Axel walked down the street, doing his best to ignore the commotion coming from a few blocks away. He growled a bit every time the monster’s shadow blocked out the sun from him, only for it to quickly disappear as the magical girl fighting the monster hit it with another attack. He didn’t want to look, he knew how it always went. A monster would attack the city, and the magical girls would step in to fight it and defeat it. They would be heralded as heroes, meanwhile the boys get nothing. All because the girls got the powers.

Axel closed his eyes, sighing as he walked. He didn’t consider it fair that the girls always got the powers. They got to be super heroes. They got-

An object flew past him right in front of him, slamming into the ground in the alley. He was frozen in place, unable to even look. Shock had taken hold of him. It couldn’t be...

He slowly turned his head, his eyes sliding along the ground until it reached an object. A boot. His breath caught in his throat as he kept looking. A leg, a dress, a body. A magical girl, beaten, broken. Defeated.

Finally, Axel was able to move. He ran over, kneeling next to her. “Oh my god! Are you alright?” she didn’t answer, her breath ragged and faint. He looked around to try and find someone who could help, and pulled out his phone upon seeing no one. His hands shook as he did his best to unlock his screen. “D-don’t worry! I’ll call for the parame-” He froze, seeing a hand on his arm. Her glove was wavering, fading out as she spoke.

“No... time...” he looked at her face. Her lip was bleeding, one of her eyes swollen shut. The other was open just a crack, staring at him. “Have... to stop... monster...”

Axel stared at her. “You... you can’t! You’re injured, you have to-” he stopped as she slowly shook her head.

“No... have to... stop the monster...yourself.” Axel blinked, staring at her in confusion as she reached up to her neck slowly. She gripped her necklace, tugging at it lightly. The band that held it in place seemed to melt away, along with the rest of her outfit, revealing jeans and a t-shirt. Axel continued to stare as she reached over, her shaking hand holding out the charm that had been attached to the necklace. “Take... it...”

He reached out, holding out his hand. She dropped the charm into it and it shone a bit in the light. “Wha...” he glanced at the charm. A polished piece of silver, roughly the size of his palm, with a large lapis sitting in the center.

“Activate...” he shook his head, focusing on the injured girl again. She seemed much more frail and vulnerable now. It seemed impossible that she had just been fighting a giant monster. Her breath was more ragger than before, it was clear that she wouldn’t last too much longer... “activate...”

Axel frowned. “How?” she nodded, closing her eyes.

“Aura of Water... Spiritual Wave... Transform...” the charm glowed a bit as she spoke, soft blue light washing over them. She opened her eyes again, glancing at him. “Protect... the city... from...” her breath faded as her body went limp. Axel stared for a bit, only seeing his own reflection in her now empty eyes.

He knelt there for what felt like forever. Slowly, it was as if reality faded back in, and he heard the monster roaring in the distance. His legs shook as he stood, the charm still in his hand. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Aura of Water...” even behind his closed eyelids, he could see the blue light that flared up from his closed fist, the charm shining bright. Power washed over him like the ocean, rolling through his body, almost knocking him off his feet.

“Spiritual Wave...” all he could see was light, as if someone was holding a flashlight right to his eyes. He could feel his outfit shift, changes happening: gloves forming on his hands, his hoodie shifting into a long tailed shirt, his jeans tightening around his legs, his tennis shoes lengthening up his leg into boots. The charm was no longer in his hand, no glowing brightly around his neck.

He opened his eyes, now glowing the same blue as his hair, the same blue as the light that surrounded him. “Transform!” at once, the light died down, leaving him standing there, feeling far more powerful than he ever thought possible. As if on instinct, he held out his hand, a long blue staff with a silver blade at the end forming in his grasp.

Axel took another deep breath, turning out of the alley and taking his first step towards the monster.