III.

The air was hard to breathe. Despite her head feeling light, Madoka stood behind her princess.

Audrey looked to the odd object on the side next to the door. A padlock? The maid would smash the door down but the idea of desecrating her princess's holy birthplace appalled her. The padlock suddenly chirped and flashed red when Audrey tapped it.

"I doubt it will verify my fingerprint," Audrey contemplated in a quiet voice. "But if my magic doesn't work here... Maybe..."

"I can smash the door down?" Madoka offered. Audrey looked at her with a slight disbelief.

"N-No, it's not that. He could be in there," Audrey stopped her but her face paled. Madoka's feelings darkened. She meant her other father. The one that killed her. "I— I didn't see his truck in the driveway. And the garage is full of his mess so there's no way its parked inside... But if he's somehow here... in this odd dungeon..."

"I could smash him to pieces too!" Madoka's hand gripped her sword tightly. She would destroy anyone who caused her harm. Especially the one who murdered her princess.

"I think he wouldn't recognize me," Audrey eased Madoka by placing a hand on hers. "Now that I look different and all. O-On second thought, m-maybe we shouldn't go in here."

"I'm with you," Madoka affirmed her. "This time you're not alone."

Audrey looked at her and then she silently prepared herself. Madoka watched her check the padlock again before she pressed several odd buttons on it in a pattern. It emitted high pitched sounds at each press when a clunk from the door itself startled the maid. There was no telling what she just unlocked.

Audrey nodded and opened the door. Madoka hesitated - she wanted to go in first just in case hostile entities were waiting for her but the princess was not fazed. Immediately the air changed again as a musty scent invaded her nostril. The smell of rotten paper wrapped Madoka's face before she saw the true horror behind the slowly opening door.

There were stacks of brown moldy paper piling up ceiling high. A narrow hall bordered by squalid scrolls and dust caked floors from only the kind gods knew greeted her. Madoka retched from the abominable sight. Something dark scuttled quickly across the floor into a black bag, startling her. There were multiple black bags squashed together in the corners of the room, teeming with those creatures. She did not hear its thoughts? She immediately drew her sword and prepared for anything inside this wretched place.

"Are you alright?" Audrey asked her.

"Y-You!" Madoka struggled to breathe. Her vision blurred as the oppressive waste assaulted her eyes. "This is absolute blasphemy! I don't know what world this is but even I—"

"Heh, I told you it'd be gross in here," Audrey chuckled mirthlessly. "Even through this place's grossness and without magic I can smell that god. I can't actually smell, but still!"

She shifted nervously. There was no part of the floor that was clean. The princess was known to be a little careless and cause troubles but this was downright disturbing to Madoka. She understood why she was that way now. Pity wallowed up inside of her and then wrath roiled. How dare these false parents of hers make her live in these squalid conditions?

Audrey strode in without hesitation. The maid was surprised but she recalled being shoved into the sewage canal of the palace. She was reminded once again that the standards she has placed on the girl were wrong. The princess had no qualms about getting her hands dirty if it meant to survive. So Madoka gulped and stepped inside with her.

"Home, sweet home, huh," Audrey tried casting more magic but remembered she could not. "It's just what I feared, this place has gotten worse since it's been abandoned. Or Ceghinort's magic could not support humans."

The room was darkened as Audrey shut the door. The horror set upon Madoka's skin like slick mist. She was trapped inside a disgusting rotting house. She gasped for air only to swallow more of the smog.

"It's a fitting place, you think?" Audrey peered a hazy direction down the hallway. Madoka's eyes stung as they tried to adjust. "For shitty people to live in. And I... I'm the most terrible one of them all."

"D-Don't say that," Madoka was about to protest but she was startled when Audrey suddenly clapped.

"Let there be light!" She giggled. How could she be relaxed in these conditions? Madoka was amazed since a dim light began to fill the room and suddenly she wished it did not. The place was more dire than she could compare to anything. She has seen less decrepit environments in the mountains. "I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at ya, Madoka. I'm sorry you have to see this. Even if I warned you.

"It's okay, Audrey," Madoka sighed. "But what are we searching for?"

"Any leads out of here," Audrey checked around a heap of blackened sludge. "I wanted to get my phone from upstairs and figured somewhere familiar would bring us a clue but... nope. Ain't a lick of anything that makes sense here."

Madoka sent the kind gods prayers for help even if they could not reach this forsaken place. The walls were faint and glowed pale gold like jaundice. Its gaunt, reeking architecture was infected by mold and neglect but Madoka forced herself to scan around the place. This truly was a temple of rot. This could not be where Audrey has been.

"Was it always this bad?" She pondered aloud. Audrey looked ashamed of herself. Madoka panicked as she tried to reassure her princess. "Y-You didn't cause this or ask for any of this! Forgive me, I shouldn't have asked."

"No," Audrey sighed. "My momma, she used to always be kind before my dad died. She was my best friend, even. When I was 10 I remember we used to go out a lot. Everything was clean until..."

She opened the entrance door only to stop. An oppressive dread gushed inside of Madoka as she saw what Audrey saw. The doorway suddenly led to a dead end, blocked by towers of garbage and other things she did not want to know about. Madoka drew her sword. This was certainly a magical attack. While she had little experience in fighting she hoped to be ready and not be caught off guard.

"This is bad," Audrey shut the door. "Ceghinort's magic is closing in on us. This trial sucks, you know!"

She yelled at nothing in particular, so naturally nothing responded. Audrey began to get more frantic as she knocked over piles of trash, searching for an exit. Madoka could only helplessly gawk. There were no messes as bad as this place in the Palace.

"D-Don't touch any of that gross stuff," Madoka pleaded.

"We gotta get out of here," Audrey mumbled. Madoka could tell the situation was worsening her friend's conditions so she pulled Audrey back. "Wha—"

"When I threw you off of me—"

"Don't remind me of that."

"I felt weaker. Normally it's easier to handle you."

"That's not good," Audrey mused but then she paused. "Wait, why do I feel like you're making fun of me?"

"I can't hear the thoughts of those things," Madoka gestured to the strange bags.

"Cockroaches," Audrey addressed those small creatures. "Ain't as big as the ones in our world, but resilient all the same. You don't have your abilities either. That means there's some sort of suppression mechanic in this dungeon. This is real bad."

Madoka wanted to know what a dungeon was. Perhaps she was talking about those videogames but the maid had no idea what those were. She rose her sword for a strike at a nearby tower of trash.

"I may not have those borrowed divine treasures," Madoka determined and her tone grew fierce. "But I won't let you suffer here any longer!"

Trash piles or not, she hated this place and she bet Audrey did too. She will have to ask for forgiveness for destroying it later. It was true she felt weaker in this odd place and it was also true she missed her old life at the Palace, but she still had her training and determination!

She swung at the pile of garbage with all her might. Madoka's blade caught resistance but the towers toppled over eventually. Slops and strips of soaking wet tissues splashed away as the stacks peeled away, making her wince. Her sword made a slick sound, making her inspect it. It was covered in a layer of filthy and sticky film. Still, messes shall be defeated regardless of how disgusting they are!

Madoka kept swinging until her strikes cleaved the towers in two. Satisfied at the destruction she caused, she slashed the slick juice off of her blade as the stacked papers gave away in a neatly split half. The opening revealed a cellar just below and dimly lit damp steps led between debris. Madoka rolled her sleeves up and shoved the crammed stacks aside. She did her best to ignore the gross and soaked textures of the strange scrolls. She turned to Audrey and nodded.

"R-Right, then," Audrey took the lead and marched down the stairs. "I forgot Uncle Leopride turned you into a beast."

"I want to scream," Madoka muttered. "This is an awful goddamn place!"

"Yeah, I'm never going to live it down now that you've seen this part of my old life."

"How could they be so cruel to you? Why must you suffer through this?!"

"Honestly?" Audrey pulled the door's handle, but stopped before she opened it. "This has never been here. This cellar must be apart of the dungeon's anomalous effects. Let's be careful, yeah?"

"If you're certain about that I shall go first!"

"No, Madoka," Audrey started to open the door. Cold and fresh air pushed through the widening gap. "It's all my fault you are here. Let me go first."

"B-But!"

Before the maid could stop her princess, the door was opened. A large cavern was awaiting them. Its opening glowed with the blues of a somber morning light. Unsure of anything lived within this place, the two crept quietly inside. Madoka drew her swords and readied for anything as Audrey shut the door. When it closed, reality flashed for a moment and the air shimmered. The maid had to blink but the door suddenly vanished.

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She growled and remained on guard. This was certainly a dangerous magic attack.

"Well, yeah," Audrey sighed. "That was a thing. Sorry you had to see me like that. And all of that dump."

"H-How could you live in this world? If it even is a world at all... This place is disgusting! I can hardly breathe in its..."

"Now you know how I feel," Audrey chuckled. "It's not all bad. This world was peaceful compared to yours. Or ours. Can't help but feel I drew the unlucky straw though."

"When I recall myself back here, my pock-marked, asymmetrical, ugly and sleep-deprived face, the lenses on my glasses cracked from being punched by my step-dad— Yeah. Maybe it wasn't so good after all. I don't miss here at all. It was fun and rainbows for my classmates. They got to do drugs, makeout, drink and experience love for the first time while my parents stacked up newspapers. World's ending! They said. They forgot about themselves! About me! And there I was locked away to study and rot. I got to sleep on a dirty mattress wondering how bad it is to breathe in cockroach stench. It's all my fault you had to see this all!"

She started to cry and laugh at the same time. Madoka heard that love again. It was just too difficult to be only angry on her behalf. Even if this place was an illusion brought on by Ceghinort, it was cruel of the kind god to make her relive her past. More sniffing and gasps of agony echoed from the girl. Right, there was only one thing to do in this situation, Madoka determined.

"I'm here, this time," Madoka hugged Audrey tightly. "For all time, Audrey."

For awhile, the crying continued before she calmed her princess down.

"No longer will these memories be only yours to carry, to hate," Madoka whispered into her ear. "It's time for us to learn to love ourselves, right? You told me that. To cry, because we made it through it all. We have to help each other."

"Mm," Audrey still crumpled into Madoka's shoulder.

"Now," Madoka straightened Audrey out, patting her clothes off the best she could and tidying her hacked hair. "We will make it through here with a smile afterwards, yes?"

"Yeah," Audrey finally broke her snivel. "Wherever the hell we are now."

The two looked around the gigantic cavern. There were no altars or ruins but the rocky walls seemed translucent and crystalline. Madoka guessed this was not usually apart of those houses by the look of wonder on Audrey's tear-stained face.

"C-Can you let go of me?" Audrey asked. Madoka realized she was still holding her princess. "We'll need to take a look around."

"F-Forgive me," Madoka found it difficult to let her go, but finally released her. "W-Wait, Audrey. You're warm!"

"Huh?" Audrey checked herself. She was beautiful, Madoka was momentarily stunned at the sight of her. Even through this nightmare, the princess shown like a beacon of hope for her. How could she be the one for her? No, Madoka shook out of it. Those feelings have persisted quietly like a river under ice. She would have to follow her own standards and not force her partner to match them. "Yoi're right!"

Her magic core burst into dazzling light.

"Thank god," she looked at her chest. "That whole, not having magic thing kind of sucked, not going to lie."

"It's good to see you in good health," Madoka sighed. "Please don't blow up this cave."

"What is this bit? This some kind of inside joke of yours?" Audrey closed her eyes and the core faded. "I have decided to not get caught up in my anger and embarrassment. Yeah!"

She released a sphere of light across the cavern which startled Madoka. She backed away while following the light as it arced to the other side of the cavern. Another box similar to Audrey's palace sat beneath where the light landed. She nodded to the maid and the two proceeded to it.

Audrey looked at the box.

"It's kind of like my house's keypad," She absentmindedly tapped its surface. "I'm not going to lie, I dunno what these symbols are. Also I can barely see any manas in this place. So."

"Audrey, don't," Madoka tried to stop her but the girl pressed more buttons on it. A rumbling came from the cavern walls and small pebbles and droplets of water pelted them. The dark shadow of a large being shifted in the translucent caverns. An odd voice disrupted her ears through the noise. It was quiet yet she heard it as clear as a whisper in an open starry night.

「‎היכנסו לחוקים 」

The great shadow behind the walls stopped moving after the voice spoke. Madoka hoped it was not alive, or at least not anything like the Conqueror. She turned to Audrey but the girl's puzzled look did not inspire confidence in the maid. Audrey noticed Madoka's look and she blushed.

"I-I don't speak that language," Audrey protested.

"Of course," Madoka groaned.

"Look," Audrey moved a palm over the padlock as she examined it. "I might not speak its language, but I can at least infer that it's probably mad at us for typing the wrong password..."

"You," Madoka corrected her princess. "It's mad at you."

"Details, details," Audrey smacked the object again. Madoka braced herself for the great shadow to move again but luckily nothing happened. The maid sighed. She felt a bit of her strength return but whatever suppression mechanic Audrey was rambling about probably remained a threat within here. A different colored light floated above her head.

"More of this?" Madoka looked up at the light. It was a spirit swimming in the air. She noticed a gathering rested in the corner of the room.

"I'm sorry I'm useless here," Audrey started but trailed off. She noticed Madoka was not paying attention to her. "Wha, do you see something I don't?"

"Yes," Madoka simply followed the spirit to the pile. She avoided the lightning trails behind it as it moved. Audrey was questioning her but Madoka walked silently. She could not help but feel like something was watching them. Was it the shadow? Her boot collided with something and it echoed a hollow chatter. Bones! Madoka eyed them. They were charred.

"What do you see? More of those chains?" Audrey pressed for an explanation. Madoka was lucky Audrey was smart enough to know to avoid what she avoided.

"Strands," Madoka muttered as she ducked under a jagged lightning strand. The golden strands fizzled in the air before they shimmered and burst with electricity. After they crackled, the strands dissipated out of existence.

"A-Ah," Audrey glanced nervously at the bones. "I assume these guys also couldn't see the strands. Yeesh."

"Be careful and move how I move," Madoka ordered.

"Yessir," Audrey saluted and used a strange gesture. Sir? Madoka wanted to question her. Yet the girl ducked as Madoka ducked. She moved forward when Madoka moved forward. It was an odd experience to lead her friend but the maid avoided the lightning strands since both of their magic and powers were weakened.

The cluster of spirits congregated over a glowing sphere wrapped in gold chains and scattered when she approached it. The lightning bolts streaked to the strange object. Madoka sighed.

"What's wrong?" Audrey kept her head low. "What do you see?"

"I see a ball wrapped in those golden chains," Madoka knew it sounded odd but the sphere rested before her. She did not wish to know how to harness her own magic. That was the last thing she desired but any guidance on how the magic worked would help her at this point. "Magic is just..."

"Awesome! I know, right?" Audrey chirped. "The unknowns, the terrifyingly amazing power that can be wielded, all of the confounding mechanics of a magic system is so fun!"

"I was going to say it was annoying!" Madoka grumbled and braced her for a shocking union with the ball as she grabbed it.

She gasped as the golden chains wrapped around her arms. They felt tingly, like the lightning was asking her where to move. Madoka focused on the pain given to her. Audrey was concerned and uttered something but Madoka's hearing was blocked by the chains. The pain would mean something if she could figure out its odd requests.

"Gah!" She struggled, letting go of the ball. She could not lift it. The lightning bolts danced around her as she moved her arms. The red haired girl looked at the peculiar bolts. They were not lightning like the thunderstorms of her world. They were strands shaped like chains. "What do those damn golden strands want?"

"Maybe they need to connect to the ball?" Audrey guessed. She was sitting down fiddling with her healing talisman and watching the maid. Madoka turned to her and gave her an exasperated look.

"And how would I do that when they don't obey me?" Madoka looked at the streaks of golden bolts. There were much more in great lengths reaching within the wall where the great shadow rested behind it.

"Search your feelings, young one," Audrey sat cross legged on the ground in a meditation pose. She coughed and cleared her throat. "Let the strands guide you."

"Guide me?" Madoka wondered if the princess's silly accents were truly necessary. She knew not what this device was, after all. A bolt danced beside her, seemingly wanting to stretch further. "Feelings?"

She closed her eyes and felt the sharp heat of the golden strands jolt by both her sides. How did she feel? Amidst the chaos of their battles, the grossness of the palace of rot they came from, the quiet yet pulse-pounding confession of love she's received Madoka realized she wanted to do one thing with Audrey after all.

"Madoka?" Audrey asked. Madoka heard the talismans clink together as the girl rocked around in her boredom. She paid her no mind.

The strands were cutting short of their wishes, so Madoka rose her hands in the way of their short pathways. She wanted to dance with Audrey! She felt the exciting jolt of a mana strand so she spun and guided it to herself. She wanted to hold her princess close. Her other hand caught another bolt and she stopped her spin and wrapped herself with her arms. The yellow jagged bolts intensified in Madoka's pose, matching her graceful dance. She could see the mana strands wrapped around her arms and reached each other.

"Beautiful," Audrey whispered through the bolt's electrified buzzing. "You're glowing and clad in golden light!"

Madoka did nothing but continued her Fiara dance. Spin and let go of your arms but never your partner's hand, she recalled the next steps of the dance. Her toes rose up and stepped to her memory's beat. She did another twirl and another! Each step connected more yellow cords along her skin. Eventually her body felt like it was going to explode from the heated golden chains that wrapped around her like a heavenly dress.

It's finished, Madoka thought to herself. She did a twirl and reached for the buzzing sphere. As she did, all of her emotions released as the golden strands followed her moves all the way to the ball. At least she thought they were her emotions and movements that manipulated the strands. Frustrated at her lack of knowledge, Madoka completed her dance's final step and leaned on the golden sphere.

All at once, the electrified chains wrapped around her copied her exact intricate movements and connected with the sphere. Madoka watched Audrey's eyes lit up in awe, reflecting the beautiful and gleaming chains back at her. It was evident the girl could see the strands now.

No matter, this auric sphere shall reveal the way. The ball's chains loosened and became undone just enough for Madoka to see inside through its gilded surface. Another smaller energetic sphere rested in the center. She braced for the shock and grabbed it. Humming noises emitted from the great shadow and a peculiar yet threatening high pitched beeping came from the energy sphere in her hand.

"T-That's definitely going to explode," Audrey's eyes widened. She could see the bomb in her hand! The maid could not move her legs and felt each lightning strand chase down her legs to the ground.

"It's burning my hand!" Madoka cried out, juggling the gold sphere. "What should I do with it!"

"Uh," Audrey looked around frantically and finally pointed at the wall with the shadow inside of it. "Throw it at the wall!"

At the command, Madoka hurled the charged electric core at the shadow's wall. At once, the chains wrapped around her legs shattered and released their hold on her. She could move again! Audrey tugged her robe and got low on the ground so she joined her. She swatted bones out of the way and watched as the small sphere bounced off the ground and rolled towards her target. The beeping grew even more rapid as its light intensified before ceasing abruptly.

Then it exploded.

The violent noise and energy released shook the cavern. Madoka could see the erratic strands streaking across the surfaces of shattered debris. They had to move further away. Rocks fell on her and were not a problem but the maid knew if one fell on Audrey it could kill her. She pulled the girl close to her body and sheltered the princess as the cave became illuminated by the intense explosion. She had no time for its flames and lightning were catching up to her.

She swore to herself and dove further, taking the screaming girl under her robes with her. Soon, the commotion stopped. Audrey's frazzled but beautiful wild hair stuck out from under her vision. Her body was soft beneath hers.

"As m-much as I love you squishin' me," Audrey breathed from under her. "C-Can't breathe!"

"O-Oh, sorry," Madoka reluctantly got off her soft princess. Things were serene for a moment before the princess suddenly shrieked. "What is it?"

"H-How the hell did you create a magic grenade?" Audrey beamed in both a terrified and curious tone. "Now I know how it feels when I blow stuff up... Tch!"

Madoka was not focused on what Audrey was complaining about. Instead, she was fixated on what the explosion uncovered. Audrey ceased her chatter and followed Madoka's gaze. A massive metallic disk stretched. Many petal-like folds filled its center, gathering to an odd sapphire colored sphere in the center. It looked like an eye. This thing must have been watching them the whole time.

"S-Sorry for ruining your walls," She muttered to herself. A deep, bassy hum bariolaged throughout the cavern and caused the ground to quake and walls to shake. The sapphire glinted and shot out a beam at them. It was too fast! The beam strangely, and perhaps miraculously, did not harm them. Audrey cowered behind Madoka, who remained unmoved by it. Instead, it past over her head down to her feet and left checkered illuminated blue strands over her skin. She felt like she was caught in a net. Madoka pulled at them on her skin and only gripped her flesh.

After the beam passed through her, it vanished. Madoka realized she has already seen this magic before. It was in the afterlife, she recalled it was the same magic Ella and her angel used on her. A loud voice suddenly declared something in a language she has never heard before.

「‎מלאכים זוהו」