Aegis Online

(What the Criminy Christmas?? How am I up to chapter THIRTY FIVE of this??? Well, as long as I’m still trucking along with this, I hope you’re all having as much fun as I am! And, if you feel like it, why not support me on Patreon? Anyway, enough shilling, let’s get on with the chapter!)

While Jeffrey and my mum start clearing up, Dana asks my dad something. He listens, before nodding. “I’ll talk to her about it, get her to call you later, okay?” he says kindly, removing his stupidly-big hat and the attached beard.

I help mum and Jeffrey finish the clearing up, stacking books neatly on the side, as Dad tucks our character sheets away safely in a binder for our next session. He chuckles, “I hope you all had fun, because the next session is next week, same day and time!”

I dart upstairs. I don’t have to go to bed just yet, so I want to hop back into my pod and find out what Dr Francois wanted to talk about. Loading up my profile on Aegis Online, I close my eyes and find myself back in the game.

Sitting up in the bed I’d rented in the inn, I gasp for breath, before hopping off the mattress and rummaging through my inventory for something else to wear besides my armour. Ah! I still have the tunic and trousers from my starter equipment!

Switching my gear, I look at myself in the battered mirror. Good, much less recognizable. The wings are a dead giveaway though, especially if that girl Anri is after me. Better do something about them…

Focussing on the ability I’d bought on the way to Vassim, I feel my shoulderblades shift and almost turn. My wings bunch up, and then… vanish.

“Whoa, perfect!” I breathe, turning my back and seeing no sign of even a single feather. With my pointed ears, I look more like a short Alv than a Skyborne. Pulling my hair into a loose ponytail, I tie it with a piece of string and head out of the door. It locks behind me. Only the player who ‘owns’ that room can open the door, after all. A safety measure implemented by the devs.

Heading down the stairs, I wave to the innkeeper as I pass, emerging into the early morning light of the game-world. Shooting a message to the Dr, I wait for his response, wandering the streets and admiring some of the items for sale in shop windows. It doesn’t take long for him to reply. The scroll appears in my hand, and I unroll it, scanning the words.

‘Ah, excellent. I am available to meet right now, should you ‘ave the time? You may find me in the warehouse district, near the airship docks. I ‘ave taken the liberty of renting Warehouse 19 for my projects. I ‘ope to see you soon, Mlle Kettrin.’

I look around. I don’t have any idea where I am yet. This city gives off a sensation of huge-ness. It’s way, WAY bigger than Tillberry was… I stop a young man in the street as he meanders past.

“Um, I’m sorry to bother you, would you be able to tell me where the warehouse district is? I’m new to this place and have no idea where to go…” I say, biting my lip in worry.

“Ah, the warehouse district is... Hmm… do you see that tall spire with the flat platforms sticking out on all sides? That’s the air-ship docking bay. The warehouse quarter is at the foot of it. You can’t lose sight of that tower anywhere in town, so you should have no trouble finding your destination!”

I thank him profusely, before jogging in the direction of the docking tower. Thanks to being so early in the morning, the streets are practically empty. Without congestion, it’s easy to make progress. It takes only around thirty minutes to reach the warehouse district, almost a small city in and of itself. Wide streets and huge buildings, with crowds of burly workers moving crates around and stacking them all over the place. Guards in armour patrol the area, settling any disputes between groups of porters and carters.

I follow the numbered signs on the outside of each storeroom, working my way around until I find the one with the giant ‘19’ painted on the outer wall. The door is open, and I can see a couple dwarves, members of Anvil squad by the looks of them, at work on something mechanical. Nodding at them, I head past, stopping to ask one of them where I might find the Doctor.

“Oh, he’s in his laboratory on the upper floor. You’ll know it by the blue door!” the red-haired dwarf of the pair explains, before cursing as a spark flies into his beard.  I help pat it out before he suffers any hair-loss, making my way through the cluttered warehouse facility. Up a wide staircase, I come to a hall with a series of rooms on each side. They all have different-coloured doors, with signs on the walls next to each, bordered in the same paint as the door.

‘Alchemical Alterations’, ‘Research & Development’, ‘Weapons Testing’, ‘Skill-scroll Creation’… every door has some crazy indication as to what goes on inside. At the far end, there’s a blue door, with a label of its own. It reads, ‘The Doctor is:’, with a little sliding panel that allows the sign to read ‘out’ or ‘in’.

I slowly push the door open, and Dr Francois looks up from his desk. His… office, I guess? Is immaculate, except for the piles of papers on various tables and boxes.

“Aaah, you are ‘ere! I sought you would ‘ave flown, but… mère de Dieu! Your wings are gone!!”

I giggle and explain, “It’s a concealment skill I got on the way to Vassim. It allows me to blend in and look less… recognizable. Someone attacked my party on the way here, and they seemed intent on coming back for another crack. This way, they might not spot me until it’s too late for them to catch me off-guard.”

He nods, putting down his quill pen. “Fascinating. Zis is good to know, zat ze physiology of your race can be altered in such ways… anyway, I asked you to come for a chat for a… a very specific reason. Kettrin, forgive me if I am… ‘Wide of ze mark’ as zey say, but…Tu es une fille avec un corps de garcon, oui?”

At my blank look, he hums for a moment. “Ah, I must explain. I asked if you are a girl who ‘as a boy’s body? Transgender, I sink ze most common term is?”

I stare. How did he-?!

He raises a hand. “Ah, pardonnez-moi. I am not just a doctor in zis game. I am a medical practitioner in ze real world. Or, I was, until my illness forced me into retirement.”

I relax a little. He doesn’t have any reason to lie about any of that, as far as I’m aware. “Y-yes… I’m trans. I only learned that there was a word for what I was a few weeks ago, so it’s all very new to me.”

He nods, smiling. “Merci for putting your trust in me wiz zis information. I will keep zis a secret, although, zere is one person I would like to tell, right now. She’s a friend of one of my colleagues. She works as a therapist specializing in gender issues. Would you allow me to call her wiz you present? I sink she may be able to ‘elp you.”

I stare at Dr Francois, at his lined, open face. This… isn’t a joke? He genuinely wants to help? Slowly, I nod. “S-sure, if you think it’s worth a shot…”

He smiles and brings up his menu, selecting the ‘outside call’ function, and scrolling through a list of names.  “Let’s see… Y, Y… ah, ‘ere we are!”

He presses the holographic button and a screen pops up, black at first. I can see him through it, before the screen brightens and a young woman appears on it. Her voice carries a faint Russian accent.

“Ah, Francois! You almost never call this early, this must be important, yeah?”

He nods. “Bonsoir, Yaya. ‘Ow are you? Look, I… I need un favour, somesing you are… uniquely suited to understand.”

He swivels his chair- how did he get an office chair???-  and I blink as the girl on the screen ends up facing me. Her hair is a long silver cascade with streaks of green in it, and her dark eyes fix on me. She nods slowly.

“Have you confirmed it with her?” she asks, and Dr Frank nods. “Oui, assurément. It’s definitely true.”

The woman looks straight at me, her wide, dark eyes studying me. “Hallo, I’m Yaya Kirichenko., and I think I understand what’s going on here. Miss, you’re trans, aren’t you?”

For the second time today, I nod, biting my lip as Yaya leans back a little. “Give me a minute to check my schedule!”

As she starts rattling away at a physical keyboard, Dr Frank smiles. “I appreciate zis, Yaya. Merci beaucoup!”

She waves a hand. “It’s cool, Francois, you never ask for favours, and frankly I wish you would! Hmm… well, I’d like to talk to your parents or guardians, miss, but I have a space in a week. Would that work?”

I blink in utter confusion. “A week? Space? What?”

Yaya shakes her head, grinning. “I’m offering you therapy, to help you adjust, miss. As I said, I’d like to talk to your folks, but I do want to help you with your transition. Well?”

I sniffle, as her words finally make sense. Wiping my eyes, I nod.  “Yes! Thank you!” I can feel tears threatening to fall, holding them back with a supreme force of will. Yaya smiles, and sends me a digital business-card via Dr Frank. Copying the information to my pod’s software, I thank the both of the profusely, even giving Dr Frank a hug, before realizing. “Oh, uh… I have college tomorrow, so I need to log-out! Thank you so much!”

I sprint out of the office, dashing down the stairs, out into the rising sun, my heart taking flight as I head back to my inn at top speed on foot. Paying for an extension on my room, I head up to my room in a blur. Lying down on the bed, I squeal in excitement, thumbing through the menu to the log-out button.

My pod opens up as I spill out, grabbing my phone and copying Yaya’s details into my phone. Running downstairs, I catch my breath at the foot of the stairs. Dana sticks her head out of the den. “Whassup? You’re in a hurry!” she chuckles, and I babble, “Therapy! Dr Frank! Aaaaaaahhhhhh!”

My mum calls, “we’re still in the den, come join us!”

Dana grabs my hand and pulls me into the den, with my parents cuddled up on one of the couches in the back of the room. Swallowing, I take up a seat on the couch opposite them, and explain.

“I got a message earlier from one of the players I met during one of my streams. He wanted to talk to me about something. He… he knew I’m trans, and gave me some help…”

I show my parents Yaya’s contact  info.

“These are the details of a therapist who specializes in gender issues. Her name is Yaya, and she’s offered to take me on as a client. She wants to talk to you first, though…”

Dad takes my phone and copies the number into his own, before dialling.

“……. Hello, this is Thomas Porter.  Is this Yaya? My daughter says that she spoke to you very recently thanks to a Dr Francois? …….. yes, she has explained it to me……. I see, that’s very generous of him, but…… Alright, I accept his offer. Please pass my sincere thanks on…. Yes, next week? What time?...... Thursday at 15:00? Perfect…. Oh, one second.”

Dad turns to me. “Kylie, would you like me to be there during your first session?”

I squeak, and then nod my head furiously. He laughs, and returns to his call. “she’s nodding, I think that means yes!”