Sector LN, Part 3: She Tried

Sector LN

"Well, girls, first of all, I would like to congratulate you once again on your valiant expedition to Bobopolis." The Nine Witches were gathered before the main terminal as their Supreme Leader spoke to them. He was Numbuh 1,000 C, a gargoyle named Griffin Firecrystal. "It certainly makes up for the humiliation you endured against Sector V. (Not that I'm too upset about that!)" he whispered. "(It's about time someone told them what's what! That Chris kid stole, like, half my kills during the Viridi War!)"

"Is there anything else you wanted to speak to us about?" Diana asked.

"Yes, yes, ahem… Seeing as you've been on a good streak lately, I wanted to give you a new mission. One of our spies reported that Gruntilda was going to visit the capital of Disney Land later today. We don't know why or what she'll be doing, so I would like you girls to visit Disney Town and attempt to find out. As you may well know, Disney Town is considered a paradise for kidkind, so as Kids Next Door, it falls to us to protect such a paradise from anything Grunty might try to do. If she's up to anything criminal, do what you can to stop her, but don't do anything reckless."

"Understood, Numbuh 1,000 C." Diana replied. "We'll do our best." She ended transmission. "Sigh… okay, I know he just told us to go to Disney Land, but may I remind you girls we are on official business-" The minute she turned to them, all her teammates were dressed like Disney characters. "Can you at least wear your casual clothes, you look ridiculous!"

Barbara was wearing a Nick Wilde mask, but she frowned and took it off.

Disney Town

Disney Land was a country that spanned over numerous smaller kingdoms, ones that had existed for centuries, from Corona, the Dwarf Woodlands, Atlantica, and many more, and those kingdoms had not seen a day of war ever since. In the center of it all was Disney Town, one of the largest amusement parks in the known universe.

"OH BOOOOYYYY!" Atsuko screamed, her face shining as she danced on the central street. "We're actually in Disney Land! This is such a nice break after all that insanity yesterday!"

"Keep your voice down, Akko." Diana told her. "If Grunty or her cronies are here, she'll be trying to stay out of sight from operatives. We may not have been famous for long, but we can't take the chance. Split up and try to blend in with the crowds, and if any of you see Grunty, call us."

"You heard her, girls, search each and every one of these rides until we find her!" With that, Akko ran off with Lotte.

"Sigh… Hannah, Barbara, you're with me."

Sucy and Constanze went to visit the River of Love. The guard gave them a weird look before Sucy confirmed, "We're lesbians." The guard shrugged and let them on.

The boat ahead had an older couple about 18 years old, staring romantically as cupid fairies were dancing in a garden of hearts. Laser gunshots fired and blew the fairies' heads off. "AAAAHH!" the couple screamed and fainted.

Constanze lowered her smoking gun. "I could've sworn those things were venom-oozing monsters." Sucy said.

"Hmph." replied Constanze.

Team Diana had gone to watch an outdoor play, which was being performed by child actors who paid to go up. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

"This story never gets old!" Barbara said, hands folded.

"Just look at that hair! So pretty!" Hannah snapped a picture of the hair-climbing scene.

"Huh?!" The flash caused the Rapunzel actress's eyes to shrink. "WAA-AA-AAAAH!" She ended up falling and burying them both in hair.

"CHELSEA!" screamed the mother.

"Time to go, girls…" Diana said in embarrassment, quickly rushing them out. The sign read, Warning: Actress has sensitive eyes.

Amanda had purchased a bunch of corndogs that were tied to one stick, using her flaming hair to roast them. "Here, Jasminka! Search for Gruntilda inside these!"

"Okay, Amanda." The chubby witch began to munch them down to nothing. "Nope, don't see her, yet."

"Okay, then I'll buy more."

"Iiiit's a tiny uuuuniverse. Iiiit's a tiny uuuuniverse!" This was the song that rang throughout the Tour of the Universe attraction, being sung by kids of various races, who were in circles and holding hands. The center ring consisted of giants, the middle ring had normal sized humans, merkids, cheetah, and ogres, while the outer ring had tiny Minish, Kateenians, fairies, and Lilliputians. Families were happily exploring the museum of holographic stars and planets. And beyond all those stars were the godly gazing eyes of Akko and Lotte.

"Whoooaa. So tiny." Akko said in awe, her pupil hovering over every corner of the mini attraction. "But I don't see Gruntilda in there."

"Akko, don't touch it like that!"

"HEY, you girls can't be in here!" shouted the goblin guard.

"AAAH!" Akko and Lotte bolted, escaping from the dark-blue tent which contained the tiny attraction, panting after they got far enough. "You know, if Disney wanted to save space, can't they just cast a Pocket Space charm on a building? No need to shrink tourists down." Lotte said.

"Uwaaaaahh!" Akko gaped in excitement. "Look, Lotte! Brooms for Beginners!" She pointed at the entrance to a tower, the top of which had a diving platform where children were taking off on broomsticks. "With automated brooms!"

"Akko, those are only for children."

"No they're not! They're also for people who need special help. If I practice on one of their brooms, I'll get better at riding a real broom! Come on!" And she was quick to rush up there.

"But Akko, people will look at us weirdly… hmmmm." Sadly, Lotte had no choice but to follow her friend.

After about an hour of riding roller coasters and swinging pirate ships, the team decided to regroup in Town Square. "Any sign of Gruntilda?" Diana asked.

"Not really." Amanda answered, Jasminka eating a yellow cotton candy cloud. "I'm starting to think this was a trick to get us to go on vacation."

"It's a bit too early for Winter Break. And it seems Akko and Lotte are still searching. Hopefully, they didn't run into trouble."

"ATTENTION, girls of Disney Town! Please report to the Castle Grounds for a special announcement from His Majesty!"

"YAAAAAAAYYYY!" The park erupted with high screams as girls from all races stormed toward the castle, the Cheetahs making swift progress due to their speed, while the earth quaked under the footsteps of giants and ogres.

"This seems important." Diana observed. "Come, girls, we'd best attend."

Soon, nearly all the girls in town had gathered before the castle gates, taking fair-sized seats within the stands. Sector LN occupied the middle area, but their remaining two members were still unaccounted for. A humanoid black dog with a long face spoke into the microphone, "A-hyup-hyup! Okay, girls, put your hands together for the mouse you all came to see! The one, the only, the King of Disney Land!" Smoke erupted from the stage as a short figure with round ears was seen.

"Who's the leader of the Club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! MICKEY MOOOUSE! MICKEY MOOOUSE!" The mouse king blew kisses to his adoring fans; or rather, he blew hearts made of light, striking girls in the cheek as they screamed in utmost joy.

"I can't believe I used to idolize that guy." Amanda remarked, her feet propped up on the seat in front of her.

"The owner of 105 major corporations across the universe." Diana said with the slightest admiration. "And an estimated 80 billion employees. Which doesn't even include all the soldiers in the kingdoms he owns."

"To think there could ever be such a man who has it all." Hannah followed.

"Hoho! Thank you, ladies, thank you!" King Mickey began to his fans, settling them down. "I have an important announcement to make: tomorrow, we're releasing our newest product: real live Olafs created from actual enchanted snow!" His royal mage, Donald Duck, waved his staff and summoned the little snowman from a magic puff.

"Hi, everyone! I like warm hugs!"

"TEHEHEHEHEHE!" All their combined laughter was like an earsplitting ring.

"However, first we need to create the commercial, advertising our marvelous new product. And guess what: we've picked YOU as our lead actresses!"

"YAAAAAAAYYY!" Sector LN braced their selves for the ensuing earthquake.

"BUT… I'm afraid we can only take one of you."

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"And so, we will have a draw!" They all looked up when candy bars magically appeared over the stands. "You might wanna look down." Below each of them was a magic screen, displaying all the bars. "One of these chocolate bars is filled with Gold Syrup. Whichever lucky lady finds this syrup will have the honor of starring in the commercial-hoho. But you can only pick one, so choose wisely, and choose fast, or else it'll be taken. You have only one minute to choose your chocolate."

The countdown began, and all the girls skimmed each and every candybar looming over them, searching carefully for any subtle differences. "Hmmmm…" Jasminka was the most determined to find this Golden Syrup. "Sniff…sniff…sniff…" Oh! It's that one! I better get ready…

"Hey, check it out, Lotte!" Akko yelled, the two soaring over the stands on their broomsticks as the beginner gazed down intently. "I can see our friends! They look so small, I almost missed them. WHOA!" The broom whipped around and headed back. "Hang on, Broom, I wanna see what's up!"

"Akko, these brooms aren't allowed to fly this close to the castle." Lotte told her.

"Five…four…three…two…one… CHOOSE!"

Everyone's fingers slammed down on their designated chocolate, and Jasminka got the one she wanted. With that, all the candybars flew down to their people. "Alright, everyone: eat up."

There was enormous tension in this brief second, when all the girls chomped their candybars in half. Each of them looked at the rift afterwards, praying for results. …Jasminka gasped, seeing the golden ooze inside her bar. "I DID IIIIIT!" She stood and waved her bar proudly. The audience shared moans of disappointment.

As Jasminka stood basking in her victory, King Mickey gazed at her in worry. My, she's a big one, isn't she…

"Hey, I think Jasminka's won something!" Akko observed, still fighting with her broom. "Grrr, stupid broom. I just—wanna—see—huh?" She got upside-down. "WAAAAAHHH!"

"AKKO!" Lotte screamed as her friend took the plummet.

"Huh? What's that?" Diana asked, looking up.

"AAA-AAAH!" Hearing this, King Mickey looked up. "OOF!" And he was SMASHED under the strange weight. The audience burst into gasps.

"Ow… my head…" Akko groggily stood up. "Hm?" She stared confusedly at all the hundreds of people gazing wide-eyed at her. Diana's face had gone pale, her teammates giving equal expressions at Akko's biggest blunder ever. "Uhhh…" Akko looked down at what she landed on. "WAAAAAAHH!" It was King Mickey himself, his visage a daze. "K-K-King Mickey Mouse! I'm sorry!"

"Move aside!" Donald Duck demanded, pushing her off and casting a healing spell on his king.

"Oh, gosh…hoho." Mickey said, waking up dizzily. "Good gracious, I thought we outlawed anvils."

"N-No, Your Majesty… it was me." Akko spoke sheepishly. "I was flying, and I fell off by mistake."

"Ah…" Mickey observed the sheepish young witch, finding her demeanor and expression adorable. He smiled and replied, "Well, that's okay! Stuff falls on my head all the time-hoho! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"It's… Akko. Atsuko Kagari."

"Ahh…" Mickey turned to his fans and said, "Everyone, meet my new friend: Atsuko Kagari!"

"YAAAAAAAY!" Their feelings went from horror and worry to pure praise.

"Laaaa la la la, laaaa…" Sector LN looked up as Lotte was slowly descending beside them, humming a song so that the Wind Spirits would ensure her safe landing. "We didn't ruin anything, did we?"

"I'm… not sure…" Diana replied.

"Akko! Akkooooo!" Said girl looked as Jasminka waddled up on stage, holding her half-bitten bar. "Akko, I won the contest! I get to be in Disney's new commercial!"

"Really?! Well, congrats, Jasminka! I'm so proud of you! Hey, Your Majesty, Jasminka is a friend of mine! If she's gonna be in a commercial, do you think we could watch the recording? Our other friends?"

"Uhhh…" Mickey looked between the two girls. He couldn't help but notice how slimmer and more energetic Akko seemed than the actual winner. "Well, of course! In fact, I'll do you one better, Akko: since ya know how to make an entrance, YOU can be in the commercial, TOO-hoho!"

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" The audience was enraged by this change of rule.

"Aw, shucks, don't worry, girls! We'll have this contest again for our next commercial, and another two of you may see your dreams come true!"

"YAAAAAAAAYYYY!"

Disney Studios

"YAAAAAAY!" Akko cheered, showing off her new dress, which represented Anna from Frozen. "I can't believe we're actually working for Disney! I mean, me and Jasminka are, but it's like you guys are a part of it, too!"

"HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WE WERE ON A MISSION?!" Diana thundered with fire in her eyes. "Because of your reckless stunt, our cover could have been BLOWN! Grunty could have seen us from ten miles away and turned tail right then and there!"

"Come on, that mission wasn't going anywhere." Akko brushed her hand. "Oh! Speaking of going nowhere, where's Barbara?"

"Well, one of us had to act like we were doing something, so I sent Barbara into town to continue the search."

"Yeah, no way the rest of us are missing this!" Amanda smirked. "You look pretty cute, Jasminka."

"Thank you, Amanda." Jasminka blushed, shifting in her sparkly blue Elsa gown. "For once, I feel like a real princess, huhu."

"Places, everyone!" Queen Minnie Mouse ordered. "King Mickey wants to wrap this up before his meeting! Hurry up, hop to it!"

"Wish us luck, guys!" Akko said, going to join Jasminka.

"We're gonna be stars!" the Russian witch proclaimed with a pudgy smile.

Town Square

"Hooooh. I can't believe I don't get to see the recording." Barbara sighed in sadness, her eyes closed. "Well, whatever. Who wants to see Kagari be in a commercial, anyway?" She shrugged. "Let alone Jasminka. Diana shoulda won that contest, and it should just be me and her, while Hannah records us in all our glory—uek!" She bumped into someone. "Oops, I—YAAAH?!" She jumped back in fright, seeing it was a fat, man-sized bee.

Barbara recognized him as Capital B, and behind him was his boss: "What are you doing, little girl?!" Gruntilda asked. "Out of my way or you'll go for a whirl!"

"S-Sorry!" Barbara stepped aside, her heart racing. "I'm very sorry, Ma'am! Really…"

"Ehhhn." Capital B grunted as they resumed, with Barbara about-facing to go her own way. "What a disrespectful brat."

"And quite senseless, at that." Grunty faced her skull forward, using a cane to walk and keep up with her assistant.

Once they were far enough, Barbara glanced back at them, a sweatdrop trickling down her face. "Oh, God, did I just screw up the mission? It doesn't seem like they're suspicious. I have to get in closer. Metamorphie Faciesse!" Barbara cast her wand and transformed into a little black mouse, scampering after the two through a forest of legs. "Huff, huff, how does Kagari do this?" she panted. "These legs are so tiny. Squeak, squeak, squeak."

She managed to catch up to the overweight presidents, taking cover under Gruntilda's dress and between her feet. "Well, speak, Capital B: was she part of the KND?"

"I have a list of all the Avalaran operatives that were in Field Day." B replied, flipping through a clipboard. "I can't find her picture, so I'm not sure if she was one."

Me and Hannah didn't play in Field Day. I guess that was a good decision. Barbara thought.

"Perhaps it was just a simple tourist. Their idle behavior makes me pissed. At what o'clock shall we meet Mickey? The sight of this town makes me sickly."

They're here to meet King Mickey?

"We'll meet him at 2:00, at least 56 minutes from now. He said he would be recording a commercial around this time."

"Great, good, that I can last. I need his Vibranium, and fast."

Vibranium? That's a rare substance… I wouldn't be surprised if Mickey had some, but why would he give it to—"SQUEEEAAAK!" Barbara was stepped on in a misdirected step.

"Eh?" Grunty stepped off and looked down at the near-flattened mouse. "A little vermin, this town is a mess! Get out of here, you little pest!" She swung her cane and sent the mouse flying.

"Squeeeaaak!" She landed in a trashcan and changed back to normal. She peeped her banana-covered head out, seeing the two resume their walk. "Ugh… This mission really stinks."

Disney Studios

"Olaf Commercial, Take One: action!" Queen Minnie ordered.

"For the FIRST time in foreveeeerrr!" Akko and Jasminka danced in parallel fashion; Akko on the left and Jasminka on the right. "You can take Olaf home—WAH!" Akko tripped and fell on her bottom.

"You okay, Akko?" Jasminka asked, helping her up.

"CUT!" Minnie shouted. "Don't worry, mistakes happen. Let's try again, people."

"Yeah… let's try again." Akko said with a confident smile.

"For the FIRST time in foreveeeerrr! You can take O—laaah!" Jasminka fell this time.

"Akko, keep dancing!" Minnie ordered. "We'll just fix it in editing. Where you left off, come on."

"O-Okay. Olaf home with yoooouuu!"

"No, no good, you hesitated a little. Let's try again."

Hannah was recording the performance as the other six witches watched. "I'm kind of jealous that I couldn't be in it." Lotte said. "I think I have a pretty good voice. But I'm happy for Jasminka; she doesn't really get much action, you know?"

"Alright, new plan." Minnie decided impatiently. "We'll try recording them one at a time. Akko first, then Jasmine, we'll fix it in editing."

"It's Jasminka, Your Highness."

"Yes, yes, just wait over there for now."

"Okay. I'm getting hungry, anyway." Jasminka went to the concession stand, getting some chips and salsa.

"No, your dress will get messy!" Minnie yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I have to eat, or else my stomach hurts. Hey, do you have any cake?"

"Wouldn't you rather have some carrots?"

"No thanks. Cake is actually more healthy for me. It's hard to explain, but-"

"Fine, fine, eat whatever you want. Let's just finish this. Akko, Take 7!"

"Um, ahem… For the FIRST time in foreveeeerrr…!"

After a few more takes on Akko's part, they recorded Jasminka doing the dance. To everyone's surprise, Jasminka only had to do one take before Minnie declared, "And cut! Perfect! Nice dancing, Jasminka!"

"Um, are you sure?" she asked, catching her breath. "I couldn't jump or kick my legs up as high."

"Yeah, totally." Hannah agreed. "Compared to Akko's, her dance was atrocious."

"Relax, it was perfectly fine." Minnie assured. "Good job, girls, you really gave it your all this time! Unfortunately, King Mickey has asked us to do it again."

"What?" asked Akko.

"This time, we need you girls to switch positions and dresses. It's how we do things with our movies; we like to see if our actors look better on one side or the other side."

"Well, I don't know how showbiz works, so if you say so. Let's switch clothes, Jasminka."

"Oh, and someone clean those salsa stains off."

"Huh?" Jasminka looked confused. "Why didn't you clean them before I did my part?"

"We'll fix it in editing."

Sector LN sat through another recording session where Akko had to make the same maneuvers, except in the inverse. She stumbled a few more times and had to keep repeating, whereas Jasminka gave another sloppy performance, yet her first take was considered terrific. Once it was all done, King Mickey came up to greet them. "Great job, girls-hoho! You were both beautiful! It looks like we'll be adding new stars to our sky-hoho!"

"We're so glad!" Akko cheered. "This was a real honor, Your Majesty!"

"Oh, please, call me Mr. Mouse. Say, Akko, may I have a word with you for a moment?"

"Oh, certainly! Excuse us." she said to her friends.

"The fame's going to her head already." Diana could tell.

"I still don't think I did that good a job." Jasminka said.

"Relax, Jassy, you were great." Amanda patted her back in comfort. "Soon, everyone's gonna know who you are." (Play "Deep Affection" from Little Witch Academia.)

Mickey led Akko to the outside of the studio and toward the castle gates. "You know, Akko, I thought I've seen you somewhere before. You and that blonde-haired witch… you were the same ones who destroyed that missile, weren't you?"

"You mean you were watching that?!" Akko nearly gasped.

"Of course! You don't just destroy a missile threatening to demolish Appleton and not get seen on the news-hoho. For two young witches, it was the shiniest display of magic I've ever seen."

"Well, I have this to thank for that." Akko presented her prized possession. "It's the Shiny Rod! You must've heard of Shiny Chariot, right?"

"My word! That's one of the Ancient Wands, Claiomh Solais!" Mickey said in awe.

"Yeah, it's kind of funny: after we destroyed the missile, the Shiny Rod returned to the sky where it belonged. But then, when I woke up one morning, I found it in my bed, and I have no idea why." Akko faced up at the sky with a smile. "It's like… the Stars really wanted me to have it."

"Extraordinary. Its power doesn't compare to the Star Rod or Fairy's Tail, and yet… to have become a master of it is no small feat."

"Well, I'm not that much of a master. When I fell on you, that was my shabby attempt at riding a broom, hehe. In fact…" She nervously twisted the Shiny Rod in her hands. "The truth is, Mickey, I have Magic Deficiency. I have to work 10 times harder than all my friends to be able to keep up with them. If it wasn't for them, I never would have made it this far. Not to KND, not to Luna Nova, not anywhere."

"There's nothing more powerful or more valuable than friendship, remember that. I never would have made it this far without all my friends. And that's why you shouldn't feel bad for relying on them. Now… let me show you something, Akko." Mickey led her to some stairs, taking her to the platform above the castle gates. "What do you see?"

Akko had a magnificent view of Disney Town and all its joyous denizens and tourists. "I see lots of people, for one thing. There's a giant kid carrying some smaller kids around. That Fishkid is splashing a Cheetah from the fountain; they seem to be having fun though. I see a wheelchair girl; aww, she looks so happy."

"Exactly, Akko. So many people, living together in harmony. That's what Disney represents. And it's what I want, not just for my people, but for everyone! I know that I buy a lot of companies and unite a lot of kingdoms; you must've heard plenty of jokes about that-hoho."

"Heheh, it's true." Akko blushed.

"But I'm more than that, let me tell you. It isn't my dream to merely own everything. My dream, Akko, is to unite the universe. I want all peoples to live together, to play together, and be happy together. No competition, no war, and no hatred. That's what I want for everyone."

"That's exactly what I want, too! I mean, I didn't exactly have 'uniting the universe' in mind… but what I do want is to make people happy. I want to show the world, no—ALL the worlds what I can do and inspire them, the same way Chariot did!"

"You and I have the same dream, Akko. And you're the kind of girl that can make it happen." Mickey raised a hand and conjured a small Light Sphere. "Like me, your heart is full of light."

While no one could see, a flock of golden butterflies began to amass around Akko and Mickey, attracted by the radiant glow around them. "You see, Akko, people love a person like you. A true hero they can follow. That's what I try to be for my people. But if the two of us work together, we can achieve both our dreams. We can make everyone live happily ever after."

Akko couldn't believe what she was hearing. To think that just a year ago, she was Luna Nova's biggest screw-up… Now, the supposed most powerful king on the planet was asking her to work with him. "King Mickey… I'm honored… really, I am… but I couldn't. I'm part of a sector, in the Kids Next Door. I want to keep helping my team. After all they've done for me, I have to be able to help them."

"I understand. But you know, I've always admired your Kids Next Door." Mickey turned to his subjects, facing up at the sky. "The way you inspire others is simply breathtaking. In fact, you know something, Akko? There's a certain boy I planned to meet with later. I haven't called him yet; I'm a little shy about talking to him-hoho. I think I'll do it sometime tomorrow… this talk with you has really inspired me."

"What's his name?"

"His name is Cheren Uno. And I hear that the Kids Next Door refer to him as Everyone's Friend."

"Oh… He's Earth's leader, isn't he?"

"Yes. And I would love to become friends with him as well. But, there's no guarantee that I can. I'm just an adult, after all." He spoke sadly. "But even if I don't… I was glad to have met you, Akko." He faced up at her. "And I hope that you realize your dream someday. A girl like you can truly change the world."

Tears were welling in her eyes. Never had Akko felt so much hope and confidence until today. She bent down and embraced him in a hug. "Thank you, Mr. Mouse."

Mickey smiled sweetly and returned the hug. (End song.)

Sector LN; the next day

"Hurry up, Lotte, hurry uuuuuup!" Akko shook her legs up and down impatiently. "They're about to air the commercial!"

"I'm coming, Akko!" Lotte rushed into her seat with a drink and chips.

"I don't see why you're getting so worked up over this." Diana said. "It's just a silly commercial. It's not what I'd ask for in terms of publicity."

"Yeah, and how many commercials do you think Sector V has been in? Besides their cheesy rap video, that is."

"Hmmm…" Diana stroked her chin in thought. "I still wonder why Gruntilda wanted Vibranium. And why she expected King Mickey to give her some, no less. I can only hope she isn't threatening him."

"Please, how could anyone threaten King Mickey? Alright, it's starting! I can't wait to see how we look!"

"For the FIRST TIME in foreveeeerrr!" Akko and Jasminka rose from below the screen, dancing gracefully in their slender physiques as the product appeared from a burst of frosty magic. "You can take Olaf home with yoooouuu!"

"Awwww!" Akko's eyes sparkled. "Jasminka, look at us! We're so beautiful! …Jasminka?" She noticed that her friend was frowning, looking confused.

"…Why am I… skinny?"

Upon closer inspection, Jasminka's body in the commercial was much thinner than it actually was. "Huh… Yeah, you do look skinny. …Maybe it's just the TV?"

"WAIT, LOOK!" Hannah yelled, casting a spell to rewind the video and pause it in place. "Take a look!" For one frame, Jasminka's head had vanished, and now there were two Akkos. "Talk about an amateur editing mistake!"

"OH MY GOD!" Akko exclaimed. "Jasminka, that's MY body! They clipped your head over MY body from the second recording!"

"B-But… why would they do that?"

"We're gonna find out! Come on, team, we're going back to Disney Land!" Akko marched out of the base.

"Hmmmm…" Diana had grown more suspicious.

Disney Studio

"What the HELL is this?!" King Mickey shouted at his editors, pointing at the very same frame. "Do you know how suspicious this looks?! Those picky film critics on YouTube are gonna have a field day when they spot this-hoho! How do you expect people to take Disney seriously with silly mistakes like this?!"

"Why did we even need to do this?!" asked Seth MacFarlane in anger. "You shouldn't have hired a fat girl in the first place!"

"I was in front of the public, I had no choice! It was pure luck that Akko came along, let me tell you."

"Look, Your Majesty, no one's gonna mind." Seth Green assured him. "It's just one frame. I mean, it's not as bad as Mars Needs Moms, right?" he chuckled.

Mickey leapt up, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him down to his level. "We NEVER… speak of that movie… I thought we were clear on that, Green."

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Phew good, thank goodness-hoho." Mickey released him and began to leave. "No way Disney would make a movie like that-hoho. Now fix that commercial and get started with Season 40 of Family Guy-hoho!" He shut the door, and just after turning left- "Oh!" He ran into his two stars. "Well, hiya, ladies! Did you watch the commercial?"

"Um, yeah, we wanted to talk to you about that." Akko said. "We couldn't help but notice that… you kinda pasted Jasminka's head on my body."

"Is it because of the way I was dancing?" Jasminka asked. "Was I really that bad?"

"No no no, I didn't mind the dancing at all." Mickey replied. "The real issue, well, I'm not sure how to put it into words, but…" He scratched his head awkwardly, "the problem is you were too rotund."

Jasminka felt a knife graze her heart. "I'm too f-fat?"

"It's nothing against you personally, Jasminka. It's my viewers. Our fans LOVE Girl Power messages and model female protagonists. But the reason our ladies are so popular is because they capture the essence of a pure and respectable female, someone they should strive to be like. But in most places, being overweight is generally frowned upon, so if we had an overweight heroine, people would think Disney was trying to encourage obesity-hoho!"

"Are you saying Jasminka should be ashamed for being fat?!" Akko asked angrily.

"No no-hoho! We just don't want people to be too distracted by her weight to notice the beautiful side of her. After all, true beauty is on the inside, not the outside-hoho, and I was trying to embody her inner beauty-hoho."

"And that was reflected in the image of MY body?"

"That was just an easy way to save time and money. Look, ladies, hiding Jasminka's weight isn't a choice I would like to make, but it's the way things are. How many movies do you know have husky female heroes? How many famous female KND operatives are husky? Heck, ever wonder why no one clapped for Amethyst when she appeared at Comic Con? That's because girls want to be inspired, follow the examples set by strong and confident-looking female leads. It's okay to have overweight boys; their preferences work differently."

"But it just doesn't feel right. Sigh… what do you think, Jasminka?"

"Uh… I dunno. What do you think, Akko?"

"I think you should be the one to choose how they portray you. I mean, it's your body."

"Um… Well… if I'm being honest, Mr. Mouse… I agree that people should care about a person's inner beauty… but I would like people to know who I am on the outside, too. I want to feel pride in how I look. I can't really help that I'm fat, anyway. I have a disease that compels me to eat, or else I'll get extremely hungry."

"Sounds like something to see a doctor about."

"B-But I have, and they…oh…" Jasminka had the explanation on the tip of her tongue, but her sadness and hurt created a stir in her mind that prevented her from forming the words.

"Look, what does it matter?" Akko asked. "Jasminka's proud of who she is and isn't afraid of being judged by others. Isn't that inspiring enough?"

"Yes, everyone claims to have pride in what they do, even if it's playing videogames or browsing through fanart on the computer. 'Course, if one of my dancers was mindlessly staring at their phone the whole time, the audience would laugh and they wouldn't take us seriously. Don't you remember The Emoji Movie? The same applies here."

"Well, I think you should've asked us before making a decision like that!"

"Look, girls, do you think running a company this big is easy?" Mickey asked in a masked aggressive tone. "You think pride and Girl Power alone is gonna help me unite the universe? The only thing people want is to be happy, and nothing makes them happier than following their own ideals of perfect heroes. We may have masked your obesity, but it was a small price to pay to make even more people happy."

"Yeah, well what if people in real life know what Jasminka really looks like?! What if we go around and introduce her to all your fans?!"

"Uh, Akko…" Jasminka felt embarrassed by the idea.

"Go ahead. The commercial already aired, you'll just be humiliating yourself at that point. People will ignore you and just keep watching the 'other' you on the commercial. I'm sure you can relate to that, Akko; Chariot was a fraud, too, wasn't she?"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Akko grabbed the Shiny Rod and was about to smash him with it.

"NO, AKKO!" Jasminka grabbed the rod and restrained her. "Don't get yourself in trouble over me! Please!"

"Hurf!" Akko lowered her wand. "Fine! Then I demand you take the commercial down!"

"It's too late, people are already drawing fanart of you two. You realize you girls are making thousands of gems out of this deal, right? Put your weight problems aside and think about that."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this! Your Majesty, you told me you wanted to make everyone happy. So, why shouldn't you make my friend happy and show everyone how she really looks?"

"Oh, Jasminka's problem is a small one in the grand scheme of things. One day, she'll get over it on her own. I mean, compared to our dreams, Akko, do you really want to exhaust your energy over her little wish?"

". . . . Maybe you're right." Concealing terrific rage in her heart, Akko turned and walked out of the studio.

"Uh… Excuse me, Mr. Mouse." Jasminka said politely before following her.

Sector LN Base

"GRRRRR!" Amanda's head was on fire. "That damn mouse! I can't BELIEVE he hurt Jasminka's feelings like that!"

"Amanda, please calm down." Jasminka told her. "It isn't a big deal… really."

"Yes it is, Jasminka! For all we know, Mickey probably does that with everybody! I say we march up to his castle and pound some SENSE into him!" She fist-palmed and made a mini explosion.

"I know you're not serious." Diana remarked. "Or have you not been listening to anything I've said these past few days? We can't fight Gruntilda, we can't fight Queen Sherry, and since Mickey isn't even a criminal, there's no way we can challenge him without looking bad."

"You know what, I'm getting SICK of you, Diana!" Amanda stomped up and looked her dead in the eye. "You're nothing but a coward! You spent your WHOLE life being the top student, but the second someone BETTER comes along, you just want to hide in this little school where you're still the queen. Hell, the only reason we JOINED Kids Next Door is because AKKO wanted to, not YOU! She's the only one that gives us courage! I think SHE should be the leader! SHOW OF HANDS, guys!" Amanda shot her hand up. "Who wants to strip Diana of her title and make Akko the new leader?!"

However, no one else did. They were only staring at Amanda with saddened looks of disagreement. "…What? Not even you, Akko? You keep saying that you wanna be leader."

"Amanda, I'm flattered, but… I mean, when I hear it out loud, it feels like a lot of responsibility. I make too many mistakes, whereas Diana's more level-headed."

"But these past two days, we've been agreeing with your decisions, and they all worked out in the end! Heck, DIANA agreed with them."

"I know, but… it's the fact she agrees with them that I'm confident they can work."

"And right now, I don't agree with this one." Diana said. "As your leader, I order you to let this go, Amanda."

". . . Grrrrrrr." Amanda marched away. "If you need me, I'll be in the Sun Room." She tore open a metal door and slammed it shut, sealing herself in. "RRRRRRRRRRRRR!" The sides of the door ignited orange.

"She never waits for me to finish." Diana sighed once more. "So, Hannah, do you have the footage?"

"Right here." Hannah smiled, playing the meeting between Akko, Jasminka, and Mickey Mouse on her crystal ball.

"W-What?!" Akko gaped. "You mean you were… recording it?!"

"I anticipated something like this to happen," Diana explained, "so I minimized Hannah's camera and turned her into a fly so that she could spy on the meeting. I didn't bother to tell you girls because I didn't want you to look suspicious."

"I hate it when Diana turns us into bugs, though." Hannah wept. "Anyways, what do I do with this? Want me to post it on the Internet?"

"No. I was actually planning to show it to a certain group of people. However, I wanted to ask your permission first, you two."

"Our permission?" Jasminka asked.

"Yes. Not only because I know this was a sensitive moment for you, Jasminka… but keep in mind that, if I show these people the video… we may be making an enemy out of Mickey Mouse. So, I leave the decision up to you."

"…" Akko made a smile. "What kind of leader leaves a decision like that up to an idiot like me?"

"The same leader who appointed that idiot as her Vice-Leader."

"Then I say, go ahead and do it!"

"And you, Jasminka?"

"…" Her brows furrowed over her closed eyes. "Yes. I'm not ashamed."

"Okay." Diana said determinedly. "Here goes nothing."

About half an hour later, Jasminka stood near the Sun Room, listening as Amanda continued to exert her rage. The Russian bowed her head in guilt, knowing that Amanda was only being angry for her friend's sake.

"But Mom, I don't wanna go to Witch School." Amanda whined.

"After the way YOU'VE been behaving this year, you don't get to decide!" Amanda shrunk in fear of her mother's shouting. "You're the only other mage in our family, when grandpa dies, you're the only one who can inherit the business! Because if you don't, you won't be welcome in this house!"

…

"Hello, there." Jasminka greeted with a bubbly smile. "You must be my new roommate. My name is Jasminka. Would you like a chip?"

"I just wanna lie down, give it to the short chick." Amanda responded snarkily, going to plop down on the bottom bunk.

"Oh… okay."

The next night, Amanda was trying to rest and cool her mind, but was constantly bugged by Jasminka's crunching. "Ugh, will you STOP eating that stuff?!" Amanda swiped the bag of chips. "It's giving me a headache!"

"I-I'm sorry, Amanda. But I can't stop eating, or else I…"

"Or else what?"

"Mmm…" With great hesitation, Jasminka decided to tell her the truth.

"So… you really have no choice but to eat?" Amanda asked afterward. "Your hunger is really that bad?"

"Uh-huh… I'm a freak, aren't I?"

Amanda could tell this was a sensitive subject, and that she was probably ridiculed in the past about this. "I'm sorry, Jasminka." She got up and hugged the chubby witch. "If you really have to, you can keep eating. And if anyone picks on you, I'll beat 'em up."

"You don't have to do that, Amanda… but thanks." Jasminka cracked a sweet smile.

…

"Amanda, if you don't care about learning magic, why did you come to Luna Nova?"

"Because my parents forced me to." Amanda replied, using her wand to whirl a mini fireball around. "'You're lucky that Luna Nova would accept a brat like you. Now come back a respectable witch or don't come back at all.' Well, fuck them. Fuck this school and fuck magic."

"You really hate magic that much?"

"Except for the broom-riding part, it can all burn in hell."

"…Does that mean you hate us, too?"

Amanda looked over, her friend's pudgy face about to burst with tears. "I could never hate you, Jasminka." Amanda got up and hugged her. "You're someone I can rely on."

"I am?"

"Yeah. I feel like you're someone I can share all my feelings with. Someone I can be myself around."

"Aww…" Jasminka enveloped the slimmer witch in her strong arms. "I feel the same way about you, Amanda."

Finally, Amanda stepped out of the Sun Room, covered in sweat. "Oh, Jasminka. You, uh, been there long?"

"Not long. I just wanted to tell you… you don't have to get so angry over me, Amanda."

"Well, if I were in your shoes, I would be pretty angry. But you just aren't like that. You're too sweet to get angry. I guess I just felt like I had to do it for you. I couldn't stand it."

"You're a very kind friend, Amanda." Jasminka embraced her in her muscular arms, tightening the hug to emphasize her gratitude. "I feel so bad that I made you angry."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Jassy." Amanda hugged her chubby friend, blushing. "But if you are upset, I want you to at least take it out on me. I'm angry all the time, I can take it."

"I know, Amanda. But I think I'll just let Diana handle it from here."

"What do you mean?"

Disney Castle

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Chip the Chipmunk bounced in his control seat. "The Earth Moonbase has answered our call!"

"Well, whaddya waiting for? Bring him up-hoho!"

None other than Earth's Supreme Leader, Cheren Uno, displayed on the screen. "Hey, Mickey Mouse! Wow, when Larry said you were trying to call me, I thought he was crazy! Haha, wow!"

"Nice to meet ya, Cheren! I've heard a lot of great things about you-hoho! May I say, it's quite the honor."

"Heh, you're telling me." Cheren blushed. "Aren't you like the King of Avalar or something?"

"No, just part of it-hoho. But listen, Cheren, the reason I'm calling you is… well, I would like for us to be friends."

"I'm gonna have to say 'no.'"

"What? Haha, Cheren, don't get the wrong idea." Mickey blushed. "I'm not like Mr. Schnee. I was hoping to form a real alliance with you-hoho."

"Mr. Mouse, do you recognize this video?" With that, Cheren brought up the very clip of the meeting. Mickey's eyes popped out at the sight of it. "Apparently, you kinda hurt these girls' feelings."

"B-But they're not even your operatives, are they?"

"No, but they've become Sector V's new friends, and they were pretty mad at this, too. Naturally, this anger spread to me. Heh, it's nothing personal, Mickey, but I don't think an alliance would work. Anyways, can't stick around. Gotta go play Zelda." Transmission ended.

". . . . ." Mickey's mouth was left to hang open.

Luna Nova Cafeteria

"You showed it to the… Supreme Leaders?" Amanda asked in utter shock, the Nine Witches occupying a table.

"Only ours, along with GKND's leader, and Earth's leader, with the request that they only keep it known to the likes of the KND." Diana replied. "Seeing as King Mickey claimed he wanted to befriend Earth's leader, I knew he would attempt to try and buy his way into our ranks, in some way or another. And a popular figure like Mickey could easily do that… unless our Supreme Leaders had a glimpse of his darker side. From then on, the choice would be up to them. Before yesterday, I had no intent of doing that at all. But King Mickey hurt Jasminka's feelings. As the pride of Luna Nova, I detest anyone who tries to hurt my classmates."

"Whoa… I guess I did peg you wrong. But it doesn't really feel like it did much…"

"It may not now…" Diana closed her eyes, "but I can feel a storm brewing in Mickey's mind. After all, Amanda, you and I are arrogant people. We always want things to go our way, or else we'll get angry." She faced Amanda with a smirk. "And the higher a position you have, the worse the condition is."

". . . ." Slowly, Amanda's face cracked into a smirk. "I take it back, Diana. In your own way, you're pretty diabolical."

"Yes." Diana brushed her hair back. "In a way, I suppose you rubbed off on me. Hm?" She noticed that Amanda was holding a fist up. The girls looked in surprise, for it seemed Diana earned the right to an Amanda knuckle-touch. The heiress rolled her eyes and touched knuckles with her. "Khooooo!" Amanda made the explosion gesture. "Mmmmmm." Diana simply waved her hand, mimicking it in a less-enthusiastic way.

"The problem is they're probably still going to be airing that commercial for awhile." Akko said. "I don't know if I want Disney's money now."

"It doesn't matter." Jasminka said with a smile. "I'm just happy to have you all to support me. …I'm more worried about you, Akko. After hearing what Mickey said, that must've been pretty heartbreaking."

"It was, but… you're kind of used to it after the first time." Akko smiled weakly. "From now on, I think the only heroes I want to admire are you guys."

"Aww, always with the sweet sentiments from you." Amanda grinned. "I get it, Try Hard, don't worry: we'll protect you when King Mickey comes to kill you."

"Oh, don't be stupid. He might be mad, but I certainly don't think he's the vengeful type."

Disney Castle

"He…he…he said 'no' to me." Mickey stuttered, clasping his head. "He said 'no'… to me. Cheren Uno… Everyone's Friend… said 'no' to me. Uno…U…no… I-It was those witches." Their images throbbed in his mind: Akko, Jasminka… Akko, Jasminka… Akko… "They set this up… th-they're trying to make Disney look bad. Trying to make ME look bad! They tried to humiliate me… after I shared my feelings with her, she humiliated me… t-tried to… She tried…tried… She tried…"

Mickey inhaled a breath through his nose, and breathed out. He calmly went to his kitchen and began to brew some tea. The tea glimmered blue like a moon, and he sipped it. "Sniiiiff…aaaaahhh." His heart was at ease. "New Moon Tea. Yeah… she tried… but she failed." His smiling form brimmed an eerie blue in the darkness.

With that, Mickey went to his phone and dialed a number. "Hello? Gruntilda? It's me… Mickey… So, how much Vibranium did you need?"