto than she ought to, Akko began climbing up the stairs. She ran her hand along the tiled walls, some of her light bouncing of them creating a glare.

The little witch approached a landing, the start of a new floor so to speak. It was a lot more roomy than the maze of hallways in the beginning, but it held the same state of decay and abandonment. This place really did suck.

The brunette continued up the stairs, not sparing a glance backwards.

As she neared the next landing, she could see black bars barring the next floor off.

She quickly turned around, not even bothering to look past the bars. 'Guess we're saving it here!'

Akko jumped onto the landing and into "Floor 2" as she just now nicknamed it. She walked onward, checking out the new environment. This place looked less residential and more workplace-y. Lots of desks and waiting chairs laid around, giving off an office building type vibe. Like she was an employee or a client waiting for an appointment. Those kinds of places.

It was definitely different than the apartment looking place she just came from. Though much like the "apartment complex", this "office environment" didn't escape the decrepit state of the previous floor. Lots of broken stuff everywhere.

The brunette came across a room separated by glass walls, or used to be. The glass walls were broken just like everything else. She stepped through one of the holes, walking up to a reception's desk. The counter that typically had a person behind it for you to ask questions or get directions from.

Something glinted behind the reception's desk in the corner of her eye.

She jumped over the desk and snatched it up, examining the object. It looked familiar..

'This looks just like...but it's not.' The little witch dug inside her uniform and pulled out the cubic map her mentor gave her. The design, color, and texture were identical except for the shape. Instead of being a cube, it was more like a flat square. 'They both have the same design, so does that mean there's a button here somewhere?'

she fiddled around and sure enough, she felt a button.

"Let's see what this baby does." Her finger pressed down and a click went off.

Blue words on a black background popped up at her. It looked like some kind of record or a log. Like a journal entry. It had a date, a title, and a header.

"Oh, so instead of a map, it shows a text log. Okay." She observed, scrolling up and down the blue wall of text.

'Let's see what secret's you're hiding.'

[Attn: Reception Desk. "Please refer all future registrants with complaints of anxiety, unease, agitation, or psychological problems over to the central branch. Our branch is already packed and running low on mood altering medications. With the recent disappearance of a few of our Sector D workers, and the other incidents happening higher up the tower, the spike in cases should have been enough.

This new wave of cases is something entirely different. At the current rate, it may be necessary to start sending patients back outside to be treated to the public hospitals." Doctor Legrado, NOL]

Sector D. If she remembered correctly, Sector D workers must have been the team that was working on the staff room where she found the note. Jeff's team or whatever. And the note did say something about an incident they didn't want to repeat, maybe that was it?

She stuffed both the devices back in her uniform.

So the people that used to be here were having problems of their own, huh? She suspected something was up when she saw those mines, but now it was as good as confirmed.

The little witch stalked further in, taking note of all the gurneys and machines plugged into the walls.

Another glint in a small room a few yards ahead, covered partially by a semi closed curtain. She jogged towards it, opening the curtain and seeing another text log sitting on a gurney.

The gurney was connected to a ventilator., one of those machines that help people breathe…

Yeah, she didn't want to dwell on that.

Click!

["The patients are becoming increasingly combative. The mood altering medicine don't seem to be effective enough. Their mood changes, but then go right back to being anxious the next day bordering paranoia. The pills seem to only be treating the symptoms of some kind of outbreak, but not the cause.

We've started using sedation methods along with the mood altering pills, but even that temporary solution won't last forever.

Joe has been bitten three times by patient nine, whose unease and psychosis only worsens by the day. Patient nine is not the only whose condition isn't improving. I'm starting to be afraid we won't have enough staff to look over any more influx of patients." Nurse Gwen, NOL]

Sounds pretty damning. 'Psychosis huh?' Akko never had a problem with her mind that wasn't caused by ingesting Sucy's potions or some kind of psychoactive drug so she wouldn't know anything about- an image of an orange yellow hallway filled with candles flashed in her mind.

Oh, right…

Akko turned the device off and stuffed it in her uniform. She looked at her surroundings, the cabinets, an eye test, anatomy posters, the ventilators, the broken pipes in the ceiling. She didn't want to be here anymore. There was nothing left to see, she didn't wan to see anything else.

Her companion climbed off her head and nestled on her shoulder. She held two fingers in front of it, waiting for a response.

'I guess we're moving on now..'

/ - /

One thing she didn't expect to find here was yet another tram station. No, it was not the same one she took a joyride in to get here. Well, for one thing this one looks like it's seen better days. Akko fiddled with the controls and was able to power it on, so it still worked. But yeah, the outside was wrecked and didn't look stable at all.

'Still though, wonder where it goes?' Not that she was curious enough to find out. She didn't have the time or luxury to be curious about that.

…

But she was curious enough to read notes.

"Hello there." Akko bent down, picking another text log.

Click!

[Attn: Maintenance. "We fixed the issue with the control grid but now the auto pilot is fried. We have to haul a bunch of equipment and supplies for the research teams upstairs and that means the tram has to deliver them all overnight.

We need a new tether for the car in Tram 2B. Something's gnawed straight through it and now the car can't move. I don't know what the hell kind of animal can chew through several inches of steel cable or why, but if we don't get that pain in the ass fixed by tomorrow, it's going to jam up the whole system."]

Akko looked back, shining her light on the busted car. So this leads further up the tower huh? She'll have to make a mental note to visit "Tram 2B" Later.

She tucked the text log, securing it in her person.

Something about the stuff she's seen here was weird, to say the least. From the equipment she saw, the logs she read, and the weapons earlier. These people didn't sound like witches or wizards or even part of the magic community at all.

What were they doing here then? Wasn't this territory still part of Luna Nova, a magic school? It's pretty weird how a bunch of people outside of the magic community were hanging around in a tower still technically under jurisdiction of Luna Nova. And they were using these "text logs", as Akko labeled them as, that were similar to the map professor Ursula gave her. It wasn't unusual for non witches to use store bought magic items so clearly these people knew what they were getting into and didn't just stumble into things.

Did Luna Nova just allow these people to stay here or what? She really wished she read up more about the history of this place. She didn't remember reading anything like this taking place in the tower.

As soon as she gets out of here, she was going to camp in the library and read every single book about the subject. Maybe then things will start making sense.

Or just have Lotte do it for her, whatevs.

"Come on, crabby." She called, ducking under a low hanging sign.

Her little minion scuttled hurriedly after her. She was no longer carrying it on her head, shoulder, or any other part of her body. After a while it got tiring. She didn't know what she was thinking letting it sit on her head while she explored. She didn't know how long she was going to take to find a way out, so she really couldn't afford to lose precious energy carrying it as she walked.

Squeezing through a crack of a semi open bulkhead door, she spotted something interesting sitting in a dark corner. "Oh wow, is that?"

An empty suit of armor. Well, parts of it were missing and there were scratches and holes as well as slash marks at random areas, but still. She marveled at the western antique, it wasn't every day she saw a medieval suit of armor.

Being from the east, she saw a lot of samurai armor and swords in museums, but not a lot of western knights and medieval garb. There was even a thin sword lying on the ground next to it.

She flipped the helmet mask and stuck her wand inside, trying to see what the interior looked like.

Suddenly she felt a violent pull from her wand as it it was forcing as much magic outside of it as possible. She could feel magic being sucked out of her through her own wand like a straw. "W-what the!"

Akko instantly tried to yank her wand out of reflex, but it was stuck. It wouldn't move.

The little witch used her hands and feet to push herself off the suit of armor, but it wouldn't give. It was like trying to force two magnets away from each other! Two very big and very strong magnets.

More and more magic continued to pour out rapidly by the second. She began smacking and punching the suit of armor with a free hand out of panic. She could not let this happen! This was going to wreak havoc on whatever magic reserves she had left! If that happens…

If that happens she might not have enough to go through the night and resort to staying for who knows how many days to replenish what she lost.

"Rrraaargh!" Using every ounce of strength she had, she grasped her wand with both of her hands and pulled.

Her arms and muscles burned and screamed in protest. It all went unheard. She ignored the strain in her muscles, and pulled harder. Ignored how her arms felt like they were going to be pulled from their sockets. 'Just grit your teeth and bear with it!' She was not going to stop unless her arms broke or her wand goes free.

Then as if a switch was flipped, the leeching of her magic stopped.

"Woah!" The brunette flew off the suit of armor from her own force and fell roughly on the ground. The back of her head burned intensely as a sharp pain shot out. She must have landed her head on a rock or something because she rubbed her head and felt a warm moist sensation as well as a delicate sting on her head where she touched.

She drew her hand in front of her and saw blood smeared across her palm and fingers. Some dripping off the sides. 'You're kidding...'

The delicate throbbing on the back of her head really hurt, it was going to be a royal pain to douse the wound with alcohol in order to disinfect it.

The little witch hoisted herself off the ground and pulled out a roll of her spare bandages. She didn't have any alcohol with her, so this patch job is going to have to cut it until she could find some.

She bit off a length of bandage from the roll with her teeth, she brought the bandage on her forehead, preparing to wrap it around.

Creak.

Her hands stilled, all of the pain in her head forgotten as she froze, blood running cold as her body went full alert.

Creeaak.

Red eyes hovered to the suit of armor slumped against the wall. Her heartbeat sped up slightly. Unease settling in.

She had to be imagining it.

The armor was sitting in a different position than how she found it earlier. Completely different, so different that it was impossible to be accidental.

Creak!

The metal creaking sounded like a megaphone inside a soundproof room. The little witch sat helplessly on the floor, staring in apprehension as the suit moved. She shakily got on her feet, preparing to bolt at the first sign of hostility.

'Okay, calm down. Calm down. Just because a suit of armor moved doesn't mean it's automatically hostile. This is not Appleton Academy. Who knows, maybe it will be subservient like a Golem being summoned.' She could see a faint glow emanating inside it's chest from the open face mask Akko had flipped up earlier. Her magic must have been taken and used to power a rune inside of it like a typical Golem spell.

The glow coming from the armor turned red as it stumbled to it's knee, picking up the rapier beside it.

That doesn't look good..

The little witch turned tail and ran, it wasn't her job to deal with this crap.

'That's right, run away. That's all you ever do.'

Akko stopped in her tracks just a few paces shy from the room's exit.

'For all the talk you do about improving, you sure are doing a horrible job at it. She scolded herself, her cowardice. Didn't you say growth happens by overcoming obstacles? Didn't you say you can't rest easy when you don't put your all in?' The voice sneered. 'Well what do you call this! And you're so wound up about being dead last all the time, you have no right to complain if running is all you're good for! Just stay being the bottom dweller that you are.

The voice giggled mirthfully despite it's scathing words. 'Like that new friend of yours.'

That was it. Akko swiveled on her feet, eyes blazing and fear completely forgotten. Oh she was angry at the verbal beat down alright, but it was an anger she could appreciate. It snapped her out of her fear. Anger beats fear all the time, as some would say.

And besides, she didn't exactly disagree with the tirade that she got. It was absolutely right. She had to stand her ground. She wasn't going to improve by running away from her problems right off the bat without even trying to overcome it.

She had to at least try.

And it might be a good idea to take care of this problem while it was still stumbling around instead of letting it loose.

Akko picked up a sword laying nearby, it was shorter, but it was the perfect length for her height. Any longer and she would have weight and balance issues.

She brandished her blade and readied her wand. "I think it's about time I start winning these fights for a change." A burst of magic gathered at the tip of her wand, glowing restlessly.

It charged, sword poised to strike. Three bursts of magic shot out of her wand, each one finding it's target. It barely made it flinch, bouncing off the armor and only leaving small dents.

She rolled to the side, ducking under an overhead strike and ran past the towering figure. Akko aimed her wand at the armor's exposed back. 'The first three shots were too weak, so let's crank it up a notch!'

The brunette fired off a much stronger spell, hitting it's target dead on and detonating on impact. Dust and dirt billowed, kicking up and creating a mass of cloudy smoke from the small shock wave of the resulting blast

Red eyes narrowed, brows furrowed as she listened for the slightest sound of clanking metal.

A metallic shift to her right. She turned to the side and brought her sword up instinctively, blocking a swing from above. She pushed the other sword off and jumped out of the way to dodge any follow up strikes, hearing a metallic ring of a sword impacting the ground behind her.

Akko jumped out of the smoke, the suit of armor emerged from the dust cloud following her. She could see a slightly larger dent on it's back where her spell hit now that she could see clearly. 'So that's all it did huh?' That spell was actually the strongest she could make it. She was still so weak.

The knight dashed forward, appearing in front of her almost instantly. She swung her sword in a panic. It parried, bringing it's blade down in retaliation which was blocked by her own weapon. It brought it's blade down again and again, pounding mercilessly at her defense.

Her knees buckled and her arms burned holding her sword up to block the onslaught. The weight of each strike forcing her back and lowering her closer to the ground as her legs began giving way. She could not last any longer.

Her opponent brought it's sword over it's head, intent on hammering it down once more.

The sword came down like a guillotine.

The little witch tilted her sword as the blade crashed into hers, igniting sparks as it slid harmlessly along it's length beside her. She twisted in place, using the momentum of her spin to deliver a stab at it's chest, staggering it.

Akko used the moment's distraction to follow up with her own barrage, swinging and slashing at the chest plate and taking a swipe at it's kneecap before being forced back by a swing aimed right at her face.

It charged once more, hacking it's blade at her with great fervor. It was probing and testing before, but now it crashed into her like a truck. It's swings and movements were now much faster and stronger. She actually felt the force of each hit as she parried, and every time she blocked was like trying to lift a small car off her. It took all she had just to block and parry, there was no time or opening to counter attack. Akko was purely being forced to defend.

Akko parried a strike mere inches from landing on her throat and fired a spell on the ground between their feet. The blast launched her body back as well as disorienting her foe, giving her much needed breathing room.

The little witch panted heavily, her sides were beginning to feel the exhaustion. The more this fight draws out, the more tired she becomes and she's fighting an opponent that literally can't get tired. The odds were stacked against her—

She swung her blade viciously in front of her, meeting an attack halfway that would have carved her torso. Akko deflected another swing, using her sword to redirect the momentum of the blade elsewhere. A metal fist landed squarely on her cheek, making her flinch. A kick drove into her stomach while her guard was down.

Akko screamed inaudibly as she clutched her stomach, struggling to breathe after getting the wind knocked out of her. She crouched, writhing in place as she choked on air.

Another punch landed brutally on her head, forcing her face down even lower and disorienting her even more.

She saw the tip of a blade going towards her face, she blocked it at the last second. Akko swept her weapon wildly at the knight, disregarding her guard and safety. Her defense didn't matter, all she wanted was to get this crazy guy away.

Her attack hit, forcing her foe to block.

She swiped a few more times, each one getting parried and blocked before jumping back to dodge a counterattack targeted at her face.

She landed on her feet a few paces away. Her eyes widened as she saw her bangs falling off as if they were cut. "Huh? Ack!" Akko yelped as blood suddenly spewed out of her forehead, getting on her eyes. She tried to wipe the blood away before realizing her fatal mistake.

Akko forced her eyes back open through the veil of blood just in time to see the knight had already closed the distance, the glow inside the armor making it appear to have smouldering red eyes. It crouched low, extending it's arm from it's side to deliver a swing at an angle from the ground up towards her body.

There was no time to think, she tried to bring her sword up in front of her. The impact hit.

Akko screamed in pain as she fell to the ground. Her sword shattered, bits and pieces flying through the air and fell to the ground with her.

She clutched her chest, trying to stifle the sweltering heat on her skin by applying pressure. Thanks to the sword taking the brunt of the impact, the cut wasn't so deep. But it didn't stop it completely. There was a clear line where the sword cut her, blood seeping out of the wound. Adrenaline must be pumping hard through her veins, because the pain she was experiencing was not as bad as it should have been. It was smothering any sensation of pain, dulling it in favor of keeping her alive. Though, just because it was dulled didn't mean it took the pain away completely. It still stung worse than anything she's ever felt.

The little witch swiftly brought her wand out, transforming her witch hat into a line of cloth and used magic to tie itself around her chest, not taking her blood soaked eyes off of the metal menace.

She got to her feet, readying her wand. She was not going to win this. It was time to run. She tried to defeat it, and clearly failed.

Her broken sword lay in pieces on the ground.

The knight dashed towards her once more.

Akko conjured magic at her wand, using the temporary energy to strike the incoming blade away, parrying it.

A flurry of jabs sailed past her head. Her heart raced as her body worked overtime trying to dodge and predict one stab to the next. She parried one heading straight for her eye, dodged the next, and blocked another. 'Way too close!' Her wide eyes stared at the sword she narrowly dodged, some of her hair getting caught as it grazed past.

Her foot stumbled on a ceramic dish. She hastily kicked it up and caught it on her free hand and threw it at her opponent, flying towards the helmet.

It tilted it's neck, dodging as the plate whizzed past flying in a wide arc behind it before crashing into a wall and breaking into pieces.

Akko used the moment's distraction to aim her wand to the ground and fire a burst of energy under, propelling herself in the air, allowing her to flip over the imposing suit of armor. It took a swipe at her but missed.

The little witch landed on her feet and ran, making a beeline for the exit. Akko took a glance back, seeing it rearing it's sword like a javelin. Any other day she might have scoffed at the idea of throwing a sword like it was a spear, but not today. After fighting that thing, she couldn't afford to be skeptical.

The brunette leaped forwards on her hands, pushing herself off the ground and flipping into a forward handspring as she dodged a sword that would have skewered her guts to the wall had she not acted. The metallic ring of the sword embedding itself into the wall rang in her bones.

'Oh shit this guy's crazy!' Pardon her language, but this wasn't exactly a calm and normal situation! Tensions are at an all time high!

Akko used the momentum as a boost, the hunk of metal already pulling out the sword from the wall and throwing a wide slash in her direction.

Akko turned on her heel, her wand glowing ready to intercept.

"Agh!" She blocked the attack, but the sheer force behind it was too great and her strength was dwindling. The bones in her arm creaked under the strain as the force of the blow tipped her off balance, sweeping her off her feet as she fell on her back.

The knight was already on her, looming over her sprawled figure with it's weapon raised high.

Akko didn't waste a second as she kicked both of her legs up, somehow timing it so that the impending blade caught the thick heel of her boots.

The sword flew out of it's grip, sailing straight up in the air. It craned it's neck up, seeing it's weapon out of it's reach. It grabbed Akko by the sleeve and collar and flung her body over.

"Woaahhh!" The little witch flipped and turned several times in the air before smashing her back on the hard unforgiving ground once more. Her wand landed just out of arms reach. She frantically made to grab it.

A surprised yelp escaped her lips as two cold heavy steel sabatons stepped on each of her wrists, locking her in place.

She looked up just in time to see the knight swing it's blade down in an arc making a line straight for her neck. Her fingers scrabbled even more desperately, she felt the tips of her finger make contact with the hilt of her wand. She felt herself using magic, she didn't know what. Just anything! Whatever spell that can save her from being decapitated!

Red eyes shut as she instinctively tried to curl into a ball.

A puff of smoke and a sound of breaking steel. Huh?

She poked her head out, seeing the blade of a sword broken in two pieces. The top half spinning harmlessly in the air as it broke off and fell to the ground.

It broke after hitting her shell. Akko had transformed herself into a tortoise in her panic and hid inside her shell, preserving her life and breaking her opponent's main weapon in the process.

"!" She transformed into a mouse between it's feet and bolted, running into a small crevice in the wall where it physically couldn't chase after her. She looked back, seeing the knight standing up straight, just standing there.

It looked at it's broken weapon, then turned it's helmet in her direction, it's ominous gaze striking an unwelcome feeling in her heart.

For now, she was safe. That fight was over and done with and she successfully escaped the deadly confrontation with her life, somehow.

She just hoped that will be the last time she ever cross paths with it tonight.

/ - /

"Akko?!" Lotte gasped, running towards her, wrapping Akko's arms over her shoulder. She could barely walk. It took almost all of her energy to not pass out on the spot.

"Akko! Akko, what happened to you? There's a gash in your cheek, and bloody bandages on your chest and head!" Lotte took in Akko's bloody and torn appearance, worry clear on her expression as she saw the state she was in. "No, first we need to get you to the infirmary."

The bespectacled witch wrapped her arm around Akko's waist, lifting her body up slightly to make it easier for her to walk. "They'll have experienced and professional witches there that can look over your injuries. Your..injuries."

Lotte's face seemed to pale when she saw all the blood that was outside of Akko's body. Yes, that would be a cause of concern wouldn't it? Akko didn't think much of it at the time, but when she got these wounds she was busy thinking about other things. Like surviving.

It was only now that she realized just how battered she was. The bandage on her cheek was halfway loose, revealing the cut which was apparently bigger and much deeper than she first thought. And all of her bandages were soaked from the bleeding she covered.

Her clothes were damp where she got cut across her chest, not to mention her face probably looked just as bad with the dried blood from the cut on her forehead.

All in all, pretty gruesome to look at. She needed a shower.

The brunette cringed at the idea. 'That reminds me, I still need to disinfect most if not all of these wounds.' That was going to sting so bad.

Akko's energy ran out, collapsing completely on Lotte's arms. She was really tired, her consciousness was gradually slipping. Her eyes felt soooo heavy.

Lotte must have noticed her going completely limp. "Akko? Hang on, just stay awake. We'll get you fixed, I promise. Just stay with me, please! Argh if only Sucy was here right now. Someone, help!" Her teammates voice was so hoarse, she sounded genuinely concerned.

Despite how exhausted she felt, Akko still found it within herself to smile. Lotte was such a nice girl...is. Lotte is such a nice girl.

Damn it. The brunette coughed, the stinging on her chest making it taxing to breathe.

Akko willed her mouth and lungs to work one more time. "Lotte." she croaked out. Her voice was barely audible, a testament of how weak she felt. "Lotte. Put me down. I need...a break."

"No! You can take a break after you're treated. You can have as many breaks as you want after that. We just need to get you patched up first, okay?" Lotte sounded desperate, like she was reassuring herself that what she said would come true.

"Lotte please. I promise...I'll be fine." She was tired, not dying. Akko was pretty sure she wasn't going to die after enduring all these injuries for so long.

…

Pretty sure.

Her teammate seemed to disagree. Lotte's eyes shimmered behind her glasses, her face looked to be on the verge of breaking down. "Akko..." She spoke her name with a deep frown, unable to reign in her feelings. Oh for the love of-

"Just do it." She wheezed, pain rolling somewhere in her body.

Her orange haired friend wiped her eyes and sniffed, finally giving in. "...Okay." The shy witch slowly sat Akko against a wall, kneeling in front of her to tend to her injuries. She delicately tightened her bandages and applied whatever healing magic she could. There was no one that heeded Lotte's earlier call for help. It was late, they must have been all asleep still.

Leaning her head back, Akko let out a satisfied content sigh. "Lotte." Her voice was a light whisper.

"Yes, Akko? What is it? Do you need anything?" Lotte's response was immediate. The girl looking like she wanted to touch her, but didn't want to damage or hurt Akko's body any further. Akko felt her spirit lift at the innocent spectacle.

Never change, Lotte.

"I just...wanted to say sorry, for...everything." Lotte perked up in an instant after that. Concern and panic coming back full force.

"W-why are you saying that all of a sudden!" The girl sat up, inspecting her body from head to toe, checking for any more fatal injuries she might have missed. Fear pooled into her eyes as she stared into Akko's as if confirming that her leader was still with her.

oh. that did sound kind of bad. Made it sound like she was making peace with herself before passing on. Well to be fair, she kind of was. The "Making peace with herself" part, not the "passing on" part.

Akko wanted to lay it all out there with Lotte now that she was finally back. Now that she had the chance to before it could get taken away again.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

A metallic noise went off somewhere in the darkness of the hall they were resting on. It was too far for her eyes to see, but close enough to be heard. What could be making that noise at this time? Was someone moving pots and pants around this late at night?

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

The noise drew closer. It sounded...familiar. "What's that noise..?" She whispered to her partner, who was still inspecting every inch of her vulnerable body.

Her friend's glasses stared up at her in confusion. "...What noise?"

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

Lotte couldn't hear it? It was loud enough to practically be right next to them now. Surely, she wasn't imagining it. She could feel and hear it reverberating on the walls she rested against, so the sound was physically there. Except Lotte couldn't hear it for some reason, wasn't affected by it. Almost as if she isn't there…

"Akko?" Her friend looked at her in confusion, still completely oblivious to the noise. "What's wrong?"

Akko felt her stomach tighten. Wait, how did she get here? Where did she go after escaping that thing? She had no memories of actually finding her way out. She was still lost as far as she could remember.

Akko felt her stomach drop, blood drained from her face as the realization struck her.

She never escaped.

CLANG!

She willed her sleeping eyes open. A dark glove filled her vision reaching for her face. Akko screamed.

Magic shot out of her wand, searing hot violent streams burst out like water out of a water hose straight into the walls leaving large scorch marks where it hit. Her armored assailant jumped back, evading her surprised retaliation.

Akko shakily scrambled to her feet, running down the hallway from that thing. 'No no no! I am not doing this again!' She ran, knocking anything and everything she could reach to slow down her tormentor. Bookshelves, desks, chairs, drawers, anything!

She reached a raised platform with numerous large barrels. She got up and one by one, she kicked them all down. Large barrels rolled and tumbled down the hallway behind her. 'That oughta slow it down!'

Akko closed a heavy bulkhead door with many locks in place. After locking every single deadbolt she could see, she took off, not trusting the door to hold despite it's weight and the many locks. She could already hear loud banging of the bulkhead giving way as she passed through five more doors.

Akko locked her sixth door behind her, looking around the room for an alternate route that wasn't so obvious. She couldn't keep this chase up forever, she needed to juke this thing. If she kept running in a straight line, it was going to keep pursuing her until she got caught.

The brunette spotted a partially open wire mesh on the ground to her left. It was hidden inside an alcove which she wouldn't have found had she not been looking. It was semi open like a sewer lid, except of it leading to the sewers, it lead to the vents.

Or a ladder, apparently. Akko saw as she pulled the wire mesh open fully. There was ladder just waiting there.

"How convenient."

More and more bangs were heard, each one getting louder and closer as more and more doors were smashed right off their hinges. Akko suspected only a few more doors were standing between her and her pursuer.

Akko got on the ladder, carefully closing the wire mesh back on, concealing her escape.

The little witch descended down the ladder, making fifteen or twenty steps down before she heard the final door getting smashed open. Loud and fast footsteps continued running, getting more and more faint as the distance grew.

Akko breathed a sigh of relief. She brought her feet off the rungs of the ladder and placed them on the sides, sliding down. Her eyes closed blissfully, the breeze cooled her body and was a welcome feeling compared to the torment she kept on receiving.

She touched down, reaching the near end of the ladder. The brunette jumped off, touching the new ground of...wherever this is.

She traced one finger on the dusty ground, bringing it up her tongue and giving a tentative lick. She clicked her tongue delicately like a connoisseur. It tasted like dirt. Why did she do that? That was really gross.

The connoisseur witch spat on the ground, ridding her taste buds of the dirty sensation.

The brunette looked at her surroundings. If she expected a new innovative and exciting room, then she would be disappointed.

Akko stared down another corridor, except it was just that. There was literally nothing else. No doors, no items, no clutter, no furniture, no mess. Just...two walls on either side with a few arches and pillars spread evenly throughout the corridor.

Akko marched forwards, her wand shining the way. Her wounds ached as she walked. The cuts stung pretty bad, but thanks to the makeshift bandages, it smothered the sensation. Now instead of feeling the stinging pain constantly, she could only feel the sting whenever she moved (which was always.) it was almost like she was numb to the pain.

As long as she just ignored it, she could live with it. Her body actually felt a little energized thanks to the little nap she apparently took.

She still couldn't believe she fell asleep, and dreamed about her escape too! She must have passed out against a wall somewhere along the line. She was lucky all that racket actually woke her up before the suit of armor could get it's way.

'That was definitely a close call.' Now I just need to keep getting lucky and—

The sound of mumbling echoed down the corridor.

The little witch immediately killed the light and crouched low against the wall, listening for the sound.

The mumbling continued for the next few minutes, Akko stayed still, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. It was just the mumbling sound, nothing else.

Akko switched the light back on, intending to investigate. The mumbling became more and more coherent the further into the corridor she walked. It sounded like the muffled voice of an old man wearing some kind of stuffy mask.

The little witch walked, listening to the voice.

"-She always goes back to the same place, day after day. Just staring like it was yesterday." The voice went on. "Despite the fact that it causes her tremendous anxiety, she insists on returning. Insisting that it's for 'Therapeutic' reasons, but I remain skeptical."

Akko strolled on, listening carefully. What was this guy talking about?

"She doesn't respond well to questions about her personal life. She becomes significantly agitated when mentioning events prior to what she refers to as 'The Black Day'." That made Akko pause.

The Black Day? That sounded ominous. Geez it's all sunshine and rainbows with this girl. She sounds difficult to handle, whoever she is.

But The Black Day? What a particularly unsettling description. 'I wonder what it could mean? Wait. Why am I trying to figure this out? This is all nonsense to me.'

The voice droned on with his analysis of the apparent problem child. "Her school and social life are off limits for discussion when assessing her feelings and anxiety. Any attempts are met with frustration and agitation as mentioned earlier."

Akko narrowed her eyes. Problem child.

"She mentioned the other day about how she has been seeing 'hallucinations', but couldn't go into detail about what those hallucinations were."

That sentence struck a chord within Akko. Hallucinations?

A memory of seeing her bloody bony stump reappeared in her mind. The writing on the walls, the candles on the ground, and the eerie singing voice.

She shook her head, expelling the memory. Akko walked on, curious to see where this corridor lead to and maybe see who else was down here.

"Naturally, I brushed them off. I can't rule out the possibility of it all being a ploy to receive more medication. The pills themselves won't make her feel better. I saw no evidence to suggest her case was valid, but I upped her prescription anyway."

The little witch approached a door nearing the end of the dark empty corridor, the sound of the voice was coming from the other side. Her fingers gripped the doorknob in anticipation, ready to see the person the voice belonged to.

"She claims the extra medication helps." The voice seemed to conclude on the other side.

The brunette pushed the door open.

Nothing.

There was no one here. Just an office looking room with single desks and folders lying around. She felt her hopes get dashed, her arms drooping to her sides. She was really hoping to meet someone to show her the way back to Luna Nova…

Her downcast eyes caught something glinting in the desk. She picked it up. Another text log? No, a text log was a flat square. This looked like a rectangle. 'I wonder what it does?' Her fingers pressed the button and the man's voice from earlier played, recounting the details of what Akko just heard back in the corridor.

So instead of showing text, these rectangle ones play audio? Okay. She tucked it in her uniform. She was going to review all these later. Knowledge is power after all. That's what she always says after two minutes of studying.

Akko left the room, not finding anything else of note. She stumbled into a large room with numerous lockable closets.

"I wonder if anyone left anything in their lockers here?" Maybe she'll find something interesting and worthwhile. Like a candy bar or something.

/ - /

Things were starting to look familiar. Relatively, at least. Akko sauntered further, holding a huge map in front of her.

"hmm, according to this handy dandy map, I should be home free if I juuust—" She swiveled the map like a steering wheel, comparing the map with her surroundings. "Keep going right."

She just found her new map and man oh man, it is saving her life right now. She made more progress in her Homeward Bound in the last thirty minutes than she did the last two hours or so.

She would think the advanced map professor Ursula gave her would help. She would think. Her map showed Akko where she was alright, showed her walking in a dark empty void. Yeah, it was basically useless.

That's why she was lugging around a jumbo sized map. The thing that tiny cube was made to replace. Whatever, as long as it works.

After sauntering around for a few more minutes, she comes across another familiar sight. A chained up door with yellow tape.

Akko nearly jumped out of her skin as the door got kicked open, revealing metal gauntlets poking out of the darkness, grasping what was left of the door frame. Her armored tormentor emerging from the darkness, walking menacingly to face her.

Hey eyes caught the edged stiletto dagger hanging at it's side. Apparently it found a new weapon, another blade that looked just as sharp and equally deadly as the last. The razor edges looked sharp enough to cleave through bone as it glistened, ready to cut into her.

'Just how badly does this thing want to kill me?' It was relentless in it's pursuit and very persistent. Her wounds ached just looking at it, her body reminding her all the damage she received trying to take it on.

Both of them stood, facing each other off.

Akko made the first move, igniting a spell on her legs.

The armored menace leaped at her, the tip of its blade trained on her heart.

The attack met nothing but air as Akko kicked her legs and propelled herself backwards, doing a one eighty and speeding off. Her tormentor hot on her trail.

Akko was surprised how fast her legs were taking her. She actually had to use magic to enhance the strength of her legs a bit more. She was just glad she hadn't received any injuries on her legs yet. Because of how hard she was pushing them, it wouldn't surprise her if some ligament or tendons would get torn if she did.

The brunette leaped in the air, kicking through a door so as to not lose momentum. With how erratic she was pumping her arms, it was hard to keep her wand still. 'I can barely see in front of me—whao!'

Water spilled as she splashed into the deep end of some kind of pool. 'No, we're not doing this again.' Akko instinctively kept a firm grip on her wand this time, learning from her previous mistake. She transformed into a shark once more, swimming to the other end.

Popping back into her original form, she pulled herself out of the water. The little witch prepared to flee once more as she heard the splashing sound of her pursuer falling into the water behind her.

It wasn't resurfacing.

"Oh yeah. Suits of armor don't have any buoyancy, huh?" Unlike a human body, a hunk of metal would just sink straight to the bottom. So that means it would have to wade all the way from the bottom of the deep end over to where she was.

She could see the water shifting indicating where it was.

The little witch trained her wand on the water, dipping the tip into it. It was time to put an end to this. She uttered a single word that would entrap her tormentor in the water indefinitely.

'Freeze.'

She watched with cold eyes as she changed the temperature of the water, making it cooler and cooler by the second. She wasn't able to freeze it over immediately, but at her level, it would all be frozen in a matter of seconds.

That would be enough.

The water closest to her began to frost, eventually forming a thin sheet of ice which grew thicker and thicker. The white sheet expanded until it encompassed the entire water surface.

She didn't relent. Opting to freeze the entire pool until it was a giant block of ice. She would only be satisfied if it was frozen enough to make an ice sculpture out of it. When she was done, an entire herd of elephants would be able to have a dance party over it and it wouldn't break.

The water was completely white now, taking on the appearance of an ice skating rink. She knows she wasn't done though. The larger the amount of water there is, the longer it takes to freeze. The bottom half of this pool would still be liquid.

A part of her would be worried, but there was no way that hunk of metal could even move. The metal would be frozen still just like the water around it.

And besides, she gave the surface a hard knock. It would have to bust through this hard layer of ice first. Hah, good luck with that.

All in all, the tables have been turned. The odds are stacked against it now—

Several chunks of ice shot through the air, shooting towards her face. A gloved gauntlet burst through the ice, grabbing her wrists. She winced at the icy cold grip on her skin. It held her in place as loud thumps rumbled from within the ice before another icy fist broke through. The rest of it's body climbed out, completely white and frosted over.

It was a scene straight out of a nightmare.

"No. No way. How could you..? You should have frozen by now!" Panic overtook her senses as she shrieked, struggling against it's steel grip.

Her assailant only raised her up by the wrist. She yelped in pain as she felt the bones shift under the incredible pressure.

Her fingers pried open in an effort to alleviate the pain. The knight grabbed her wand, dropping her to the ground. She landed on her ass, cradling her sore hand.

Akko's heart dropped as it threw her wand aside, it tumbled in a corner somewhere but still illuminating light. Her hopes were dashed.

It just became that much more hopeless. She was bruised, battered, and bleeding. She had no weapon, and now she didn't even have magic.

She was a terrible witch with her wand, but now she wasn't even that. Now she was just a regular helpless girl who only dreamed big.

Big dreams. That was all she had.

An ambitious, idiotic girl that is now facing cold hard reality.

"Gak—!" A swift kick landed on her face, leaving a cold imprint behind. Her head swam as the world spun around her. Her head wobbled, trying to figure out where gravity was going. The little witch laid sprawled on her back in attempt to stop the uncontrollable spinning.

A hand grabbed her by the forehead and viciously slammed her head on the ground.

"AAAAAAAAGGHHHH!" An agonized scream tore through her throat. White hot pain shot from her skull as the wound on the back of her head burst open, having been brutally reopened. Fresh warm blood overflowing the makeshift bandage and soaking her hair.

The little witch screamed and moaned in pain as she writhed on the ground, frantically clutching the back of her head in a desperate attempt to relieve the scorching burns. Her scalp felt so delicate, so tender, just brushing her fingers against the wound caused an unbelievable amount of pain. Regardless, the brunette bravely tried to put pressure on the newly opened wound to fight the rolling headache forming, as well as keeping more blood from freely flowing out.

Warm tears flowed down her cheeks. It hurts. It hurts. So. Bad!

Her assailant grabbed her by the arm, lifting her body in the air and slamming her down on the ground.

A groan escaped in between her teeth as she landed on her side. Her shoulder and ribs creaked dangerously under the impact.

The little witch rolled on to her stomach, using one arm to push herself forwards due to the throbbing in her damaged shoulder. She sobbed, too tired and under too much pain to properly form decent sentences. "Please...stop.."

She made to crawl away, to reach the light her wand was giving off.

Another hand gripped her ankle, raising her high in the air and slamming her face down on the ground once more.

"uugh.." Something in her chest finally snapped under the abuse. She simply groaned in pain, her lungs and throat already too spent.

Akko shakily brought her arms forward once more, using it to push herself forwards at a snails pace now. She felt it touch something. A wooden handle. Her fingers traced along it's length, feeling something really hard and really heavy attached to the end.

A small flicker burned in her eyes as her hand greedily gripped the handle. It was concealed in the shadows thanks to the limited light. A small glimmer of hope shined through the veil of pain.

This. This might work.

She noticed the suit of armor was moving much slower than it had been before. It was struggling to make movements. Though, it's strength was unaffected.

Being almost frozen solid must be taking it's toll. It's semi frozen state was making it's body difficult to move. She could see several ice shards covering it, supporting her speculation. While she failed to freeze it solid, it did make it's body resistant to motion due to almost being frozen stiff.

And all that frost covering it meant another thing. That suit of armor was more fragile than ever before.

All that ice forming on it meant it must have went through "Brittle to Ductile transition". When steel becomes cold enough that it would snap into pieces when hit instead of simply bending out of shape. Just like how frozen fingers or toes would snap completely off the body if it's cold enough.

Akko knew what she had to do.

The suit of armor approached her, pulling out the stiletto dagger draped to it's side. She laid motionless, staring at it from the corner of her vision. 'Closer, closer..'

It bought her ruse of laying helpless. It reached down, hand outstretched to pick her up.

'NOW!'

Her body sprung into action, shooting to her knees, swinging her heavy weapon and fiercely bashing the face of her newly found sledgehammer into it's weakened chest.

The chest plate shattered, sending bits and pieces flying off, exposing it's gaping chest cavity to reveal a glowing rune in the shape of the Luna Nova insignia. That was it. It's weakness. That rune was the medium the spell was using to power the armored vessel.

If she destroys it, then she destroys this thing for good.

Her opponent staggered. Akko stormed to her feet, bringing her sledgehammer up for a follow up strike, intending to smash the rune into little pieces.

It raised it's dagger up, trying to defend itself against the force of her blow.

The dagger spun in the air. The hand clutching it crushed under her weapon, as well as the rest of it's arm along with it. It's arm was gone. Anything passed it's elbow was crushed and destroyed under her fury.

Her opponent grabbed the stiletto out of the air with it's remaining arm and held it in an ice pick grip. The dagger came down, aiming right for her forehead.

She gasped. Her sledgehammer was too heavy to use as a shield in time.

Blood spewed in the air.

Akko screamed in pure anguish as the dagger impaled itself into her hand. She stared in horror at the blood stained steel dangerously pointing mere inches from her face.

A wave of pain rolled as she felt the blade move and shift between her bones as the knight made to pull it out for another attack.

'As if I'm going to let that happen!' Akko grit her teeth and shakily raised her hamer in the air, adjusting her grip to hold it closer to the neck to lift it easier.

The sledgehammer came down at the outstretched arm, intent on crushing it's elbow right on the joint to sever off the only arm it had left.

The knight let go of the dagger, jumping back, disengaging in order to escape certain dismemberment. It's movements now slow and clunky due to the lingering freezing effects.

"You're not getting away!" Akko ditched the sledgehammer, throwing it on the ground and leaped after her prey, Red hot fiery rage burning in her Blood red eyes.

The vengeful witch grasped the handle of the stiletto still embedded in her palm, roaring in absolute fury as she brutally yanked it off in one quick motion. The dagger was in her hands now. And she knows exactly where the blade was going to go.

An outstretched hand pushed her face back in a desperate and futile attempt to stop her unstoppable wrath.

Time seemed to slow as they both wrestled in the air. Her quarry trying to push her back with it's last arm, and her pushing against it with her dagger pointing directly at the glowing rune.

"Raaargh!" Akko drove the dagger right into the seal. The blade went right through the metal, piercing it all the way.

The red glow vanished, fading away into non existence as the magic got cut off. The suit of armor fell, dropping limply to the ground like the inanimate object it once was now that the spell giving it life disappeared.

Akko remained on her feet, panting heavily. Blood and sweat soaking every inch of her being.

The dagger fell to the ground as she dropped to her knees, pain and exhaustion overcoming her now that the danger and excitement passed and the adrenaline started wearing off. Everything hurt. Something rose up her throat, but there was nothing in her stomach to expel. Clear liquid spilled uncontrollably out her mouth as she retched. Her stomach convulsed, forcing even more clear liquid out.

The little witch stayed on her hands and knees as she dry heaved, drool dangling from her lips, waiting for the next convulsion.

None came.

Her body tilted and fell to the side. Her vision was blurring. She was tired. So, so tired. She couldn't fight the fatigue anymore.

Akko weakly closed her eyes, and let darkness consume her.

Note:

Ehehehe. um. Fancy seeing you guys here?

Okay, okay. I know. I suck. I haven't updated in such a long time, completely going against what I said.

I won't make excuses though. Its all entirely my fault, and my incompetence. I'm not a good writer, and certainly not good enough to uphold update schedules. Because as much as I would love to, I just can't pump out words and chapters like solving math problems. I would have to be in a career centering around writing to have that happen to me, like writing magazines or something.

I've seen other writers do that though, the ones that can just pump out thousands of words like it was as easy as tying their shoelaces. I have no idea how they do it.

But I actually did have a hard time writing this chapter out. If you've read it already I'm sure you can tell why. This was the first time I've ever written action scenes. And there was. So. Much. Freaking. Action. This whole chapter was nothing but action. I essentially had to write an entire chapter of something I've never written before. Hopefully I didn't mess it up too bad.

So naturally, there was a lot of experimenting and really really really heavy thinking about how I was going to write this chapter out.

And really, I really shouldn't have expected anything else. I cast Constanze aside last chapter for this very purpose after all, to have Akko venture by herself and go through trials by her lonesome.

So yeah, I had nothing to write but action as Akko explored and went through tribulations. I somehow wrote an entire 20k word chapter of just that premise alone. Yes, 20k words. Its crazy. Its become my newest longest chapter. Just to put in to perspective, my first chapter was 4.5k words. Yeah…

and btw, the reason why I had much more consistent updates back when I wrote the first few chapters was because I was a lot less ambitious. I was keeping my word count at a comfortable 4.5k range. Writing 4-5k chapters is significantly easier than 7k let me tell you. The last few chapters I had were all 7k words at least and that's why they were all later than usual.

Now that I'm writing around 8k-10k words per chapter its taking me longer to write them out. So I'm going to have to go right out and say that whatever I said about my update schedule is scrapped. I have no idea what it's going to be. I would rather not make promises at all than make promises and not keep them. So yeah, sorry but that's how it has to be. My writing is not consistent, at all.

Now that I got that out of the way let me respond to the reviews last chapter.

Bobisfromthefuture, yes. Yes I did absolutely have to. I never thought anyone was ever going to realize that star wars reference. I inserted it there just for fun and didn't think anyone would actually notice it lol. And yes, it indeed is a reference to dark souls. I was writing the 2nd chapter and decided to have a little fun. Again, I didn't think anyone was going to get it. Thanks for the flattering words, but in regards to the errors I have to disagree. there's a lot of errors, I'm betting most of them are comma splices and not necessarily just misspelling or wrong tense usage.

Queen Sydon thank you, It makes me glad someone liked the interactions I forced Akko and Constanze on. I admit, I kind of had a good time thinking up ways to make them get along.

Guest yes it will be Diakko, make no mistake I was planning on making this Diakko since the very beginning. I just haven't gotten there yet in the story. Since this is my first story I wanted it to be the pairing that I like the most, so thats why. I could try something new in my other stories though, I have some ideas running around that I might implement if I ever decide to write them. And is it a coming of age type story? Uuh, I guess but not necessarily. Her age really has nothing to do with me wanting her to develop. She could be a 10 year old or a 20 year old, and I would still make her go through situations in which she would have to adapt or change something about herself in order to get through.

Fortissimo Thank you, it's always nice to hear someone appreciate what you made.

Lucia I'm so sorry. I couldn't even do that. I mean, I'm doing it now, but it's too late. Again, really sorry.

PorSupuest0 did you…pick out my Agent Washington reference? If you did, that is amazing. That reference was so subtle that I didn't really consider it a reference and just wrote it there knowing that no one was going to pick it up. And sorry this chapter took double the amount of time.

Psykoakuma lol to be honest I'm surprised you're still reading this. You can keep reading of course, but you don't have to force yourself. And thanks for giving my story a chance.

Well I have all that wrapped up. I really don't know what else to say. What else can I say? I feel like I'm forgetting something really important that I should talk about but for the life of me I can't remember it. Oh well, I won't force myself. If I remember it after a few hours I'll just edit this chapter to add it in there.

Anyways, see ya.