Epilogue – Legacy
“There we go,” Vivi said. The tape gun glided across the box, with a slick sound. She pulled it down, the mounted razor digging into, but failing to cut the tape. “Oh, phooey.”
“Here, let me get it,” Erika giggled, a few vines bracing the tape and gripping the tape gun, giving it a nice tug, severing the tape. “There you go.” She smiled elegantly.
“Thanks, Eri,” Vivi pulled Erika into a hug.
“Of course,” the dryad giggled as she leaned in for a kiss. The two shared a quick smooch before turning towards the boxes around them.
“Almost all packed now,” Vivi’s voice grew softer. “I can’t believe I’m moving out.”
“Hey now, what’s with the sad tone, we’ll get to live together now.” Erika pouted.
“I dunno,” Vivi sighed. “I think I’m just gonna miss it.” She looked at her bed, a number of plushies still strewn about. “Sure, Mom is going to set up a room for me in their new house, but I grew up in this room. I became me here.”
“I thought you said you woke up at Annie’s place,” Erika teased.
“Oh, don’t get all technical with me, Miss Science,” Vivi countered.
“Oh ho, guess you’ll just have to make me Miss Tailor, that is if you’ve got it in you to stop me.” Erika grinned. Vivi made a low chuckle as she wrapped her arms around her.
“Tempt me with a good time, why don’t you,” Vivi whispered as her wings curled upon her girlfriend and her eyes flashed pink. She planted a kiss upon Erika’s lips, taking a deep breath, her girlfriend’s aroma threatening to drive her further into lust as she sucked upon her soft lips. She resisted just enough to savor the kiss and leave Erika blushing and heaving with pleasure. Vivi giggled as she nuzzled Erika and then kissed her forehead. “Satisfied my sweet succulent?”
“Now how could I ever get enough of you,” Erika purred. The two laughed before returning their attention to the room. “Still though, I get what you mean. It’s kinda scary moving out, and kinda bittersweet letting go of where we grew up like this. But hey, we’ll still have each other.” She gripped Vivi’s hand.
“Now you’re getting me excited,” Vivi giggled. She looked fondly into Erika’s pink eyes, the leafy dryad smiling back as they leaned in for another deep kiss. Erika’s breath was like a gentle mint, which seemed to almost excite Vivi even more, her eyes beginning to become redder than her cheeks. Erika’s fingers danced about, playing with Vivi’s soft flesh, only furthering her pleasure, her tail possessively curling around Erika’s leg and her wings twitching. And then…
A knock at the door, snapping them back to reality. Vivi’s gaze snapped to her door as a deep blush claimed her cheeks. Mary stood there smugly crossing her arms. “M-mom!?” she yelped.
“I know you two are busy enjoying yourselves, but Carmen is here,” Mary chuckled.
“It’s that late already?” Erika asked in shock.
“What the heck?” Vivi scratched at her neck. “Well, I guess we do deserve a break,” she chuckled.
“You two take enough breaks!” Carmen laughed as she approached the doorway, sassily placing her hand on her hip as her hair jostled above her shoulder.
“You could learn a thing or two from us, you know,” Vivi teased.
“Yeah, well I’m going into a more complicated field, so I don’t have the time,” Carmen said.
“Not as complicated as mine,” Erika taunted, Carmen anxiously scratching at her neck.
“Alright, fine. Engineering isn’t as complicated as genetics.”
“I’d argue psychology and social work is just as complicated,” Vivi argued.
“Yeah, but you’re cheating with your empathic abilities,”
“And you’re cheating with your electric ones.”
“I guess I get to kinda cheat too with my botanical skills,” Erika considered.
“Alright girls, enough,” Mary intervened. “You all have magical boons. But that’s not going to mean anything if you all don’t study.” The others had a mix of bashful and anxious chuckles.
“Oh, give them a break, sweetie," Cheryl giggled as she approached her wife from behind. "This is a special time for them. Let them be a little boastful."
"Hush you, you're just excited for some more us time," Mary chuckled.
"Like that hasn't stopped you two before," Vivi giggled.
"Don't worry dear, you won't have to hear all pent up at night anymore hearing all that," Erika cooed.
"Y'know, I think I'm gonna miss all the flagrant flirting you all get up to," Carmen chuckled.
"Oh, Carmen, you can always stop by and ask for flirting advice," Cheryl teased.
"You'll be pretty dangerous with all the pretty girls on campus," Mary added.
"Ugh, never mind. I already get that from Dad," Carmen groaned. "I'm still annoyed you told him about that."
"Carm, none of us told him," Vivi giggled. "You're not exactly subtle."
"You see what I put up with Eri?" Carmen grumbled.
"Oh, like you don't enjoy it," Erika commented.
"Alright, that's enough teasing her," Cheryl said, trying her best to keep in another chuckle. "So then. You’re all meeting with the others today, right?”
“Yeah, come on, we gotta go. We won’t have many more opportunities like this,” Carmen said with a sullen tone. “Let’s make sure we enjoy it while we can.”
“Yeah.” Vivi smiled.
* * *
“Still can’t believe we’ve finally graduated,” Carmen chuckled as they walked into the mall. “You two are moving out next month, right?”
“Yeah, Grandma’s invited us to move in with her since we’re both going to school near Philly,” Vivi stated.
“So, ready to join the ivy league, Erika?”
“I’d be more interested in the lesbian college nearby, but I’ll settle for Penn,” Erika giggled. “Oh, hey,” she pointed to a small pond display in the center of the hallway, a pale statue at its center. “They finally finished it.”
“Seriously, took them long enough,” Carmen laughed. “Wanna check it out Viv?”
“Do we have to?” Vivi grumbled as Carmen dragged her over. Vivi sighed as the visage of her younger self stood before her. “This is so embarrassing,” Vivi mumbled.
“Come on sweetie, you look good. Besides, I think its sweet they installed this to commemorate your first appearance.
“Yeah, but why is it just me?” Vivi whined. “I hate being put on a pedestal like that. I didn’t do it alone...”
“Who could say?” Carmen teased. Vivi looked at her suspiciously, her jaw dropping as she realized the truth. “Alright, you got me. Annie and I asked them to make it just you.”
“Carm!”
“Oh, come on, Viv. This is where you first became you.” Vivi looked at her, her objections silenced by her calm voice. “This is where you first found yourself. Where the Vivi we know and love first showed up. We know you hate being put on a pedestal, but even so, you’ve been trying so hard to advocate for others like yourself. I mean how many interviews have you had since you came out.”
“I-I don’t know…”
“See, that’s because you’ve been working so hard. And the people you’ve been fighting for deserve to have somewhere to cheer their favorite girl, just like us!” Carmen declared, pumping her arm. Vivi whimpered as she looked at her friend and then ran to hug her.
“You're such a jerk sometimes, but… thank you Carm. I’m really gonna miss you when we move.”
“Oh please. You’re not getting away from me that easy. If you’re with Lilith I’ll just teleport to her manor and visit you,” Carmen chuckled. “Ceridwen already told me she rigged up a way for us to visit her when she set things up for Tia to babysit Wisp,” she chuckled.
“Alright, you win,” Vivi giggled. “Speaking of…”
“Yeah, the others are waiting,” Erika said, the pair of besties nodding.
The trio continued through the mall, emerging at the upper level where the food court was. They quickly spied a table occupied by a blue haired mermaid giggling at the woman with a blaze of red hair across from her. As they approached, smiles grew upon their faces as they were greeted by a shrill laugh.
“Melody! Annie!” Vivi called to them, summoning their attention. “Hello! And hello to you too, Holly,” she giggled as she greeted the baby in Annie’s arms, who laughed upon seeing the magical girl, her short aqua hair lighting up to a pinkish hue.
“Oh, that’s new,” Carmen noted.
“Right, you haven’t seen them since her magic manifested. Turns out a magical mermaid and a fire elemental make a water elemental with reactive hair. Her hair hasn’t caused any fires yet, has it?”
“It’s complicated,” Annie chuckled.
“Her hair is basically always water, but when she gets excited it fills with fire, like we suspected, but according to Isis, it won’t be able to escape her hair with out active practice,” Melody explained.
“Magic babies sure are something, huh?” Carmen laughed.
“She’s been a bit of trouble, especially since we’re so new to this, but it’s been worth it,” Annie said as she looked dotingly upon her daughter.
“I’m really happy Carrie managed to find a way for you two to get pregnant,” Vivi giggled. “Hope we can do it someday too.”
“Think about college first,” Annie scolded. “You all have great aspirations, but you’ll have a lot on your plate. Being a mom and going to school is a recipe for disaster.”
“We know, Annie,” said Erika. “We still want to get married first anyway, and we promised to take care of school first.”
“We’re both still super excited to be moms though,” Vivi giggled. “We’ve even talked about some names.”
“I really hope our guesses are right and you two can’t have any boys,” Carmen stated, surprising the two. “What, you two have horrible taste with boy names. Any boy you two have is destined to get bullied.”
“Oh come on, Balmung and Ziggy are great names,” Vivi huffed.
“Oooh, fancy,” Melody giggled.
“Right?” Erika clapped enthusiastically.
“Alright Carm, you win this one,” Annie conceded. “If any of us have a son, you’re naming him.”
“Oh, come on, she’d name him something awful like Cloud!” Vivi objected.
“Hey, I might be more of a nerd than you, but my taste and awareness aren’t that bad,” Carmen countered. “I’m kinda partial to Louis and Edward.”
“Ugh, but those are so boring.”
“Hey, keep talking like that, and I’ll name him either Michael or Lance. Take your pick super boring, or super edgy.”
“Realistically, we’ll probably have a daughter though,” Erika commented. “We still don’t totally understand how magic influences this stuff, but Vivi’s hybradization probably overwrote her genes. At least that’s what the latest research implies.”
“Oh, that reminds me…” Annie mumbled. “Vivi, there’s-”
“Vivi!” a high-pitched voice called out, drawing the table’s attention across the food court. A young teenage fairy fluttered across the room and took Vivi’s hands into her own. “Look who I found!” she giggled. Behind her emerged a familiar blue-skinned girl with a frigid air.
“Chi! How was your trip!” Vivi greeted the girl.
“Good! Christine says hi by the way.”
“Aww, could she not make it?” Melody frowned.
“Nah, Mom needed an extra model last minute and she couldn’t really turn her down. I almost got dragged in too, but Mama was insistent about handling the photography herself so I could make it.”
“Geez, I’m so jealous,” Carmen groaned. “You get to travel all over the place to help your parents with their magazine now. Stupid nepotism.”
“Well, the fashion industry has been kind of chaotic with all of the new hybra body types,” Melody explained. “Suzuha really managed to grab a strangle hold with her inclusive designs and direction, speaking from experience.”
“I know, but I want to travel for free too!” Carmen whined. “Even Leah is studying abroad! Vivi, you have to find an excuse to travel to Europe or something so we can get some portals set up.”
“I feel like that would probably break a bunch of laws.” Vivi grimaced.
“Come on, big sis!” Wisp giggled. “We could have a nature walk in Ireland, or Norway, or… ooh ooh, we could go to Greece and leave a ‘present’ at Zeus’s grave."
“He’s not dead you know.” A boy interrupted her flight of fancy.
“I’m sure he has one from the last time he died, Tommy.”
“I had a feeling Wisp dragged you along,” said Vivi looking at her little brother, the slender elven boy shrugging and shoving his hands into his pocket. “What have you two been up to?”
“I’ve been trying to help give him a makeover,” Wisp boasted and then sighed. “Kinda starting to realize how much of a bullet I dodged changing so young. Boy’s fashion sucks, right Tommy?” Tommy gave a blasé grunt and nodded slightly. “We’re lucky he’s so small and slender, cause we get to pick up some other options.” Tommy simply shrugged at her suggestion.
“Hey, Vivi,” Ichika whispered. “Is Tommy…?”
Vivi shrugged. “I think he might be nonbinary, but he’s refused to talk to any of us about it.”
“Moody teenager, huh?” Annie quietly chuckled.
“We’ll find a good fashion for him yet!” Wisp declared.
“Oh, Wisp, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Ichika spoke up. “Where’s Cleo? She normally likes coming with you for your shopping trips.”
“Mom’s actually been away for a while,” Wisp said proudly. “She’s part of an outreach program that went to Gaia. She’s helping negotiate a treaty with a couple kingdoms that have been fighting for other witches there. Apparently, Mom’s people are really oppressed there, and she wants to help liberate them.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Mhmm! Oh, and get this. Because of her trip, we found out more about how witches work. Apparently its common for boys to turn into girls because they’re actually witches, and guess what, the spell is based on ancient fairy magic, and...”
“She’s really passionate about this,” Annie laughed. “Oh right! Vivi!” The succubus turned to face her. “We ran into someone earlier I think you’d like to talk to.”
“Who’s that?” Vivi asked, tilting her head slightly, her top wings bobbing.
“Do you remember the scientist we met back at the symposium? Vera?”
* * *
“Oh my gosh! Goddess! Goddess! Goddess!!!” the teenage girl giggled excitedly. “Mom! Look! It’s really her! It’s Magenta!!! Eeee!!!” the girl squealed. “Rana is going to be so jealous!”
“Celeste, calm down, you don’t want to overwhelm her, do you?” Vera laughed gently as she tried to reign in her daughter.
“Eep! S-sorry,” Celeste squeaked as she nervously played at her hair. “I’m just super excited, you know?”
“I know, sweetie.”
Vivi laughed to herself. “So, you’re Celeste, right? Your mother’s told me a lot about you. You’re really brave, you know that?”
“I’m not that brave,” Celeste said, fidgeting. She finally settled on rubbing the back of her left hand as she tried to hide her blushing face. “I’m nowhere near as brave as you. You put yourself out there and stood up for girls like me who can’t. I… I just try to live my life and hide myself in the back of my classes.”
“But, you’re still presenting as a girl, right?” Celeste looked at her as Vivi gazed at her, quietly eyeing her skirt and tank top, the strap of her bra peeking out. Celeste fidgeted some more.
“I… I’m lucky. M-mom has been helping me transition. S-she knows it risks a bunch to do it, but…”
“You don’t have to explain to me.” Vivi smiled gracefully. “I understand, really. I can’t deny that you’re lucky. A lot of people like you, who haven’t had magic change you are in a pretty tight spot. With the ban on magic based medical interventions and the… unkind state of politics,” she said with a metered tone, “there’s not a lot that can be done legally. Having a mom willing to support you through that is more than a lot of kids have.” Celeste quietly nodded. “But you wanna know something else. You’re still amazing.” Celeste looked at her with a look of awe. “Some might try to run away and hide themselves in your position. But here you are, standing here, persisting through all of it. You’re standing up for yourself so you can live in the way you know you deserve to. You still go to school presenting as a girl, even despite the harassment I know you get, even when it caused you so much pain.”
“I… I’m not that amazing…”
“And I have another secret, but you have to promise to cherish it, okay?”
“W-what’s that?”
“The reason I came out and stood up for us is because of you.” The girl looked at her gobsmacked. “When I heard about what you had to go through, it made me realize how vulnerable we are. And the way you’ve cheered me on inspired me to use this chance I was given to change the world so it’s better for all of us.”
“Magenta…”
Vivi giggled. “Celeste. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And know this, I’ll keep fighting. As a magical girl, as an advocate for our rights., and anything else, until we’re all free to be ourselves. Thank you for helping me find that will.”