Chapter Five: The Celestial Sphere

"Your - ?"

"Yeah, my dear old, bitter as wormwood cousin, Daryl, yeah," said Blair, sighed exasperatedly. "She's been that way ever since we were kids. Bernie – that's Bernadette, by the way – was the only one who could even get her to mellow out. C'mon, let's get to the dining hall. Anna will have dinner ready by now."

"Since when has Diana's aunt been your cousin?" Akko asked, bewildered, as they walked down the long, decorative corridor, the others just behind them. "Wait, if Diana's aunt is your cousin, then does that mean you're a - ?"

"Cavendish? Yeah," said Blair with a mocking sort of scoff. "I'm a Half-Blood – my mom was a Cavendish witch and my dad was a Human soldier for the British Army. Though Daryl likes to pretend we're not related since I'm not a 'pureblooded' witch like the rest of the family. I haven't visited the manor since Bernie died…."

Akko noted the somber tone in her guardian's voice as she stared wistfully into space, like she was seeing something no one else could. She followed Blair to the end of the hall and through a door leading into the dining room.

As Akko had expected, the hall was just as extravagant, if not more, as the rest of the house. A cavernous room with pearl-white walls etched with golden molding shaped like spiraling branches and emerald leaves. Most of the light seemed to be coming from a golden chandelier ornamented with over a hundred glittering diamonds that gave off an ethereal glow. The middle of the room was occupied by a large polished, claw-footed mahogany table that must have seated over thirty people, the surface of which was littered with mounds of paper, crystal glasses, empty wine bottles, and a pile of rags that looked strangely familiar to Akko. Diana's mother, Athena Cavendish, was talking quietly to a woman Akko had never met before.

Athena had the same face as Diana, only older and with a heavy set of wrinkles under her eyes, no doubt for years of exhaustion. Her blonde hair was so heavily faded that it almost looked white. The woman sitting next to her was young and kindly-faced with flowing blonde hair that looked like golden silk. Her posture and the way she dressed in fine robes gave the impression that she belonged to high society like the Cavendishes – another of their relatives, maybe?

Blair cleared her throat. Athena looked around and jumped to her feet.

"Akko!" Athena said, hurrying forward to greet her and hugging her to the point of suffocation. "I'm so glad you are all right!"

"She might not be for long, mother," said Diana, pointing out how Akko's face was turning an interesting shade of blue. Athena quickly released, looking sheepish.

Over Athena's shoulder, Akko saw the other woman hastily gathering all the papers into one pile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kagari," said the woman, trying to gather up twenty sheets at once. "Lady Ram didn't make you come via Greenland, then?"

"She tried," said Izetta, striding over to help the woman. "Here, let me – "

The two of them incidentally reached for the same paper with Izetta's hand landing on top of the blonde woman's. The two of them pulled away immediately like they had been electrocuted, though neither of them seemed offended. On the contrary, Akko could have sworn she saw Izetta's face turn the same shade as her hair, which match the equally red face of the blonde woman. In their moment of distraction, Akko caught a glimpse of what looked like the plan of a building.

Athena had seen her looking. She snatched the plan off the table and shoved it at Izetta.

"This sort of thing ought to be cleared Away promptly at the end of meetings," she said in a quiet voice that Akko had to strain to hear.

Izetta took the papers from the blonde woman's arms, muttered something under her breath, and they all vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Take a load off, Akko," said Blair, plopping into one of the chairs and kicking her feet on the table. "You've already met my cousin-in-law, Athena, a couple times. And this woman is – " the cat witch gestured to the blonde, who immediately cut in.

"Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt, Archduchess of the Principality of Eylstadt," the blonde woman introduced with a well-practiced curtsy. When she stood up, she visibly relaxed and smiled kindly. "But all of my friends call me Finé."

Akko nearly fell out of her seat from that revelation. This was the Finé that Izetta not-so-subtly was in love with? The same Finé who was apparently to ruler of an entire country (albeit, one Akko had never heard of, but it was still shocking!) Akko had met a lot of powerful people over the years from the Cavendish House to the Magical Council Chairman himself, but this was the first time she had ever met royalty! Akko didn't know if she should bow, or curtsy, or whatever.

Akko's thoughts seemed to be written on her face, because Finé giggled lightly behind her hand and said, "You don't need to give me any special treatment. We're all equals here. Well, some more than others, isn't that right, Mr. Urahara?"

The thing that Akko had taken to be a pile of rage gave a prolonged, grunting snore and then jerked away. It was Kisuke Urahara, the man in the bucket hat that Yoruichi had chewed out back in Jingumae. It looked like the black cat had done more since Akko had last seen her given that Kisuke's clothes were in tatters by what looked like claw marks.

"Someone say my name?" Urahara mumbled sleepily. "I agree with Blair…."

His raised his hand in the air as though voting, his droopy, bloodshot eyes unfocused. Nico snorted.

"The meeting's over, Kisuke," said Blair as everyone sat down around the table. "Akko's here."

"Oh?" said Urahara, peering balefully at Akko. "Ah, so she is. You all right there, Kagari?"

"Yeah," said Akko.

"Good, good," said Urahara, pausing to let out a loud yawn. "I owe you an apology for what happened."

"Oh, you owe her more than that," said Izetta, leering. "She almost died because of you."

"I know, I know, Yoruichi keeps reminding me," said Urahara, gesturing to his tattered clothes.

Just then, Anna the Maid appeared from a side door. She bowed respectfully to Diana, Athena, and Finé, but made no effort to offer the same courtesy to the rest of them. In fact, judging by the way she was glaring at Akko's unruly mane of hair and the disheveled state of her clothes, Anna did not seem to approve of people who didn't meet a certain standard of etiquette.

"Apologizes, Miss Athena, but it would seem that Mistress Daryl has dismissed the cooking staff early tonight," Anna said to Athena apologetically.

"And on the night of our meeting, too," said Athena in a dry tone. "How convenient…."

"I could prepare something, but I may nee some assistance," said Anna. "Not that I am ask you, of course, but – "

"Anything I can do to help?" Finé offered eagerly, bounding forward.

Anna looked taken aback, goggling at Finé.

"Archduchess, I would never ask such a thing! You are an honored guest – "

"No, no, I want to help," said Finé brightly before rounding to Izetta. "Izetta, would you mind helping? Having a witch could make it go faster."

"Uh, yeah, sure," said Izetta, who looked like a lovesick puppy in Akko's opinion as she followed Anna and the archduchess through the side door.

Soon they heard a soft clattering of dishes and cutlery through the door followed shortly by the faint smell of fried meat. Everyone started talking about whatever on their mind while they waited for dinner to arrive. Akko didn't feel like joining in at the moment; she was tired and her mind was heavy from everything she had learned upstairs.

Suddenly, Akko felt something cold slide against her ankle and started. She looked down and came face-to-snout with a long, pale albino snake that was slithering up her leg and around her waist. It was Ophiuchus, Diana's snake familiar. Having faced a number of weird and disturbing things over the years, Akko was not bothered as the snake climbed up to her shoulder and slithered down her left arm. But Sucy, who was sitting on Akko's left, let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a crock and moved to the edge of her chair away from Ophiuchus. Ironically enough, Sucy, a lover of all things poisonous, was deathly afraid of snakes. Akko couldn't resist laughing out loud. Still, having pity on her friend, Akko lowered her arm onto the table and allowed Ophiuchus to climb down then slithered over to Diana.

"I thought I told you to keep that thing locked up," Sucy groaned, grimacing as Diana draped the snake over her shoulder.

"This manor is as much Ophiuchus's home as mine," said Diana, scratching the snake chin as if it were a puppy. "If you have a problem with him, you are more than free to leave."

Sucy grumbled under her breath, sliding down her seat.

"So, how's your summer been, Akko-Nyan?" Blair asked suddenly.

"Do you really have to ask?" said Akko.

"No, but I thought I'd extend the courtesy," said Blair, shrugging her shoulders. "The Heartless attack took us by surprise. We're still trying to figure out who sent them. Yoruichi thought it might be the Magic Council, but even Crawford Seam isn't stupid enough to try something like that himself. It would draw too much attention to himself. Make him the obvious suspect if he refuses to believe it's Jennifer?"

"Is it Jennifer?" asked Akko.

"No idea; haven't been around much myself, lately. I've been put in charge of the global recruitment for the Sphere – traveling from country to country trying to look for anyone who could potentially help us. I just came back from Death City in America when I heard about the Heartless attack. I should've been there – it's my job to watch over you – but Chariot thought it would be a better use of my time."

"Chariot?" Akko repeated, perking. "Like Shiny Chariot? She's in the Sphere?"

"Of course," said Blair. "Everyone from the old group is with the Sphere. Chariot is one of the higher-ups in charge of planning our counterattack against Jennifer."

"Then was Chariot here for the meeting?" asked Akko urgently.

"Yeah, she was…," said Blair, looking at Akko carefully. "But she was the first to leave when the meeting was over. Sorry."

Akko looked down in displeasure at the news. She had admired Shiny Chariot ever since she was six years old, and held a deep-rooted desire to find her ever since her first year when she came to the realization that Shiny Chariot was Akko's birth mother. Finding Shiny Chariot was the main reason for Akko's desire to collect all the Stars of Chariot's Shiny Rod, hoping that it would, in some way, guide her to her mother. To know that Chariot had been so close without her knowing it, and without bothering to tell Akko, made her stomach turn uncomfortably –

Athena's motherly instincts seemed to hone in on Akko's plight as she reached across the table and held the brunette's hand warmly.

"Don't take it the wrong way, Akko," said Athena kindly. "Chariot is working hard to keep you safe from Jennifer, not because she doesn't want to see you. I can only imagine the stress she must be going through, especially with her ex-husband joining the Sphere – "

"Wait, what?" Akko shot up, eyes wide in surprise. "Ex-husband? You mean my dad? My dad's in the Sphere, too?"

Athena hissed inwardly, likely not meaning to have said anything out loud.

Akko had only heard about her father once back in her second year when Professor Ursula mentioned how Chariot had tried to use the Shiny Rod to impress him. Besides that, Akko knew absolutely nothing about him – not even his name. Akko was about to press the issue when they suddenly heard a vicious scream coming through the door:

"Miss Du Nord – stop it – NO, JUST CARRY THEM NORMALLY!" Anna's voice carried through the wall.

The door flew open and everyone looked around before, a split second later, they dived away from the table. Izetta had bewitched several plates of grilled beef, bowls of stew, a wooden cutting board with bread, complete with a sharp knife, glasses of juice, and dozens of cutleries to hurtle through the air toward them. Izetta tripped her way through the door a second later, watching dinner fly across the room in horror, and threw up her hands. Everything stopped in midair, inches above the table surface, as if frozen in time. Izetta let out a sigh of relief before gently lowering her hands, neatly setting the dinnerware in its proper place. Akko would have applauded the spectacle if Anna had come marching in a second later, smacking Izetta over the head with a wooden spoon; Finé came in after, chuckling nervously.

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" screamed Anna furiously, swatting Izetta between each word. "THERE WAS NO NEED FOR SUCH RECKLESSNESS! WHEN I ASKED FOR YOU TO CARRY EVERYTHING OUT TO THE TABLE, I DIDN'T MEAN ALL AT ONCE! YOU COULD HAVE HURT MISS DIANA!"

"I was just trying to save a bit of time!" Izetta shrieked, trying to shield herself with her arms. "And Diana's perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She's a very talented witch, after all – "

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Nearly everyone was laughing at Izetta's expense; Garie and Sabi were practically in tears. Urahara, who had toppled backward off his chair, nonchalantly rose to his feet and brushed himself off. Ophiuchus had given an angry hiss and slithered out the door, but not before leering at Izetta with unblinking pink eyes. Akko had a sneaking suspicion the snake familiar would be plotting his revenge soon enough.

"Now, now, Anna, everything is all right," said Athena soothingly, gently pulling the maid away from the shrinking redhead. "Nothing bad really happened – "

"But it could have!" Anna raged, slamming a cheese platter onto so hard several cubes flew off. "If it isn't flying dinner plates and hurtling soup, it's miscreants blowing up walls and releasing spiders in the study! None of this would have happened if Mistress Bernadette were here – "

She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at Diana, whose expression was suddenly wooden.

"Let's eat," said Finé quickly.

"It looks wonderful, Anna," said Mr. England, pulling a bowl of stew toward himself.

For a few minutes there was silence but for the chink of plates and cutlery and the scraping of chairs as everyone settled down to their food. Then Anna, who was still standing like the dutiful maid she was, said to Athena, "I've been meaning to tell you, there is something trapped in the writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. None of the cleaning staff are willing to look into it because they're afraid it could be something dangerous."

"Probably just a wandering bogeyman," said Athena. "I'll look into it when I can."

"Some of the staff have also noticed some items missing from Mistress Ber – I mean, you-know-who's private study," Anna lowered her voice, glancing in Diana's direction. "Nothing too valuable. Just some personal things here and there that Jacob and Elizabeth noticed aren't there anymore."

"Wager Daryl sold them off somewhere," said Athena, the grip on her fork tightening. "I'll check it out later."

Opposite of Akko, Constanze and Barbara were pouring over some kind of blueprint being held up by one of Constanze's Stan-Bots. Akko didn't know how it happened, but somewhere along the line, Constanze and Barbara had been the oddest pair of friends – a fact Akko only clued in on after switching to Modern Magic last year. This was apparently a regular occurrence at meal times because no one was sparing them a sideways glance and Anna refrained from giving them a tongue lashing despite the look she was giving the tiny robot standing on her nice clean table.

"…transformation configuration? You're being way too influenced by those mecha animations…."

Blair, Mr. England, and Mrs. Parker were having an intense discussion about dragons.

"They're not giving anything away yet," said Blair. "I still can't work out whether they believe she's back or not. 'Course, they might prefer not to take sides at all. Keep out of it."

"I'm sure they'd never go over to Jennifer," said Mr. England, shaking his head. "One of her acolytes is Acnologia, and he is responsible for slaughtering hundreds of their kind."

"That could also be a reason why they would join," said Mrs. Parker, though apparently staring dreamily into space. "A lot of people can be motivated by fear. If Jennifer promises to keep them safe from Acnologia, then they might be willing to side with her. Have you managed to talk to the Princess of the Avalon Imperial Family, Blair? What was her name again…?"

"Eco Aurora-Christa Pendragon Lena Anherusu-Ilya Roransu Liliane-Muriel-Octavia-Robertine de la Rosa Resuperansu van de Compostela Avalon," Blair answered easily, smirking at their gobsmacked faces. "And no, I haven't. And not for a lack of trying. The Lautreamont Knight Kingdom has been extremely tightlipped these days. I even asked Tohru and Elma to go check it out, but took them three weeks to get past the border. And they're from two of the three Imperial Dragon Houses. The worst part is they both came back empty handed…."

A gale of laughter from the middle of the table drowned the rest of Blair's words. Amanda, Sucy, Garie, and Sabi were rolling around in their seats.

"…and then," choked Amanda, tears running down her face, "and then, if you can believe it, he says to me, he says, 'Hey, O'Neill, where'd you get all them toads from? Cause some son of a Bandersnatch went and stole all mine!' And I say, 'Swiped all your toads, Neville, obviously. So you'll be needing some more, then?' And get this, the brainless dope buys all of his own toads back from me for twice what he paid in the first place – "

"I don't think you need to regale us of your long list of underhanded dealings, O'Neill," said Diana sharply, as Sucy threw her head back, cackling uncontrollably.

"Aw, lighten up, Princess," said Amanda, wiping her eyes and winking at Akko. "Neville pretty much had it coming to him. I outright told him those were his toads that I stole from him. If he's stupid enough to pay me after that, it's his own fault."

"Why do you even need to sell stolen goods, anyway?" questioned Amanda. "Your family is wealthy. Not to mention four out of five of us gave you our earnings from the Contest of Champions."

"I don't need to sell stolen goods," said Amanda, smirking. "It's more of a hobby than anything else."

"Most hobbies don't come with the risk of being arrested," said Diana exasperatedly.

"Clearly you've never been to the States," Amanda retorted.

Three helpings of banoffee pie and custard tarts later and the waistband on Akko'S shorts was feeling uncomfortably tight. She lay down her fork in a lull in the general conversation. Lotte was leaning back in her chair, looking replete and relaxed, Finé was yawning in a very unrefined way, and Nico was leaning against her flesh and blood arm with her eyes closed, looking ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," said Athena on a yawn.

"Not just yet, Athena," said Blair, pushing away her empty plate and turning to look at Akko. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Jennifer."

Th atmosphere in the room changed with the rapidity Akko associated with the arrival of the Heartless. Where seconds before it had been sleepily relaxed, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had gone around the table at the mention of Jennifer's name. Izetta, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered her glass slowly, looking wary.

"I did!" Akko shouted urgently. "I asked Diana and everyone else, but they said we're not allowed in the Sphere, so – "

"And they're quite right," said Athena. "You're too young."

She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched upon its arms, every trace of drowsiness gone.

"Since when did someone have to be in the Celestial Sphere to ask questions?" asked Blair. "Akko-Nyan's been trapped in Japan with no contact from the outside world for a month. She's got the right to know what's been happening – "

"Hang on!" interrupted Hannah loudly.

"How come Akko gets her questions answered?" said Barbara angrily.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told use a single thing!" said Hannah.

"'You're too young, you're not in the Sphere,'" said Barbara in a high-pitched voice. "Akko's the same age as us!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Sphere's doing," said Blair calmly. "That's your parents' decision. Akko-Nyan, on the other hand – "

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Akko!" said Athena sharply. Akko had a sudden shock of déjà vu, vividly remembering her own mother's outburst back in Japan.

"And it's not your decision either," Blair said quietly, but with an air as though readying herself for a fight.

Everyone around the table were turning their heads from Blair to Athena as though following an intense tennis rally. Nico eyes were following along, though the fingers of her prosthetic arm were curling as if intending to grab something. Izetta's eyes were fixed on Blair.

"Akko has been kept in the dark about everything for too long," said Blair coolly. "She was the one who saw Jennifer come back and is the only reason we were able to prepare. She has more right than most to – "

"She's not a member of the Celestial Sphere!" said Athena. "She's only fifteen and – "

" – and she's dealt with as much as most in the Sphere," said Blair, "and more than some – "

"No one's denying what she's done!" said Athena, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But she's still – "

"She's not a child!" said Blair impatiently.

"She's not an adult either!" said Athena, the color rising in her cheeks. "She's not Chariot, Blair!"

"I'm perfectly clear on who she is, thanks, Athena," said Blair coldly.

"I'm not sure you are!" said Athena. "Sometimes, the way you talk about her, it's as though you think you have your best friend back!"

"What's wrong with that?" said Akko.

"What's wrong, Akko, is that you are not your mother, however you might act like her!" said Athena, her eyes still boring into Blair. "You are still in school and adults responsible for you should not forget that!"

"Meaning I'm an irresponsible guardian?" demanded Blair, her voice rising.

"Let's look at the facts, shall we?" said Athena scathingly. "You were with Akko for four years at Luna Nova, and under your watch she went through harrowing trials to get to the Claiomh Solais, had to fight a living plague on her own, chased down an escaped criminal – no offense, Izetta – and then there was that whole mess with the Contest – "

"I admit I might not have been perfect!" Blair snarled. "But I have had nothing but Akko's best interests at heart!"

"For all the good that has done!" Athena raged. "You don't get a say in this! You're not her mother!"

"No, I'm the one who's been looking out for her since she was less than a day old!" Blair roared.

"Enough!" Izetta snapped, slamming her fists on the table.

Everyone was nearly thrown out of their seats by the magical shockwave of the impact of Izetta's fists sinking into the wood. Blair and Athena were stunned into silence, like they were the ones who had been hit instead. It had been a long time since Akko had seen Izetta use magic that she had forgotten that was probably the most powerful witch in the entire manor; maybe even more powerful than Shiny Chariot if what Ursula said was true.

Finé gently rested her hand on Izetta's which visibly calmed the redheaded witch. Izetta pried her fist from the table, taking a deep, cleansing breath, round to both Blair and Athena in turn.

"Everyone can tell that you both want what's best for Akko, in your own ways," said Izetta calmly. "Blair, you're right in saying that Akko deserves to know the facts, but it's not your place to decide that for her. What Athena says is true: you're not her mother, no matter how much you see yourself to be. But you are not her mother either, Athena, so you don't get to have a choice on whether she knows or not. Chariot is not here, and neither are the Kagaris. So, as her aunt, I'm the only one that gets a say in the matter. And I say that Akko should be allowed to decide for herself. She's earned that much."

"I want to know what's been going on," Akko said at once.

She did not look at Athena. She wasn't upset at her; Akko understood where she was coming from. She was just trying to do what she thought would keep Akko safe. In a lot of ways, Athena reminded Akko of her own mother. But she was also impatient at her overprotectiveness…. Blair was right, she was not a child.

"Very well," said Athena, her voice cracking. "Diana, children – I want you out of this room, now."

There was an instant uproar.

"You can't do this, mother!" Diana bellowed.

"If Akko's allowed, why can't we?" shouted Amanda.

"We want to know, too!" Garie and Sabi wailed together.

"NO!" shouted Athena, standing up, her eyes overbright. "I absolutely forbid – "

"You can't stop me from staying," said Nico, leaning back into her seat with her arms crossed defiantly. "I was there when Jennifer came back, too. And I almost died, remember?"

"You're still in school – "

"Nico is right, Athena," said Izetta tiredly. "As the owner of the Staff of One, she's as much a part of this as Akko. She should know as well."

Athena was now scarlet in the face.

"I – oh, all right then, she can stay, but Diana is my daughter, and – "

"And Akko will tell me anyway!" said Diana hotly. "She's my girlfriend, and we don't keep secrets from each other. Isn't that right, Akko?"

Akko felt like she had been punched in the gut; her mind flashed back to Professor Holbrooke's office and the Horologium Clock…. Akko, not trusting herself to say anything, just nodded.

"Yeah, well, we're her friends…sort of," said Hannah, slightly hesitant as she met Akko's eyes. "She'll tell us the same thing. So we can stay, right, daddy?" she asked hopefully to Mr. England.

"I don't know…," Mr. England murmured with uncertainty.

"I think they should," said Mrs. Parker serenely. "It's better they get the facts from us than garbed versions from others."

"Yes!" Garie cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Finally!" Sabi cried, also pumping her fist.

"You can send Garie and Sabi to their room," said Sucy. She shot a toothy grin at the twins, who looked up at their sister in abject betrayal. "Since Ina isn't here, I get to make the decision for them."

"Traitor!" Garie roared.

"We'll get you for this!" Sabi shouted.

"Anna, take them away, please," Athena told the maid coolly.

The Manbavaran twins did not go quietly. They shouted and flailed as Anna plucked them out of their seats and totted them out of the dining hall like sacks of rice. They could hear the telltale signs of something expensive shattering in the corridors. Athena exhaled an exhausted sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. They waited until the twins' banshee screams were out of earshot, then Blair turned to Akko.

"Okay, Akko-Nyan…what do you want to know?" she asked.

Akko took a deep breath and asked the questions that had been obsessing her for a month.

"Where's Jennifer? What's she doing? I've been trying to watch the news," she said quickly, "and there hasn't been anything that looks like her yet, nothing weird or unusual – "

"That's because there hasn't been any suspicious activity lately," said Blair, "not as far as we know, anyway…. And we know quite a lot."

"More than she thinks we do anyway," said Izetta.

"How come she hasn't done anything yet?" Akko asked. "With Eveline, she controls the Purifiers. Not to mention Amon and Acnologia – "

"Because Jennifer is smarter than that," said Athena. "Remember, Jennifer was one of the heroes of the Hundred Year War. She has a gift for strategy, and right now her best strategy is keeping a low profile. It's too dangerous for her to make her presence known. You see, things didn't exactly go the way she wanted to when she made her big comeback."

"Why?" Akko asked perplexed.

"Because of you and Nico," said Blair with a satisfied smile. "You two weren't supposed to get away, let alone escape with both the Shiny Rod and the Staff of One – both items that Jennifer needed."

"And because you escaped, you were able to warn everyone," said Izetta. "And the last person Jennifer wanted alerted of her return was Chariot. And thanks to you, Chariot knows Jennifer is back."

"Why is Jennifer worried about my mom?" Akko asked.

"Only a handful of people throughout history have ever mastered the Shiny Rod," said Blair with a Cheshire grin. "And one of them is Chariot Du Nord. She's the only person in the entire world besides Jennifer who knows all of the Shiny Rod's secrets, including the Seven Words of Arcturus and the deactivation codes. As long as Chariot is around, Jennifer can't carry out her plans."

"And what are her plans?" Akko asked quickly. "I know she wants to use the Shiny Rod for some assimilation plat, but how is she doing it?"

"Well, firstly, she'll need to build her army," said Athena. "She's already got the Purifiers and their anti-magic technology in her back pocket, but that's not enough for what she needs done. She'll need magical help, too. Demi-Humans who are delusional enough to believe in Jennifer's philosophy, or greedy enough for a taste of her power. You heard her planning to recruit the Nine Titan Shifters; it's a sound strategy," she glanced mournfully at Jasminka. "Their kind have been persecuted for centuries. If Jennifer offers then true rights and freedom, I imagine many will accept."

"So the Sphere's trying to stop Jennifer from getting more followers?"

"We're doing our best," said Izetta.

"How?"

"Well, the main thing is to try and convince as many people as possible that Jennifer has really returned, to put them on their guard," said Finé. "It's proven difficult, though."

"Why?"

"Because of the Council's attitude," said Mr. England. "You already know Crawford Seam's position on matters about Jennifer. He's absolutely refusing to believe it's happened."

"Yeah, I've heard," said Akko agitatedly. "Why is he being so stupid. I told him – "

"And that's the problem," said Urahara. "You."

"Crawford is afraid of you," said Mrs. Parker distantly.

"Afraid of me?" said Akko incredulously.

"Afraid of who you are," said Urahara. "The Star-Born Child – the savior of Demi-Humans. The girl who single-handed revived the world of magic when it was on the verge of dying out. Crawford Seam is afraid you're trying to overthrow him. He thinks you're trying to take his place."

"I don't want to take his place! I'd make a terrible leader – "

"No one's arguing that," said Amanda, snicker.

"Crawford Seam has always had an inferiority complex," said Athena. "He's always gone out of his way to make himself well-loved, but people could only ignore his sheer incompetence for so long. He never forgot how much popular support Holbrooke had to become the next Magic Council Chairperson after David Copperfield retired, even though she never applied for the job."

"And then there's you – a living symbol of worship for the magical world; I pretty sure there's even a religion about you somewhere," said Izetta. "Crawford is deftly aware of how the public views him. He's unfit for the position. So much so that in the early days of his administration he was constantly begging Holbrooke for help and advice. He's become fond of his power and he's not willing to give it up for anything, even if it means putting the rest of the world in danger. At this point, he's convinced himself that you're just trying to stir up trouble for the sake of it."

"How can he think that?" said Akko angrily. "How can he think I would just make it all up?"

Because accepting that Jennifer is back and is not the hero everyone spent centuries believing would mean trouble like the Council has never had to cope with," said Blair bitterly. "Crawford just can't bring himself to face it. It's so much more comfortable to convince himself you're lying to destabilize him."

"You see the problem," said Izetta. "While the Council insists there is nothing to fear from Jennifer, it's hard to convince people she's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place. I mean, so many witches grew up idolizing Jennifer. What's more, the Council is leaning heavily on the news not to report what they're calling rumor-mongering, so most of the world is completely unaware anything's happening, and that makes them easy targets for Jennifer's cultists."

"But you're telling people, aren't you?" said Akko, looking around. "You're letting people know she's back."

"We're trying, but it has been slow work," said Izetta. "Everyone thinks I'm an insane mass murderer and the Council put a fifty million credit bounty on my head, so I can't exactly stroll up the street passing out leaflets."

"We managed to convince a few in the Council, so we have a few spies on the inside," said Athena, "but we the Magic Council is keeping a hard eye on anyone they think might be associated with you or Holbrooke, so we can't start campaigning there. Plus, there's always the risk that word will leak to Crawford, or worse, Jennifer, because you know she's bound to have a few eyes and ears on the inside."

"And it doesn't help that Crawford is actively trying to discredit Holbrooke," said Izetta. "I don't suppose you heard about that?"

"Amanda filled me in on what's going on," said Akko. "But…if Jennifer is trying to recruit people, too, doesn't that mean someone is bound to figure out that she's come back?"

"You're forgetting one thing, Akko: Eveline," said Blair. "A sentient virus with the power to mind control hundreds of people at once is a lot harder to keep track of than physical people. Amon's group spent an entire year working in secret to control the minds of every Purifier sect in the world, and binding them to silence is simple enough for her. In any case, gathering followers is only one thing she's interested in, she's got other plans, too, plans she can put into operation very quietly, and she's concentrating on them at the moment."

"What's she after other than followers?" Akko asked swiftly.

She thought she saw Blair, Izetta, and Athena exchange the most fleeting of looks before Blair said, "Stuff she can only get by stealth. Something she didn't have before."

"Before? Before she came to the future?"

"Yes."

"Like what?" said Akko. "Does it have something to do with the Shiny Rod or – "

"I think that's enough," said Athena sharply. "We've given Akko plenty of information. Any more and you might as well into the Sphere straightaway."

"Why not?" said Akko quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight – "

"No!"

Shockingly enough, it wasn't Athena that objected, but Blair, who turned to Akko looking deadly serious.

"I said you deserved to know what's going on," she said sternly, "but that was not an invitation for you to get involved. The Celestial Sphere is comprised of experienced fighters who are willingly and knowingly putting their lives on the line. There are dangers of which you have no idea, any of you…. Athena is right. We've said enough."

Akko looked desperately to Izetta, but her stance seemed just as firm as Blair's. Athena stood up and beckoned Diana and the girls. One by one they stood up and Akko, recognizing defeat, followed suit.

Next chapter: The Ancient and Noble House of Cavendish