A lush meadow of grasses and flowers rolled out before her like a carpet, going on as far as the eye could see. Red, yellow, mahogany, pink, purple... The sky was cornflower blue with nary a cloud in sight, giving the place an ethereal feel. Vari-hued butterflies and brilliant, metallic bodied dragonflies fluttered and hovered about, dancing with the breeze. One could say that all the colours from the spectrum of the rainbow were present in this beautiful landscape.

The Earth Elemental took a step forward, testing her feet on the seemingly superficial ground warily. Who knew if all of this was only in her imagination, and a wrong step could send her tumbling to who-knows-where? When it did not sink under her, she took it as a good sign and planted both feet firmly down, bouncing a bit to make sure. Satisfied it would not give way under her, she looked around for the purple creature that had brought her here.

"Over here, Shika Kiyomizu."

She turned her head to the direction of the voice, somewhere on her left, and saw the large Incubator standing a few feet away from her. He had a ruff of fur around his neck akin to a lion's mane, and sleek black fur adorned his back. His regal, draconic tail was swishing back and forth in an almost imperial manner.

Shika reached out her hand for her dog's collar, but realised that Yuki was not with her. "Where did my dog go, Incubator?" questioned Shika, glancing around her suspiciously.

"Your dog is where your physical body is, and you're both safe from harm, don't worry," explained the Incubator in a deep, rich voice. "Right now, you are in an alternate universe, a place where only the chosen may enter. Your soul has been detached from reality. In other words, you are currently in a state of limbo, and this is World Between Worlds, the balance of the universe." He shot her a cattish grin, revealing inch-long fangs of glittering peril.

Frowning slightly, Shika pondered about the possibility of his words, but as she could see for herself that this was obviously not Earth, she decided he was telling the truth.

After all, Incubators never lie.

They only spun the truth around and around like cotton candy atop a cone, layering it so softly that one would never see through their sweetened sentences.

"Come now. I have something I want to test out with your help." He skipped away lightly and disappeared beyond a small tuft of greens. Shika set her heart to it and followed him, taking each step resolutely. Whatever this Incubator wanted with her, it was worth the while finding out. He seemed very much different from Kyubey - more laid back, more dare-devilish and more carefree.

He wasn't your typical Incubator.

"Right here. Come and stand next to me, Kiyomizu, and look around." He pawed the ground, looking at her with his liquid purple eyes.

Shika obeyed without a word, getting more curious. She went to his side and looked around, expecting to see something that would throw her off her feet, but all around, the same scenery greeted her.

Rolling green hills dotted with nodding flowers. Azure blue vaults hanging above.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" said Shika quizzically, glancing around. "Everything's the same here."

"Right you are. Now that we see that there's nothing here, get onto your knees." He commanded her coolly, nodding his proud head towards the ground. He was telling her to kneel.

"Excuse me?" Shika looked at him incredulously, as if not quite believing what she had just heard.

"Listen to my instructions, Kiyomizu, if you want to see something happen. I believe you are the one that can pull her out of her cursed slumber." Although he had said that calmly enough, it was evident that he would tolerate no disobedience.

To disobey would mean to face punishment.

Shika eyed him grudgingly, but dropped to her knees anyway. "What do you want with me kneeling?" she demanded, the tougher side of her personality now showing itself should she need to take action against the cat-like creature. He was getting highly suspicious.

He ignored her question, instead saying, "Now, clasp your hands together in prayer and chant, 'O' Bringer of the Law of Cycles, descend from your heavenly throne and bestow me with your presence!'"

"Law of Cycles?" Shika's gut seized up with an uncanny feeling. Where had she heard that term? It sounded familiar, close to heart... something that all Puella Magi should know about, yet couldn't quite grasp.

"Do not question me now. Do it with enthusiasm, and we shall see if your prayers are answered," said the alien cat, looking excited despite his level tone.

Sensing that something amazing might happen if she carried out his request, Shika closed her eyes and put her palms together, saying out loud and powerfully, "O' Bringer of the Law of Cycles, descend from your heavenly throne and bestow me with your presence!"

Scarcely was the last word uttered when the sky burst into a multitude of lights, weaving and bending into magnificent displays like that of the aurora. Violet ribbons meshed into magenta streams as stars popped and sparked into sight. Clouds of condensed light swirled into a focal point in the centre of the sky, radiating holy energy. An intricate patterning of pink teardrops and circles, along with frills of black blossomed in the middle of it all, and a pathway of flowers thronged its way to the earth.

Like a spectre coming to life, a winged figure clad in a galactic dress appeared in the glow, white wings spread wide and hands clasped at her chest. Stars trailed behind her as she floated down the lane of flowers, a serene smile on her lips. When she finally opened her eyes, the irises were of the clearest gold, shining and sparkling with untainted purity.

The Goddess, the Bringer of the Law of Cycles, was here.

Shika gasped, almost falling over in shock. However, she was rooted there, as if feeling a kinship with this god-like persona. Next to her, the Incubator's fur bristled and his feline eyes glimmered with greed.

"I can't believe this..." he muttered, his voice shaking as he took a step forward. "I knew it. You would be able to summon the Goddess of Puella Magi..."

"G-Goddess?" Shika stammered, looking at the Incubator in disbelief. Her head jerked from the cat to the holy figure, and back to the cat, and she suddenly had a very sickening thought.

Incubators were here for one reason, and only one reason - to maintain the balance of entropy. Why else would an Incubator get excited at the prospect of seeing the Goddess of Puella Magi if not to use her to their advantage, and somehow increase their entropy harvest? Was this purple Incubator thinking just that, or was she being delusional?

The Goddess flew towards her with all the grace of a ballet dancer, her pink hair tied in pigtails flowing out behind her. "Shika Kiyomizu, I thank you for calling me here," she said in a childish, yet somehow mature voice. "I've been stuck in my physical body for far too long. If you haven't called for me in the World Between Worlds, and reminded me of who I truly am, I fear that this part of me may be lost forever."

Shika could only gawp at the girl. The Goddess laughed, like a merry, trickling brook, and took Shika's hands into hers. She smiled kindly and said, "Oh, look at where my manners are. I know your name, but I haven't even told you mine."

"Madoka Kaname..." whispered Shika, her memories suddenly returning to her. Her forest green eyes dulled for a moment, as if trying to recall something crucial. "You're Madoka Kaname... You're the one that cleanses our corruption before we turn into Witches, and takes us away to the Law of Cycles."

Madoka was pleasantly surprised. "Eh? How did you know about me? Normal Puella Magi don't usually know about my existence right until their final moment comes. Ahh! Don't tell me you're already dead?"

"N-No! I'm still alive," said Shika quickly, waving her hands about flusteredly. Then, she seemed not so confident anymore, and added, "At least I think I'm still alive..."

"I'm very sure you are, dear," smiled Madoka, squeezing Shika's hands reassuringly. "I can feel your physical body down on Earth, together with your faithful dog. I believe you did not call for me without a proper reason?"

"Uh... Actually, I was dragged into this," replied Shika awkwardly. "The purple Incubator... huh?" When she had turned around to address the cat, he was no longer there. There were not even tell-tale signs that he had ever been there; not a hair, not a paw print, nothing. He had disappeared.

"B-But...!" stammered Shika, looking around wildly for the creature. "I swear he was here just a while ago. He was the one that brought me here!"

Madoka smiled and shook her head, putting a hand on Shika's shoulder. "Never mind him. Incubators have their own weird ways. Though, I am quite uneasy about them. Why do you think he brought you to the World Between Worlds?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," said Shika hesitantly. "But he did say something about me being able to summon the Goddess of Puella Magi... which is you, I take it?"

Nodding her head, Madoka confirmed the fact. "I am the Goddess in question. If you would allow me, can I tell you about who I was, and how I became what I am now? And after that, I will tell you more about who you really are."

"I would be glad to listen to your story as well as to find out more about myself, Goddess Kaname," said Shika reverently, bowing her head low.

"Please, call me Madoka," said the young Goddess with a smile. It seemed she would never run short of smiles. "I once was a normal girl, living a normal life. I had great friends - friends that really loved me and cared for me deeply. But conflict started to happen when a dear friend of mine, Homura Akemi, decided to take things into her own hands to try and save me from my destiny. Over and over again, she rewinded time, trying to change my fate, which was either death or transformation into a Witch that could potentially destroy Earth, but each time, she would fail."

"It was not until the final timeline that I finally realised what she had been doing for me. She had sacrificed her own happiness so that I may live a normal life. But I couldn't stand by and watch her suffer any more. Neither could I just watch as girls of all ages and backgrounds died due to the will of the Incubators. So I made a contract with Kyubey, foiling his plans, and my wish turned me into this... I am no longer a human, nor fully a Goddess... but rather something that exists between the worlds, a protector of Puella Magi, an entity of hope. I exist solely to save the lives of Puella Magi before they fall to their own despair and be reborn as the enemies they were meant to fight, namely the Witches. Right now, the World Between Worlds is the only place where I can safely manifest as my Goddess form, without having fear that Homura-chan will hunt me down and return me to my shell."

"My role is crucial in making sure that Puella Magi do not fall victim to the twisted ploys of the Incubators... So I don't know why Homura-chan would want to stop me from doing that. Also..." Here, she stopped, looking uncertain. "That Incubator you were talking about, Shika-chan... It makes me wonder if he had you call me for a reason." A finger went to her lips as she pondered about it.

Shika creased her brows, feeling a choking sensation in her throat. It was not because of the purple Incubator's plots, nor was it any surprise from seeing a Goddess.

No, she was thinking about Homura Akemi, and what Madoka had said about her rewinding time to prevent Madoka's death and to save her from her fate. With her memories about the Goddess rapidly returning to her, all she wanted to know now was, who exactly is Homura Akemi?

Her thoughts were broken when Madoka gave a pained yell, clutching at her heart. Shika was by her side at once, frantically holding onto the white gloved hand of the Goddess. "What's wrong, Madoka?! What's happening?" she asked, watching in horror as Madoka's body began to shimmer in and out of existence.

The Goddess gave a groan, her body disappearing and reappearing unnervingly in Shika's arms. "I cannot..ugh... maintain my holy form for long. Homura-chan knows I've been called to the World Between Worlds, and- ack!- she's trying to pull me back into my physical body." Blinking through gritted teeth and deep-rooted pain, Madoka said to Shika urgently, "Shika-chan, you have to find Homura-chan and make her stop this! Without me to lead the fallen Puella Magi away to the Law of Cycles, the world will be as it was before, where Incubators exploit us and use our emotional energies to their advantage. Without me, the cycle of death and rebirth as Witches will go on, and Puella Magi will never have salvation. Aahhh!" She gave a scream that tore at Shika's heart, and she began to rapidly dissolve into particles of glowing dust. Panicked, Shika tried to grab at them and prevent them from floating away, but Madoka stopped her, smiling in spite of her agony.

"No, it's useless to try," she said. "This will not be the last time you'll see me, I promise. Now that your soul has entered the World Between Worlds once, it will remember the way here. All you need to do is project your thoughts and your soul into this world, and you'll find yourself here once more. Before you do that, make sure your body is in a safe place, where it cannot be harmed. I may not be able to come even if you call for me, as Homura-chan will probably increase her alertness now that she knows I can access this place. To go back to your body, just think of it, and you will feel yourself being pulled away. Do not resist."

Floating away from Shika's arms, her lower body already gone, Madoka leaned forward and kissed Shika gently on the forehead. "My blessings are with you, Shika Kiyomizu. Find my physical body, free me from Homura-chan's grasp, and restore the Law of Cycles. I am sorry for asking you of this, but to be able to enter the World Between Worlds, it means that you are special." Further and further away she drifted, the formations in the sky falling apart like pieces of ripped paper.

"You are the Angel of Battle that I have seen in my dreams. Together with your two friends, the Angel of Warfare and the Angel of Destruction, you will be able to save Homura-chan and bring her to salvation. When you've done that, I will be able to return to my true form and save the Puella Magi from their terrible fates."

With only her head left, Madoka smiled one more time, floating away into the sky. "You are the hope of all Puella Magi. The One Month of Reversals only served to make you stronger, as it did to the Angel of Destruction. I will see you soon, my good Angel. Be brave..."

Shika could only watch in wide-eyed disbelief as the vaults above exploded into a waterfall of luminous sparks, shards of transparent sky showering over her like coarse glitter. Meshes of wire-like objects could be seen where the sky had shattered, and beyond that was empty whiteness. It was as if she were in an elaborately decorated cage for the damned, draped over with a blue substance meant to be the sky. A loud sucking sound reverberated across the lands, and the sky began to patch itself up again, the white areas turning deep blue. In almost no time, the landscape was restored to its former beauty.

The Goddess was nowhere to be seen.

"What just happened...?" Shika half-whispered to herself, still staring at the spot where Madoka had materialised. "Angel of Battle? Angel of Warfare and Destruction? Me, Akira and Tera-san...?"

She laughed nervously to herself. She, an Angel of Battle? The Goddess must have been mistaken...

But then she remembered that day, where she had defeated the high-class Witch, Ciel, with Akira, and was approached by Kyubey. He had told her that she was definitely the Messiah and needed to defeat the Demon, Homura Akemi. He had told her about the Elemental Trio's role in doing that. He had wanted her to mount a war against Homura once she had gathered them.

It now seemed that he wasn't lying to her.

Except... there was one tiny flaw. He had also told her that she was supposed to be the next Goddess. Seeing as there was already one, Shika couldn't help but wonder what made him say that. Could it be possible that he did not know about Madoka's existence?

... ...

Realisation suddenly hit her like a sledgehammer. Could it be that the purple Incubator had made her summon the Goddess so that he had proof of her existence? Was he bounding back to his fellow Incubators and telling them all about Madoka right now? If so, wouldn't that mean that she had just betrayed the Goddess?

Her whole body was drained of its warmth, stunned by the revelation, as the butterflies flew close by, curious about this new presence. They settled all over her, on her shoulders, her head, her arms and her legs, and upon closer inspection, Shika recoiled in horror when she saw that the insects were not as pretty as they made out to be.

They had the heads of slain Puella Magi from the past, compound eyes of insects, fingers for feet and multicoloured, stretched skin for wings. She shouted in shock and fell over, upsetting them as they flew upwards in a cloud. She was trying to put some distance between herself and the revolting monstrosities, and when she tried to summon her mallet, it did not come.

"TSK TSKZZZ YOU CAANOT USEESZ WEAPONSZ HERE ITZS FORBIDDEENSZ!" They buzzed and shrieked in their individual tiny voices, but to have a hundred of them screaming at once was like experiencing a metal-rock concert with the speakers right next to you.

Shika clamped her hands over her ears and cringed, hastily thinking about her physical body and Yuki, who would be worried about her. 'Come on... go back now... Get back to your body...' she told herself firmly, getting thoroughly freaked out by the insects. The butterflies' fingers crawled over her, prodding and feeling as they screamed at her to leave.

"LEAAVSS THISZ PLACEEE HUMANZ NO BELONGHZ HERE! SKREEKAAAHHRAA!"

To her utmost relief, she felt her soul being tugged away towards her body, reeling it in like a fishing net on a chain. The distorted voices of the butterflies faded away, and soon, she heard no more.

***

"At this point, I don't think I can be fazed by anything anymore, dear, but are you sure you didn't dream it up?" whispered Akira, her head leaning in closer towards Shika's so that her words could be heard. They were still in bed, on the floor, and dawn had just broken. Tera was sleeping next to them, snoring gently and unaware that her seniors were already up and discussing something important.

"I'm very sure it wasn't a dream. I talked with the Goddess, and she told me those exact words," replied Shika softly, furrowing her forehead. "It seems that Kyubey and the Goddess are both telling us to do the same thing - defeat Homura Akemi."

"And after defeating her, what happens? Does the Goddess make a comeback and kill the Incubators for us, or do the Incubators capture her and use her, like you thought they might?" questioned Akira, smoothing back her hair. "Knowing those furry scoundrels, they'd celebrate at the thought of a Puella Magi Goddess, cause that would only mean a new way of harvesting their precious entropy."

"Yeah... Now I'm not sure if I'd done the right thing, calling for Madoka in front of that purple Incubator. He must have wanted proof that the Goddess existed, and from there, made new plans for whatever it is they're up to." Shika sighed and pulled the blankets around her closer, snuggling into them with a dejected look. "Some Angel I am, betraying her existence to the enemy..."

"It's not your fault, Shika darling," said Akira soothingly, placing a hand on Shika's head and brushing away the hair from her eyes. "He damn right tricked you into it. You didn't know what would've happened if you did as he told. But it's alright. You can meet the Goddess again if you go there... though those butterflies... They're freaky."

"Freaky doesn't give full justice to how they look and act..." shuddered Shika. "After that experience, I dread going back to that world. But to find out more, I have to..."

"I wish I could accompany you there, but I don't know how to project our souls. I doubt that without the interference of an Incubator, I'd ever go there. I'm not sure about Tera-chan though."

"Hmm... I don't know, really. It felt so... natural when I detached my soul from my body. I don't think the Incubator did anything to me."

"Then you are indeed the Chosen One if you can do that, as the Goddess had said." Akira smiled encouragingly at Shika, and despite feeling a bit off, Shika smiled back, glad that she had Akira to confide in.

"Nghh... Can you two lovers shut the hell up?" grumbled a sleepy Tera, rearing up momentarily to shoot the older girls a glare. "A body's tryin' to get some sleep here, doncha' know? If you wanna flirt, be my guest, but do it outside cuz I feel like a frickin' third wheel."

"A-Aren't you asleep, Tera-san?! And n-no one's flirting!" blurted out Shika, flushing red and rolling away from Akira.

"Y-Yeah, we were just talking about something serious!" backed up Akira, her fingers nervously adjusting her bangs over her ruined eye.

Tera raised a cranky eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Your faces were so damn close, you could've kissed."

Shika quickly got up and excused herself to the bathroom, while Akira turned on Tera, her cheeks hot.

"Oh my god, Aido get back to sleep right now or I'll freeze you in a block of ice and throw you in the river where you'll drift off to the sea and be eaten by a pack of hungry sharks and I won't even care because I obviously don't give a damn about you and that barbarian personality of yours which makes me want to-"

"Woaah, senpai, calm the hell down," said Tera quickly, throwing a pillow into Akira's face. "I was only kiddin', sheesh... Though it's fun to see you flustered, ehe."

Tera gave Akira a wicked grin before falling back onto the pillows, muttering, "I'm just gonna go back to sleep now and dream of ships sailing under the name of ShiKira. Oh, and thanks for callin' me by my first name again, with a -chan at the back. I really love the way you say it cause it sounds so natural yet so forced."

"Y-You little-! God, I am so done with you." Akira sank her head in a pillow and sighed exasperatedly.

How on earth was that girl so cheeky and irrepressible? She would never know...

Hello, my dear readers ^^
I am sorry at how long it took for an update to come, because as usual, life got occupied by other stuff ^^" This is just an insert chapter though, that's why it's quite short and labelled as Chapter 26.5. The next chapter will be back to normal. Also, I know I'm throwing in yuri references here and there and I blame Teravfon101 *cough*
I hope you will bear with me and the long waits between updates... I enjoy writing this story, and I'm glad that some people enjoy reading it ^^
If any of you think that the plot is taking too slow to progress, please do tell me. The last thing I want to do is to make readers bored.. ^^''
With that said, take care, everyone, and have a great day!

~SaitheVivana