An actress in our midst! (web version)

It was the only thing on his mind after Iris had told him she wanted him to be the successor. He’d spent an entire day daydreaming about fighting alongside the other magical girls, transforming, using magic to seal evil demons…

It would be like a dream come true. It would be everything he had ever wanted.

But… Could he really take it? Did he truly deserve it?

These thoughts warred inside Max for a couple of days. Even though there was no rational reason for it. He wanted it, but the past still haunted him. After all, he’d been taught, very strictly, that he first had to deserve something. That too much good was actually somehow bad. That change was dangerous.

But the time to deliberate this had finally come to an end the day of another one of Jessica’s attacks.

It had started like any other attack. Max concealed everyone, Cody led the assault, Jessica gave the signal, and then they started randomly hitting things and causing chaos until the magical girls came and stopped them. Bloom had always gone for Max, for some reason, gently disarming him and leaving him restrained in vines while wearing an apologetic expression.

And that was supposed to be it. Jessica would have a short fight with the magical girls, pretend to be defeated, and finally return to the base.

But then, a problem. Iris had been sealed in ice and they couldn’t free her. Even after Max arrived, he couldn’t seem to be able to break through. So they ended up lugging the sealed magical girl over to his house and waiting for Jessica to arrive. Only for her to say the exact same thing.

She couldn’t do anything on her own… But there was a way to free Iris. And it all depended on Max.

…

Technically, Cody could probably do it too. Or really, any random girl off the street could work, but…

Max clenched his fists.

As everyone had already said, he was the best candidate for this by far.

“Not to mention… It’s literally your legacy.”

But I’m adopted, the weak voice in Max’s head said.

…

No. This wasn’t just about him anymore. Iris depended on it. It wasn’t selfish to take it, he would be saving a life, after all.

… Right?

Max took a deep breath and then exhaled.

“Okay.”

Smiles – or grins in Jessica’s and Spark’s cases – bloomed on everyone’s faces.

“So… how does this work? How do I… inherit it?” Max asked as he stepped closer.

“Well, usually, the previous magical girl has to hand the weapon to you and you have to formally accept it, but…” Spark looked at Iris again. “That’s off the table.”

“Iris already chose you as her successor and acknowledged you, which should be enough,” Bloom said. “Now, all you have to do is hold the weapon in your hands and accept it.”

“Can I just say how weird it is to call a shield a weapon?” Jessica murmured off-handedly.

“Anyway, the weapon should accept you as its new wielder as soon as you accept it,” Spark finished, ignoring Jessica’s comment.

“Alright…” Max took a breath and stepped closer to the ice, looking at the shield. He tried to focus, tried to once again imagine being a magical girl, the wielder of the Ice Aegis. He reached out and touched the ice, still looking at the shield, willing something to happen.

And then he felt it. The shield’s magic pulsed. It reacted to him.

He sucked in a breath, realizing that this was really happening.

“I… I think I did it…?” he muttered.

“Okay, good. Then we need to combine our magic and dissipate the seal,” Jessica instructed. “It should be similar to the spell reflecting trick, except you only take over the Frost’s half and I take over the demonic half of the magic and we untangle it.”

WIth Jessica’s guidance, they grabbed the seal and tugged on the strands of magic. Max made Frost’s magic his, because now, it was his. He could also feel Jessica grabbing the rest of it.

“Ready?”

“... Ready,” Max confirmed, nervous.

“Three, two, one, pull!”

On her signal, the seal strained, resisted for a split second, and then shattered. The layers of ice crumbled shortly after, dumping Iris on the ground.

“Iris!” the girls shouted.

“Ugh… What…” the groggy unsealed girl said while holding her head and looking around. She absent-mindedly reached out to the shield next to her but the moment she did, her eyes widened in shock.

“Huh…? What the…?”

“Are you okay?” Bloom squatted in front of Iris. “You were sealed in ice just now.”

Iris blinked as she processed that.

“I’m… fine. But the Ice Aegis… It’s not responding to me… I must have lost the attunement completely now…” she muttered, hurt audible in her voice.

“Sorry, Ms. Iris…” Max walked closer and squatted down next to Bloom. “You were stuck in that ice, so… A-and you said it would be okay, so I took it. The shield. I mean. I took the offer to be your successor. I’m the Pretty Frost now… I-I guess…” he somehow managed to stammer out.

Iris watched him, still shocked at first, but that expression gradually morphed into a wry smile.

“... I see.”

“Sorry about that…” Jessica piped up, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. “There was, uh, an unexpected magical reaction. I wasn’t actually planning on sealing you forever.”

“No, it’s fine…” Iris shook her head. “I needed to officially pass on the torch sooner or later. It was long overdue, to be honest.”

Even as she said that, she still glanced at the shield she had called hers for years now, conflicting emotions evident in her crestfallen expression.

“Well…” she said with a sigh before fully grabbing the shield and standing up. The others also stood up. “Let’s do it a bit more officially then.” She smiled at Max. It seemed only partially forced. “Max, I have chosen you to succeed me to be the next Pretty Frost and a wielder of the Ice Aegis. Do you accept?” She presented the shield to him.

Max startled before going silent for a second. There were still residual doubts, but…

“Yes.”

He reached out and took the shield from Iris. He felt pure awe. This really was happening. And nobody was calling him out for being selfish or fake.

“Whoo! Yeah!” Spark shouted as a round of claps resounded in the room. “Welcome to the team, Max! Nice to have you!”

“Congratz and welcome!” Flame said with a smile.

‘Welcome! It’s great to have you,“ Bloom finished.

“I… Uh, it’s nice to be here. Thank you, everyone…” Max managed, pretty embarrassed by the applause.

“Alright! So… are you gonna transform now to finish the ceremony?”

“Huh…?” Suddenly, Max felt uneasy again. “D-do I have to?”

“It’s a tradition! And you’re gonna have to transform eventually anyway, so why not practice now in the safety of your home?” Spark argued, fully aware of how shy Max was.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to,” Bloom soothed. “But she’s right. It’s something you will have to get used to.”

“You can wear your minion mask if you’re too embarrassed,” Jessica suggested.

Max thought about it for a second, but shook their head.

“No, I’ll… I’ll do it normally.”

And so, they held their shield, closed their eyes, felt the magical energies within and called them forth.

Iris watched with a bittersweet smile as the new Pretty Frost was officially born.