Nova was frozen to the spot, a sense of dread coming over her. The hall was silent, the students unmoving. She started to move, to run back to the safety of their dormitory, but even as she turned, she saw Beatrice moving towards the nearest batch of students.

"Bee!"

"It's okay! They're alive," Beatrice said, half to comfort Nova and half to keep her own worries at bay. She pressed two fingers against the carotid artery of another student and found a slow, steady heartbeat. Every student, Ravensburl and Hawkswood alike, were breathing steadily. "I think they're just asleep."

"But all of them?" Nova said a bit too loudly, the panic clear in her voice. "All of them? Bee, everyone in the dining hall is the same!" The tech witch pointed, and from where they stood, they could see a large portion of the dining hall.

The scene was the same inside. Hundreds of students were slumped over in their seats or lying on the floor. Many seemed to have fallen asleep while eating, with forks still balanced in slack hands or hair having fallen into dishes while the student lay their head on the table. It was no different at the head of the dining hall, where the faculty tables were.

Hope and Grace had their arms folded under their heads on the table, Meowstaff was curled up beside a platter of tuna, and Arcturus was leaning back with his mouth open. Even the Hawkswood Headmaster was asleep at his chair, his hand still holding onto a cup of spilled coffee. And beside him, much to the young witches' horror, their Headmistress snoozed softly with a plate of pancakes in front of her, partially eaten.

"Headmistress!" Beatrice called out, but there was no answer. The two made their way to the faculty's table, carefully stepping over sleeping students. They passed by The Witches Three on the floor in a cuddle pile. Misha and Lana were at another table with a couple of Ravensburl boys, and Circe sat alone at an empty table, with only a glass of half-finished orange juice.

"She waited for us," The earth witch started, overcome with equal parts of regret and relief. She felt terrible to have made Circe wait, but if she and Nova didn't wake up so late, the same would have happened to them.

"She did, and look what happened," Nova echoed the sentiment. "But what did happen?"

"We need to wake the Headmistress at least." Beatrice forged on ahead towards the front of the dining hall. Once she got there, she put a hand on the Headmistress's shoulder and shook her. "Headmistress! Please, wake up! Hello?" No matter how much she shook or how much noise she made, the Headmistress would not wake. "I don't think even Beau could wake them!"

"Let me try. If this works, that would be great, but it would get me in trouble." The tech witch drew her phone out of her pocket and held it close to the exposed skin of the Headmistress's arm. A jolt of electricity arced from the phone and zapped the Headmistress squarely, but she didn't so much as flinch.

Nova withdrew, shaking her head. "I don't think we're going to be able to get through to them at all." She looked over at her roommate. "It has to be a high-level sleeping spell, right?"

"No..." Beatrice trailed off, deep in thought. As she looked around, her eyes fell on the Headmaster of Ravensburl, then the sleeping cat that wasn't five feet away from him. "It has to be a strong Lullabye draught. Remember how many plants pots were bare? Several dozens! That would be enough--"

"To put the entire school to sleep." Nova finished, eyes wide. "Then the argument with the lunch lady?"

Beatrice nodded, drawing her wand. The young druid held her wand in a cautious, ready spellcasting stance as she scanned the room. "Slipped the draught into the food for breakfast. And the Headmaster is asleep now, so the one we saw yesterday must have been an impostor."

"And Laurence isn't here either," Nova held her phone at the ready as well. "He tried to drug the entire school so he could get away with..."

The two witches' trains of thought were interrupted by the sound of a massive explosion, so strong that both of them flinched and staggered against the long table to brace. The students in the hall and nearest to the door were thrown to the opposite wall from the force of the explosion, but still, no one woke up.

"It came from the west hall!"

"The Necromancy classroom!"

Clutching their wands and hearts hammering in their chests, the two rushed out of the dining hall. Their movement was hampered by the students lying in their path that they didn't dare step on, but every second counted.

"I'll go ahead!" Nova said suddenly, nimbly jumping from table to table as sure-footed as a goat. She sped past Beatrice and turned at a run to rush towards the Necromancy classroom on the first floor.

"Nova, be careful!" Beatrice called out to her. She had every bit of faith in her roommate that she would be safe and take care of herself, but still, there was a worry that gripped her heart and sent chills down her spine as Nova rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. "Nova!"

Beatrice called out for the tech witch again once she cleared the dining hall herself and ran towards the west hall, but there was no answer. Dust hung thick in the air of the west hall, with broken rocks and chunks of metal strewn around. The earth witch slowed to a cautious walk as she approached, and as she took a step her foot hit something that gave her pause. Staring up at her from the floor was the broken head of the small raven statue that stood above the west hall's first entryway. Its small eyes were still and lifeless now.

A cold shiver ran down the earth witch's spine as a sense of dread came over her. Almost everyone in the school is asleep, unable to wake. No help would come for them even if they called. Maybe there was someone who was late to breakfast as well, but would they come here? Beatrice shook her head, she knew she couldn't wait around to see if anyone else was awake. Something or someone had likely broken through to the Necromancy classroom, and she had lost sight of Nova. She proceeded with caution, her wand out in a ready stance.

The first thing she noticed wasn't the Necromancy classroom, but the state of the room directly across from it: Abjuration. The heavy wooden door was hanging wide open, unlocked and without its usual locking spells. Peeking inside, the earth witch noticed one of the artifact display cases completely ransacked, with broken glass all over the floor.

"The Hand of Glory keeps those who are asleep still sleeping," Beatrice muttered to herself. It all made sense now. It wasn't just the Lullabye draught, it just put everyone to sleep. The Hand of Glory, likely stolen soon after the sleeping draught was administered, made sure that everyone it put to sleep would stay asleep and be unable to interfere with whatever came next.

With that same sense of dread, Beatrice turned towards the Necromancy classroom. The massive chain that had been magically embedded into the stone wall on either side of the door had been melted down the middle, both ends of it still glowing red-hot. The door itself was reduced to splinters, and the thick dust that hung in the air prevented a clear view of what was inside. Beatrice entered the classroom in a blind leap of faith, shielding her bespectacled eyes from the dust.

It was dark and oppressive inside the Necromancy classroom. Beatrice was sure she saw a gibbet hanging from the ceiling, thankfully empty. There were decorations made of skulls and bones everyone, making the space look more like an ossuary than a classroom. The myriad hollow eye sockets staring at her from every point in the room made her skin crawl. But it wasn't the sight of death that made her heart sink - it was Nova.

The tech witch stood dumbly beside Laurence, the gaunt professor looking incredibly smug with one hand on his hip and the other holding his wand at his side.

"Why, if it isn't the good Miss Beatrice Gaia!" Laurence said with a laugh. "You have been such a pain in my side, did you know? You're much too keen, too heroic. You just have to get in the way, constantly."

"Professor Laurence!" Beatrice held her wand at the ready. "Nova, what are you doing?!"

The tech witch stepped in front of Laurence and held her phone out, sending a crackling bolt of electricity Beatrice's way. She conjured a shield spell right away, just barely defending herself against the bolt. "Nova!"

Laurence laughed and held up a short length of a thick chain. The surface of the metal shone with a multi-colored sheen, like an oil slick on water. The longer Beatrice looked at it, the more entranced she became at the shifting colors. She shook her head and averted her gaze.

"I suppose you know what this is, then?" Laurence asked, his gaunt face pulled tight with a wicked grin. He twirled the chain around his finger, and Nova attacked again.

"The Damascus Chain! You've got Nova's soul," Beatrice gritted her teeth and fought back the tears she was surprised were forming. Looking into Nova's eyes, what was once lit up with mirth and mischief, soft and inviting, were now hollow and emotionless, a puppet on strings. "Let her go now!"

"Absolutely not!" Laurence laughed. "I would let go of the first-year Skeet-Shooting champion, just because you asked me to? My dear, sweet Beatrice, you are much too naive. Now get out of the way, I have much more to do."

"No," The defiance in the earth witch's voice surprised even herself. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and flicked her wand. A wall of vines erupted behind her, rapidly growing from between the stones of the floor and wall. It grew so thick that light coming in from the hallway was blocked off, leaving the three of them inside the dim Necromancy classroom. The skulls that lined the wall seemed to watch the young dryad's every move. "I won't let you out of here to take anyone else!" she cried, spells ready.

Nova didn't move. She stood stock still, with her phone ready, her eyes staring blankly, while Laurence burst into laughter behind her. He ran a hand through his thin hair. "Miss Beatrice, I really must commend you for your heroics! You really think you're doing something here, don't you? Blocking yourself in like a valiant last stand! The last bastion of defence, sacrificing yourself to save the students and staff!"

Beatrice blinked, the thunder knocked out of her. Still, she tried to maintain her composure and keep both Laurence and Nova within her sights. The professor started to walk around the room while her roommate stayed still.

"Don't think just because you won that fancy duel against Hawkswood, that you can really make a difference, Miss Beatrice." Laurance sneered. "You're just one witch. A student, at that. Still so young, naive, and foolish."

"I still won't let you get away from this room," Beatrice said, as stalwart as a tree. She let loose a stunning spell towards Laurence with as little movement to betray her actions as possible, but Nova's reflexes were too fast for her. The tech witch brought up a shield spell and easily deflected Beatrice's attack. The two stood at the ready again, with Beatrice tentatively testing Laurence's hold on Nova and what else Nova could do in this state.

"Such a shame, though, you would have made a better choice for a puppet if you weren't so easily distracted."

"What?"

Laurence laughed again. "If you weren't, you would have realized that I'm not really here."

"What!" Beatrice took a second to glance back at her vine wall, still intact, and that moment of distraction allowed Nova to loose a blast of electricity that struck Beatrice square in the chest. The young dryad cried out, electricity coursing through her in arcs of pain that left her clothes and hair smoking, but still, she held her ground once it passed.

"Impressive, but still stupid. Now you're stuck." Laurence laughed again. "Goodbye!"

As Beatrice looked on, the image of Laurence began to rapidly fade into nothing. The earth witch could have slapped herself right there; he was the Illusions teacher!

Beatrice was left trapped, by her own actions, with her roommate. She bit her lip as she thought, the possibilities and options available to her running through her mind. She had to track down Laurence and stop him from whatever he was planning, but with Nova, still under his control she could either hurt herself or others quite badly. That meant that Nova had to be subdued before she could bring down the vine wall.

"Nova, I'm so sorry," Beatrice started, her voice thick with genuine remorse. Facing Nova down like this was starkly different from how they sparred to prepare for the duel. During that time, the mood was light and playful. There was no intention to harm, only to test each other's skills. Now, as the earth witch watched, the look in Nova's eyes changed. From a dull, blank slate, the tech witch seemed to become focused, staring into Beatrice's eyes with a laser focus that was as eerie as it was cold.

Ever quick, Nova made the first move. She darted to the side, letting loose several quick bolts of electricity that shot jagged through the air. Beatrice barely had time to bring up another shield spell, Nova was so fast. Three bolts hit the shield, the last one shattering it from the force of the blow. Another one came for her head, and Beatrice shrieked as she threw herself to the floor to dodge it. Her hands hit the stone hard, and an idea came to her. Quickly she weaved a spell that lifted some of the stones off the floor and encased her in a half-dome of rock and earth. The bolts had no effect as they cracked against the stones and fizzled into nothing. As Beatrice took a breath to evaluate the situation, she cried out in shock and pain as a bolt found its way through a gap in the stone. The earth witch quickly used more earth to block up all the gaps and holes to ensure nothing can get in, and once she found herself sitting in complete darkness, she realized she could not rely on this shield.

By having to seal herself in, she will also run out of air. Outside, a harsh crackling and the whine of power building was loud enough to be audible even through the layers of dirt and stone. Beatrice's heart hammered in her chest as she struggled to think of a way out. There was no telling what Nova was really capable of, as they had only had friendly spars and basic lessons. Being under the influence of Laurence, she would attack with no holds barred for any reason, and could then unleash any number or strength of attacks that the young druid had never seen before. Panic started to set in as Beatrice started to think herself in circles.

The sound of power building outside the dome was only growing in power. Whatever it was, the earth witch was sure that it would blow apart her shelter, and her in it. But if it could destroy her stone and earth shield, it would easily go through the vine wall, and Nova, in this state, could go on to help Laurence wreak havoc. Beatrice shook her head, no, no, she had to stop that from happening. In any way possible, even if she had to put herself in harm's way to do so. There were hundreds of students outside, asleep and defenseless, even the Headmistress! And if she was the only one around to defend them, then by the Great Oak, she will.

Gritting her teeth, the young druid mustered up what power she could in her legs and sprang to the side just as the keening whine reached its peak. The earth and stone shield crumbled harmlessly as she moved, just in time for a beam of crackling, bright yellow lightning as wide around as a tree trunk blasted through where Beatrice and her shelter were and then into the vine wall behind her, leaving a gaping hole in the vines that smouldered at the edges. In shock, Beatrice looked up at Nova and saw her hands were outstretched, the heels of her hands pressed together. The tech witch slowly put her hands down to her sides and stared blankly again at Beatrice, tracking her movements.

The young druid swallowed dryly, she had no idea Nova was capable of that! She would have to be even more cautious than she thought, but still, she powered through her doubts. Holding her wand up, she raised it towards her roommate, and, just as she thought, Nova jumped out of the way. Beatrice pointed her wand where Nova would land, and just as the tech witch's feet hit the ground, vines erupted from between the stones and warped around her, holding her fast. Beatrice breathed a sigh of relief as Nova struggled, her arms pinned to her sides by the vines.

"I'm sorry, Nova, but you have to stay here, okay?" Beatrice looked on at her struggling roommate and felt her heart break. "I'll find a way to free you, I promise. Just don't forget me, okay?"

In response, Nova said nothing. The Asian witch only stared back at Beatrice blankly. As Beatrice turned away and dispelled what was left of the wall of vines to get back out to the hall, she heard a crackling of electricity behind her. Bright yellow electricity crackled all over Nova's form, arching and hissing and burning through the vines. She freed herself quickly and started to advance on the earth witch.