Chapter Text
⚘ ⚘ ⪤ ⚘ ⚘
It was strange, like a perverse diorama. The rubble and chaos of days before preserved behind caution tape and underneath a bright pink inner barrier. She could still see the loose, scattered pavement where she first found Undine, then Gwen, Sally, and Sylvia. Their absence from the craters left behind by their bodies seemed wrong, as if figurines removed from a model, only to leave behind conspicuous gaps.
BACK ALREADY
“Where are you!? What are you?”
Tessa’s focus locked onto the empty space between rows of houses. She could already feel her chest tightening.
DID YOU THINK YOU’D FIND FORGIVENESS HERE
OR DID YOU JUST WANT THE CHANCE TO DIE FOR YOUR FAILURES
She sensed a monster approaching from behind a little later than she would have liked. Rising up on tongues of ethereal pink light, she turned on it, leveling a combat stance down towards the shape of a massive centipede.
“Are you some kind of magical girl that can control monsters? Why would you use that kind of power for this!?”
Her body moved through crashing waves of adrenaline, casting a surreal quality over everything around her.
It was easier to wind up for attacks when there were others to draw the monster’s focus. Now there’s no one…
…because of me.
But that’s why I can’t die yet! Not until I atone for what I—
Movement out of the corner of her eye – It looked like a civilian. That thing had set all of this up as a distraction.
Falling out and away from the monster’s attacks, she closed in on the source. Sprawled out and backed up into a wall was a boy – spindly figure, with brown hair – pursued by several smaller centipede monsters. Blood ran from his shoulders down to his hands, and from his hairline down and behind a pair of cracked glasses. Though he held a rake between himself and his attackers, the look on his face betrayed not panic, or determination, but a chillingly serene and horrific certainty that this was how he would die.
“Hey twig boy, get down!”
She released a wide fan of incandescent bolts, bursting the crawling centipede minions on impact. She had intentionally aimed a little high, and he ducked underneath her attack accordingly. As she approached him and what rapidly disintegrating remains the monsters had left behind, she reached a hand down.
“Can you stand? I can get you to the closest safety center—”
“Forget that– M- My family– We need—” He began to list over as he struggled to get back on his feet.
“Is your family in danger? Where are they?” Tessa moved in to catch him.
“The house… There was a breach… I tried to lure them away…”
“Can you show me where it is? I can carry you there,” Tessa said, hoisting him onto piggyback.
Will couldn’t remember much after pointing her around the first few street corners, slowly losing consciousness as he was. The next morning, stirring himself from an unfamiliar hospital bed, he found a note on the bedside table.
Hey, Will.
Wish I could’ve stayed longer! Had to finish
my rounds.
Your family is doing okay. They’re probably
still waiting outside your hospital room by
the time you read this.
I didn’t realize it was you until your mom recognized me! You got tall! She’s currently on the phone with City Restoration, and it sounds like you might be staying with a relative for a while.
I hear going back to normal life post-monster-attack can be shitty rough, so I left my number in case you want someone to talk to. It’s been a while since we caught up!
Don’t be a stranger! –Tessa V-I-II V-V-V V-III-X-IX
🜁🜄[●●●]🜃🜂
She had to be discreet about her frequent excursions to the cemetery. Her parents had already caught on to her – albeit having been too afraid to raise the subject while she was around. There were only so many after school activities that she could fabricate before that alibi lost its effect.
Which is why she was so startled when she encountered Will just as she was leaving through the front gateway.
“Will! Uh– Hey!” She gripped her backpack strap.
“Hey. Um. How’s it going, Tessa?”
“Oh, y’know. Not bad. What uh– What brings you here?”
“My parents’ home office got trashed in the attack. It’s been hard for them to work so I’ve been looking for jobs to bring in extra income. There was a listing to do groundskeeping for the cemetary so…”
“R- Right! Jobs! Cool.”
The sound of the wind blowing through the wisteria suddenly seemed very loud as she very pointedly stared at her feet.
“You came to uh– to visit them?” Will scratched the back of his head.
“Yeah.”
“…”
“…”
“We never really expected you to continue making rounds. Especially after what happened.”
“Well I couldn’t just sit around knowing she’s still—”
Don’t put him in danger.
You’ll just drag him down.
No one needs you anymore.
You couldn’t save them.
It’s all your fault.
Burden.
BURDEN.
BURDEN.
“She?”
Tessa swallowed.
“If I tell you something crazy, will you promise to keep it a secret?”
···
“And I don’t know what she is or what she wants, but I think… No, I know she’s the one who attacked my friends.”
“Holy shit.”
“Crazy, right?”
“More like horrific! And you haven’t told anybody?”
“Why would I? She’s going after me. Telling someone else would just move the target! Who would want that kind of burde—”
“No!” Will grabbed her shoulders. “Tessa, you’re the one who said not to be a stranger. What’s the point of telling me to reach out if you won’t do it yourself!”
Tessa began to shed tears. Will pulled her into a hug.
“You’re not a burden. You’re not.”
The sounds of crying mixed with the birdsong as Will held her in his arms.
🜁🜄[●●●]🜃🜂
The cemetery had become their meeting place following their chance encounter, and Tessa was surprised to find that she actually began to look forward to her regular secret outings there.
“…and she insisted on calling them ‘so-called’ mashed potatoes!”
“Sounds like a character,” Tessa chuckled.
“Oh, right! I totally forgot.” Will rummaged through his bag. “You left your sweatshirt last time we were here.”
“Oh! Thank you. I didn’t even realize I forgot it.” As she received her hoodie she noticed a folded wedge of paper had fallen out of Will’s bag.
“Oh, watch out! You almost lost your…” Tessa examined it more closely. “This is a learners permit… for patrol camerawork training?”
Will rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, crap. You weren't supposed to know about that.”
“You’re training to be a Magical Girl cameraman?”
“Well, yeah. You have to do a lot of drills so they know you can handle being outside at night, but once you do, it pays pretty well, and uh… with how I’m trying to support my parents…”
“No, that sounds great for you! Were you planning to work for anyone in particular?”
“Not really, but since you already know now, maybe…”
Tessa stared at him intently.
“…maybe you’d be okay with me being your cameraman?” He moved his palms in front of himself. “I know you’re probably not ready to be back in the public eye yet—”
“No! No, uh– I think that would be great actually. I’ve been thinking about doing media stuff again – maybe build up the confidence to come forward with the whole shadow monster thing. I’d love for you to be my partner on patrols.”
“Your partner?”
Tessa studied his face. She could identify the many unspoken questions on it, but most pressingly to her, she noticed that due to his height it was just a little out of her reach – frustratingly so.
“…How would– Oh!”
Despite the initial shock of her grabbing him by the lapels and pulling him in, Will had found himself quite amenable to the situation when he noticed Tessa seize his lips in hers, settling into the kiss with surprising grace. Falling petals of wisteria danced around the two of them as they held each other.
When she finally broke it off so that she could go up for air, Tessa gave him her answer between panted breaths.
“Yeah. Partner sounds pretty good to me.”