III.

"Hup!" Audrey immediately jumped back into the air, extending her arms and legs out as if she was swimming. They both have gotten changed, but the maid's mood was still sour.

"Audrey!" Madoka groaned, but the girl was drifting off into the sky. Does she not have any sense or desire for survival? The only thing she could hear besides the annoying girl was the thunder roiling within the black storm.

At least it wasn't the princess's.

A gust of wind made her shiver and Madoka directed her annoyance at its source. To her surprise, Audrey had oriented herself upright by blasting small puffs of Wind magic from her palms. Madoka could see the tiny needles burst from her magic, but not the Wind magic itself. Did the lack of color mean she was not using as much power? Or were they more powerful in order to make up for those tiny, yet precise adjustments?

"I can jet myself up to the first platform," Audrey looked up at a giant floating island. Madoka groaned. It was much higher up, making her nervous. She almost got flung into that storm, but it didn't seem to be pulling anything inside of it. "Dunno about you though. Or if you even want to join me."

Madoka scooped up a rock in her hand and tossed it gently. It sailed upward instead of sinking back down into her palm, suspended midair and twirling slowly in its levitation. We're going beyond this tiny thing, Madoka suppressed a sigh. She felt this way climbing the snow covered ridges of the mountains. Rocky islands sailed their way around the massive cloud, which was a lot further away in the pit's center than she originally thought. Up there, huh?

"See ya!" Audrey teased her. Her palms suddenly released a blast of air, propelling her higher. Madoka watched, feeling frustrated that she did not have a way to catch up. The girl disappeared momentarily as she jumped onto the floating island. Madoka squinted, catching the matted and dirty blonde hair peering down at her. She was shouting something, but the maid couldn't understand what her lips were saying. Audrey gave her an exasperated expression, while she simply shrugged. No, Madoka focused. She was reaching out to her? Is she— A wave of energy surged underneath her. Kind gods!

Madoka's world rushed to her head as a massive gust of wind blasted her skyward. Couldn't she wait for her to figure out how to launch herself up here? Tiny rocks and pieces of ice pecked at her skin as she aligned herself up right to land. Instead, she flailed and flipped over as Audrey's magic carried her above the edge of the cliff. Her stomach no longer flipped as she swayed gently, as if she was a feather. The descent was softer than she imagined though she knew she was never going to land as graceful like the princess. A pair of hands wrapped under her back and legs. She was being held?

Madoka realized she had her eyes shut, and Audrey's face greeted her from the grey sky when she opened them. She was not dreaming; she truly was in the arms of another. To be held as safe and somehow helpless like this granted her more warmth than the princess's small body, even if it was the magic shifting her weight around. Right, Madoka quickly wriggled out of Audrey's grasp and planted her feet on the island's dirt with crossed arms. They were on a floating rock orbiting a noiseless storm cloud.

"Aw," Audrey whined. "We coulda stayed like that for a little longer. It's not everyday I get to hold someone like that, y'know."

"Well, now what?" Madoka ignored her princess's remarks. She knew what was coming, but her gaze scaled the seemingly infinite heights above until her neck craned too hard. "How's your neck?"

"Wha—" Audrey felt her neck. It was still bruised! "Hurts like hell! But I'm ready to go, sarge!"

"Sarge?" Madoka questioned her. "I'm a squire, according to Commander Steel!"

"Who?" Audrey asked, but she refocused her attention to the floating islands. "I can yeet you up to uh, that one, but it's bound to get tricky the higher we go."

"The higher we go, huh?" Madoka spotted the next floating island. There were many that Audrey's finger could be pointing at, but one caught her eye. White flowers glittered among the grassy exterior, shining peacefully under the chaotic mess above. Where has she seen those flowers before? "Flowers, over there."

"Hmm," Audrey scanned where Madoka pointed, before catching the view of those white flowers. "Say, don't those look like the ones back in Tritips... Tri... Jan? Tri... something or another."

"Tritorjan," Madoka finished the princess's stuttering remark. "Where those goblins were... mass... calc..."

"Mass calcified. Turned to minerals and calcium," It was Audrey's turn to complete her sentence. The girl bumped into her, shoulder to shoulder. "So, quickly, did you find anything about yourself during the little battle we had? Besides the, heh, obvious."

Audrey felt her neck. Madoka noticed her palm still glowed with magic, but she couldn't feel the wind anywhere. Was she controlling the platform somehow? Why could she not just send this whole island up there?

"The fight was..." Madoka shifted with the platform. Those beautiful flowers still glimmered above her, shining their lonely lights. "I couldn't concentrate. Who could stand against that, Audrey? I should have used my Knotting magic earlier."

"Yeah, it seemed like you forgot your metal ball conjuration," Audrey conjured a bubble of water. "Not that I'm complaining. Those metal bombs of yours were already dangerous enough."

Madoka once again noticed that the bubble had tiny purple needles stabbing in and out of its surface. It floated lazily, near motionless, as she plucked at the needle. It seemed like her Knotting Strands worked with the strange magic. Be metal, the thought came to her. A sharp clang happened and then a thud shook her feet. Audrey nearly tripped trying to avoid what she did to the bubble.

"What in the bowling ball?" she yelped, clinging onto Madoka. The bubble transformed into a sphere of solid metal, similar to the spears of water she changed into swords.

The island rocked a little as the metal ball rolled its way off the edge and together the girls watched it sink into the depths below at an alarming speed. Madoka looked at her princess, though for some reason she felt a guilty pleasure in knocking things off the edge of surfaces anyways. Audrey quietly summoned a multitude of smaller bubbles and she immediately knew what to do. The needles showed like mist this time, and with a swish of her hand all of the tiny bubbles rattled and began to fall like raindrops. A chorus of dull thuds rushed off the edge, as they transformed into crystallized marbles. The "waterfall" continued for a while, and Madoka prayed to the kind god of the Leyline that no one was down in the bottom of that pit. If there was a bottom to it, she thought grimly.

"Well," Audrey stared down there. She seemed just as mesmerized by the metal baubles' descent like Madoka was. "I'm certain that will be useful later down the road. It seemed like you leveled up and gained a counter to my magic. On one hand, I'm jealous. On the other hand, I'm—"

"Don't say it again—"

"SUPER jealous," Audrey concluded. "Those bombs were really dangerous!"

"Forgive me," Madoka sighed. "I didn't know they would do that."

"Well, they apparently had enough damn kinetic energy leftover in them," the princess bemoaned. "Like mini god rods. Maybe those were higher up? Still heavy enough to create explosions, thanks to this place's warped magical field."

"Rods from... Gods?" Madoka asked tentatively. She did not even know where to begin imagining what those could be.

"Did you know? The philosophy of Rods from God is mainly how silly they are. Picture a big satellite, like a moon. Now picture it being able to drop giant, inert metal rods from orbit at the right trajectory that intersects a target, then add a big ol' boom when it hits," Audrey rambled on. "They were portrayed in Science Fiction novels as this all-powerful, dramatic and fatalistic final measure to an ongoing war. Most of the shows made them seem evil, but I think they're cool! Don't ask why! Scientists made a few of them in the 40s for the third world war, but the weapons were decommissioned because, like, could you imagine the cost of launching tungsten rods into space to reload its magazine! Madoka? You in there?"

Madoka shook her head out of her daydreaming once she heard her name.

"S-Sorry, I was rambling again about my world," Audrey wiped her hands off on her sleeve. "Don't know what made me do that."

"The explosions?"

"Yeah, that! Right, as I was saying, for bigger booms I recommend tungsten metal javelins for maximum velocity and energy conservation after they break into the atmosphere—" Audrey stopped herself. Thank the kind gods, Madoka groaned while the princess cleared her throat. "Anyways. For a moment, before I had to get out of the big explosion, it seemed almost like you had wings. Like Luxgor's."

"Oh," Madoka was hesitant to summon the crystal, but she was not sure why. "It came from my crystal, though I'm afraid I'll get tired if I try that again."

A lie, Madoka felt guilty. Why was she afraid of admitting that the voice was helping her?

Was it because she felt unease emanating from the crystal itself? Could it be alive inside of her? Madoka placed a hand over her core, but she heard nothing from the mysterious voice. Audrey studied the maid for a moment. Suddenly, she got an excited expression on her face and raised her finger, but then she fell silent again. Madoka refrained from expressing her annoyance, since she knew that the princess was trying to help her. Magic was her area of expertise, while the maid preferred anywhere else than here.

"Aha, Madoka!" Audrey blurted. "Those golden electric chain thingies of yours, those are the key!"

"Uh huh," Madoka said blankly. "Come again?"

"When you meditate, like we did in the forest," Audrey pointed at Madoka's heart, where the crystal was. She refrained from shivering. Fear? The voice was not speaking to her in Audrey's presence, making her wonder if the creature truly did consider her princess an enemy. "The crystal must absorb the Knotting magic like a battery. Er, grabbing those strands seemed to store more energy inside of it to use. And, ah, turn into a badass angel that nearly nuked me, but that's besides the point!"

"Audrey, I have no idea what you're saying," Madoka scanned the sky for that island of flowers and realized it was gone. "But we've been on this rock for a long time. Shall I meditate and try to summon the crystal again?"

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Audrey chanted. Madoka glanced at her in disbelief. She normally was not this carefree! The girl squeaked under her glare, but whispered her chant one more time. "Do it!"

Here goes, Madoka focused. Even if the Knotting Strands were scarce they still rose from the patches of dirt and rocks still left on this platform. She moved her arms in a swift motion, feeling the jolting sensation once more eventually gathering in a small storm above her palm. Now! She closed her fist and tried to feel where the electrified energy traveled. To her surprise, they flowed up her arms, through her shoulder and directly inside her chest. Audrey was right, once again. Still, the energy she felt from her meditation made her feel agile and ready.

I can help you.

Allow me.

I am ready.

Allow me!

So the crystal was gathering the Knotting strands within itself, Madoka felt the energy surging within her legs and feet. It helps me, but what is she giving it in return? A blast of Wind magic whipped her skin, interrupting her thoughts. The princess! She gawked at the fluttering traveling garbs and boots flapping in the air; the already small form of her slender body shrinking as she ascended towards an island higher up. Right, Madoka determined that she should allow the mystery voice to help her once more. If it was the crystal, she has already been using it and so far nothing bad has happened. Therefore, she must attend to her princess no matter what heights she must reach to do so! Madoka took aim, then squatted down and let the energy jolt through her legs once again. Her body felt free and the winds slapped her cheeks, but she was soaring in the air!

The island Audrey flew towards was quickly in her reach, but Madoka felt herself slow just enough to grab the ledge. Was this the work of the voice? Was it regulating how much Knotting magic she was using? The shadow of a hand extended towards her as she bumped into the island. Despite being a floating hunk of rock, the platform seemed lodged in a slow moving orbit regardless of any outside pressure she could have done to it. Madoka eyed the princess, kneeling over and offering help, but she ignored it and helped herself up despite the girl's pouting face afterwards.

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"Aw, I was hoping I could catch you again," she muttered. "So, you can use magic to do that, huh?"

"Do what?" Madoka asked. All she did was jump, right? Audrey gave her an exasperated look before pointing below at where she came from. "Oh."

The island she jumped off seemed transformed, with many pillars of dirt and stone formed from her Knotting Strands. Those electrical waves wrapped around the magical stone pillars. They seem like they suddenly sprouted from the flat surface, catching Madoka before launching her wherever she aimed. The whole island was covered in those pillars, like icicles gathering around one point. Audrey sighed again.

"Not only that, but also that."

Her finger shifted from the island to the surface below. As Madoka followed where she was pointing to, the clouds dispersed revealing what was left of the plains they were on; she could only gasp. There was nothing but a crater in one of the slices. This whole forest probably used to be whole, but now it reminded her of a dropped dinner plate with her in the center. There were still parts large enough to traverse and full of grass, but the one she landed was ruined the most. Ruts of dirt and debris scarred it inside out. Madoka caught a glimpse of the rest of the plains and noticed the clean lines scarring its land. That must be the one they started on for her training against Audrey's magic.

"I..." Madoka felt guilty for the destruction she wrought upon the Leyline's fractured lands.

"Heh, your little Rods from God almost got me," Audrey chuckled. The gray clouds parted ways and soon the sun emerged, painting a much brighter picture on the craters puncturing each shard of plains. "Look beyond the ruined lands, Madoka. Everything the light touches is our kingdom. A ruler's time rises and falls, like the sun... or something. I forgot the quote."

"Ruler..." Madoka mused. The idea of a Commoner, no less a slave like her, owning land was laughable. "I certainly will not be ruling any kingdoms."

"Well, you certainly have enough power to destroy them, that's for sure!" Audrey chirped. She suddenly became glum. "I can't imagine why he wanted to destroy the whole kingdom, when he was going to rule over it anyways. Fiara..."

She looked bitter, while Madoka felt even more guilty. They were travelers now, aimless and lost in the world with no home to go back to. Even worse, is that heavy loss of a brother. Even if he killed her, she could not fathom what losing a brother or sister could feel like. If she lost Audrey, she certainly would not...

"My Brother killed you," Audrey's voice grew dark. "And he was targeting me. I said that the Red String prophecy was bullshit back when Shadow mentioned the princesses, but how could he know? Brother was a fool, a pawn in a game setup a long time ago. Elise died already, so maybe the Red String in Fiara has already been cut, but who or what sent him to do it? And why would he throw away an entire kingdom if it was his to begin with? Perhaps evil simply is. A useless, unoriginal force that is nothing new and only desires to corrupt and destroy what is able to become new."

She raised her hand, but Madoka knew she was going to try and hit herself again so she snatched her wrist. Could she blame her? A lost kingdom she could not save, thrown away to a darkness she's heard in her own head. She must have been thinking over and over again all by herself. Madoka knew how Audrey ruminated. The hand resisted her grasp, but relaxed and soon was replaced by the girl's head against her shoulder.

"I'm here," she reassured the princess, patting her hair down. "Should you order it, we'll find out who caused the mess together."

"What we need to do is—"

The island rocked suddenly, but something kept her rooted to its surface. She caught a handful of her princess as the wind blew and the ground tilted, feeling her shins tingling. Of course, the crystal's magic kept her safe. Now she was the one holding her friend and princess. Something's huge frame bulged from within the swirling storm, unlike anything she has ever seen. Peeking through the dark cloud was the corpse of a metal creature, larger than even the dragon they defeated, yet the rust covering its shell in oranges and browns said it was far more ancient. Strange yellow spires jutted out on its oddly flat surface as it bulged out of the storm with a groan. It wasn't a beast, Madoka observed it fearfully as the top of its body flipped over. That strange sharpened triangle tip reminded her of a ship, a vehicle the maids gossiped about.

"No way," Audrey broke the silence. Madoka nearly forgot that she was holding her. The girl gripped her tightly, so she decided to not put her down yet.

"Is that from your world?"

"What is going on?" Audrey stared at it. More of its body emerged from below as its top end sank back into the darkness. "That's an old looking freighter, er, cargo ship from my world, yes. A big ship that carries boxes of stuff across the oceans."

"Across...?" Madoka could not fathom that concept. Oceans were legendary, full of dangerous gods according to some. Audrey tugged her sleeve, indicating that she wanted down. Another loud groan made them both cover their ears and the boat capsized, disappearing forever into the storm's embrace.

"Why do they call it cargo, if it's on a boat?" Audrey asked no one in particular. Despite her attempt at sounding nonchalant, her voice was shaky. The girl was nervous, probably because of the same reason Madoka was. "And why do they call deliveries from cars 'shipments?' It doesn't make any sense!"

"You don't make any sense," Madoka sighed, straightening her coat out and pulling up her boot's laces. "Are we going to continue up there or not?"

"Do you have enough mana– er, Knotting Strand thingies charged to go?" Audrey asked. The princess's eyes could detect something around her, but she knew it was not the Strands. She nodded instead. "An anomaly like that showing up can only mean one thing. We're in a Grotto situation right now. But I've never been on a ship, in both lives, so who's memories are we in right now?"

A chunk of a glacier swam through the air above them. Its ice was clear as day, pure and radiant, revealing a sinister creature within it. Another metal beast, Madoka could only assume it was also from Audrey's world. Those belts on its underbelly seemed like it belonged on land and the turret on its head had a large cannon extending out of the side of the ice. Though it was not alive, she assumed it would make a difficult challenge to kill if it was posted in a Guild Commission.

"A tank, huh," Audrey stared at it. Madoka knew it. This beast, this 'tank' was from her world. "Tanks were still used in Hall, still with a crew of four men and were a pain in the ass to deal with— Nevermind. Those bad boys could kill many innocent people without a sweat, even if they had weapons to destroy them."

She swore and said something under her breath. The icy rock drifted closer, revealing that the tank had a massive slash mark on the side of its armor. Instead of blood or whatever Madoka imagined a creature of steel would have, exposed wiring and the wheels tucked inside of the treads glistened in the gray sky. The gash mark looked like unfurled ribbons of cotton, probably wide enough for her to stick her head inside of it with plenty of room to spare. On second thought, Madoka cracked her neck. Headbutting a metal beast would not do a thing to it.

"What caused its wounds?" Madoka asked her princess.

"Wounds?" Audrey asked, but must have remembered Madoka had no idea what she was looking at. "Oh, right, it's a vehicle. People drive it from the inside. The AI inside of it is probably decades old, so you really couldn't classify it as alive, I guess. Depending on how you define life, the AI could technically qualify. As for that gash mark, because I can see your head about to explode. It reminds me of a... A friend of mine. Her name was Yoona. Never caught her family name. I don't know why, but I... ah..."

"Audrey?" Madoka finally stopped looking at the glacier and saw her princess wiping her eyes. She was crying! "I'm here for you."

Instead of accepting her sleeve, Audrey jerked away and waved her off.

"Sorry, I, uh," she sniffled. "I don't know why I got emotional there. We should move on up."

Just like that? Madoka wanted to ask, but the words stayed at the edge of her tongue and did not dive off into the air. She has never heard Audrey mention this Yoona person at all. In fact, of all these years she mentioned no one from her world by name. Was Yoona more special than she was? Could she be her first love, perhaps? Before she could grow bitter at such a ridiculous thought, a warm hand tugged at her shoulder and another pointed from the edge of her view at a rock beyond the frozen tank.

"There's an opening right there," Audrey's eyes glowed green, indicating that she was about to take off. "I want you to focus and make it, okay? If you can't, I'll try to save you."

Madoka gulped, but in her heart of hearts she knew she could make that jump even if the distance was greater than their previous liftoff. The voice in her head said they were ready. She nodded and without warning, Audrey launched herself hurriedly to the rock high above the glacier. Something felt off about her, Madoka watched her form get smaller and smaller as she ascended. Like the princess was once again pulling further away from her, out of her reach yet again. The last time she felt like this was back in the Grotto. What could these two places have in common? Was it truly the Gods' way of making her experience these odd anomalies, as Audrey called it?

"You're slipping away from me once again, Audrey," Madoka prayed under her breath. "I — I don't think I can catch you if you fall into the deep this time around. Therefore, I must..."

The crystal reacted, exiting her chest on its own accord. Be my wings, Madoka commanded it. At least she thought she ordered it, like the times she has made it into a broom. A rush of Knotting Strands wrapped around her back, electrifying her as she heard something flapping behind her. The golden wings, she wanted to reach out and grab one of its electric feathers but decided not to. With a mighty lift, the ground beneath her became a lot smaller as she soared through the air. Madoka realized that if she thought about what she observed Luxgor doing with his wings, she could copy it and fly around easier.

A great ascent.

I am with you.

Together, we will catch her.

Let us fly!

For once, she agreed. The wings flapped on their own, mixing in the air with a pulsing rhythmic symphony of gust and jolting electricity. If you're running from me, trying to sneak away from me, I shall catch you! Madoka growled, before letting out a laugh of freedom. Gods and grottos cannot step between this maid of yours, Audrey!

Once she flew up to her new platform, Audrey was already preparing herself to launch herself again. The princess stopped and gawked as Madoka floated above the platform, pushing the rocks and blades of grass aside. Even a snapped tree trunk melted within the wing's feathers, but Madoka pretended like she knew that would happen.

"You look... so badass!" Audrey chirped, but then she sighed. "Those are much cooler than Luxgor's wings anyways. Never understood why that dragon man has no way of actually growing wings... Anyways, I'm jealous, you're flexing on me, and that rock up there is the next stop. Catch me if you can!"

"Audrey, wait—" Madoka was already speaking to an empty spot teeming with Audrey's Wind magic. She wanted to explain herself, like Audrey revealed her honesty about the god calling her. She supposed it could wait. What does flexing even mean?

I will be with you.

Take flight.

Together, we will catch her.

Let us fly once more!

The race was on! As Madoka soared from one platform to the next, Audrey would simply leave and jump to another one. She was having fun once again, so long as she reminded herself not to look down or get too close to the silent black stormy cloud. Luckily, it was not pulling her inside unlike Audrey's storms. The sunset was coming up, she thought. The voice was telling her to rest and gather more Knotting Strands. The rubble swirling around the cloud seemed to be sparse now, no longer even colliding with her wings. She sighed. Even if she was having fun, she would never admit it.

Audrey was waiting for her, right? She looked past the raging gold ball of strands in her fist channeling down her wrist into her core. It was not the sunset that she was thinking about, it was the black hole revealing the Celestial Night Sky above. She watched the stars with her princess during those clear Winter nights. Magic and her body kept her warm, but even this high off the ground those same stars seemed just as far away from her as back then. There was one platform left and a familiar alien feeling coming upon her from it. More of those twisted, metal beasts were wrapped and embedded on the floating island's underbelly, frozen in place forever. They crawled on top of each other, crunching and piling up like the roots of a plucked weed.

Whatever Madoka hated in this world was nothing compared to the feelings of disgust she got when Audrey's world reared its head into her face.

An eye to the heavens awaits us.

One final push.

You can find me there.

Find us there.

I will be with you.

Even as I await your arrival.

"What about her?" Madoka blurted. When she spoke, sparks of Knotting magic left her lips. She realized that the crystal inside her was also allowing her to breathe this high up. Something, something, elevation, or something was what the girl told her about. A thought interrupted her own. Instead of the meek, quiet voice that's been speaking to her all morning, this one was warm and welcoming.

She awaits thee.

But she will not find what belongs to us.

Come, Madoka, Child of the Stars.

Come before us.

Let us fly together.

I have been waiting for you for a long, long time.