Okay, I'm actually going to put some effort into releasing chapters in a timely manner. It looks like not just this, but all of my Kidge fics get a positive response. You guys are what drives me to keep writing. Without your support, I'd give up! Thank you all!

Chapter 3: World of Wonder

Pidge wiped the sweat from her forehead. The dog-like creature exploded and she was awarded experience, pushing her up to level 5.

"Nice one, Pidge," Keith said from where he sat on the grass. "We're about even now."

"In levels, maybe," she said, plopping down next to him, "but you'll always be stronger. I can't get the hang of this sword."

"Hey, you'll figure out your own way in time. Nobody's expected to be an expert the first time they pick up a weapon. Our bayards were different since they were tailored specifically to us, but these weapons aren't."

Pidge sighed. "Whatever."

Keith thought for a moment about what to say to make her feel better. "Keep your stance wide. Keep your body lowered."

Pidge scoffed. "You watch Steven Universe?"

"Every now and then. And on that note, you should remember that you're strong in the real way."

"Shut up, you dork." Pidge looked at the setting sun. "Let's keep going, the next town should be beyond that hill." She double checked her statement with her map, then stood up and continued walking.

"Hey, you barely took a break. Why not sit here a little longer?"

"Says the guy who's been sitting there for the last ten minutes while I got in some practice. Come on, lazy butt, I'm hungry."

They'd survived for about a week so far. Pidge had gotten over her panic over being trapped in a game, especially after a few days went by with neither of them being manually disconnected by anyone on the outside.

She desperately wished she could talk to them, let everyone know they were okay. Shiro would probably be able to keep everyone under control. Allura had dealt with loss before and would be able to cope, as would Coran. Hunk would probably busy himself with little projects to keep his mind off of it. Lance might shut down completely. Matt…oh gosh, Matt. Pidge hated to think about how he would react to the news that she was basically in a coma.

"Thinking about them again?" Keith asked as they reached the top of the hill.

"How'd you know?"

"You make a certain face when your head is somewhere else. You've been making it a lot this past week."

"At least I don't cry in my sleep."

"That was one time! Am I ever gonna live that down?"

"Never. I don't see what the problem is, though, it was nice to see you being the one sharing emotions for a change."

"It's just…it's not tough! I'm the cold, distant one. I don't get touchy-feely."

"Calm down. You know how rare it is to find guys that aren't afraid to show emotion? Rare. And quite frankly, a man who is willing to admit that he does, in fact, have feelings, is rather attractive. Certainly more so than an emotionless rock."

Keith rolled his eyes and turned away, hiding a small smile.

"Hey, there's the town. Come on. I swear I can smell the food from here."

The two wandered the town until they came across a tavern that was emanating a variety of delicious smells. Before they knew it, they each had a plate full of unfamiliar food, at such a quality as to almost match Hunk's cooking.

They ate in silence, choosing instead to listen in to conversations happening around them.

"…heard that you can learn magic there."

Pidge sat up straighter, listening intently to the conversation a few tables over.

"So there's magic in this game too?"

"Must be. I bet that witch's avatar, hacked as it may be, was magic heavy. I'm telling you, that tent could be our key to getting stronger."

"I dunno, man, I've always been better with a sword…"

Pidge stood up, her empty plate disappearing. Keith looked up at her as he shoved his last bite into his mouth. "Where are you going?" He asked, crumbs spraying out of his mouth and vanishing on impact with anything.

"For a walk. It's a nice night."

Keith swallowed. "I don't know how comfortable I am with you going alone."

"I'll be fine. Find us some cheap rooms at the inn and dm me the location." Pidge opened her menu and sent Keith some money for the rooms. "I don't think I'll be out for long."

Keith tried to protest, but Pidge had left the tavern before he could. Her first thought was to check her map, see if the tent she was looking for was marked.

"No dice," she mumbled to herself. Her next step was deductive reasoning. A tent wouldn't be set up in the middle of town. And since they hadn't seen it on their way in, it was likely situated on the outskirts, opposite of the side they came from. And so, she set off down the street to investigate.

Keith wasn't comfortable with Pidge going off on her own, but he was also afraid to admit that he didn't want to be alone either. He'd grown so used to her company that he found himself missing her as soon as she walked through the door.

Keith was used to being alone. He'd spent years on his own until he met Shiro, and another year alone after the Kerberos mission allegedly failed. But something about Pidge was different. Yes, Keith always preferred to have a friend by his side, but his longing to be near Pidge was more than that. It was almost like…

"Oh quiznak," he mumbled, staring at his hands. "I have a crush on her."

He stopped himself. Sure, he'd gotten along well with Pidge from the moment they'd met, but the two of them hadn't really been all that close, until recently, when she started teaching him how to play video games. Surely he was simply attached to her. He was in a strange new place, where death was almost assured. Of course, he'd much rather have somebody he knew close by, and Pidge was his only friend in the game.

Yeah.

That was it.

Keith walked towards the inn, his mind convinced that it was very platonic and very normal. His heart, on the other hand, seemed to betray his mind as it ached.

Pidge kept her eyes and ears peeled as she searched for the mysterious tent. She continued to listen to passing conversation to see if anybody else had heard of or seen her destination.

Pidge had never been the strongest fighter. True, she was good at taking advantage of her surroundings to give herself the upper hand, but that was with her Bayard. In this world, she had no grapple, no lightweight weapon that was made just for her. Despite Keith's teaching, she knew she would never be able to master her sword.

That's why she wanted to learn magic.

If there was anything that she'd learned from her experiences with fantasy novels and Dungeons and Dragons, it's that a lot of the physically weaker characters are amazing magicians. Those are also often the smartest characters. That description seemed to match Pidge perfectly, seeing as she was small but incredibly smart. Her strengths lied in her intellect and cleverness.

She stepped out of an alley into an open field on the outskirts of town. There weren't any other players out here. Actually, it looked like there weren't even NPCs. Pidge took a few steps into the field to take a better look around.

It felt unusually dark. The rest of the town was lit up with lamps, but being out here, the only light was that of the moon.

Pidge sighed. It seemed that her hunch had been wrong. Of course, those guys at the tavern could have made the whole thing up.

She walked across the field, taking in the solitude. She had to admit, it felt odd to be on her own again after so long. The last time she'd done something by herself was when she found Matt, and that felt like it was ages ago.

"So, you're alone too, huh?"

Pidge turned around to find herself face to face with an Olkari. Upon closer examination, this wasn't a player, but merely an NPC. He stood there, awaiting her response, frozen in place.

"Yeah, it's just me," Pidge responded, eying the program curiously.

"Wandering around alone can be dangerous. But then, sometimes it's easier to stop and listen when you're on your own."

Pidge thought for a moment about how best to respond. "What am I supposed to be listening for?"

The NPC smiled. "Wonder." Then he turned and walked away, leaving Pidge alone once again.

She huffed in frustration. She wasn't a very patient person, and this little quest of hers was beginning to become rather exhausting. She thought about what the NPC had said. "Sometimes it's easier to stop and listen when you're on your own." Well, she was certainly on her own now.

Even though she felt ridiculous, she closed her eyes and tried to listen. She started to feel like she did when she bonded with her lion. She mentally reached out in that familiar way.

Then she heard it.

Once she pinpointed a direction, she followed the sound. It reminded her of ice cream truck music, but slower and softer. It was…calming.

She found herself on the end of a grove of trees. She could have sworn she could see lights shining their way through the lush greenery. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed on.

Ever since unlocking the Green Lion's nature abilities, Pidge had found herself more in touch with the outdoors. Back on Earth, she would have hated shoving her way through trees and bushes, stepping on branches and leaves and tripping over rocks. But now, she felt a sense of familiarity in the woods.

The light grew stronger, as did the music. She began hearing more and more instruments, until it became an entire orchestra, playing a solemn tune. Then, voices chimed in, started high, and gradually adding lower tones. It was like a choir of angels in mourning.

No, it wasn't mourning. It may have started that way, but the closer Pidge got to her destination, the more the song seemed to brighten into one of jubilance.

Pidge wasn't really sure when she emerged from the trees. It was almost like they'd faded away to reveal a clearing. In the center, a large tent that radiated light and music watched over the area. It reminded her of a circus tent, with how large and colorful it was.

After taking in the view, Pidge pushed open the tent flap, finding herself in what appeared to be a waiting area. From her quick check of the room, she determined that different areas of the tent were divided by curtains. The one she was in had some large beanbag cushions and only one other opening, leading deeper into the tent.

Pidge heard a little jingle, signaling that she'd received a direct message. Opening her dashboard, she saw that she'd received two notices: one from Keith, and one from somebody named "The Wonder Worker." Keith's message just informed her that he'd found a place to stay and that he wondered where she was.

The message from The Wonder Worker, however, was more interesting. "Greetings, curious traveler. You have reached the World of Wonder. Proceed onward if you wish to learn the ways of the mage."

Onward likely meant through the only other opening in the room. Closing out of her menu, she walked through the opening, deeper into the tent.

Keith paced the room nervously. What if she'd gotten hurt? What if somebody attacked her? What if she'd decided to leave him behind and continue on her own?

He heard something pound on the floor, likely the tenants down below. "Hey, keep it down up there, some of us are trying to sleep!"

Keith couldn't be bothered to yell back. Instead, he kicked off his boots and kept pacing.

It had been half an hour since he messaged her, and she hadn't said anything. Granted, she hadn't read it until about twenty minutes after he sent it, but her lack of response made him nervous. Pidge was the kind of person who texted you back immediately unless she was otherwise occupied.

Throughout the past week, Keith had adjusted to not having his Marmora blade with him. It had taken a while at first (which may have been the cause of his nightmares that first night), but Pidge had helped him realize that it was with his body in the real world, so technically, he always had it with him.

But at this moment, he wished he had it. He had a tendency to fidget with it when he was nervous or stressed, and he'd much rather play with his knife than bother the neighbors with his pacing. It acted as a safety blanket for him. It made him feel better about everything. And it would certainly help him feel better about Pidge.

He considered going out to find her but had quickly pushed the idea aside. The town they were in was rather large, and it was late. It would be difficult for him to find anything, much less Pidge, who is small and elusive. He'd decided that if she wasn't back by the first sunrise, he'd go look for her with the help of the first sun.

This was an interesting world. There were two suns and at least seven moons. Pidge pointed out that there could easily be more that they couldn't see at the time they were counting. Each of the moons felt so far away, and even combined it didn't feel like they matched the brilliance of Earth's one moon. Though, that could be because Keith is used to the desert, where the only light at night is from the moon.

He prayed that she hadn't gotten lost in the dark. He'd sent her a map with the location of the inn marked on it attached to his dm, but he didn't know if she'd opened the attachment.

He finally sighed and sat down on his bed. All this worrying wouldn't do him any good. He'd have to be patient. She'd find her way back, and if she didn't, he'd find her.

So, I finally decided to just split this into two parts. I'd had enough wondering what the frick frack Pidge would do to learn magic, and it had already been quite some time since chapter two. So, yeah, I broke it into parts for you guys, just to give you a little something to tide you over until I can FIGURE THIS OUT.