“Come on, try it again,” Himari said, voice encouraging. Her new friend, Seina, nodded and concentrated. Much to both their collective disappointments, the bubble shifted into a single shade of blue. Another failure.

“This isn’t working!” Seina appeared on the verge of throwing her wand against the floor in frustration.

“Don’t worry. We’ll just try again.” Himari said, trying to soothe Seina’s frayed temper. “You only need more practice!”

Their experiments had had mixed results. When tasked with making an indestructible bubble, the results were incredible! Himari had tried everything, hitting one with enough force to crack a planet. Yet her punch had only bounced off harmlessly.

Other tests, however, had been less successful. When Seina tried conjuring a picture of a tree, the bubble turned green instead. Despite trying for over an hour, Seina's attempts hadn’t improved. Not even a splotch of another color had appeared within the conjured image.

It’s like she’s only capable of the most brute force way possible. When asked to channel fire, her bubble either incinerated whatever it touched or caused a slight scorch mark. Her power wavered between the two extremes. This lack of fine control frustrated Seina to no end.

“Let’s take a break,” Seina sat on a pile of logs, brooding to herself.

“Sounds good!” Himari joined her, wishing she’d brought snacks.

While their prison looked like a kitchen, it contained nothing approaching edible. The fact a magical girl couldn’t starve to death was little comfort, they could still suffer from hunger and this added to the room’s general grumpiness. Only Charity seemed upbeat, unbothered by their current predicament.

A sudden question popped into Himari’s head, one she’d been meaning to ask for a while. “If you don’t mind me asking Charity, why were you imprisoned, anyway?”

“Right!” Seina slapped her forehead. “In the hubbub, I’d forgotten the other reason we came to rescue you. We wanted to ask you about the time before the Devil Princesses!”

“Before the princesses?” Himari stood straighter, surprised.

“No way!” Liam said, eyes wide.

“That is correct. Charity’s years are great!” A sly grin appeared on the fairy’s face. “Older than most might suspect. I’ve lived since the universe was very young.”

“That old?!” Seina gapped in shock, Himari mirroring the expression.

“How is that possible?” Nier said, incredulous. “Most unpartnered fairies live only to a hundred and fifty!”

“Charity is ancient!” Charity said, not answer the question. “To answer the first question, Himari, the Devil Princess’s fear Charity! They fear the dangerous secrets Charity knows. They panicked when they couldn’t kill Charity, so they locked her up!”

“Such as?” Nier said, eyes intent.

“But Charity was patient! She knew you’d come! No prison could keep Charity indefinitely!”

“Is there a reason you can’t answer my questions?” Nier said, fuming.

Curiosity piqued, Himari asked another burning question. “What was the old queen like?”

She’d heard all the stories. They’d said the Wicked Queen had been cruel, a tyrant beyond all others. Himari, however, hadn’t believed a scrap of that nonsense. It seemed unlikely her wickedness could surpass the Devil Princesses.

“Yes, please!” Seina leaned forward on her makeshift chair, eager to soak up everything.

“The Wicked Queen?” Charity gave a wistful smile. “She was a dear, a true friend and partner to Charity. We worked hard to protect the cosmos from every threat imaginable.”

“I suspected you were her partner,” Seina said, proud of herself. “It’s why you can’t die! Wait, if the old queen isn’t dead. Where is she?”

“She’s alive?!” Himari said. Stories said the Wicked Queen was so evil that the Devil Princesses destroyed her soul for everyone’s sake. Again, more lies to hide the truth.

Charity nodded. “She is. But it’s complicated. She’s dead, and yet not dead. She protects us, even now, from a worse threat than even the Devil Princesses! An ancient evil from before our cosmos came into existence!”

“A threat worse than those Devil Princess maniacs? How is that possible?” Himari’s head spun just considering it.

Pain crossed over Charity’s features. Whatever she was remembering wasn’t pleasant. “Pure evil that exists to consume everything else. While defeated, they still scattered seeds of their evil across the cosmos. Mere flounderings compared to the originals, but still dangerous.”

A strange expression crossed over Seina’s face. Something about Charity’s speech had struck a chord with her, her expression hardening into stone.

Wonderful. Like we need more problems! “So she can’t help us.” Himari’s expression sagged, wondering if they had to confront these countless dangers alone.

“No! Charity says!” The fairy sounded very emphatic about this point. “Her wand will help retrieve her! Trust Charity on this.”

“Sounds great! We’d love to have her on the team!” Seina said, sounding enthusiastic. The girl loved making friends. Though, Himari couldn’t help but wonder if Seina accepted the offer of a new ally too hastily. Himari detected a loneliness in Seina that she smothered with upbeat friendliness.

“That’s something, I suppose,” Nier said. “If we can escape.”

“But wouldn’t that free the ancient evil?” Seina asked, sounding anxious.

“Charity thinks it’s a little late for that.” Charity’s voice went wry before suddenly going stiff. “But we’ll discuss that later! Charity thinks we should focus on escape!”

“Sure,” Seina said, surprised by the abrupt change in subject. “Okay, we’ve learned my magic is brute force made manifest. Can we use that somehow?”

Himari tapped her chin, considering the possibilities. “Smash a hole through this stupid pocket dimension? Your magic should be powerful enough.”

“I suppose, but how?” Seina said, shrugging. “Fire, simple enough. But dimension breaking? It’s beyond me.”

“I can help with this!” Himari said, excitement making her leap free of her seat. “That’s easy enough to show. It’s my specialty!” What an odd coincidence. Had fate planned this?

“Okay, watch me.” With a dramatic flourish of her hand, Himari summoned her weapon to her hand. It made channeling her magic much easier.

“Oh yeah! Show your stuff, Himari!” Liam said, always quick to show his support.

“A slingshot?” Seina said, amused. While a deadly weapon, in theory, Himari’s appeared more like a toy. Its string was little more than a rubber band attached to a leather strap, its base only a simple piece of carved oak.

“Yeah, well. It’s still a weapon!” Himari said, voice defensive. Other magical girls often belittled Himari for her silly little weapon. They had guns, machetes, rocket launchers, or brass knuckles. One magical girl had the power to summon a giant robot! Himari, however, had a slingshot.

“Himari, my magical girl weapon is a bubble blower,” Seina said, voice full of self-deprecating irony.

“Right.” Himari flushed, embarrassed she’d acted out.

Buck up, Himari. You’re a rebel now! You’re too cool to care what others think of you now!

“My partner, Takako, uses a dancing ribbon,” Nier said. “Appearances are deceptive.”

“Huh.” Himari found herself lost for words. She coughed, trying to get back on track. “Okay, watch this!”

The air distorted around her, and Himari vanished, phasing herself to a higher dimension. It existed just a hair’s breadth away from their own. Instead of three, here physics existed on four axes. It was a confusing existence, almost impossible to explain. It’d be like trying to explain shades of color to a blind person. Crazy as it may sound, Himari could aim higher. But she always feared the consequences, she was worried that if she tried entering 18-D space, she’d never find her way home.

Moments later, Himari returned to 3-D space. “Understand?”

“I guess,” Seina said, uncertain. “Can you try something else?”

“Okay. I can phase out of reality too.” Himari concentrated again, her body turning indistinct and blurry. Seina squinted, but only received a headache for her trouble.

“Better?” Himari asked, still out of phase. “Get it now?”

“I need to twist the dimensional fabric, I guess?” Seina sighed, giving a weak smile. “Okay. Let’s try it!”

With her remaining arm, Seina twirled her wand around in a flourish. A sizable bubble formed from its blades, and it floated lazily in the air. Seconds passed, but nothing happened. Then Himari flinched back, almost losing her lunch.

Reality entered a tumble drier as reality tore apart, crumbling to pieces before Himari’s eyes. Time, space, proportions, color, nothing seemed to matter anymore as the very air melted before Himari’s eyes. She huddled into a ball, hoping the insanity would end soon.

A comforting presence touched her back and rubbed it, calming her turbulent mind. Himari shakily glanced up, discovering Charity smiling over her.

“It’s okay, Himari. It’s over.” The ancient fairy said.

After pulling herself together, she took stock of her surroundings. Instead of the old-style kitchen, as expected, Himari found herself in a crowded storeroom. They found various bits and bobs packed inside boxes. Well-organized paperwork sat in filing cabinets, many files dated from times before Himari was even born. She even found an aluminum Christmas Tree with various ornaments packed over in a corner.

“What just happened?” Seina asked, doing a similar sweep of their surroundings.

“Your distortion cracked a hole in reality until the pocket universe couldn’t withstand the stain and collapsed!” Charity said, beaming with pride.

“I broke reality?!” Instead of being pleased, Seina’s expression turned fearful. She stared at her wand like it might transform into a snake and bite her.

Is it possible for someone to be too strong? Still, Himari sympathized with her new friend. Having such power must be a tremendous, frightful burden. Unlike other magical girls, Seina took no pleasure in her destructive power.

Not wanting her new friend to cascade into a cycle of destructive self-doubt, Himari gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You did great, Seina. We would have never escaped without you!”

“Yes, impressive,” Nier said. “Takako will never believe this!”

“Thanks, guys,” Seina said, taking comfort in their kind words. “But I’m never doing that again! I might destroy all reality by accident!”

“I won’t go that far,” Himari replied, but Seina seemed absolutely convinced of her oath.

“Thankfully, we’re somewhere safe for now, but we shouldn’t dawdle,” Nier said, reminding them of the danger they still hadn’t escaped. They still stood in the heart of the Devil Princess’s evil. Besides, they had a mission to perform. “That secretary might know that we’ve broken her pocket universe. Charity, where to now?”

The ancient fairy nodded in agreement. “Yes, time isn’t on our side! The corridors of this building shift and change at random. It makes navigating through them difficult. But fear not, Charity can guide us through the right path. Follow!”

Without another word, Charity pushed open the door leading outside. Her companions followed, and Himari faltered as she peered out.

“What the?” Had she just lost her senses? Logic seemed forgotten as the corridor weaved at odd angles, the path stretching into eternity. It seemed to change direction when Himari blinked, adding to her disorientation. Doors lined almost every surface, each a different size. Others floated in mid-air. How was anyone meant to navigate this nightmare?

“They aren’t.” Charity said, reading Himari’s mind. She wished the fairy would stop doing that. “With the secretary’s power, the Hall of Agony is unnavigable. It protects the Devil Princesses, but it also hides other secrets.”

“The wand, right? Are the Devil Princesses that afraid of the old queen?” Seina asked.

“Not fear, but my partner is a force of nature. In their last fight, they almost didn’t defeat her.” Pride crept into the fairy’s voice. “This way!”

The fairy flittered around for several moments, peering down each corridor that made Himari’s head hurt. Nodding in satisfaction, Charity guided them down a right corridor. Himari kept close, fearful of what would happen if they got separated. The hall seemed to change shape as they walked. Worse, random openings sporadically appeared from nowhere. Undeterred, Charity moved forwards and paused. She motioned for them to stop, and they waited. For several moments, nothing happened. After a dizzying shift in the landscape, a hole appeared above them. Charity guided them up.

“You’ll need to help me,” Seina said, somewhat embarrassed. “I’ve never learned how to fly.”

“You shouldn’t need to,” Liam said. “Why not use a bubble?”

“Good idea! Thanks, Liam.” Seina replied. Himari could almost hear her friend mentally kicking herself. Seina floated behind them, perched on a bubble. It matched their speed with ease.

“Here.” She gestured to an unmarked doorway, no different from its fellows. It sat between countless other doors with no logic to their placement.

“Is it locked?” Seina tried the door handle, finding it unlocked.

It opened into a study. Unlike the mad, twisting corridors, it seemed ordinary. Its hard wood floor and wooden walls were all comfortable brown color. A fire crackled and popped, filling the room with warmth. Himari sighed in relief, not realizing how cold she’d been before. Old-style Japanese paintings ordained the wall, contrasting with the more western appearance of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled to the brim with books on countless subjects.

“Is it somewhere in here?” Seina examined the contents of a mahogany desk, scanning for their quarry.

“This is Mei’s study. It’s here, hidden somewhere. Where Charity can’t be certain.”

“That’s fine. We’ll search every inch if needed.” Seina said.

“Okay,” Himari said, already scanning the room. “What does the wand look like?”

“A pink staff with a crystal apple on its tip with white wings sprouting from it.” Charity said, miming its shape with her paws.

“Huh.” It sounded surprisingly girly. Himari was expecting a more normal magical girl weapon, like a halberd. Of course, Seina’s wand was just as strange. Powerful, but bizarre.

“Let’s see.” Uncaring what damage he caused, Neir tossed books from the shelves. He peered past, trying to see if the tomes hid anything. Was it Himari’s imagination, or was the fairy taking a perverse pleasure in damaging a Devil Princess’s property?

Seina, however, was more careful. She riffled through drawers while avoiding making a mess. Himari searched under the decorative rug, hoping it might hide a secret. Frustrated by the lack of hidden trapdoors, she tried the fireplace next. It held various decorative candles and incense burners. While not lit, they still emitted a fragrant lavender smell.

I wonder. Heedless of the fire, Himari stuck her head into the fireplace and glanced up the chimney. She coughed as soot splashed into her face, but otherwise uncovered nothing.

“Here.” Nier handed her the blanket sitting on the couch. From the comfortable pillows, Himari guessed Mei enjoyed taking naps there. After giving a grateful nod, she whipped her face clean.

“I realize she’s an enemy, but that doesn’t mean we need to be jerks,” Seina said, taking umbrage at the mess Nier was creating. Himari dropped the newly dirtied blanket, giving a guilty smile. The fairy, however, only offered a shrug.

“Where could it be? We’ve searched the entire room!” Then Seina frowned, bothered by something.

“What’s wrong?” Himari asked.

“It’s nothing,” Seina replied. “Let’s do another search. We must have missed it somewhere.”

“No, really. What’s wrong?”

Seina could only offer a shrug. “Something is missing here that I’d expected to see.”

“Oh?”

“In my room back home, I have a small bed for Colten. He loves lounging in it.” Seina said. “I’m surprised Mei doesn’t have one.”

“There’s a couch here, Seina,” Liam said, flopping into the attractive two-setter. He sighed in contentment as his body sunk into its comfortable cushions. “Seems good enough for me.”

Himari’s room also had a little bed for her partner. From a glance, it was obvious Mei used the study often. It was a very singular room with few comforts besides the incense. You’d think she’d at least have a few toys or such for her fairy partner. Seina had a point.

What am I saying? She’s a Devil Princess. I bet she enjoys hurting her fairy partner for fun!

“Never mind. Ignore me.” Seina said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

They resumed their search with greater enthusiasm. Much to Himari’s disappointment, no secret passageways appeared when they moved the bookshelves. Much to Seina’s dismay, their efforts added to the ever-increasing mess.

“Are you sure it’s here, Charity?” Nier fought back the accusation in his tone. They risked life and limb coming here.

“Positive.” Charity replied. “Charity can sense its magic. Why it remains unfound confuses Charity.”

“You know Mei better than we do,” Seina said. “Where could she have hidden it?”

“Mei is a practical girl. She’d likely use it to prop up a table or something.” Charity shrugged, giving a half-joking answer.

“What, like hide it in plain sight?” Himari asked. She paused, a glimmer of red light catching her attention. Sunlight poured through the closed windows, indicating the sun was setting on Starlight Dream. It reflected off something hiding behind the curtains.

“I think I’ve found it!” Himari pointed up.

“The curtain rod?” Seina asked. Unlike the rods for the other window, this one was bright pink. Curious, Seina pulled down the curtain rod and gasped at what she’d discovered.

“It’s the old queen’s wand!” Nier said, eyes widening in amazement.

“Can I hold it?” Himari’s heart raced, wondering what terrible power it might contain.

Stories told that the Wicked Queen had unimaginable power, basically a god. Seina obliged and hefted it over. While weighting a surprising amount, the staff otherwise seemed like a pretty-looking stick. Himari waved it around, but nothing magical happened.

“Are you sure this can help us?” Himari asked. She’d hoped it would provide them access to some super form capable of fighting against the Devil Princesses. No such luck, darn it.

“Maybe it only works in the old queen’s hand?” Seina said, neatly folding the curtain the old queen’s wand had been holding up. While awkward with only a single arm, she managed it.

“The staff is more powerful than it appears.” Charity said. “It holds a fraction of my partner’s power. If we bring it to…”

“Ugh, guys,” Liam said, terror creeping into his tiny voice. He pointed towards the window.

Instead of Starlight Dream’s dazzling twilight, only pure blackness appeared behind the window’s glass. Behind its pane, they only found an empty void. A chill traveled down Himari’s spine, coming to a horrible realization.

“Silly, you really thought you could escape?” A new voice said.

Ice chilled her veins, recognizing that voice anywhere. Reiko Yoshida, the Poison Ivy, had found them.

“Naughty, naughty!” Gugu, her fairy partner, said. “Look at the mess you’ve made. You should be ashamed. Mei will be so cross with you!”

“I have no clue how you escaped before, but you won’t get so lucky again!” The secretary said, arms crossed.

“Who are you?” Seina asked, taking a protective stance before her friends. So brave, but so futile.

“Reiko Yoshida!” The Devil Princess’s cheeks dimpled, giving a wide smile. “You must be Seina, the horrible, awful troublemaker I’ve heard so much about.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Seina puffed out her chest, glaring in defiance. This fool had no idea who she faced.

“And who else?” Reiko scanned the room, and Himari’s legs trembled as those terrible eyes passed over her. They stopped at Charity.

“I’d really hoped we’d never meet again.” Reiko’s face twisted in displeasure. “I see you even found the Wicked Queen’s wand. Horrible.”

Instead of being scared, Charity only smirked. “Charity has been plotting your demise for centuries! Your worst fears have just come to pass!”

“Really?” Reiko’s voice lost its childish glee. Even the secretary created some distance from the displeased Devil Princess.

“That’s right,” Seina said. “You’re finished! I won’t stop until your madness is defeated!”

“Really? You have no idea who you face, little insect.” Reiko dragged out the last word. “How about I show you my power?”

A childlike smile reappeared on the Devil Princess’s expression. “I wish… hmm…” She tapped her chin, thinking. After a moment, she beamed and clapped her hands together. “I wish for Seina’s heart to explode.”

“Wha?” Seina’s body convulsed, clutching tight against her chest. Blood coughed out of her mouth, and she had difficulty standing. Agony twisted her features, her breathing harsh and pained.

No, no! Himari’s body heaved as uncontrollable sobs wracked her body. While Seina wasn’t dead, death still wasn’t far away. With ease, the Devil Princess had rendered their best warrior useless.

“Now, how about we play a game?” Reiko broke into giddy laughter.