(WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS TWO CONSENTING GIRLS GETTING IT ON. IF YOU’RE NOT INTERESTED, SKIP THE END OR MOVE ON!)

  Following the b-coated doctor inside, I’m almost blinded by all the white and lights. Everything’s so… clean, and there are white-armoured guards at every door, each one armed to the teeth. Approaching the reception desk, the doctor reaches out, and the young woman hands her a tablet. I can see the gun holstered under her arm as the receptionist goes back to her work. The doctor taps the screen of her new tablet briefly, and then holds it up. A beam of blue light flickers on, scanning me from head to toe and back again, and the doctor smiles as the data-print is compiled from my biometrics and digital profile.

  “Alright, that’s all in order. Now, the payment is going to come to 461,255.00, to be paid in full up-front. Are you ready?”

  I nod, and raise my hand, holding my phone out. “Yes. I’ll authorize the transfer as soon as the prompt’s appeared.”

  I watch the screen, and when the prompt pops up, I thumb the ‘accept’ icon, my thumb-print proving my identity and allowing the money to be wired to the doctor’s tablet. As soon as the transaction has been finalized, the doctor nods.

  “Right, that’s gone through. Now, if you’d like, I can show you to your room for the next few months. We’ll patch you into our secure network, and you can do whatever you’d like there. Py a game, watch something on tv, or a movie, and we’ll start as soon as you’re anesthetized. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing. Our team is VERY good at what they do, Ms. Porter. And congratutions!”

  She smiles, and, when she turns, her coat billows a little, exposing the rge handgun strapped to her hip. I follow her, and she opens an elevator, which takes us down a few floors, then along a corridor, then a right-angle and into a room on the left. There’s a pod in the centre, much like a standard VR full-immersion pod, but way, way bigger. There are tools and mechanisms surrounding it, and I can’t tell what any of them are for. The doctor takes my data-stick and inserts it, then the chip for Aegis Online, and nods.

  “Alright, please undress completely and step into the pod. As soon as you’re situated, we’ll begin.”

  I strip, then step into the pod. The open panel slides closed, and a specialised medical VR cradle descends, locking onto my head in three pces. The world fades out as I’m automatically pulled into VR, and find myself in a sort of ‘virtual hub’, with other patients everywhere. My appearance in this hub matches my A.O character, minus the wings and armour, and I can see a couple of other people who seem to be pyers too. Most have normal-looking human avatars, though.

  The hub is set-up to look like a hotel, with a huge swimming pool, bars, a shopping mega-mall, and all kinds of other amenities, like a library and parks. It’s clearly been designed to be comfortable and rexing.

  A girl with blue hair styled in waves and long pointed ears waves.

  “Hey, that’s a really pretty look you’ve got! You look identical to that streamer that took off a little while back! The winged girl with the spear? Are you a fan too?!”

  I blush. “Actually, no. I AM her. Hi.”

  The girl, who must be pying an Alv in-game, snorts. “Oh, sure! And I’m the Empress of Rojaeh!”

  I roll my eyes. “Pod, load full in-game avatar, equipment, and profile for Kettrin!”

  I feel the cool, familiar leather and metal of my armour ensconce my body as the sound of booming air signals the appearance of my wings. The weight of my greatshield and swordspear fill my hands, and I strike a pose.

  “Believe me now? You can even scan my profile if you want more proof.”

  The Alven girl gawps, her eyes fshing over the basic data for my Aegis Online character. Name, css, and level. Nothing about my stats or friends-list, nothing about my gear. Just the simple stuff.

  “Holy… shit! It IS you! It really IS!”

  I smile and beat my wings. Hmm… I wonder if I could fly in this space, even if it’s not Aegis Online? Note to self, test that ter!

  Then, the Alv girl asks, clearly a little star-struck, “So… why are you here? Don’t tell me, you’re transgender too?!"

  I smile. “Well, yeah. I AM here, after all. I got an early opportunity thanks to the situation back home. The crazy church went off on a terror-attack spree, and someone dropped out of the program. So, I was offered their pce and accepted! And now, I’m undergoing surgery right this second!”

  She squeals in delight, spinning in circles as she tries to calm down. I give her a moment, before reverting to my un-armoured and unarmed appearance, my wings furling against my back. Once she’s calmed down, the blue-haired girl begs, “Can I take a selfie? Not to share, I just… I wanna remember this moment forever!”

  I smile. “Of course! Give me a second, I should set my Pod to auto-tag my in-game profile so you’ll have proof if you DO decide to show anyone.”

  “Oh, great idea!” the girl waits, fidgeting with a camera app while I adjust my Pod-profile’s auto-tag system. Then, I spread my wings, standing beside the blue-haired Alv as she holds up a hand, giving the V-sign as she beams. The selfie taken, she dismisses the floating camera and profusely thanks me.

  “This is the coolest moment of my life! I’m getting my body fixed AND I met my favourite streamer! How can this day get any better?!”

  I snrrk, and watch as the girl runs off, presumably to find any friends she has here. “Well, THAT was fun.” I sigh, and wander about, examining the virtual hub that I’m going to be spending a LOT of time in over the next six months or so…

  I cim an empty room at the ‘hotel’, and settle down to switch over into Aegis Online. It feels weird not to have to get INTO a Pod, but I guess I’m already IN one, so… eh.

  I wake up in the Full Moon Tavern, in the room Astie and I had rented. She’s already there, leaning over me, looking concerned. When my eyes flick open, she shrieks and falls on her well-formed rear. I sit up, reaching down to pull her back to her feet. “Dana, you okay?”

  “Yes. We’ve all found a safe pce to hide. We can’t say more than that, but everyone’s here. Houseworth and your pa are doin’ all sorts of technical gubbins t’ obfuscate our presence on the WDTN. I’m using my streamin’ income to make sure we can get food and stuff, since things are gettin’ bad here, mo chroi.”

  I feel my heart struggle to decide if it wants to melt at hearing Dana’s Gaelic terms of endearment, or turn into a little ball of nerves and panic at the thought of my loved ones and friends in danger. It apparently settles for… wibbling around in my chest a little.

  Pushing myself to my feet, I smile. “So, shall we see about getting some of these Soulbdes, and seeing if there are any books in the Dark Archives to copy for the Grand College back in Vassim?”

  Dana nods, before enveloping me in a hug. I blink in surprise, before reciprocating, wrapping my arms and wings around my girlfriend.

  “I’m okay, Dana. I’m safe, and I’m getting my body made the way I want it to be. I’m going to be here all the time, and I’ll make sure we spend a LOT of time together. Now, BEFORE we go into the scary library, how about we have some…’us’ time?”

  I give my girlfriend the most seductive look I can, and her face starts to turn red, all the way up the undersides of her long, pointed ears.

  Kettrin used flirt! It’s super effective!

  I reach down with one hand and cheekily pinch Dana’s butt, making her squeak and jump.

  “Oi! Cheeky li’l mare!” she giggles, her Tailtéann accent thickening as she leans in. “And I’d like that. It’s been a while since we got some privacy… the ship’s no good for intimacy, since me making the Guildmaster sound like a foghorn would PROBABLY draw unwanted attention, after all!”

  I blush, remembering the cries I’d let out the st time Dana and I had had sex, and retaliate. “You made a fair amount of noise yourself, Vice-Captain!”

  Pushing me onto the bed, my gorgeous girlfriend smirks down at me, her eyes shining. “Is that so? Well, maybe we should try and see who can make the other scream the loudest?”

  Grabbing her by the hips, I pull her down, the two of us briefly wrestling, before I find myself pinned beneath the more dominant woman. I crane my head up, stealing a kiss, as she unces my tunic, slowly pulling the front open to bare my breasts. Her hand is gentle as she cups and kneads the firm flesh, and I gasp softly into her mouth, as her expert fingers tease and probe various sensitive spots.

  My wings unfurl on the bed, as my back arches slightly.

  “D-Dana…. Ngh, that f-feels… oh! Oh gods…”

  I clumsily reach up, finding Dana’s clothing a lot harder to figure out. There are ces and belts all over it, and I’m not exactly focussed on that right now, what with her hands doing… things… to me.

  Finally, with a not-inconsiderable amount of help from my love, I manage to get her own top off. Her bra comes next, and I note with pride that I’ve gotten better at removing it. The practice with my own back in the real world has clearly paid off in this one, very specific situation. Then, I put my own hands to work, cupping and fondling Dana’s much rger breasts, her eyes sparkling as she leans into my touch, a pleased purr rumbling in the back of her throat as I mimic what she’s doing to me.

  The kiss deepens as the heavy petting turns into worship, each touch and caress a reaffirmation of love and warmth between two consenting adults, our hands wandering as they please. The light in the room dims as someone’s leggings, not sure whose, end up draped over the mpshade.

  The bedsprings creak a little as weight and mass is shifted and redistributed, and then… warmth, and wetness, fingers curling and dipping into pces that are shared only by those connected in tenderness. The taste of each other on tongues, and the brief sharing of breath and closeness, as soft cries fill the dimly-lit room….

  Several hours ter, we emerge, blushing, giggling, and VERY touchy-feely with each other. Down in the tavern’s bar area, Morrigan sits, Mortis beside her, looking up at us.

  “You’re both red-faced. Are you feeling sick?”

  The red-winged Skyborne Samurai asks, and Mortis’ eyes widen, and she starts to smirk like a real devil. I swallow, blushing even more. Then, I let out a little, warbling trill. One of Asteria’s fingers is teasingly stroking the base of one of my wings, right against my spinal column. I feel my wings start to unfurl without my control.

  Mortis giggles, “Oh… my… god! These bitches gay. Good for them!”

  I squirm, trying to swat Dana’s finger away from my wing as she continues trying to give me an ‘angel-boner’. It takes using one of my abilities to conceal my wings, and Dana pouts pyfully, before she drapes her arms around me in another hug.

  Mortis grins. “You two are cute as hell, you know that?”

  Asteria grins right back at her. “Yep! And she’s the cutest one!”

  I huff, “No u!”

  Morrigan’s eyes are fixed on us, and I wonder if she might be thinking about someone special. Or maybe she has a crush on someone, or something?

  I smile at her. “Morrigan, you’re allowed to date, if you want. But you have to promise us that we’ll get to meet them before things get serious!”

  Mor’s eyes widen, and the look on her face gives me hope that there IS indeed someone our little firebirb has her eye on…