Days passed as Jackie sank into a funk. His mind toiled over what Carmen had said, and recalled Tommy saying something equally strange back when they played together. As his mind toiled, something continued to feel off. He struggled to pay attention, barely mustering a reassuring facade for the others, betrayed by darting eyes and relentless fidgeting. He even had to fight them to help during their latest patrol. It wasn’t anything special, but the idea of being left out only made him more on edge. They were just out surveying the area and then trained a bit in an empty field. He was certain he could handle that much. But even then, he just wasn’t all there, eventually leaving it to Vivi to cover for him as he retreated into his thoughts.

“Jackie just needs some time I think,” was the best excuse Vivi could give as she quietly worried about him herself. The night finally passed, and he awoke again in Annie’s apartment, rubbing away tears from the stress. He rolled over in the pull-out bed, the strange sensations he had been feeling returning. He twitched in place for a moment. They felt particularly strange today. Everything just felt weird. He sat in bed for a good few minutes processing his loose feelngs.

“Good morning,” Melody waved at the table. He didn’t notice her wheel over to the table in his sea of thoughts. Jackie returned with a limp wave back, Melody gave a slight pout in turn as she watched the distant look in his eyes.

“Good morning,” he finally replied after finding a smile, which seemed to relieve her.

“Annie’s getting dressed, she already made breakfast so you can eat when you’re ready,” Melody explained. “You might want to get changed so she can take you back home later.”

“Right,” he nodded as he got up from the bed, Melody’s quiet pink eyes observing his slow tired movements.

“Oh, uh, Jackie?” Melody called after him as he moved for the hallway, prompting him to turn around.

“Yes’m?”

“Uh,” Melody hesitated. “No, never mind,” Jackie shrugged and went on his way, fidgeting with his clothes again. “Should I…?” she whispered to herself.

“Why do I feel so weird today?” Jackie grumbled as he entered the bathroom, flicking on the lights. His sight was immediately captured by the mirror, perplexed by some oddity in his reflection. He couldn’t figure out what it was though, something simply felt off, much like his clothes. He anxiously drew his arm to his chest, the gentle touch acting as a ground for his spinning mind. It brought a certain comfort to him, but he also instinctively started to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed after his conversation with Carmen, heat filling his face. Now that was really weird, and he was entirely sure why it was bothering him. Why did he feel so embarrassed?

He shook his head and closed the door behind him. Whatever was bugging him would certainly pass soon, he was certain of that much, just as it had before. Before… something about that seemed discomforting, but he chose to ignore it. As he sat doing his business, his mind continued to wander, confused by the increasingly strange feelings. His clothes, his mannerisms, his appearance, and this anxiety, why did it all feel so strange to him, and why did it… he shook his head again. As he got up, a thought occurred, or rather another unusual sensation did. One he didn’t expect which prodded his mind with its swiftness, like one of the spikey seeds that jabbed his foot through his shoes in the Summer, only without the pain. He looked down to his side. Why did his abdomen feel weird when his arms brushed against it?

Returning to the mirror he looked again at his reflection again, this time lifting up his shirt. What he saw left him speechless as his cheeks furiously ignited from the sheer embarrassment. “W-what?” he stammered as he scanned his curving body. The thick chub that had been there which padded him to a slightly bulging shape had vanished. That made enough sense given all the working and training he had been doing, but this? His abdomen curved inward around his stomach. Not massively, but enough to be noticeable to him, it even seemed softer.

As his mind darted for an explanation, he let go of his shirt and clutched his hands to his chest, looking on with a desperate look to his reflection’s soft pout. “Soft?” he murmured to himself. That’s right, he instinctively felt his face looked softer somehow too, a thought which caused him to flinch. He thought back to when he talked to Carmen.

‘Are you Vivi right now?’ her voice began to reverberate in his head again. He was confused by the question, but as he looked into the reflection her misunderstanding seemed quite obvious. He really was acting like her, holding his hands in simple feminine ways like and other idiosyncrasies which matched her demeanor. He tried to deny it before, but now, seeing it reflected, it was undeniable.

And then there was his body, was it becoming more like hers as well? Even if just a little? As he thought about it more, he slowly started putting the pieces together. His clothes feeling weird and his sister being taller, they weren’t the result of new soap or Leah growing, he was shrinking. And then there were all the strange comments, behaviors, and these weird sensations. He held his head as panic began to set in. “Annie, I have to talk to Annie!” he muttered.

* * *

“Good morning, Jackie,” Annie smiled. “Did you sleep...” her voice drifted off as she saw Jackie fidget as he seemed to shrink in place. “What’s wrong, you look upset?” she asked causing Melody to look up from her pancakes, her fin-like ears twitching in curiosity.

“I… something’s wrong,” his voice quivered and his body wobbled. “I… my body is...” he tried to find the words as the seemed to disappear, like letters in alphabet soup as it was stirred.

“Whoa, whoa,” Annie tried to calm him as she got up and helped hold him up. “I’m here. Just take it one step at a time, okay?” he nodded. “Now what’s wrong.”

“I woke up feeling weird again. And when I went to the bathroom, I started noticing all these weird things. Like my face, looks softer. And my body is curving in weird ways and, and… and I have no idea what’s going on,” his voice fell to a whimper as he looked down. “What’s happening to me?”

“I’m not sure,” she shook her head. “You seem perfectly normal to me,” she tried to console him.

“But I’m not!” he yelped with panic edging into his voice. “My body, I… I think I’m becoming like her.”

“Who?”

“Vivi,” he whimpered. “I think I’m becoming like Vivi.”

“But I thought you both said...”

“I don’t know,” he held his head, his breath getting heavy. “I… nothing’s making sense.”

Annie looked on helplessly. She had no idea what he was even talking about. He genuinely seemed like he normally did, but obviously he didn’t feel the same way. And she wasn’t really sure what he meant by ‘becoming like Vivi.’ Admittedly, she didn’t know him that long, especially before Vivi entered the picture. She unfortunately had no real way to know for certain. She wanted to help, but she had no idea how.

“Jackie I...” she said with a quiet tone.

“Annie. Do you mind if I try talking to him in private for a little bit?” Melody asked as she wheeled over to them.

“Mel?” Annie looked to her as she wheeled herself over. Jackie looking at her cautiously.

“Jackie, it’ll be okay. I’ve kind of been wondering something. And I think it might help, okay?” she asked with her kind pink eyes, emanating with warm kindness which soothed him. He nodded.

Annie helped Melody to the bed as Jackie entered. He had avoided Annie’s room in the past, feeling anxious about entering it, as if it were forbidden, not that Annie ever said anything like that. Being inside he found the room to be really nice. It was pleasant and comforting. The warm sheen of the wood, the cozy colors of the lilac sheets and floral quilt resting upon the bed. The varying pieces of other furniture, like the clean bed side tables. It had a nice comfy and mature feel to it, neither too dark, nor too bright. It reminded him of his mom’s room, which comforted and calmed him a little. Annie turned to him, snapping him out of his pleasant gander of the room as she walked past with a gentle whisper of “she’ll take good care of you,” before leaving, the door shutting behind her.

“What did you want to talk about Melody?” he asked, barely controlling his shaking voice.

“It’s okay,” she nodded. “You’re safe here,” she said as she patted the space on the bed beside her. Jackie nodded as he sat next to her. “It’s been a quite a bit since this whole thing started, hasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah, a little over a month now, right? It’s still…so much,” he felt so small and insecure.

“Mhmm, and you’ve been really good getting through all of it,” Melody complimented him. That made him feel good, even relaxed a little bit. “But it’s all still a lot to get used to,” she said leaning back a tiny bit as her tail flopped a bit, swaying back and forth like a pendulum. “It’s been so strange getting used to this new body and my powers as a magical girl. But it’s strange, it also kinda feels… perfect, I guess. Like I was always supposed to be this way,” she said warmly.

“Y-yeah,” Jackie nodded and smiled. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt a strange compulsion to agree with her.

“How about you?” Melody asked, causing Jackie to jump slightly. “How have you been handling everything?”

“I-it’s a lot,” he stammered. “I feel so lost lately. It all feels so heavy all the time…except for…” he shook his head. “I just don’t know anymore,” he lamented.

Melody gave a sympathetic frown and thought to herself before nodding and turning to him again. “Hey, uh, Jackie?” she looked at him curiously.

“Yeah?”

“How does it feel? Being able to become a magical girl?”

“Uh, cool I guess,” he shrugged dismissively. “Kind of nice to help people like that? But you know that already, I guess.”

“What about being a girl?” she asked a little more directly.

His mind suddenly went to points and needles, his face feeling subsumed in flames. “I… h-huh...???”

“Like do you like it?”

“I… uh… it’s nice I guess, and… no… I’m a guy, I just feel perverted thinking about it,” he felt like shrinking into nothing to hide from this feeling.

“Perverted? Why?” she asked.

“B-because, I’m a boy, and liking being a girl is perverted,” he shook, trying to bury this face.

“No, it’s not,” Melody said gently as she touched his shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with liking or even wanting to be a girl,” she smiled, with a soft look in her eyes.

“B-but, all boys feel that way, right?” he tried to rationalize. “I mean, who doesn’t want that… r-right?” Melody tilted her head curiously. “L-like, guys always talk about how cute girls are and stuff, right? S-so…”

“That’s not true,” Melody shook her head. “Plenty of boys like being boys, and attraction isn’t the same as wanting to be something. And that’s all okay. And just like that’s okay, it’s okay to not want to be a boy too,” she smiled.

“W-what do…what do you mean?” he stammered, shaking as he looked into her calm accepting eyes, failing to hide his growing blush.

“It’s okay. There are plenty of people who don’t match with what others tell them they are. For instance, others say I should like boys, but I don’t, I like girls. I find myself getting lost in the soft curves and sharp eyes of other women, while men I often barely notice,” she giggled. “I’m a girl who likes girls. And just like that, there are people who aren’t the gender that others tell them they are. People who society and people say are boys, but find that they’re actually girls, and there’s also those that are told they’re girls, but are really boys. And there’s others who don’t fit either category at all, or are somewhere between. And that’s all okay too,” she explained with her gentle soothing voice.

“Wh-what are you trying to say?”

“Jackie. I might be overstepping myself here, but if you don’t want to be a boy, you don’t have to be. And if you want to be a girl, you can be a girl. Or you can be anything else if neither of them suit you,” she said holding his hand a warm smile beaming down upon him.

“No, but, I can’t… I mean, I’m not…” he struggled to speak. He felt so confused and flustered, but why? This stuff should be straight forward, so why was this so difficult? All he had to do was say he was a boy. All he had to do was say he liked being a boy. So why was it so difficult? Why did the words seem to crumble in his mouth, turning into an unending amount of dust to choke upon?

“It’s okay,” Melody continued calmly, giving him a nice side hug. “I’m sorry for pushing you. If I’m wrong, then you don’t have to pay attention to what I said. I just… I want you to know that I’ll support you and be there for you, no matter what you choose. Annie too. She can be really dense sometimes, but she’d support you too,” her smile warmed Jackie in a difficult to describe way for him. He couldn’t quite accept what she was saying, but a part of him was urged him to try.

“Melody. I’m not sure what to think about all of that. I don’t even know how to respond… I… I…”

“It’s okay. If you need some alone time, you’re free to stay here, or I’m sure Annie would be willing to take you home.”

“I...” he hesitated. He couldn’t go home, not like this, not right now. He felt sick simply thinking about it. “Can I stay here tonight?”

“Of course,” Melody nodded. “Why don’t you go rest up for now, okay?” he gave a quiet nod as he got up and left for the Living Room, Annie returning a couple minutes later.

“How’d it go?” Melody sighed to Annie’s question. “Not good?”

“It’s not that. I’m honestly not sure right now. I don’t think it went badly but,” Melody frowned. “But I’m not sure I helped either.”

“Well, I’m glad you tried,” Annie said sitting down beside her and stroking her long damp hair, Melody fidgeting in place.

“Annie, do you think I’m being too heavy handed?” Melody asked, just slightly louder than a whimper.

“Heavy handed? About what?” Annie tilted her head.

“About Jackie,” she said looking down. “I... I suggested that he might be trans to him.”

“Uh...” Annie scratched her head. “Did he even know what that means?”

“Haah,” Melody groaned. “I didn’t just ask him if he thought he was trans Annie,” she shook her head. “I explained what it means to be transgender, although I don’t think I actually called it that,” she shook her head harder. “I just explained that there’s people who don’t line up with their assigned gender and… I… I’m afraid I may have pushed him to hard,” she began to look down again.

“Hey, hey,” Annie said with a chuckle. “If it’s you, there’s no way you were being pushy. I mean you don’t even have legs to give a good push,” she teased poking her tail.

“I’m being serious,” Melody pouted.

“So am I,” Annie smiled. “In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never been one to force your beliefs or ideas onto other people. That’s part of what I love about you, you’re too considerate for that,” Annie said hugging her close, her ponytail falling upon Melody’s waving hair.

“Annie…” Melody blushed. “Thank you.”

“Though, may I ask something?”

“Of course,” Melody smiled halfheartedly.

“What makes you think Jackie might trans?” Melody sighed. “What?”

“Annie, I love you, but you can be really dense sometimes,” Melody gave a light chuckle as Annie scratched the back of her head. “I admit that I haven’t known him long, but he’s just had this attitude. Like when he’s Magenta and he acts all cute, and then seems depressed in boy mode.”

“But there are girlish boys,” Annie countered. “N-not that I’m saying you’re wrong but...”

“There’s more to it than that,” she held her pendant. “After I got to talking to Chi, I started wondering if these transformation help us become something we’re supposed to be. When I looked online, I found a lot of people feeling similarly too. And then there’s Vivi.”

“Vivi?” Annie asked.

“I just… what if the reason Jackie took on that form is the same reason I became a mermaid, and Chi became a yuki-onna. I just… I can’t shake the feeling that all of this has helped reveal something about us,” she explained.

“I didn’t realize you were thinking that hard about all of this,” Annie frowned.

“Sorry I haven’t talked to you about it. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me first. But when I saw Jackie panicking, I just… I had to say something. I’m just afraid by bringing it up that maybe I made things worse. Like if I’m wrong that’s fine, but what if… what if Jackie really is a girl,” she began to cry, “and what if I just made it harder to accept that? What if I forced things too quickly?”

“Like I said, if it’s you, there’s no way that could happen,” Annie reassured her.

“But...”

“How about this, I’ll go check on him for you, okay?”

“Alright,” Melody nodded with a smile. “But… if it’s okay...” she looked longingly at Annie.

“Of course,” Annie nodded. “Let’s just stay like this for a little bit.”

“Annie, thanks for being so good to me.”

* * *

Jackie tumbled around the bed, uncertain of what to do. He thought about what Melody said and about being a girl. He couldn’t tell if his face was flushing or blushing at that thought. He woke up terrified about these changes, but there was a perplexing truth that what he was more afraid about was that he didn’t know why it was happening. The confusion and uncertainty was what plagued him, not the changes themselves. And when he thought about that question ‘do you like being a girl?’ his mind didn’t reject the temptation. The idea it event felt a little comforting.

“There are people who aren’t what people says they are,” he repeated to himself. He shook his head.

There was still a central problem he didn’t understand, something that he still needed an answer to. Carmen compared him to Vivi, and his behaviors were changing ever since she showed up. She had become closer with everyone, yet he couldn’t talk to her, even though he so desperately needed to talk to her himself. But there was no way to do that, right?

“Wait a moment,” he said to himself. “Vivi, she’s used our powers to connect with people’s emotions before. What if I used them to connect with her?” he looked at his hands. He nodded to himself. “I need…I want to speak to her. I want her to tell me.” He grasped his locket and opened it, the magical energy inside circling around him, leaving him on the bed as Prism Magenta, long pink hair settling upon his back as the dress formed upon his now feminine body.

“Okay,” he said in his higher register. “No time like the present,” he sighed.

He brought his hands to his chest and tried to recall the sensation of when Vivi connected with Ichika and Melody. He let his magic seep into himself, searching for his heart. Vivi did it so naturally, but it seemed a little more awkward, though he was uncertain if it was because of himself or his lack of experience. However, with enough time and effort, he finally felt something. It was like a warm pulsing ball of comfort. As he felt it, it seemed to grow. No, that wasn’t right. It was more like he seemed to be shrinking. He wasn’t his body anymore, not exactly. His mind was sinking into the ball, sinking into his heart. The pink ball enveloped him.

The world seemed to blur and numb into nothingness, replaced by a vast pink void, he could still make out his form, and he was still Prism Magenta, but the space around him wasn’t the physical place he left behind. He decided to stand up and walk in a random direction. As he did so, what appeared to be a wall with a window came into view. The space began to gain substance and texture, taking the form of very girl room full of frills. A mountain emerged, formed of plushies of various sorts he recognized, many of which he recalled wanting or owning. There was a fancy dresser with a shiny marble top and a lamp positioned on it.

There was a lavish bed, one befitting a princess. Truth be told, he always wanted one like it. Big and plush, soft veils acting like a personal barrier as he was swarmed by yet more plushies. In the corner there was a desk with cute stickers plastered all over it, and a beautiful white mirror standing beside a welcoming computer which had a cute background of a pair of girls hugging as the background. There was also a dresser full of all sorts of clothes, far more than the wardrobe he had back home. In fact, it didn’t even have space for his small collection of clothes. Instead of his wardrobe of dark muted clothes, this one was flooded with bright pastels, long flowing tops, skirts, dresses. He blushed as he eyed what appeared to be a bra. Was this what Vivi’s inner world looked like? This girly paradise?

Finally, he returned his gaze forward. There against the window, with a gentle sunset light embracing her, sat the girl holding a familiar round pink plushie with small red feet. It was the main character from a game he played when he was little, though he stopped playing it when he became a teenager after the guys at school bullied him. ‘That’s a kiddy game,’ they mocked. The girl held it close to herself as she looked longingly out the window, seemingly oblivious to him. She was almost an exact duplicate of him as Prism Magenta, right down to the long pink hair and frilly sense of clothing, although what she was wearing was far more casual. A simple pink skirt, a scalloped white top, and a pair of white Mary Jane shoes.

“You’re finally here,” she said happily as she turned to face him. “Hi.”

“You’re her, aren’t you, the girl who keeps taking over my body,” he asked innocently, “Vivi?” He was almost mesmerized by how beautiful and cute she looked. Did he really look like that as Magenta?

“That’s right,” she nodded as she looked into his eyes with a gentle smile. He shook his head trying to focus.

“You say your name is Vivi, but who are you really? Why do you keep taking over my body? Do you understand how frustrating and upsetting this has been? I have no idea what’s happening anymore. Just who are you? What do you want?” he passionately demanded.

She held her plush tight as she looked down, giving a sigh. “I was really hoping you’d have already figured it out, seeing as how you came here and all. I mean, you came here at least suspecting why, right?”

“Give me a straight answer, dammit,” he exclaimed.

“Say, what do you think about what Melody said?”

“I-I don… S-stop trying to dodge my question and answer me! Who are you!?”

“You have to figure that out on your own,” she curtly answered. “I can’t answer that for you… no matter how much I want to,” she frowned. “That’s how it has to be,” her hands tightened as she hugged the plushy more.

“Fine, if you won’t tell me that, then at least tell me why you keep taking over my body.”

“I did it because you wanted me to,” she said plainly before smiling at her plush and nuzzling it.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ve only taken over when you needed and wanted me to. In those moments of desperation,” she frowned. “You may not have realized it, but you agreed to it. Either because I asked you, or you asked me. It’s not like I took over when you didn’t want me to. And I always gave back control when you wanted it, no matter how abrupt,” she went silent for a second, looking down with a pained expression. “No matter how much I didn’t want to.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t remember asking you for help when this all started,” she just sighed at him in response. “Fine, then why is it that my body is changing? And why have I started acting differently too?”

“I’m sorry” she frowned. “I don’t have any control over that,” she looked down disappointed.

“ARGH, why are you like this!?” he nearly screamed. “You’re always so difficult and cryp-...”

He stopped short. ‘You’re always so difficult and cryptic.’ Those words, echoed in his head. He could hear Leah’s voice echo those words again and again about himself. His sister had told him that he was like that, and now he was...

“Hmm?”

“Difficult…and cryptic…just like Leah said…” he said falling to his knees. “Why am I always like this?” he said beginning to cry. The girl just looked at him, a sympathetic glimmer in her eye. “You’re right. I know. I already knew,” he sobbed. “I’m not becoming more like you, am I? I’ve always been like this. You were just more okay with showing it. You’re the part of myself I’ve been too ashamed of letting out. You’re… I’ve always been you… haven’t I?” the girl stood up smiling walking over to sobbing child and giving a gentle loving embrace.

“Good girl,” she said with a gentle hug sending a shiver through ‘Jackie’.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for pushing you away,” ‘Jackie’ cried.

“I’m so proud of you. Welcome home.”

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, until ‘Jackie’ looked up asking, “what happens now?”

“I’m not sure,” ‘Vivi’ said. “Our body will probably keep changing until it matches who we really are, if I had to guess.”

“I still don’t understand why or how any of this happened, though,” ‘Jackie’ lamented.

“I don’t either, but I’m glad it did.”

“Yeah, so am I. Thank you for being with me.”

“I won’t ever leave you. Never again,” they whispered to each other, their voices seeming to meld into one.

* * *

“Jackie! Jackie! Come on! Wake up!” Annie called out in a panic. “Oh no, please, come on. Dammit, come on and wake up. Please.”

The pink haired girl rolled over, tears streaming from her big bold green eyes as she looked up. “Annie?”

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake,” she relaxed with a sigh as she moved in for a hug. “I was so scared when you just suddenly collapsed like that.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” she apologized with a soft gentle voice, pulling her hands to her chest with a tearful look.

Annie looked at her staring at her delicately placed hands. “Wait a moment. Are…are you Vivi?”

“I am,” she nodded with a soft smile.

“What happened to Jackie?” she asked concernedly.

Vivi gave a happy chuckle. “I finally woke up,” she smiled.

“Huh?” Annie looked at her perplexed.

“Your face is so funny,” Melody laughed as she wheeled over to the pullout bed. “You get such a silly expression when you get like this.”

“H-hey, I’m just concerned okay. I mean, I don’t really get what’s going on,” she admitted.

“Vivi,” Melody looked at the pink haired girl, her face dropping a bit out of hesitation. “A-are you saying what I think you’re saying? Or...”

“It’s okay,” Vivi giggled softly. “Truth is, you were right Melody. I… I was ashamed of myself, and I hid who I really was. I’ve done it ever since I was little. It became so normal that I just thought the pain was normal. I just started accepting that the pain was natural and I was supposed to feel that way. But when I would transform, I would have those moments when I let myself out, freely being me, letting ‘Vivi’ out, to help with my magic. And I guess, the more I did it, the more difficult it became to go back to that ‘normal.’ But, yeah, Melody was right, I guess I’m a girl, and uh, this is me now, I guess,” she giggled bashfully.

“Is that so,” Annie gave a doting smile. “Then, I guess you’re just in Vivi mode all the time then?”

“Yeah, pretty much I guess,” Vivi giggled shyly.

“Just to make sure though, do you want this?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I do. More than anything.”

Annie came close and hugged her. Vivi jumped for a second, but her hug was so warm and comfy, it made her really happy. She felt so safe and secure, like nothing could hurt her ever again. “I’m so proud of you,” Annie whispered. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you, Annie.”

Annie stood back up and nodded. “You can relax now, Melody and I will make sure everything will be alright,” she smiled, Melody nodding.