Chapter 27

The Holy Quintet

"You're sending us off?!" Nagisa exclaimed. "But why?"

"It's not like that." Yen Sid said.

"Have we done something wrong?" Madoka asked nervously.

"No, you're getting the wrong idea." Yen Sid explained "Your training has proceeded at a remarkable pace. So remarkable, that there's not much else for you to learn by remaining here. That's why I'd like for you to head towards the city of Radiant Garden."

"Radiant Garden… that sounds familiar." Mami said.

"You've heard of it?"

"It was that Moogle, remember?" Sayaka said.

"Oh, right! He said that we should seek out another Moogle there to do Synthesis!"

"Interesting. However, I am sending you there for another reason. You are to meet with a colleague of mine. The wizard Merlin."

"Wait Merlin? As in, the Merlin who was with King Arthur? That Merlin?" Kyoko asked.

"Yes, indeed."

"Wow..." Kyoko's eyes widened.

"Why do we need to seek him?" Madoka asked.

"I believe the best way for you to advance in your abilities would be among your peers."

"My… peers?"

"Merlin is currently assisting in the training of two new Keyblade Wielders, Kairi and Lea. Kairi specifically, is another Princess of Heart like yourself."

"Another… Princess?" Madoka was still having trouble processing that. Her Heart was supposedly pure, completely devoid of darkness. She didn't feel like she was pure… but how would she know it if she was? Her feelings kept oscillating between confidence and anxiety. But… there was someone like her. Perhaps meeting Kairi would help clear things up.

"Oh! Before you go. We have something for you, dears!" A kindly voice said.

The door to the side of the room opened, and out emerged the three fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.

"What is it?"

"New clothes!"

"Thanks, but we already have clothes." Sayaka said.

"These are more than just simple outfits. They're magical. Enchanted to be resistant to the darkness." Flora said. She waved her wand, and there was a flash of sparkles over Madoka, and her outfit became completely red.

"W-wha-?"

"No, no, no! That will never do! It should look more like this!" Fauna said. A flick of her wand, and Madoka's clothes were now green.

"Have you no sense of style? This is obviously better!" Another flick of the wand, and Madoka's outfit remained green, while her skin turned blue.

"What's happening?!" Madoka panicked as she looked herself over.

Kyoko burst out laughing.

"Well, that was unexpected." Merryweather said.

"Alright. Let's not do this again. All together now, on them all?" Flora said.

"Wait!"

The three fairies waved their wands and Madoka's vision was filled with light. She felt a burst of energy, of joy and hope, as it felt like something was emerging from her.

When she could see again, she was wearing a completely different outfit, and gasped as she recognized it from her dream. The pink dress and bubble skirt. White gloves, white frilly knee-high socks and red shoes.

She turned and saw that the others were wearing similar outfits. Sayaka wore a blue corset and pleated miniskirt, with thigh high white stockings, blue elbow gloves, blue shoes, and a white cape.

Kyoko wore a sleeveless red shirt with dusters and a pink pleated miniskirt, white elbow gloves, black thigh-high stockings and red boots.

Mami's outfit was a tight shirt with detached sleeves and fingerless gloves, with a corset clearly designed to accentuate her breasts, a brown beret with a bit of fur adorning it, a frilly miniskirt, striped thigh-high stockings and yellow boots.

Nagisa had a black, midriff baring top underneath an orange mantle. She had a brown puffy skirt and black stockings with polka dot patterns and red shoes. Her skirt was held up by suspenders decorated with candy-like bows and she wore a hat with cat ears.

"Now you all look like dashing heroes!" Flora said.

"Yeah, fighting evil in miniskirts like it's Sailor Moon! Well, I guess we could always distract the bad guys with pantyshots!" Kyoko laughed.

"Screw you, I love this!" Sayaka exclaimed as she gave her cape a flourish.

"It's quite charming!" Mami said, looking herself over. She conjured a musket and struck a pose. "I like it!"

"Me too!" Nagisa said excitedly.

Madoka had to agree. She conjured Crystal Clarity and transformed it into its bow form. This combination just felt right. It made her feel giddy.

"So… how are we going to get to Radiant Garden? The train vanished." Kyoko asked.

At that moment, Madoka felt something vibrating against her, mixed with a song.

"What's that?" Sayaka asked.

"It's my phone?" Madoka asked. She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled it out, only to be shocked at it's sudden change in appearance. The pink phone now had a strange crown shaped decoration on it.

"What the heck? What happened to it?" Sayaka asked.

"Also, who's calling you?" Mami asked.

Curious, Madoka answered the call, while the others crowded around her. She gasped in shock when she saw the callers.

"Chipmunks?" Kyoko asked. "What the hell?"

"It works!" One of them said, in a high pitched voice.

"Good to meet you, Madoka!" Said the other, in a low pitched voice.

"Talking chipmunks. Yep. Those are talking chipmunks. Not even surprised anymore." Kyoko said.

"They're adorable!" Nagisa squeed.

"Uh… good to meet you too?" Madoka said.

"I'm Chip!" Said the high pitched one.

"And I'm Dale! How are you enjoying your new Gummiphone!"

"Gummiphone?" Madoka asked.

"It's a new invention of ours. All of you should have one. It will allow communication between worlds. Network currently needs work now, so long range communications gonna be unreliable, but that should come soon. For now, there's plenty of features that can help you in your journey."

The image of Chip and Dale shrank down, and Madoka's phone's menu was shown. In addition to her older apps, there were several new ones, titled Summons, D-Link, and G-Ship.

Madoka tapped the Summon app, and immediately her phone crackled. The image of Chip and Dale was replaced by a full screen one of Ramuh.

"Ah, Madoka. Good to see you! It seems you've discovered the Gummiphone!" Ramuh said.

"Ramuh!"

"You're in the phone?" Sayaka asked.

"Electricity is my domain. It's a trivial matter to manifest myself in something small like this." The video image of Ramuh shrunk to the side of the screen, revealing two icons in the app. One was a depiction of Ramuh, the other had the three faces of the Magus Sisters. "With this, the lot of you should be able to call forth us Espers in your time of need."

"Sweet!" Kyoko commented, now looking at her own Gummiphone. She then looked back at Madoka's.

"Hey, how come she has one that we don't. What's D-Link?"

"D-Link is short for Dimension Link. It is a magical power created by Master Aqua that allows Key-bearers to draw upon the power of those whose Hearts they have connected with." Yen Sid explained.

Madoka opened the app, and inside their were icons of each of her friends. Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka and Nagisa. "Wow..."

"So what's G-Ship?" Mami asked.

Ramuh winked out, and the screen shifted back to Chip and Dale. "Well, you were asking how you were going to get to Radiant Garden."

"There are certain points where you can enter and exit worlds, places where the boundary can be bypassed with the right know how." Dale explained. "It shouldn't be hard from where you are."

"With this, you should be able to enter the Gummi Ship and fly between Worlds!" Chip said.

"We have a ship?!" Kyoko exclaimed. "Like a spaceship?!"

"Oh my gosh! That sounds awesome!" Sayaka said.

"Yeah, it's our latest model! When your ready to leave, just use the app and you'll be transported to the ship!" Dale said. "We'll see you then!"

"Happy flying!" The two chipmunks waved and then the image cut out.

"So…" Madoka looked back at the room. The three fairies smiled encouragingly at her. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

She had learned a lot in these few days, and now, she was headed off to train with other Key-bearers to learn even more. Kairi was also a Princess of Heart like herself. She couldn't deny that she was eager to meet her.

"Indeed. I wish you the best on your journey." Yen Sid said. "May your Heart be your guiding key."

Madoka pressed the button, and a white light enveloped her and the others. The tower study faded away.

When the light faded, the girls found themselves in what appeared to be the bridge of a ship. Through the windows, they could see a gorgeous view of the Lanes Between, all the stars in the sky.

"Alright! Let's get moving! Warp speed!" Kyoko leaped towards the pilot's seat, only to be pulled back by Mami.

"I'll be the one handling this." She said.

"Why?"

"Because I'm the only one here with an actual license!"

"Yeah, a drivers license!" Kyoko shot back.

"Which is still one more license than you." Mami answered. She then sat at the pilot's seat and tapped the screen, at which another image of Chip and Dale appeared.

"Hello again!" Chip said.

"So you're ready to depart to Radiant Garden?" Dale asked.

"Yes." Mami said. "Though I've never flown a ship before."

"It shouldn't be that hard. The autopilot will handle most of the work of getting you there. For now, just select a world, and it should take you there!"

A hologram appeared depicting a sphere with giant buildings and trees emerging from it. A train circled around the place.

"That must be Twilight Town."

"Alright, let's see..." Mami gestured towards the hologram and it slid to the side. A new one appeared, depicting Yen Sid's tower and the floating island it was built on. The text said "The Mysterious Tower."

"No, that's where we are right now." Mami gestured again, and another appeared, depicting a place that seemed similar. Madoka gasped when she saw the words Mitakihara. The image that went with it was of Mitakihara city beneath a moon that appeared to be severed in half. Mitakihara sat in the middle of a spiral galaxy surrounded by some sort of dark barrier.

"Home..." Nagisa said.

Unfortunate memories bubbled back to the surface, putting a damper on Madoka's mood. While this was all amazing, she remembered what had happened to lead her to these circumstances in the first place and slumped back in a nearby chair.

"We could go back…" Sayaka said.

"Don't bother… there's nothing left there." Kyoko said, the bitterness clear in her voice.

"Right…" Mami quickly gestured, removing that hologram and displaying another one. This one depicted a beautiful castle surrounded by flowers and smaller buildings, all encased in a white ring. Fountains were everywhere. The text stated Radiant Garden.

"Alright. Let's get going." As Mami selected the World, the ship began moving.

The Gummi Ship was amazing! Not only did it have a bridge complete with multiple seats and a gorgeous view of the outside world, but a full living quarters as well. Bedrooms, a training area, and a fully stocked kitchen, much to Mami's pleasure.

Though they had fought for their lives multiple times against horrid monsters, surviving by the skin of their teeth. Though they were now caught up in a war for the fate of the universe, one had to stop and appreciate things like this. Little things that added a sense of normalcy to the entire situation.

There were a wide variety of ingredients. Meats, fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, and spices. Some she recognized, others were clearly bizarre things from Worlds she could only imagine. What, for example was a prickle pepper, a gyshal green, a gourd potato, a rainbow egg, a bannock, or a gaspberry?

As she was pondering this she heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see Nagisa.

"What are you making?" She asked.

"Haven't decided yet." Mami said.

"Something cheesy!" Nagisa asked.

"Of course!" Mami said with a smile. She considered what she had to work with. Might as well start simple. "How about a cheeseburger soup?"

"That sounds great!" Nagisa cheered.

"Alright, but your helping me. It will be good for you to learn how to do this yourself. Go find the carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes and chop them. I'll get the broth going and then brown the meat."

"Sure!" Nagisa said, eagerly getting started.

Thus the two of them got to work. Mami hummed to herself as she moved about the kitchen, combining the ingredients together with practiced ease. Occasionally, she stepped over to check on Nagisa's work. She was certainly enthusiastic and eager, but inexperienced. Her cuts were messy and clumsy, but it wasn't much of a problem. Mami smiled, even in the midst of a war, it was nice to have moments like this.

Slash, dodge, thrust.

In the training room, Kyoko ran through the various spear sequences. The place was amazingly convenient, capable of creating obstacles and enemies to test her abilities against. The simulated enemies were simple glowing shapes in a vaguely humanoid form, but they served their purpose enough, something for her to experiment with moves on, and to vent her feelings at the same time.

Block. Kick. Stab.

She was in her costume. Despite how impractical the getup seemed, it was surprisingly functional. The fabric seemed to be resistant to damage, and protected from injuries. Even the duster, which seemed like it would easily get caught on things was actually really resistant to that, easily and effortlessly sliding free of snags and catches.

Even stranger, despite the fact that their outfits came with heels, nobody's balance seemed to be affected. If anything, Kyoko felt more balanced in those boots. Whatever sense that made.

Spin. Slash. Leap.

Fighting to save the universe. They were supposed to be heroes. They even looked the part now, running around in frilly and skimpy outfits like it was a damned otaku-bait anime. Madoka was even some sort of pure-hearted Chosen One or some nonsense. Because of course she was.

The others seemed so into this. Excited. But she had seen stuff like this go down before. Trying to save the world. It didn't work out. Her father was the kindest, most compassionate person she had ever known, but it had only doomed him in the end, rejected by the people who should have listened the most. They didn't actually want to learn about God and Christ and spread love to better the world. They just wanted the feeling that they were righteous without having to actually put in any effort. To pat themselves on the back saying they were a good person. To have something to smugly hold over others. Challenge that and they turned on him.

Punch. Trip. Stab.

Heroics didn't really get one anywhere, did they? She had heard the stories like the others. Eraqus and his pupils had trained their whole lives to be heroes, and had all suffered horrible fates for their trouble. Murdered by their best friend, placed into a coma, lost in eternal darkness, vanishing from existence.

And then Sora and his friends suffered at the hands of Xehanort's actions as well. No matter how many times they thought they had him beat, he always came back in some other form to make their lives miserable. The whole affair would be hilarious if it wasn't so unremittingly sad.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

In reality, only the meanest, most ruthless and cold-hearted people prospered. Heroism and compassion were lies told by those at the top to trick people beneath them into not challenging them. The world was a place of cold indifference. Dog eat dog. Law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest.

With the powers she had, she could be at the top of the food chain. Do whatever she wanted. Have whatever she wanted. Money, games, food, pleasure, whatever. That was what mattered. Live for yourself only. That was the way it was.

But does it have to be that way?

Stab. Stab. Stab.

As Yen Sid's question came back to her, unbidden, her thoughts turned to more recent years. Surviving on the streets had been harsh. Sometimes she could get a good haul and feast on stolen food in a fancy hotel room, other times she had a run of bad luck and was stuck eating out of garbage cans and dumpsters, and sleeping on benches and in alleyways in the rain. Sometimes it turned out asshole restaurants would pour fucking bleach on the food they threw away and then she'd spend the night puking her guts out.

It was at the end of a week of such rainy misfortune that she had encountered Mami. Cold, wet, hungry, sick, and miserable, she had by complete chance stumbled upon her old friend. When she found out Kyoko's situation, she had without hesitation offered her a place to stay.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

If she had been in better condition, Kyoko wondered if she would have refused. As it stood, she was too weak to resist, and had accepted.

Despite herself, living with Mami and Nagisa was nice. She had food security. She had school. She had people to talk to. She had friends. And then it had all gone down the drain. Wake up one morning cuddled up with a spear. Look out the window and see the city on fire. Step into the living room and get attacked by monsters.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

They were on a suicide mission. Kyoko was sure of that. What she wasn't sure of was whether she even cared or not. Her life was a fucking clusterfuck of nonsensical bullshit. What else did she have to even look forwards to? Might as well go out with a-

Kyoko felt an impact on her back and stumbled forwards. She turned to see one of the simulated enemies had hit her.

"Training sequence incomplete." A computerized voice said. "Repeat sequence?"

"Sure. Why the hell not?" Kyoko sighed and dropped into a fighting stance.

Even now, it was difficult to wrap her head around. As she curled up on an alcove next to a window, sketchbook in hand, she stared out at the Ocean Between. There were stars everywhere. She had heard that the reason space looked so black and empty in pictures taken by astronauts was because cameras worked weirdly out there, and to the eye, it was a brilliant display of countless stars.

Now, she could see it for herself and it was indeed beautiful. She could see strangely shaped objects, some looked like asteroids, but others were strangely colored platforms, objects and bits of debris. Some looked like bits of ice or floating islands. Some even had multicolored clouds or lakes and plants on them.

Beyond that were the stars themselves. Way to many to count. And then, each and every one of them was a World. Madoka thought of her own World. Beyond just planet earth there was the entire solar system. Then the Milky Way galaxy, the galaxy cluster, and whatever categories above that. Some worlds were small apparently, just single cities or forests or kingdoms. Others were big like her own. All of that variety. All of that possibility. It was mind boggling.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Sayaka approached.

"I'm fine." Madoka said. "Thanks for asking.

"What'cha working on?" Sayaka asked, pointing towards the sketchbook.

"Nothing much. Just drawing what comes to mind." Madoka said, looking at her work. It was her, Sayaka, Kyoko, Mami and Nagisa, all in costume and fighting a group of Shadows. "It's all so much to take in."

"I get the feeling. Only like last week we were in school and now we're on a spaceship flying between dimensions to fight monsters with magical powers."

"Yeah."

"At least it comes with some nice perks!" Sayaka leaped back and there was a flash of light as her blue tank top, capri jeans and white shirt transformed into her costume. She cast Aero and struck a pose, crossing her arms while the wind dramatically blew her cape. "I look fabulous!"

Madoka giggled, and then stood up and transformed herself. Even now, the costume felt so perfect as she twirled. She had seen it in her dream. But what about the other things? That depiction of herself with that flowing white dress and wings.

She recalled that she had seen Homura in that skimpy black dress, and she had later showed up wearing exactly that. And what was that strange monster that had appeared at the very end of the dream? It didn't seem to be Heartless, and it also felt eerily familiar.

"Dinner's ready!" She heard both Mami and Nagisa call from the kitchen.

"Good, I'm starving!" Sayaka said. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Madoka said. They both reverted to their normal clothes, and headed towards the kitchen, meeting with Kyoko along the way.

The soup smelled delicious as Mami ladled it out. Her cooking always made her mouth water. It was as good as Papa's. As she prepared to eat, she smiled. There was a lot she didn't know, and a lot she was going to have to face in the future, but now, it could all be forgotten, at least for the moment. A meal with friends really was a treasure like that.

Thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!

~Dragonexx