Safe And Sound

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU!

This is a major scene from Years Later AU, essentially what happens before the final battle against the Sorcerer. For those who don't know, it involves most of the main cast (who are all older at this time), and one of their students Seraphine. But this fic is mainly focused on Lotte and Sucy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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													Safe And Sound

The forest is in chaos.

The sky has been darkened by think fogs and clouds, making it difficult to see, especially amongst the tightly-packed trees.

Every animal, creature, and faerie that lives there is sent running for its life now in the wake of extreme violence.

Deep, deafening explosions shatter the air, as though volcanos are erupting. Wrathful, bellowing roars.

The gods themselves are at war, or so it would seem.

Even the most powerful witches of Luna Nova cannot interfere in this fight – not yet.

For now, Lotte stands at bay with them – Akko, Diana, Seraphine, Amanda and her friends, Hannah and Barbara, in addition to several others – terrified and in awe by the chaotic scene before them.

The Sorcerer himself – the figure to haunt all of their nightmares ever since his arrival here, his bony, chilling, dragon-like form rising up above the trees. An inky, blood-like substance drips continuously from his jaws and wings, though he is unharmed. Poison courses through him, poison that can kill most other beings - poison that had nearly taken the life of Luna Nova's own headmistress.

But despite his size and his toxic form, his opponent is even more massive than he is.

And she is the only known being who is immune to his poisons.

Except, perhaps, for her own mother, for she is a real god.

And being her eldest daughter, and Luna Nova's most skilled poisons expert on-record, Sucy has no fear in his presence.

She parts her jaws in a massive roar, lunging with claws outstretched, her wings blocking out the dark sky above them. The trees around them crash to the ground one by one, their claws split the earth, their roars shatter the air. Their fight is the embodiment of fury itself.

Like the others, Lotte can only stand back and watch from afar, which is still as close as she dares. Diana has cast a powerful barrier around them to keep debris away.

They long to interfere, to help Sucy, and to finish this fight once and for all.

But what can mere witches do in a battle of gods?

For now, they can only watch and pray.

Lotte's hands are clasped tightly against her chest, and the tears had already started to fall long ago. She's vaguely aware of Akko beside her, keeping one arm around Seraphine and the other around Lotte, telling her it's going to be all right.

"She's Sucy, remember?" Akko assures. "His poison can't even hurt her!"

"Y-Yes..." Lotte whispers. "But other things can..."

Another earth-shaking roar cracks open the air, and Lotte can't tell which dragon sounded it – perhaps both.

The warped body of the Sorcerer shoots across the forest like a shadow, screeching and lunging, his jaws aimed at Sucy's throat. But her thick, curled horns come down on him from above, colliding with his disfigured skull, forcing him back.

Lotte whimpers in relief, and Akko cheers.

Though the Sorcerer tries to pierce Sucy with his poison-filled tail, and even succeeds at times, she never shows any signs of being affected or bothered by the toxins.

The witches below notice Sucy's glowing green eye turn in their direction, ensuring they are all protected behind a barrier. Only then does she let out a mighty breath of her own toxins, equally as deadly as his.

The trees around her begin to rot in seconds, creating a clearing where the two beasts can fight without obstruction.

But with a mighty flap of his lanky wings, the Sorcerer clears the green mist, sending it directly back at Sucy. It doesn't affect her, but she uses its cover to charge once again.

This time his fangs clamp down on her horns and he wretches her to the side. Sucy angles her wings and beats them in order to regain her trajectory, pushing him back. He is forced to release his grip and slink to the side to avoid her.

This fight drags on for a long time.

Many times Sucy charges him.

Many time she misses.

And many times she doesn't.

But the worst part of it is that he lands as many blows on her as she does on him.

Lotte can hardly bear to watch, but she just can't look away. She needs to know what's happening to her best friend – to her wife.

"Sucy... Sucy..."

Her name is all Lotte can say in between gasps and cries of fear for her. Akko has to keep her up with how badly she's shaking.

"L-Lotte, take it easy! S-She'll be okay..."

But even Akko is getting worried now.

Sucy's size is her greatest advantage. But also her greatest weakness.

Even when the others shout warnings to her, she can't always move quickly enough to avoid the smaller, quicker Sorcerer.

The tide of the battle begins to turn, slowly but surely. He starts to land more blows than she does.

Sucy claws at him, lashing her tail to combat his. But he uses that opportunity to lunge onto her back. His jaws part, revealing skinny, sword-like teeth, aimed at the back of her neck.

Lotte screams at the top of her lungs.

"NO!"

It's her shriek that pushes Sucy into action. With a mighty heave, she flips herself over, planning to toss him off or crush him – whichever comes first.

The Sorcerer's claws cut deep as he tries to maintain a grip, though when he bites down his jaws miss the nape of her neck and tear into her shoulder blade instead.

Another roar shakes the air, causing the remaining trees to rattle.

Lotte knows which dragon made this sound. This is Sucy's voice.

"NO!"

She can't sit by and do nothing any longer. All at once, Lotte draws her wand and tears herself away from Akko, running straight towards the barrier Diana had cast to protect them. Lotte raises her wand and shouts.

"Revva tore!"

The barrier breaks, only for a second, and only enough for Lotte to slip out. The others scream for her, but she doesn't look back.

She just runs. Straight for the heart of this battle, this all-out war of monsters.

She runs across the upheaved chunks of earth, fallen trees, and bits of debris.

Scrambling, stumbling, slipping.

But she keeps pushing herself back up.

And she runs.

She won't stop until she's reached her.

With the Sorcerer still clinging to her back, Sucy heaves herself to one side, smashing both him and herself against the trees there. She can only roll so far, lest she expose her stomach. It's just enough to dislodge him, and he leaps back.

But Sucy is no fool. She knows that in the world of dragons and beasts, when an opponent is down, you do not simply give them time to recover. If she doesn't get back on her feet or into the air, she's as good as dead.

Using her tail to adjust her weight, she turns herself upright once again. But when she spreads her wings, she feels air cutting through her right one.

He'd torn it – shredded it.

She can't fly.

She's too big to dodge, so she can only charge headfirst toward him as he comes at her. At the last second, she rears back and swipes, a risky move that works in her favor as she knocks him aside, just for a second.

Perhaps the only second she needs to finish this.

She isn't about to waste it.

Sucy sets her gaze on him and drops her jaw.

One well-aimed bite could finish this.

But if she misses-

"Sucy!"

Everything comes crashing to a halt when she hears Lotte's small, petrified voice.

It's close.

Too close.

Only she could ever make Sucy lose her focus in such a dire situation.

But Sucy turns her head, taking her eyes off of her opponent to look back at the others. They're all still there.

Except for-

"Sucy!"

Lotte's voice is coming from nearby. When Sucy looks down, she spots her, struggling to make her way over a tree, nothing but a thin barrier to protect herself.

Sucy howls, but before she can react to Lotte, motion from her other side catches her eye. The Sorcerer rights himself and takes aim.

But not at Sucy.

With a furious hiss, Sucy leaps in front of her wife, shielding her with her own body. There's only enough time for her to spit out a brief stream of energy, but it does little in wake of his. The reddish glow of his attack pierces through the green of hers.

Sucy can only think to lower her head at the last second, allowing her strong horns to take the brunt of the blow. She hears Lotte screaming again.

"No! Sucy! Sucy!"

Lotte knows Sucy had just used herself as a shield.

/She's getting hurt more... because of me.../

"Sucy! Please stop!"

Lotte jumps down from the fallen tree trunk and continues running. She slips multiple times, over and over-

Until she finally reaches her.

Lotte throws herself up against Sucy's front leg, hugging the rough hard scales as tightly as she can.

"Sucy! Th-That's enough! Please stop-!"

Just as her pleas leave her mouth, a new wave of energy shoots across the forest. Diana has given the order to charge while the Sorcerer is down.

Now, all of the other witches come darting in on their brooms, using everything they've got against him, their strongest spells. They stick to formation and heed Diana's orders, and their initial ambush is enough to drive the Sorcerer back into the deeper parts of the forest.

Sucy growls. She longs to follow.

But...

"Please... don't... S-Sucy please... Th-The plan was to have you weaken him as much as you could and then we'd take over from there! S-So you've done your part! It's up to us now, Sucy! Please stop fighting..."

When Sucy looks down, she can barely see her.

Lotte is small. So small.

This tiny girl has thrown herself into the middle of a battle between monsters for her sake.

Sucy never thought she was deserving of such a pure, beautiful soul.

Lotte always thinks about her first, even before she thinks about herself.

Sucy truly doesn't deserve her. But it's nice to think that she might.

Therefore, the least she can do is listen to her, and give Lotte the only thing she's ever asked of her.

"Please... stop... don't go..."

So Sucy listens.

As the adrenaline begins to drain away, so too does her form.

Slowly, Sucy reverts back to human form, shrinking down until she is Lotte's size.

Lotte weeps and clings to her all the while, feeling as the hard scales turn to soft flesh and clothes.

When she next looks up, she sees Sucy.

The Sucy she'd gone to school with many years earlier.

The Sucy who can smile and hold her in return.

Lotte weeps in relief, crying harder than she's ever cried before. The sobs wrack her body, so badly that she nearly collapses.

But even despite all she's been through, Sucy keeps her up.

Sucy is her support. Sucy is her protector.

"Lotte..."

Hearing her voice is what finalizes this as reality. Lotte hides herself in Sucy's shoulder and cries, clinging to her.

It feels like an eternity passes. She doesn't know what's happening to the others, if they're all right or not, if she should go after them...

But all thoughts of following them are banished from her mind the second she hears Sucy's voice again.

"Lo...tte..."

It's a rasp thicker than her usual tone.

It's thin. Weak. And then-

"Sorry..."

"...Eh?"

Lotte lifts her face just as Sucy slumps against her. Her entire weight is in Lotte's arms now, and Lotte can't hold her up.

Dropping to her knees, she frantically pulls herself back as much as she can without letting her go.

"Sucy?! Su-"

She chokes.

She hadn't noticed until now.

How... could she not have noticed...?

The reason she'd slipped so many times...

Blood.

It drenches Sucy's back and all down her legs, pooling into the soil below. It soaks through her clothes, making them heavy, leaking out, pouring out. There's so much-

"S-Sucy?! Sucy!"

She'd been so focused on reaching her, on making her stop fighting. She hadn't even noticed.

The stench of so much blood nauseates her instantly, but even more painful than that is the knowledge that Sucy is dying in her arms.

Lotte scrambles for her wand, shaking so badly she nearly drops it. She can't think. She can't remember the words-

"S-Sucy? Sucy...?"

Her wife's good eye has fallen shut, and she's barely moving anymore. Though what she is managing is more instinctual than anything else. Sucy's body has been conditioned to lie on her stomach to protect the soft flesh of her throat. Even as a human, the same instincts still kick in.

Lotte can't even see any of the colors of her clothes anymore.

It's all just red. Her own hands are too.

The creases of her palms are wet and dripping with it, and more is leaking onto her lap by the second.

Lotte drapes her arms over her wife's back, trying to apply pressure onto the worst of the wounds. She can see where his claws had pierced through her flesh, cutting deep into her shoulder blade, enough to expose bone. Her tears drip down heavily, mixing and seeping into her wife's bloodied clothes.

Lotte can't feel anything other than numbness and terror. But somehow, she forces herself to remember the spell.

"L-Lyana Heane."

She wishes that saying it multiple times would strengthen the magics and heal the wounds more and more quickly. But the magic can only do so much. It can only mend the wound to a certain degree.

But it isn't enough.

Sucy needs stronger magics to save her life.

Lotte isn't that powerful a witch. She just runs a humble shop inherited from her parents. She doesn't have the abilities to heal this kind of wound.

"N-No... Please no..."

Gently – so gently – Lotte lifts her wife into her arms.

She's always been pale, but now... there's no pallor to her skin at all. It's not even white. It is ashen, almost grey.

Lotte can't do anything else for her. She can only hold her close.

"No... Sucy... Sucy..."

She can't stop crying. She can barely get the words out anymore.

"Please... p-please don't die... e-even if Akko and the others win I... I don't want to... to live without you... in a world where you aren't here... Sucy... please don't die... please don't leave me..."

Prayers are all she has left. She can't feel Sucy's pulse. She can't even feel her breathing. She'd stopped moving a while ago.

Lotte refuses to acknowledge the reality that longs to look her in the face.

"No... N-No..."

And then, a distant sound in the forest that had grown quiet. Terrified, Lotte looks back.

Part of her fears it is the Sorcerer.

But part of her wants it to be. She wishes he'd kill her too...

But-

"Lotte!"

Akko screams her name as several figures come flying toward her now. Lotte can just barely make out their faces, trying to count to see if anyone's missing.

But they're all here. Somehow. Which means-

But they too, are low on energy. Most of their brooms come down several yards shy of Lotte, and they're all forced to run the rest of the way. When they're finally near enough, Lotte can see they're wounded and covered in injuries as well, save for Seraphine whom all the older witches had protected.

"Lotte! Sucy!" Akko drops to her knees, her eyes wide with terror at the sight of her old friend. "Sucy! Sucy?! Diana! Can you heal her?"

"My wand is nearly depleted-"

"Mine too-"

Lotte whimpers as more and more voices agree to the statement. For even Diana to not have any magic left-

But then-

"Here!" Amanda's voice calls out and a broom clatters to the ground beside Lotte. There's a fair amount of charge left. Lotte looks up to her old friend past the tears. Amanda nods. "There's enough to get you back to the school. Go, Lotte."

Lotte trembles as she picks up the broom.

"B-But I've never been a fast flier. I-It would be best if Diana-"

But no sooner than the headmistress' name is out of her lips than Diana sways, wincing at a pain in her temple. Her white hair is matted with blood. Akko quickly stands up to catch her wife, keeping her on her feet.

Lotte wipes her eyes and looks to Amanda, but she's unable to stand without Constanze and Jasminka to support her. Akko turns back to her old friend with tears in her eyes.

"Lotte! It's gotta be you! Go!"

Lotte doesn't waste another second. Keeping Sucy in her arms, she steps over the broom's handle and casts the spell.

"Tia Freyre!"

The broom shoots off through the forest, and it's all Lotte can do to keep ahold of it with one hand and press Sucy close to her chest with the other.

"Hang on, Sucy... J-Just hang on... please... oh, please..."

Her sprite peeks out from her pocket and carefully crawls over to Sucy, holding on against the wind. Lotte glances down at him beseechingly.

"Please! Cauterize her wound!"

The sprite squeaks and begins sharing its flame, doing all it can.

Lotte crouches low and flies faster than she's ever flown before.

This is the only thing she can do. She couldn't fight the Sorcerer. She isn't a demigod like Sucy. She isn't even a strong with like Akko and the others. She just runs a humble little magic repair shop.

All she can do is fly Sucy back to Luna Nova and hope she isn't too late.

It feels like an eon before she gets there. More experienced witches and healers are waiting for her. She hands Sucy over to them and falls to her knees.

"Please... take her..."

A few of the healers take their brooms and fly out to where the others are back in the forest as per Lotte's instructions. But she doesn't linger out here to wait for the others. She knows they'll be all right.

Lotte staggers to her feet and follows them inside to where Sucy is already being treated. They lie her on her side on a bed, frantically shouting orders and casting spells.

Sucy doesn't move. She doesn't make a sound. She doesn't even try to lie on her stomach like before.

Lotte alternates between wiping her tears and whimpering to the nurses.

"Please... please let me..."

Her voice keeps wavering. No one is listening to her.

But she knows that the magic cast by a lover or partner is stronger than anyone else's. She has to help Sucy.

Therefore she requests – no, demands to heal her wife as well.

"Let me help her!"

It's the fiercest anyone's ever heard her sound.

Therefore, after pouring in all they can to heal Sucy, the other witches step back.

Lotte ignores her tears now as she lays her wand over Sucy's mangled shoulder blade. There's still blood leaking onto the bedsheets, which means it's still flowing. Which means her heart is still pumping.

Now that she's within range of the Stone again, she can cast the strongest healing spell she knows.

"Tannu Iendenor!"

Light and warmth flood the room. Several more sprites flutter in and share their powers, amplifying the effects of the spell.

Lotte pours everything she has into this spell. She can feel the magic surging forth, stitching Sucy's skin back together, repairing the damaged muscles and tissues underneath. Her hands are already covered in a fresh layer of blood, but she doesn't stop.

/Sucy.../

She's seen this before. Any moment now, Sucy is going to open her eye.

/Sucy... please.../

Any second now...

/Sucy...?/

But her eye remains closed.

She doesn't move.

/Sucy...?!/

She isn't breathing-

"SUCY!"

"Lotte!"

"Ah-!"

All at once Lotte's eyes fly open and she shoots up in bed, hugging herself. The memories of that day are still so fresh in her mind. She'd relived every second of that final battle just now. Her stomach is twisting and burning. She feels like she's about to throw up-

"Lotte!"

Again, a familiar voice calls her name from close by. Lotte lifts her face, looking past the tears and the darkness. She squints, and it registers in her mind that she doesn't have her glasses. But the image before her is clear now.

Sucy is sitting up in bed right there next to her. Her hands are firm on Lotte's shoulders, her gaze stern, her voice clear.

"Lotte, it was a dream."

"E-Eh...?"

"You were just remembering it. It's not real. It's over."

Sucy doesn't need to ask in order to know exactly what Lotte had been haunted by in her sleep. It had only been a few weeks since Seraphine had defeated the Sorcerer. Memories of that final battle are still molesting all of their dreams. Some more than others.

Lotte's tears drip limply from her eyes. She doesn't blink for a long moment, trying to comprehend it all. She can feel Sucy's hands on her shoulders, see her right in front of her, hear her voice.

/It was... just a dream.../

It had all happened. All of it had once been real. Only in the end Sucy had woken up.

And she's here now. She's here and she's alive.

"Sucy..." Lotte's voice cracks, crumbles. "Sucyyy..." She lifts her shaking arms, her fingers quivering as they brush against Sucy's shoulders and sides, curling until they make purchase on her nightgown. "Sucy... Sucy..." Lotte falls forward into her wife's arms, collapsing softly against her chest. Sucy holds her like she's never held her before.

"It's okay, Lotte. It's over."

Sick with fear and relief, Lotte sobs.

It's a heartbreaking sound, the only sound that's ever unnerved Sucy in such a way. Even back when they were younger, she'd never been able to bear the sounds of Lotte crying. That hasn't changed over the years.

It makes her angry at whatever had caused her to become this upset. But it also makes her oddly calm – protective. Rather than hunt down the cause of Lotte's distress, Sucy stays with her to help her through it.

"Lotte."

She'd never been one for comfort or close physical contact. Only with Lotte. But even still, she doesn't always know what to say.

So she simply holds her close, resting her chin on Lotte's shoulder, letting her feel for herself that she's really there.

Lotte hiccups against her. Gradually, one of her trembling hands makes its way to Sucy's collar, resting over her chest. Her pulse has always been rather slow, perhaps because of her other form. Lotte isn't really sure. But she can feel it for herself now, the singular beats flitting beneath Sucy's chest.

Thmp... thmp... thmp...

Once she's certain it's real, Lotte uses both hands to hug around her back again. Her fingers trace softly over Sucy's right shoulder blade.

Beneath the fabrics of her nightgown, she can feel where the skin and muscle suddenly sink down, the indent of the scar from where she'd been attacked. It is a long fissure down the side of her back, deepest at the top where enough tissue hadn't been salvaged in order to heal properly.

Lotte covers as much of the wound as she can, wishing it would disappear...

At the very least, it isn't bleeding anymore. She can no longer smell blood like she had in her nightmare.

All she can smell now is Sucy. Her scent is a little sharp, a little tangy, like leaves and incense. It's enough to finally put Lotte's mind at ease.

"Sucy..."

And although Sucy isn't usually one for much affection, she'll never deny it to Lotte when she really needs it.

She keeps her arms around her wife for a moment longer, then slowly eases back. There's a kind smile on her lips, one that's reserved for Lotte alone. Sucy even leans in to kiss her cheek.

The tears have finally stopped. Lotte sighs and giggles softly.

"It's over," she whispers.

Sucy nods.

"Yeah."

Lotte reciprocates and kisses Sucy's opposite cheek sweetly.

"You're okay, Sucy..."

"That's what I've been saying. Are you?"

Lotte sniffles and wipes her eyes again, but there's a smile on her face now.

"Yes."

Sucy reaches out to stroke a few fingers through her wife's thick, ruffled hair.

"Good to hear."

"I didn't wake the baby, did I?"

Sucy casts her gaze briefly to the door across the hallway.

"She's fine."

"Okay."

Lotte lets out another long breath and lifts her face. Despite the fact that they are married and have a child together, she shyly lifts her arms, silently requesting another hug.

Sucy doesn't hesitate to pull her back in.

She lays them both down on their sides, facing one another, keeping Lotte against her chest. Sucy drapes both arms around her protectively. Unlike most dragons that hoard multiples of one thing, she only has a few treasures.

A low, contented sigh rises up in her stomach and fans out over Lotte's back.

Lotte hugs her wife a little tighter and snuggles into her collar.

She knows she's safe here, in her arms.

And Sucy is safe in hers.

Quietly, they drift back off to sleep together, in a world they themselves had helped make safer.

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A/N: I tried not to include too much info that might otherwise confuse people who aren't familiar with the AU or the OCs. I hope it worked out that everyone could still comprehend what was happening.

Their baby's name is Chantarelle by the way. You can find more about her on Neon's blog~