An Unprecedented Collaboration (ch3)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS!!

This was always meant to be a sort of Akko + Diana fic initially, but it really came out to be more of a Hannah + Barbara + Diana fic too. Which is very good. Much Diana love.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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															Chapter 3.

Hannah and Barbara wake at the crack of dawn, well before their alarm goes off, in hopes of finding Diana up and about. But to their mutual dismay they don't see her walking around the room brushing her hair like usual.

As expected, they find her still asleep on her bed, not having moved so much as an inch since last night. Both girls whimper and cling to one another.

"H-Hannah, what do we do? Maybe on the weekend if she's really tired she'd sleep. But there's no way she'd ever let herself sleep through class."

"I know... Let's get dressed and then on our way to class we'll go visit the nurse."

"Yeah. We've gotta tell someone."

"Right."

So they hurry to freshen up, change into their uniforms, and rush out the door, not even thinking to take their books and supplies for their first class. Diana is the only thing on their mind as they hurry through the hallways, probably quickly enough where Diana would have scolded them had she been there.

They go to the dining hall first to grab some breakfast for themselves and for Diana. They bring it back to the dorm with their final hopes budding that Diana might be awake. But when they re-enter they find the exact same motionless room as they've been dreading.

They leave the food on the table on the off chance Diana wakes on her own while they're away. But by now they know they've waited long enough just hoping.

So they hurry back out, intent to get the nurse. The halls are filled with other students making their way to class now, and everyone gives Hannah and Barbara perplexed glances and double-takes as they hurry on by.

"Isn't that Hannah and Barbara?"

"Where's Diana?"

"She can't have patrols or anything, right? Classes are about to start!"

The chatter makes the two girls more and more uneasy by the second. They're nearing their own classroom when Hannah pulls Barbara aside.

"Let's tell Professor Ursula we need to go to the nurse so she knows why Diana and we are absent."

"O-Okay."

So they hurry into their classroom that's filling in just as the bell chimes. The two of them set a brisk course for Professor Ursula's podium where the red-haired witch is preparing her materials for the morning.

But before they can so much as call out to get her attention, a much louder voice takes the cake.

"Waaaaaah, I'm late I'm late I'm laaate!"

Akko comes bursting through the door with Lotte and Sucy flanking her as she stumbles in.

"Geez," Lotte sighs. "We told you not to get those extra pancakes at breakfast, Akko."

"S'your own fault."

"I know! But c'mon, when do we ever get pancakes here?!"

"Quiet please!" Professor Ursula walks over to the five girls who have just come in. Her stern expression tries to scold, but her lips quickly give way to a smile. "Akko, since you were on the bell I won't mark you late."

"Really?! Thank you Professor!"

"Now then," Ursula turns to Hannah and Barbara next. "Is there something the two of you needed? Isn't Diana with you this morning?"

Hannah and Barbara exchange flustered looks.

"U-Um-"

"Well..."

They'd wanted to talk to the professor in private, not with Akko's band of idiots listening in. Their silence makes the professor's brow furrow in concern.

"Oh, my. I hope she isn't sick?"

"What?!" Akko blurts. "Diana's sick? Sick enough to miss class? No way! Impossible!"

But Hannah and Barbara shuffle their feet, too worried about their teammate to even spare the energy to glare at Akko.

"We wanted to let you know, Professor," Barbara mumbles.

"And ask if we could go see the nurse," Hannah adds.

"Oh my," Ursula lowers her voice. "If you think it's that serious then yes, go right ahead. Should you need me for anything don't hesitate to send me a message or ask for me, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Thank you!"

Hannah and Barbara turn to hurry off out the doors, only vaguely aware of the commotion going on behind them until they hear Akko's unmistakable declaration.

"I'm coming too!"

And before Ursula or anyone else can stop her, Akko is tearing off after Hannah and Barbara. They both skid to a halt and confront her.

"Akko. Go back to class."

"We can handle this."

They maintain a firm stance with their hands on their hips, eyes narrowed. Akko stands her ground.

"No way." She makes fists at her side. "If it's bad enough that Diana won't even come to class, then I want to know what's going on. Diana's my friend, too."

Hannah and Barbara flinch and share a glance. They've been dealing with this by themselves for the past few days. They'd almost forgotten they could rely on other people.

Even Akko.

Because they know better than anyone that, in spite of her magical shortcomings, she cares about Diana just as much as they do.

When they're quiet for another moment, Akko advances a step.

"Tell me what's going on. Is she really sick? Why won't she come to class?"

In truth, Hannah and Barbara don't feel as nervous in talking to Akko as they would to the nurse or the Headmistress. And in their distress they finally unravel.

"It's not that she won't come to class..."

"It's that she can't..."

And just thinking about it, realizing how bad it really might be, and after letting all their fears pile up over the last few days, it all comes spilling over now. Both girls begin to cry softly, hugging each other for comfort.

And to Akko, it's almost terrifying. She'd had such a fun weekend together with Lotte and Sucy, playing and flying and enjoying their usual antics. And all that time Hannah and Barbara had been like this? And something had happened to Diana?

Akko places a soft hand on each of their backs, but her voice rises in panic.

"Wh-What do you mean... she can't? Did she get hurt? What happened to her?"

Barbara shakes her head, unable to speak just yet as she cries into her partner's shoulder. Hannah strokes her hair for her and answers Akko.

"She... She won't wake up..."

"...Huh?" Akko stares blankly back at her. "She won't wake up? H-How long has she been asleep?"

Hannah sniffles as she counts back the days.

"Since Saturday night... we think... we went to bed and she was up studying... but then yesterday morning she didn't wake up. We let her sleep all day... but she didn't wake up for supper, or this morning for classes..."

"Th-That's not normal, right?" Barbara cries. "That's too long! She won't wake up no matter what we do! Something's not right..."

Both of them break down crying again, leaving Akko baffled.

Wait... Diana's been like this for longer than a whole day?! No wonder I didn't see her out patrolling yesterday. I thought she was just really busy with homework... But she's been asleep this entire time? That can't be good...

Akko puts a hand to her chin in contemplation for a moment as the others get ahold of themselves. She's seen this kind of thing before though. She thinks she might be able to help.

"Hey..." She gets Hannah's and Barbara's attention with a wave. "Maybe we don't have to tell the nurse. Let me see Diana."

"Hah?"

"You?"

"Sorry, Akko. But we'd rather get her treated professionally."

"Like, no offense."

"None taken!" Akko says. "But you guys know, right? You know how Diana feels about doctors and nurses, right...?"

They both clam up, sharing a guilty look.

"Of course we do..."

"We know she doesn't like them..."

"Right?" Akko continues. "I found out when I went to the Cavendish estate. Since her parents were always sick and there were always doctors and nurses in the house, Diana gets really nervous around them. Which is kind of ironic considering it's her own family's lineage and she wants do be a healer too."

"Yeah," Barbara sighs. "But it's different when she's the patient."

"She doesn't like people taking care of her like that," Hannah explains. "Not experienced professionals... It makes her feel helpless... like she's let them down somehow by needing their care..."

"Right?" Akko says. "So she'd feel kind of upset and embarrassed if we brought the nurse to her when we could've handled this ourselves. So let me try, you guys. If I can't, then we'll call the nurse, but... for Diana's sake, let me try. Please?"

Once again they share a tentative glance. Part of them wonders what Atsuko Kagari could possibly do to help Diana when she can still barely fly a broom.

But another part remembers this is the same girl who had saved the magical world with Diana at her side - a girl full of miracles.

Maybe it's that innocent little part of themselves that's still willing to believe, but eventually both of them cave.

"You really think you can help her?"

"Like, for real?"

"Yeah!" Akko nods vigorously. "Something similar happened to Sucy once. So I think I might know how we can handle it ourselves. It's worth a shot, right?"

Hannah and Barbara share one last glance before agreeing.

"All right."

"Let's go."

Akko gives a sharp nod, and together the three young witches take off toward the dorms.

But before they've even made it a few strides in that direction, they catch sight of two more witches heading their way.

"Akko!" Lotte hurries over to her while Sucy slinks behind more slowly. "What are you doing?"

"Me? I'm gonna go check on Diana. What are you guys doing? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Look who's talking," Sucy mumbles. "You've missed more than we have."

"We're worried about Diana too," Lotte proclaims. "Professor Ursula seemed to understand and let us go too. So long as we try to hurry back."

"No promises," Akko says. "If it's what we think it is, this could take a while."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain on the way!"

With this, Akko waves them all to follow her as she takes off toward the dorms, and her band of worried witches follows. Akko tries to explain her theory as they move.

"Hannah and Barbara said she's been asleep for a whole day and two whole nights. It's definitely not natural!"

"Especially not for Diana!" Barbara chips in. "We couldn't wake her up no matter what!"

"But she doesn't really seem sick or anything," Hannah adds. "We just don't know what it could be."

"But we might!" Akko says. "Right Sucy? Right Lotte?"

When Akko turns back to her teammates they seem to be in understanding of what she's getting at.

Finally they call come to a halt outside of the dorm room, and Akko's team steps aside as Hannah and Barbara enter, calling out hopefully as they push through.

"Diana? We're back."

"Are you up yet?"

It was just one final, final sliver of hope that she might be. But of course to their dismay she's nowhere to be seen.

Akko and the others peer in over their shoulders before they're let inside. Lotte closes the door behind herself.

"So she's been asleep for longer than 24 hours?"

"Sounds kinda familiar," Sucy grunts.

Hannah and Barbara lead them across the room and around the corner of the bookshelf to Diana's personal space. They all find her just as she'd been left, lying on her back, entirely motionless save for the faint rise and fall of her chest. Hannah and Barbara have seen her like this for too long. Tears jump into their eyes as they cling to one another and start sniffling.

"See? Even if we make a ton of noise... or shake her shoulder-"

"She won't wake up! We've tried everything!"

Akko looks Diana over pensively, then glances back at her teammates.

"Lotte, what do you think? Could it be that same thing that affected Sucy before?"

"It could be. Though I'd find it a little difficult to believe Diana would ever let herself be at risk of Sleeping Witch Syndrome. I'm sure she was aware of it and would probably try not to do anything that might put herself at risk."

"Hey," Sucy mutters. "I was being careful. Never even knew I could get it when I was testing out my potions."

"Potions again?" Akko parrots. "Is that what you were doing that night, Sucy? What the heck!"

"What, you thought I just came down with it naturally? No way. I was gonna test my potion on you actually, but I decided to just take it myself. You're lucky."

"What? Hey! Is that why I woke up with a funnel in my mouth? You were gonna experiment on me again?"

"Why not? You're the perfect guinea pig after all."

"Jeez, Sucy! Argh, wait that doesn't matter right now!" Akko shakes herself off and shoots her snickering teammate a glare before turning back to the others. "So Sucy got Sleeping Witch Syndrome because of her weird experiments. She deserved it in that case. But there's no way Diana would've been doing anything like that, right?"

"Unless she somehow got it naturally," Lotte cuts in. "It's very rare, especially for a witch of her calibre and caution to come down with it, but I suppose anything's possible..."

As the three of them babble back and forth, Hannah and Barbara are still clinging to one another, wiping their tears as they try to follow along.

"Sleeping Witch Syndrome?"

"What's that? You think Diana has it?"

Akko turns back to them with pursed lips.

"It's possible. It's a really rare condition that's not easy to get, but you'd said she'd been staying up late to study, right?"

"Yeah. Later than usual."

"And more often."

Akko nods. "Then maybe it's possible. Maybe she was so exhausted from all that and her body naturally succumbed to the sickness."

"Wh-What?!"

"Oh no..."

Only after the two of them start to cry again does Akko realize her words sounded a little too morbid, so she quickly tries to mend it.

"B-But I mean it's not like her life is in danger or anything! Right, Lotte?"

"Well..." Lotte's response has them all tensing. "For the first few days and nights it's just like being in a coma. But if she can't be woken up with the proper spell in time, or provided proper medical treatment and supplements while she's comatose, it could begin to deteriorate her health. So I really think we should tell the nurse and get help after all."

Hannah and Barbara are pale with panic by now, hugging each other tightly.

"Th-Then let's just do that after all."

"Yeah, let's tell the nurse right away!"

"H-Hold on!" Akko puts a hand out to stop them. "Diana... wouldn't like that right?"

"But it would be for her own good," Hannah reasons.

"Yeah. If it's our only option-"

"But it's not!" Akko turns to her teammates and puts on a grin. "I woke Sucy up with Lotte's help. So maybe I can help Diana, too."

"H-Hold on, Akko." Lotte steps forward to try and slow her down. "We don't even know for sure if it's really Sleeping Witch Syndrome in the first place."

"Huh? But what else could it be? How can we tell?"

"Well..." Lotte closes her eyes and tries to think back to the book she'd read about the illness. "If it is Sleeping-Witch Syndrome, she'd be stuck inside whatever dream she's having, right? Her temperature and pulse would be off depending on what's happening in her mind."

"Got it."

Akko rolls up her sleeves a bit and struts over to Diana's bed, crouching over her slightly. She looks very peaceful and undisturbed, not at all like Akko would imagine she'd look if she were trapped inside her own dreamworld.

But then again she only has Sucy's to go off of. Someone like Diana would probably have a much more controlled and serious environment.

Akko reaches out to place her hands on the bed, then leans over to press her forehead against Diana's. She closes her eyes for a moment and hums.

"She doesn't feel too warm or too cold, I don't think..."

Next, she shifts down to lay her head on Diana's chest, pressing an ear to her heart. She listens for a moment, trying to get a feeling for the rhythm and check if it's too slow or too fast. If Diana's stuck in some nightmare because of the Syndrome, her temperature would've been warm and her heartbeat would've been faster. But Akko can't find anything off about her condition at all, other than the fact that she just won't wake up.

After a moment she withdraws and stands up straight again, turning around to give the others her verdict.

"Seems like she's okay... Like, she doesn't have a fever or anything I don't think. She isn't too warm or too cold. It's the opposite, really. It's like she's in a perfect state of sleep. Really balanced and calm."

Lotte puts a hand to her chin and ponders.

"Hm... Then this might not be Sleeping-Witch Syndrome after all."

"But then what else could it be?" Akko wonders.

"A curse?" Sucy offers. "Someone could've put a curse on her to make her sleep."

Hannah and Barbara immediately shriek at the thought.

"W-What?!"

"No way!"

"Who would ever do that to Diana? She was here in our room the whole time and the two of us were asleep."

"Yeah! There's no way anyone would have any reason to do something so horrible to her!"

Sucy just shrugs.

"Then maybe she did it to herself."

But this suggestion only upsets them even more.

"Impossible!"

"She would never work on something so dangerous!"

"I think they're right," Lotte agrees. "Practicing curses of any kind is strictly prohibited at Luna Nova. I can't imagine Diana ever breaking such a rule in secret. She would never do something like that."

Diana's teammates agree.

"Right!"

"Exactly!"

But Sucy's suggestion gets Lotte thinking.

"But... I think Sucy could be right, in a sense," she continues. "It's possible someone else could've cursed her. I'm not sure who would want to or why, but it is a possibility this could be a sleeping curse.

"But we aren't taught how to handle, cast, or lift curses in our classes. It would require a witch with superb higher-level skills to remove it. I think we're going to have to tell the professors after all."

Hannah and Barbara whimper and hug each other again for comfort. Lotte tries to think a little harder, but seems to have come to her final decision on the matter.

But for once, Akko is still thinking, still trying to figure out a way out of this without adult intervention.

"Hold on..." she mumbles. "I think maybe Sucy could've been onto something..."

Hannah and Barbara look up, still sniffling.

"What? You really think Diana cursed herself?"

"No way! She'd never do something like that!"

"I know she wouldn't," Akko says. "Not by choice anyway. But what if it was an accident?"

It seems that possibility hadn't crossed anyone's mind until now. Diana Cavendish has always been the epitome of perfection and efficiency. She didn't make mistakes. She didn't have accidents in her spell-casting.

But with Akko's proposal now, the idea begins to sink into everyone's minds.

Akko knows better than anyone that no one can be perfect, not even Diana. She knows better than anyone that everyone makes mistakes. It's what makes them human.

As the thought processes in all of their minds, Akko tries to prompt Hannah and Barbara a bit further.

"You guys said she was up all night studying, right? Do you know what she was studying? Was it stuff for class?"

"I'm not sure," Hannah says. "She had stacks of books piled up around her desk. Some were from the school library, some were from our room, and some she'd had sent here from home."

"We moved them all over there," Barbara says, pointing to the bookshelves behind them. "We didn't know how she wanted them arranged so we just left them on the floor and were waiting for her to wake up and organize them how she liked..."

Akko struts across the room to the piles and piles of books. She can't even read half the titles, even though she's been studying more and more languages and has gotten pretty good at most of them. She waves Lotte and Sucy over as well.

"What do you think? I don't think she was studying anything for curriculum or classes."

"You're right," Lotte says after a moment of observation. "Most of these books have nothing to do with anything we're currently learning."

"So she was doing her own research on something?" Sucy guesses.

"Probably. Now we just gotta figure out what." Akko turns to the four of them with a determined glint in her eyes. "We've gotta figure out what Diana was studying. If we can find out what kind of magic she was researching, maybe we can find out what kind of spell she cast by accident, and then we can try to figure out a counter-spell."

"But won't that take too long?" Barbara frets. "I think we should tell a professor after all..."

"Me too," Hannah agrees. "It's already been nearly two days. She hasn't eaten or drank anything."

Their eyes travel to Akko's, and Akko's are conflicted.

"Gimme an hour!" she decides. "Just an hour. I really wanna try and figure this out without bringing any professors into it. For Diana's sake."

Hannah and Barbara share a glance, then look back to Diana.

"Fine."

"One hour."

Akko nods. "Thanks. Now, did Diana ever mention to you guys what she was studying at night?"

They shake their heads.

"No," Barbara sighs. "She'd always just do her own thing."

"But if it wasn't something for class..." Hannah mumbles. "There's really only one other reason she'd be doing research."

"Oh!" Lotte perks up. "For her family, right? She comes from a line of healers, and she wants to take over the estate one day-"

"-so she'd probably be up studying healing magic!" Akko finishes. "That's gotta be it you guys!"

"But then how would she have put herself to sleep?" Sucy asks. "What kind of healing magic is that supposed to be?"

"Well..." Akko chews her lip and tries to think. "Maybe it'd be used on someone who's in a lot of pain. Casting magic would be easier and quicker than using any kind of medicine during an emergency, right?"

"Absolutely," Lotte agrees. "And only a witch with a Cavendish's calibre would be able to cast or cancel it successfully."

"Cancel it," Akko mutters. "We've gotta cancel it. Or reverse it, or find a counter-spell or whatever. Professor Ursula said it before: every spell has a counter-spell!"

"Wow. I'm impressed you listened in class."

"Aw c'mon, Sucy... Gimme some credit!"

"Geez, you guys!" Barbara whines. "Let's just try to figure out the counter-spell okay?"

The four of them come to a wordless truce, understanding that helping Diana deserves their undivided attention.

Akko Lotte and Sucy scurry to the pile of books Diana had been reading to begin flipping through the pages in hopes they might figure out what she'd been researching.

But Hannah and Barbara have an even better idea. They hurry out to the main portion of the room to pick up Diana's journal, but pause before looking into it.

"Sorry for looking, Diana."

"Please forgive us!"

And with that they begin turning the pages, scanning each one seriously.

Diana's handwriting is as flawless as ever, even though she'd been writing most of this well into the nighttime hours. A lot of it is in different magical and ancient languages. But almost all of those words and phrases seem to have been tirelessly translated by Diana's own hand. She even has detailed drawing of various ingredients on relevant pages, like different flowers and crystals, all labeled accordingly.

"Hey," Barbara says suddenly. "Doesn't this crystal look like the one in this jar?" She picks up the clear jar that's been sitting on Diana's desk for several weeks now, from what she can recall. Hannah looks it over and agrees.

"I think so. And those plants look like the same ones she was drawing, too."

"This must've been part of the spell she was working on! Like, these must be the ingredients or something!"

"What else does it say on this page?"

As the two of them get frantic in their excitement, Akko and the others come around the bookshelf.

"Did you guys find something?"

"We think so! It looks like Diana was trying to translate some really old spell or something."

"She even gathered all the plants and stones you'd need to cast it."

Akko's team walks forward to have a look, inspecting the jar and its contents along with Diana's journal.

"That's impressive," Lotte comments. "A lot of these books must have been extremely difficult to find."

"Same with those plants," Sucy grunts. "Most of them are super rare. I'm a little jealous."

"What does her journal say?" Akko asks, looking between Hannah and Barbara.

"It looks like... a medical spell for sure."

"Is it a sleep spell?"

"It's gotta be!"

A sense of relief spreads through the air as they finally make sense of things. Hannah and Barbara cling to each other with the journal in their hands.

"She must've been researching a spell for patients!"

"And she accidentally cast it!"

"What spell?" Akko asks. "Did she find a cancelation spell?" She takes the journal from them and begins scanning the pages. Diana's handwriting looks neater than the actual printed text in most of the official books.

Lotte peers over her shoulder.

"There! I think that's the spell she discovered."

"This? Nem... Nemco-"

"Shhh! Akko, don't say it! Or else you might put yourself to sleep too!"

"Oh, crap!" Akko clamps her mouth shut. Sucy pouts.

"Lotte, you should've let her say it. Would've been interesting."

"Hey, Sucy!"

"A-All right! Enough!" Barbara wails. "L-Let's just figure out how to cancel Diana's spell!"

"Looks like we'll need this." Hannah picks up the jar of plants and crystals. Lotte takes Diana's journal from Akko and looks over the page.

"It seems like a really complicated spell. Not just to say, but to cast... Only a witch with a very high level of skill can cast it. It's the same for most healing magics."

"Might just have to get the nurse after all, huh?" Sucy says.

"No way!" Akko huffs. "We'll cast it!"

Everyone is quiet for a moment. Lotte adjusts her glasses.

"We...?"

"How?" Hannah sighs. "None of us are as skilled in healing magic as Diana is."

"She's right," Barbara whimpers. "We might be better off telling the nurse after all..."

"We've gotta try!" Akko insists. "If all five of us chant the cancelation spell, we should be able to do it! My magic might not be the best, but it's improving! I'll definitely be able to give some power to the spell! Sucy has always been good with magic that involves plants, Lotte's great with sprites and stones, and though I hate to admit it, Hannah and Barbara actually have some pretty strong magic together. Guess that's what you get growing up with Diana."

The two of them seem like they're almost about to be offended, but opt to ignore Akko's annoying comment.

"So you want us all to cast the cancelation spell?"

"You really think that'll work?"

Akko shuffles her feet.

"Well... I think it's all we can do. We've gotta try. And if it doesn't work... well then I guess we'll have to ask someone else for help."

"But Akko," Lotte taps her shoulder. "Remember how difficult it was for you, Sucy and me to cast magic together? Joint spell-casting requires all participants' minds and hearts be linked. Do you really think we can do it with five people?"

Lotte and Sucy look doubtfully to Akko and then to Hannah and Barbara. They seem equally as skeptical.

But Akko won't have it.

"We can do it! We'll do it for Diana! If we can't, then how can we ever call ourselves her friends?"

Silence follows and lets the words sink in. To everyone's surprise, not even Sucy makes a backhanded comment. In fact, she speaks up first.

"Fine. I'm in. If only for the sake of spell experimentation."

"Sucy..." Lotte chides. "I'll do it, too. I don't want anything to happen to Diana."

Hannah and Barbara nod in agreement.

"We're in!"

"We'll definitely do it!"

Akko sweeps her gaze around to all of them.

"All right. Then let's do this!"

Akko carries Diana's journal with her and leads the group back to where their classmate is still asleep on her bed. Hannah and Barbara hold onto the jar, looking their teammate over fretfully. Lotte peers over Akko's shoulder to help decipher and pronounce the cancelation spell.

"Let's see... It looks like a complicated one... Ryllihyna... Vicinilli. I think that's how you say it."

"Ryllihyna Vicinilli... Okay, I think I got it. Everybody hear that?" The others nod. Akko lets out a breath and draws her wand. "Okay. Let's do this, you guys."

She offers her wand so everyone can reach out and put a hand on it. Hannah and Barbara hold out the jar so everyone can touch that as well.

They all squish together in the space beside Diana's bed, closing their eyes as they try to pool their magical energy into Akko's wand.

It takes a moment before they can feel each other's links and connect their own. It's all intangible and magically done, but they can sense each connection individually.

Even before anyone has breathed a word of the spell, there's already an aura forming around the wand. The leaves inside the jar begin to emit a calming aroma, and the crystals begin to twinkle softly.

Everyone takes a deep breath in unison, feeling themselves synching with the witches around them.

It's all a bit confusing at first, trying to decipher all of the different magical threads. But when they all really focus - when they remind themselves this is for Diana's sake - the concentration comes more easily.

It takes a moment, but when the time is right, they don't need to speak out loud to tell one another. Without any cue or signal, without so much as even a twitch of their hands, the five witches know exactly when to speak the words of the spell in perfect harmony.

Their voices of all different pitches and tones, some of which have never spoken in tandem before, now all harmonize on Diana's spell.

"Ryllihyna Vicinilli!"

The crystals and plants suddenly emit a stronger light, a stronger scent. A swirl of blue flows out from the tip of Akko's wand and then fans out once it comes into contact with the air.

The magic doesn't take the form of a spiral like most other spells do. Instead, it fans out into a mist of sorts, dusting the air where it had been aimed, floating slowly but surely over Diana's sleeping form.

The others peek their eyes open one by one to observe, their grips on the jar and the wand still tight and nervous. The blue mist seems to settle over Diana and dissolve gently, then vanishes altogether.

The others - mainly Hannah, Barbara, and Akko - wait in tense, worried silence.

Diana doesn't move, not anymore than the faint rise and fall of her chest, and for a moment they're about to give in to defeat.

But then she makes a small sound, one she hadn't made before in her state of slumber, not even when Hannah and Barbara had moved or tried to rouse her.

A small moan in the back of her throat is the first indication of their success. And then her eyes flutter open, tired and confused, as she makes sense of the ceiling.

There are gasps of joy and relief and disbelief as Hannah and Barbara hastily push the jar to Lotte for holding.

"D-Diana...?"

"Are you...?"

At the sound of her name, Diana turns her head to the side, and an expression of puzzlement immediately paints her features when she sees her unexpected guests. Akko quickly sheaths her wand, her eyes already sparkling as a huge smile spreads across her face.

"We did it!" She jumps forward and throws both arms around Diana, who had just been in the process of pushing herself up and now falls back onto the bed once again.

Hannah and Barbara take offense as Akko steals their thunder, sniffling and wiping their eyes as they cling onto one another. Lotte cradles the jar with a smile as Sucy peers curiously at the plants inside.

"I'm so glad!" Lotte says. "It really worked!"

"We did it!" Akko repeats, squeezing Diana even tighter. "We did it, Diana!"

And of course Diana is more confused than anything; by the fact that Akko and her team are here, by the fact that Akko is hugging her seemingly out of the blue, and by the fact that she herself feels like she's missed something.

After the initial shock has worn off, Diana gets ahold of herself and gently tries to pry Akko away.

"What... is the meaning of all this? Akko, why are you here? Girls, why are you crying?" Diana looks to her teammates who are still hugging each other, now bawling with relief.

"B-Because!" Barbara wails. "Because we were so worried!"

"You wouldn't wake up!" Hannah cries.

Diana reaches up to hold onto Akko's back in order to help sit herself up, then goes back to coaxing her away.

"I... wouldn't-?" Then a gasp. "The sleep spell..."

"Yeah!" Akko finally draws back enough to reveal her beaming grin, though she doesn't let go of Diana just yet. "Hannah and Barbara said you'd been studying and stuff and that you wouldn't wake up for over a day! So we all came here to try and figure out what was wrong, and we actually figured it out! We found your research and the cancelation spell and we actually managed to do it!"

Akko squeals in delight, both at having successfully completed the spell and at having Diana back. She leans forward and hugs her again. Diana winces a little but doesn't try to push her away anymore.

"You five... cast that spell together...?"

She says it as though it's difficult to believe, because even though their teams have begun to grow closer in recent weeks, they still have plenty of differences and squabbles.

But as she looks around to each of them in turn, there are smiles and nods all around, if only a casual shrug from Sucy.

"We're so glad..." Hannah sighs.

"We were so worried..." Barbara sniffles. "Hey, Akko, enough! You've had your turn!"

Both of them step forward to grab Akko by each shoulder and pull her off Diana with a yelp. Then they both collapse onto the edge of the bed, sit on either side of Diana, and throw their arms around her.

"Dianaaaaa!"

"You're back! You're finally awake!"

"G-Girls, please..." Diana wraps an arm around them each to steady them and herself. She's flustered, not only because of the fact that they have guests, but because they've all seen her in such an unbecoming state, put to sleep on accident by one of her own spells.

But no one else really seems to care about any of that. They're just glad to have her back. Judging by the magnitude of her teammates' reactions and the fact that Akko's group had somehow managed to get involved, Diana feels the need to inquire.

"For how long exactly... was I under the spell's effect?"

Her teammates sob in response.

"Nearly two whole days and nights!"

"You wouldn't wake up no matter what..."

"We were going to tell the professors-"

"-but then Akko overhead and..."

The rest explains itself. Diana looks up at Akko once again. The brunette chuckles sheepishly.

"Well, y'know... I didn't think you'd like it if we just ran straight to the professors with this and caused trouble. So I figured we should try to solve it ourselves. And it actually worked!"

"You know," Lotte says. "You've really got yourself to thank in the end, Diana. If you hadn't figured out and written down the cancelation spell yourself, we would've had to try and translate it ourselves, or we would've been forced to tell someone."

"Looked like complicated stuff," Sucy comments. Somehow Diana feels it was meant to be taken as a compliment. Even so she lets out a sigh.

"I was careless. I let myself get carried away and spoke the sleep spell within range of the plants and my wand..."

"Don't be upset!" Akko chirps. "Everything worked out in the end, right? And aren't you just glad to know both the spell and its counter really work? And you figured them all out on your own. That's incredible, Diana!"

As usual, Diana is never one to accept a compliment without argument.

"What's more incredible is that you five managed to figure everything out and cast the cancelation spell. Of course I don't mean that in a bad way," she says quickly. "Please take no offense when I say I'm surprised you all managed to cooperate. It was merely an unprecedented collaboration, but an impressive one."

"No offense taken at all!" Hannah says.

"We were surprised too," Barbara chuckles. "We never thought we'd be able to sync our magic with Akko."

"But it's like Akko said," Lotte puts in. "It probably wouldn't have worked if we'd only tried it with two or three of us. We needed all of our individual strengths combined for it."

"And it worked!" Akko squeals again. "It really worked!"

"Somehow," Sucy mutters.

"Hey!"

A soft laughter breaks out in the bedroom. Even Hannah and Barbara have stopped crying, though they still won't let go of Diana.

Diana feels a pleasant sensation filling her chest, a comfortable sort of warmth at the notion that these five had come together for her sake-

-and then a slight rumble that has her blushing red. Everyone else quiets down.

"Whoa," Akko says. "Diana, was that your stomach?!"

"Oh my gosh!" Hannah cries. "That's right! You haven't eaten in, like... days!"

"W-We brought some breakfast back, remember Hannah?"

"Right! Let's go bring it to her!"

The two of them release Diana and scurry away in a fluster to the living area to pick up the tray of food they'd brought back for her earlier this morning. Diana's cheeks only redden more as they place the food in her lap.

"Th-Thank you girls..."

"No need!"

"We're just glad you're okay now!" They both turn back to Akko's team and actually crack smiles. "Guess we have you guys to thank for that."

"Yeah. Thanks Akko, Lotte, Sucy."

The three girls seem surprised when they're thanked by name. Sucy merely shrugs it off.

"It was interesting. A good experiment."

"Geez, Sucy!" Lotte sighs. "She says that, but we're all really just glad that everything's okay now. But we should probably get going. We are sort of missing class..."

"Urgh... oh yeah..." Akko grumbles for a moment before perking right back up again. "But we're glad you're okay now, Diana! Make sure you eat and stuff before you come back to class! I'll take notes for you until then."

"What's this?" Hannah smirks and raises an eyebrow.

"Akko, taking notes?" Barbara sings. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Sh-Shut up! I'll do it for Diana cuz I know she'll be freaking out if she doesn't have the notes for a lecture..."

"It'll be a miracle if we can read them."

"Diana might have to research and translate your handwriting, too."

"Heeeyyy!"

But as Akko, Hannah and Barbara tease and taunt one another, Diana can't help but feel the warmth in her chest spreading until it manifests itself in a soft chuckle. Everyone stops and turns to her in surprise, but she just continues smiling.

"Thank you, all of you, for all the trouble. Akko, I look forward to deciphering your notes."

Her words seem to give Akko just the fuel she needs. Another smile spreads across the brunette's face.

"You can count on me! C'mon you guys, let's go back to class!"

"What's this?" Sucy snickers. "Akko wants to go to class?"

"A-Akko, wait up!" Lotte hastily puts down the jar she'd been holding onto Diana's desk, bows to the three of them, and then quickly scurries after her teammates.

Hannah and Barbara sigh and mutter about how hopeless they are before encouraging Diana to eat her food.

Diana smiles. She looks forward to Akko's notes.

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A/N: So this one only turned out half of how I wanted it to. Basically I'd wanted it to be longer, have the five of them deliberate a long time on Diana's research, but somehow it ended up being quicker.

I wanted to try writing a fic all about Diana, but where she doesn't do anything. Doing one where she got Sleeping Witch Syndrome would've called for multiple chapters and trying to imagine Diana's dreamworld, which would be a whole other story. I wanted to do this to explore Diana's healing magics, and to allow all five of the girls to work together for her sake, instead of just one or two of them running through her dreamworld.

Either way, I wrote this half a year ago and I just needed to finally edit and post it. I'm already working on the next (better) fic. Hope you enjoyed!