Thursday, April 22, 2038. That was the day that my life changed, as I was rudely awakened by the blaring of an alarm inside my head. Turning to gaze at the sleep-blurred digital clock on my wall, I found the time to be 4:17 a.m. “Wha… too early to get up…” I grumbled, ready to turn over and go back to sleep when the keening wail coming from my data implant ceased.

The irritating sound was immediately replaced by a robotic voice stating concisely, -= Emergency! You are currently in an Incursion Zone, please evacuate to the nearest shelter. =-

My blood turned to ice in my veins, and I was suddenly both very awake and frozen in fear as my brain tried to process what that meant. I knew what it meant, of course, I just didn’t want to believe that it was happening here, of all places. Any given person on Earth had as much chance of winning the lottery as being caught up in an Incursion, but where winning the jackpot would be the best thing to ever happen to a person, being where I was now was definitely one of the worst.

The first Incursion occurred almost eighteen years ago on July 17, 2020, in a small town in Ontario on the north shore of Lake Superior. At 3:55 p.m. local time, the first recorded Breach opened, a portal between our world and another, and metal Titans came through to destroy much of the town, capture some of its people, and kill anyone else they came across before returning through the portal before any form of defense could be organized. Since then, Breaches had opened once a month or so, though these Incursions didn’t seem to follow any sort of pattern, appearing randomly all over the planet.

My heart raced and, for a moment, I couldn’t breathe until I started doing my calming exercises. This was bad, but maybe we could pull through this. The first thing that we were taught during Incursion drills was that a Breach couldn’t stay open and connect our worlds for very long.

Forty-seven minutes, that was how long every breach seemed to stay open, without fail. It was the only thing that seemed to stay consistent about them. If we could stay hidden from the Titans for that long, or until the Vanguard could arrive to evacuate people and fight them off, then maybe my family could come out of this okay.

It all depended on where the Breach had opened. Our ranch was a good ten minutes away by hover-jet from Boulder Creek, the closest town. If it had opened close to the town, we would be in less danger because the Titans would focus on the town and its inhabitants first before spreading out further. If it had opened near the ranch itself or between the ranch and the town, my family was screwed.

My thoughts, and the panic attack that was accompanying them, were interrupted as my bedroom door flew open. I almost jumped out of bed like I was in a scene from a horror movie before I realized that the figure bathed in the light of the hallway behind her was my sister, Kelly, still clad in her nightgown. “Move it, Eli! We need to get to the Incursion shelter in town!” she called out before coming to grab me by the hand and half-drag me out of my bed.

Kelly was a year and a half older than me, having just turned eighteen years old, while I was barely old enough to get my driver's license. She was also very overprotective. The short age gap between us had made us very close growing up, despite our different interests and genders. We grew up playing together, riding horses together, and studying together.

She was the one who kept me steady when I was having a panic attack or when I got ‘stuck in my head’ as she liked to call it. My sister was my best friend and my rock. “Sorry, Sis,” I mumbled as she pulled me out of my room and down the hall toward the stairs.

Now that I was following instead of being pulled along, Kelly smiled and reached up to ruffle my hair. “We’ll be fine, Eli. You’re my brainiac little brother, I know that if you just had a little more confidence in yourself and a little more drive, you could do anything. So, let’s start with getting to the shelter.”

I nodded as I looked down at her pretty face, with her long black hair, brown eyes, and distinctive Chinese features that were so different than my own pale skin and dull brown hair and eyes. We were both adopted since Mom was a cervical cancer survivor and couldn’t have any kids of her own. It didn’t matter to any of us though because family was about more than blood, and my sister and I would do anything for one another.

We ran down the stairs and through the living room to the outside, where our parents were organizing the ranch hands and our housekeeper, Nancy. They were all piling into the bed of Dad’s big crew cab pickup truck. The vehicle was old but dependable, one of those that ran on diesel and was built well before the sleek new hover-jets that were being sold these days. It was safer too, especially since the Titans were known to shoot down anything in the air inside an Incursion Zone

We were halfway across the yard to the truck when a sound like multiple heavy footsteps and a humming that seemed to vibrate the air around us could be heard. My head snapped around toward the sound, even as Nancy screamed and one of the ranch hands called out “Titans!”

I turned my gaze toward where their eyes were locked in terror to see massive metallic forms shining under the moonlight as they moved toward us. Each was humanoid in form, over thirty feet tall, and they were all identical, with no real differences in style or build to set them apart, as if they were mass-produced. That was likely true since they seemed to be mechanical.

They were thick-bodied and bulky with thick triple-jointed legs that made their gait seem unnatural. Their arms were longer compared to their bodies than a human’s and ended in talon-like hands with four digits, one of which was an opposable thumb. Those arms and shoulders were covered with various bulges and attachments that I figured were some sort of weapon mounts or other equipment. Atop the torso and between the shoulders, the Titans’ heads were squat and compact, with a single red light in the center that was probably some kind of sensor.

Shit, they were between us and Boulder Creek. There was no way that we would be able to get past dozens of the invaders to get to the Incursion shelter in town. And there were indeed dozens of them crossing one of our pastures, causing the cattle to panic and stampede toward the fences. Those not fast enough to flee were crushed under the Titans’ feet, while those fleeing were eviscerated by lightning bolts, explosions, or bright violet beams of light and heat.

Dad seemed to realize the same thing as he called out, “Run! Everyone, scatter! I’ll try to draw them away!” Then, as Kelly dragged me away in the direction of the stable and everyone else scattered, he turned to run in the opposite direction as Mom and us and raised his shotgun while on the move to fire at one of the Titans in the lead.

Light flared as the buckshot harmlessly impacted the energy shield that protected the Titan in question. I had heard that those barriers could withstand heavy artillery so he had to know that the shotgun wouldn’t do anything. Well, I wouldn’t say it didn’t do anything, it did get the attention of our attackers.

More flashes of light lit the night as violet beams of death erupted from several of the Titans, several left the truck a smoldering pile of scrap while others tore furrows in the ground as they swept toward Dad and several of the ranch hands who had run off in other directions with a similar tactic in mind, firing as they went. They were trying to keep attention off the rest of us and not provide a single, stationary target.

I was looking helplessly over my shoulder as we ran and one of those beams cut our father in half and both halves of him fell lifelessly to the ground. It was a vision that would be burned into my nightmares for a long time to come. I was only barely aware of the other beams and a bolt of lightning dealing similar death to the three ranch hands. “Dad!” I screamed out, wanting to go to him, but fear and my sister pulled me toward the stable.

The Titans picked up speed now that they had targets in sight. Damn, they were so fast, there was no way we could outrun those things. Even as one snatched up Nancy in its massive fist and another grabbed our mother, Mom yelled, “Keep running! Find somewhere to hide!”

We made it to the stable, which was now filled with horses panicking in their stalls. Even if we could calm some down enough to mount up, I didn’t think we were going to be able to get away. Two of the Titans were hot on our trail, and I could hear the impacts of their metallic weight, and feel the ground tremble, with each step they made toward our shelter.

Surprisingly, our pursuers stopped just outside of the stable doors, as if trying to figure out the best way to get to us since there was no way they could fit inside. We used that time to get to Sundancer’s stall and open the stall door as my sister tried to calm the gold-colored mare inside. Sundancer was my sister’s horse, a gift from our parents for her sixteenth birthday. In the stall next to her was Moonlight, a white dappled filly that Sundancer had birthed last spring. Kelly had insisted that she would be mine and I had been caring for her since not long after she was born.

Kelly managed to calm the golden mare and vaulted onto her back, not an easy feat with no saddle or stirrups, especially as short as my sister was. “I’ll draw them away, Eli,” she said as she looked down at me from Sundancer’s back. “Hopefully we can keep them chasing us until they have to turn back to the breach, or the Vanguard shows up. You hide with moonlight in her stall. Don’t move and don’t make a sound.”

“No, Sis, you can’t! Dad already…” I couldn’t finish that sentence as tears threatened to burst from my eyes and the sudden tightness in my throat stole my words away. Everyone was protecting us… protecting me. Dad was dead and Mom was captured, I couldn't lose Kelly too. I tried to pull her off the mare, but she kicked my hand away.

“Hide!” she hissed, kicking me toward Moonlight’s stall. “I love you, Eli, and I’ll see you later.” Then she gripped Sundancer’s mane tightly and gave a gentle kick to her sides, spurring her toward the unblocked exit leading to the rear pastures. I stood there frozen, watching her until I felt a wave of heat above me, and the stable’s roof was eviscerated by a barrage of violet light, leaving little left but a shower of small, smoking bits of shrapnel.

I barely noticed the glancing blow to my shoulder by falling debris as a Titan appeared at the doors before Sundancer and Kelly could make it outside, its massive metal hand grabbing my sister from her mounted position. With Kelly in hand, the massive metal mecha stomped Sundancer underfoot to the sound of breaking bones and the mare’s (thankfully brief) screams. Kelly was still screaming in terror and anguish as the Titan left with her as its captive.

I was alone now, shaking in terror and unable to breathe as tears streamed down my face and I tried to make my body move. I just stood there, frozen, unable to look away from Sundancer’s mangled and bloody corpse. It seemed like an eternity but was likely less than a minute before the sound of gargantuan feet pounding upon the ground getting ever closer to me, and the terrified whinnies coming from Moonlight’s stall, spurred me to action.

Grabbing a pair of worn woolen blankets, I opened the door to the stall where the young filly was trembling in the corner and then draped one of the blankets over her back and hindquarters. I flipped the other blanket up, so it was covering both of our heads before hugging the filly around the neck and attempting to soothe her with gentle words and a calm voice. Hopefully, the filly wouldn’t notice that I was trembling as much as she was and that my voice was shaking as I whispered, “Shhh… it’ll b-be okay, Moonlight. I… I’m right h-here.”

I adjusted the threadbare blanket slightly, aligning one of the many small holes with my right eye so I could scan my surroundings. That thing was still out there, every instinct that I possessed told me as much, screaming for me to run and hide. This was not an ideal hiding spot, especially with the roof of the stable vaporized and now completely absent. Those big behemoths would just be able to look down to see inside.

The only thing that we had going for us was that it was still dark out, and the dark gray blankets might be able to act as camouflage. We would be royally screwed if it had thermal vision, or some other type of vision or sensors that didn’t rely on light to find us. I prayed that wasn’t the case as held onto Moonlight’s neck for dear life and my eye and ears scanned the darkness for confirmation.

Then I saw it, that glowing red sensor eye thing. The metal behemoth was standing over the remains of the stable, that red light sweeping back and forth as it searched for me. The horses didn’t seem to interest it any, at least, not unless I used one to try and escape like my sister had. No, it was definitely looking for me.

The sensor stopped moving, and the red light aimed directly at my hiding spot, where it seemed to bore into my very soul. I tried my best to remain quiet, using the flesh of Moonlight’s neck to smother the fearful, staggered gasps of air from my lungs that had replaced any semblance of normal breathing. Still, the red eye hovered. My heart hammered away in my chest with each silent gasping breath.

I knew then that I was dead or, far more likely, that it would reach out to grab me any second. In my racing thoughts, I briefly wondered what would happen then. Was I to be a trophy? A prize? Or maybe they eat the people they capture. The thought of slave labor also came to mind as I considered why they might be invading our world and taking us captive.

The sensor turned away, even as the Titan did the same. The sound of its massive, shuddering footsteps fading away into the dark of the night as it went off in search of other prey, or to join the others of its kind. My knees went weak, and I collapsed to the ground, no longer able to keep my shaking arms wrapped around Moonlight’s neck.

“What the hell?” I thought as I kneeled there on the ground shaking and crying from the far too close encounter. “It saw me. I’m sure of it. Why didn’t it take the opportunity to grab me? Are they heading back to the Breach?” Even as I thought the last, I knew it wasn’t true. I could still hear its fellows in the distance, blowing shit up and causing chaos. So, why did it spare me?

As I knelt there in the stall with Moonlight while shaking, crying, and trying not to make a sound as I listened to the chaos outside, I worried about my mom and Kelly. My earlier fears about what might have been awaiting me on the other side of that Breach coalesced into terror for them as my sister’s screams from when she was taken played back in my mind. Maybe… maybe they could still be saved before they were taken through the breach. “Where the hell is the Vanguard?!” I thought in a nervous panic, “They’re supposed to protect us from this!”

That wasn’t fair and, even in my current emotional state, I damn well knew it. Their main headquarters was practically on the other side of the continent, and the Vanguard was still small and spread thin. Forty-seven minutes isn’t a lot of time to organize and mobilize a counterattack for an Incursion that could occur at any time and anywhere on the planet. Even the National Guard couldn’t mobilize a significant force to such a tiny and remote town so quickly. Even if anyone could get a sizable force here before the Breach closed, they would be prioritizing the town, but the Vanguard might try to stop them at the Breach as well.

I’m not sure how long I knelt there huddled up with Moonlight in her stall in the dark, fearing for my life and whatever might happen to my mother and sister. It seemed like an eternity to me before the silence drew me out of my dark thoughts and fears. The silence felt unnatural for a moment. It was as if the world could not exist without the sounds of screams and battles in the distance. Was it really over?

That was when everything that had happened hit me, and the silence was broken by the sounds of me vomiting up last night’s dinner. I hacked, coughed, and sputtered and the acidic tang of bile filled my throat as I started to tremble once again, and my heart seized with the overwhelming feeling of loss. At some point, the blanket that had been covering me and Moonlight fell to the ground and the filly nudged me gently with her head.

I had to get up. I needed to look at the damage and search for any other survivors. Getting shakily to my feet, using Moonlight to help steady myself, I softly told the filly, “I’ll be okay.” It was a lie, of course, because I doubted that I would ever be anything even resembling ‘okay’ ever again, and my voice was tremulous and raspy as I forced the words out.

I leaned against Moonlight once again to steady myself as I got to my feet and led her toward what had been the stable’s entrance to force myself to face reality. That was when a lance of pain in my chest had me collapse against the filly. No, it wasn’t pain. A strange, warm pulsing sensation was building up in the center of my chest, and suddenly it was like my whole body was being consumed by the feeling of pins and needles, getting stronger and spreading further with every thrumming pulse in my chest.

I stumbled even as I tried to remain standing, falling to the ground. Attempting to push myself to my feet again only brought my attention to my bleeding arms. No, I wasn’t bleeding, there were no wounds. Instead, it was like blood was oozing out through my pores, covering my skin with more and more red fluid before the visceral coating began to crystallize before my eyes, even as I tried to wipe it away.

Another shooting pain, real pain this time, like a red-hot knife being stabbed into my brain. It drowned out the pulsing in my chest and the near-painful tingling along my skin and had me screaming. I screamed myself hoarse as the pain intensified, unable to focus on anything but that agony. Everything else lost meaning until finally, mercifully, everything faded to black.

Darkness. I was floating in Darkness’s surprisingly warm embrace when I awoke. I don’t know for how long, but for a time, I just floated in the warm, comforting darkness of wherever I was, feeling nothing but peace until my memories began to return, and my most recent memories came back to me with a violent insistence that I recall why I was here. Dad… Mom… Kelly… They were all gone, and something happened to me. I couldn’t quite remember what… just that there was blood.

“Where am I? How long have I been unconscious?” Those nascent thoughts prompted me to send a query to my data implant. There was no response, causing my heartbeat to quicken. “Is the system down somehow due to the Incursion? No, if that was the case, then my implant would have just told me that it couldn’t connect to the system. This feels different, almost as if my implant isn’t even there.”

Everyone in most first-world countries had a data implant these days, they were far more practical and dependable than old-school phones and tablets, or even the newer comm rings that had replaced them before the implants came out a few years back. The small microcomputers were implanted into the brain, and while I wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, it could give the user a realistic holographic computing experience, make simple inquiries directly from the system, send texts, or make phone calls. They didn’t need charging, they were always with you, and always allowed access to the system for general information and alerts as well as the internet, outernet, and the communications network.

The thought that I couldn’t even sense the usual mental link to my implant was alarming enough to make me snap my eyes open, only to be greeted by yet more darkness. Even when I opened my eyes, there was not a trace of light to see by, just the sensation that I was floating, completely immersed in some sort of warm fluid. My heart and mind both raced as fear of drowning claimed me and I began to flail frantically.

In my panic, I brought my fists up to beat my way out of whatever prison held me before I could drown, and my left hand brushed against something, something that tugged at my belly in my struggles. At the time I didn’t really have the time or presence of mind to consider what that might mean, the other strange sensations in my body, or the distant and muffled voice that I could hear from outside my prison. I could only focus on my fear, and the desperate need to escape. If I had the presence of mind to consider those things then I might have also realized that I wasn’t having as much trouble breathing as I was fearing.

All I could think of was getting out though, so much so that I ignored the strange connection that I felt to the fluid surrounding me, until that connection suddenly filled my mind and the fluid of my prison exploded outward. Sudden light blinded me, and I barely had the chance to register that before I was on my hands and knees, coughing up the fluid that had been in my lungs. It was as I was going about that very important task that a massive, booming voice like thunder said, “You’re free now, you’re going to be okay, Elliot. I just need you to get used to breathing again and try to stay calm. You’ve been through quite the ordeal, and I need to explain some things to you.”

Sometime during my coughing fit I registered the use of my name. How did this person know me? Why did it feel like his voice was all around me? I looked around in confusion, seeing what looked like a scene in a horror movie, blood and gore were everywhere and I thought that I could spot some truly massive rib bones around me as well. I looked up, just to tear my eyes away from that stomach-churning sight, and that was when I saw the face of a giant looking down at me.

He could have easily swallowed me whole but looked human with short-cropped black hair, a hooked nose, and a chiseled chin and jaw that was decorated with what was likely a week’s worth of stubble. His eyes were pale blue with flecks of green and covered with thick glasses. I probably would have thought his expression to be one of concern if I wasn’t so damn scared and the right side of his face wasn’t splattered with blood.

I might have screamed. Okay, I did scream, but I challenge anyone else to wake up in a similar situation and not do that. That was when the massive man let out a sigh and leaned closer. “Well, your lungs seem to be working fine,” his voice boomed. “I’m not going to hurt you, Elliot. I’m just going to pick you up, real gentle-like, and get you out of that grisly cocoon so someone can help you wash up and explain things to you.”

I heard the words, but at the moment, I was too scared to really process them. I tried to stand to run away but I felt so weak, and my legs didn’t want to support my weight. My body felt different and strange too, in more ways than I could possibly list. “Listen, Elliot, try not to panic,” the booming voice said, in what probably sounded like a gentle tone to him. “The Vanguard found you in an Incursion Zone and brought you here, you’re Altered now.”

His words were registering now, and that last statement hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut. Altered… he said that I was Altered. I didn’t know much about the Altered, only that they were people who took on the forms and abilities of mythical creatures, though I had heard of some who were just regular-looking humans with superpowers. The Vanguard was supposed to be solely composed of Altered, and there were a few Altered who had become notable super-powered criminals or heroes as well.

Most of the little that I knew about the Altered, I had learned on the outernet, a more streamlined and efficient version of the old internet, and much more tightly regulated. People still used the internet, but mostly for things like conspiracy theories, looking up porn, or other things that were too tightly regulated on the outernet. I had been curious about them, just never curious enough to risk talking to my family about them.

Mom never seemed to be for or against them, but Dad, my grandparents, and my Uncle Pete’s family were all very old-fashioned. They didn’t like or trust the Altered and wouldn’t talk about them except to complain about how ‘sideshow freaks’ shouldn’t be counted on to defend us when they didn’t belong on our world any more than the Titans did. They wouldn’t even call them Altered, the words they used were mutants, monsters, and freaks.

Panic once again swelled in my chest, and I couldn’t breathe as my mind was bombarded with all of the horrible things that I had heard my extended family say about the Altered. What kind of monster had I become? What would I do now? Dad was dead and Mom and Kelly were taken. Mom didn’t have any family since Grandma died a couple of years ago and there was no way that Dad’s family would take me in now. Not only was I not even genetically related to them, but now I was Altered as well.

As I collapsed to the gore beneath me and curled up in a ball to have a truly epic panic attack, all that kept going through my mind, over and over, was, “This can’t be happening.”

I tried to ignore the blood and guts around and on me, the strange sensations coming from my body, and especially that big booming voice as it said, “Shit, she’s panicking. I told her not to panic.” Something about those words seemed oddly nice, but my mind wasn’t able to place quite what it was in my current state while I was trying hard to make the outside world not exist.

“Kevin, it’s Dr. Jameson, the cocoon in room 303 has ‘Sprouted’ so I need you on cleanup duty while I take the new arrival to Jade for orientation… You wish, she’s a Water Sprite and her Sprouting was… explosive. You better bring a mop,” the voice boomed.

Too bad the giant’s voice was so loud to me, but he was apparently talking to someone else, so I could keep trying to ignore him and the rest of this fucked up situation. “Lalalalala… I can’t hear you.” Yup, this was not happening. As long as I could ignore all of the strangeness then I could start to get control of myself.

“Elliot, I’m going to pick you up now and take you somewhere a little less disturbing for you. I’ll be careful to not hurt your wings,” As much trouble as I was having with trying to tune out that big, deep voice it was far more difficult to ignore the massive latex-covered hand that carefully pinched my hips to grip me between thumb and forefinger and then lifted me, which only seemed to make my panic attack worse. I didn’t respond, couldn’t respond as he lifted me up and placed me gently in the palm of his opposite latex-gloved hand and I got a view of my surroundings.

The room was huge, scaled to the massive man that held me, literally in the palm of his hand, and that was something that I couldn’t just ignore or try to explain away. It was like a massive hospital room with the usual bed, bedside table, visitors’ chairs, and stuff, only half of the room was now splattered with blood and gore. On the bed was something vaguely human-shaped, if one ignored that most of the upper torso was now missing and that the rest of the body was covered in a coating of blood-red crystal.

I screamed again as my mind put the pieces together and then started sobbing, my chest heaving and burning with the inability to properly breathe as my heart thrummed furiously in my chest and I lay in the doctor’s hand as he carried me out of the room and into an equally large hallway. No. The room wasn’t any bigger than normal, and neither was the hallway. I was just really small, and that crystal-covered corpse on the bed, that was me, or at least, what was left of me. Eli was dead, and I was… I wasn’t sure what I was, but I was certain that it was some kind of monster.

-You must calm yourself. You are no more a monster than I am. You are pure of body and soul, I could not have claimed the Maiden-bond with you otherwise,- a soothing and comforting feminine voice said. I couldn’t see anyone in the hallway but the doctor who was carrying me though, and the voice didn’t seem to boom like his. It almost sounded like the audio that I would get when I played music or made a call through my implant as if it was coming from inside my head instead of outside.

“Great, and now I’m hearing voices. Insanity confirmed, I wonder how long before it will start telling me to kill people,” I thought bitterly as I wiped away tears and the viscous fluid that was still sticking to me.

-Only a sane person would worry for their sanity,- the feminine voice helpfully suggested. -And why would I ever suggest that you kill someone? I’m a healer, not a killer, and should I need to protect you then it would be far easier and more practical for me to conceal you from mortal sight.-

“Wait? Protect me?” I wondered in confusion at what must surely be my new imaginary friend.

-Yes. As I said before, I have claimed the Maiden-bond with you. You are my Maiden, and I am sworn to protect and nurture you for life, just as you once did for me.-

“Maiden? But I’m not a…”

The voice in my head interrupted that refusal. -You are well aware of the differences in your new body.-

It was a statement of fact, drawing my attention again to how different my tiny new body felt. I had been trying not to look at, or even think about, those changes. There was an odd presence between my shoulder blades that was frankly confusing and weird, but I guess it made sense since I thought I heard the doctor mention something about wings. There was that weird cord-like thing that was connected to my tummy as well, but that was barely a blip on my mental radar. It was the distinct weight on my chest, and the lack of it between my legs, that had me mostly concerned, but not because I was freaking out about them.

My concern was that those two things, in combination with things I had heard from both this voice and the doctor, would indicate that I was now female. Maybe I wasn’t freaking out as much about that because I was now some sort of inches-tall mythical creature (the voice didn’t seem to like it when I called myself a monster). Frankly, that should be a whole lot more disturbing than just being a girl, right?

So then why did my heart suddenly start to race again when I thought about it? Why did this body feel less uncomfortable than my old one, even at my small size and with the unfamiliar presence of my wings starting to flutter unconsciously behind me along with my heart? Why did I feel this brief surge of joy, even as I mourned everything and everyone that I lost? It just didn’t make sense.

My mind wasn’t allowed to dwell on it as the soothing voice in my mind chose that moment to drop another mental bomb on me. -You did not lose everyone; I am still here; we still have one another. You will also become used to your new self, and embrace it in time, as I did. I will be here for you, just as I watched and waited for you to emerge from your long slumber, my Maiden.-

“Wait? I know you? Who…” I began to mentally sputter, only to be hastily interrupted.

- It is possible that the one waiting behind that door will sense my presence. I must leave for now,- the soothing voice stated as the doctor’s free hand reached to push open a door and take me into whatever room lay beyond. -I will be watching and will speak with you again soon. Just know that you are not alone, nor were you the only one changed by the wild magic on that day, my Maiden. I was with you that day. You held me, hid me, and protected me until the Titans left us alone with our fear and grief. My name is Moonlight.-

I was still struggling with that new bit of information as the voice faded from my mind and Doctor Jameson entered the room to say, “Jade? I have a new patient for you.”

The room was different than the hospital room that I had been moved from, as there were none of the regular accouterments for a hospital room. Instead, dozens of what looked like dollhouses lined the wall, some at floor level and others spaced haphazardly as they hung from hooks on the walls with no real pattern to their placement. A large wooden table, set in the middle of the room, had what appeared to be separate areas for bathing, eating, and other necessities, usually through well-placed doll furniture or whatever happened to be handy for the purpose, though I did notice that some of the furniture and dollhouses were twice the size of the others.

Jade turned out to be a woman who was roughly the same size as me with shoulder-length mint green hair, emerald eyes, and green-tinted wings like a dragonfly’s. She wore what looked like a simple mid-thigh-length halter dress to leave her wings free. Both the dress and the slippers that she wore on her feet were of a shade that matched the emerald of her eyes. Her wings blurred and made a faint buzzing sound as she flew toward us from one of the smaller dollhouses.

She hovered above the outstretched hand that I was currently resting on and looked me over, offering a friendly smile that somehow managed to ease my nerves. “And who do we have here? A freshly Sprouted Water Sprite, judging by the fluid and blood on you. How much have you told her, Nathan?”

Dr. Jameson let out a gargantuan sigh. “This is Elliot Pierce, and you should probably give her the whole spiel, Jade. She was panicking and I can’t be sure if she even knows what’s going on.”

I tried not to wince at the name. I didn’t like the name Elliot, it had always grated on my nerves, felt wrong to me, and hurt, like it wasn’t really me that people were talking about. I had always preferred being called Eli, it wasn’t perfect, but it was far more comfortable than having people use my full name. I thought that I might have been too apparent about my discomfort though because Jade quirked an eyebrow as I tried to hide my discomfort and gave the palm of the doctor’s hand a dirty look.

“Welcome to the Fairy Ward of Amethyst Harbour Hospital for Altered Care,” she said with a friendly tone while carefully avoiding the use of my name. Then she turned her attention back to the man holding me and said, “Just place her right in one of the smaller baths so I can help her clean up, Nathan. Then you can give us some privacy. We have a lot to talk about.”

As soon as Dr. Jameson had placed me in one of the smaller ceramic bowls of water on the table for bathing, which was surprisingly warm and pleasant, he left the room, leaving me with Jade. I later discovered that the pleasant temperature of the water was due to some kind of rune magic on the bowls meant to regulate temperature. It seemed like I was going to have to get used to magic being a regular aspect of my life now.

Once I was relaxing in the water, Jade immediately clamped and cut off what was apparently my umbilical cord. It didn’t hurt or anything, I barely felt it in fact, but she warned me not to play with the stump and that it would fall off in a few days. Once that was done, she was able to start using a fluffy cloth to clean the blood and other fluid off me. I would have preferred to clean myself, but I was having trouble even moving my limbs from a mixture of tiredness, general weakness, and unfamiliarity with my new body.

As she cleaned me up, Jade patiently inquired, “You seemed upset when Nathan called you by your name. Would you prefer to be called something else? Don’t worry about trying to speak yet, just think of your answer and I will be able to hear it. I’m a telepath, dear.”

I tried not to blush, and failed miserably, as the green-haired woman was lathering and cleaning my new naked body… and apparently, she was in my head now too. That was a mixed blessing since my tongue, just like the rest of my body, didn’t want to work properly yet. Still, I tried to give some kind of answer that explained why I got uncomfortable with people using my given name. “I don’t like my name. It feels… I don’t know, wrong somehow, like it doesn’t fit me. Maybe it’s just too formal. Eli is better…” I promptly stopped myself from finishing that thought.

“I sense a but there,” she pressed, the warm smile not leaving her face, showing that she had caught my hesitance.

I let out a physical sigh as I added, “It was better, that was what my sister called me, but it still never seemed… right.”

“Maybe you just need to find the right name for who you are now,” Jade suggested gently. “Most of us Fairy-type Altered take on new names after Sprouting because we’re not just changed versions of our old selves like other Altered, the process is different for us and only our minds and memories have any traces of our former selves. We usually take on names connected to nature. If I might make a suggestion, perhaps Lily would suit you. It sounds similar to Eli and will be easy for you to respond to, but it’s different too.”

“Lily?” She was right, it was similar and yet different to my sister’s nickname for me. It sounded feminine, but I was already aware that I at least had the outward appearance of a girl and something about the name didn’t have the cold strangeness and discomfort that usually came when people addressed me by name. Instead, it made me feel warm inside and my heartbeat quickened.

“Yes, Lily,” she agreed pleasantly as she continued to wash me.

My breath caught in my throat, my heart still racing as an unfamiliar sense of euphoria filled my chest as she appeared to address me by that name. That feeling was quickly drowned out by a chilling shiver of fear and dread. “No,” I thought bitterly. “That’s a girl’s name. I’m not…”

“Your new body begs to differ,” the green-haired woman pointed out as she cut off my denial. “You look female, so what is the harm in using a girl’s name? You are no longer the person you were, don’t feel forced to hold on to that and deny something that might make you happy. You are a Sprite now, and there are no male Sprites. Lily, how much do you know about the Altered?”

The sudden change in topic confused me slightly but I managed to mentally admit, “Not much.”

As Jade continued bathing me, she began explaining some things. Most of it I didn’t know, but some things I had heard before, like the fact that every Incursion has lasted forty-seven minutes, and they occur roughly once a month in random locations on the planet. The current theory behind that was that whoever controls the Titans is limited in how long the Breaches can stay open and how often they can be used.

Beyond that, not much is known of what lies beyond the Breaches, whether it is another world, another reality, or something else completely. That was something that the Vanguard wanted to know so they could better fight the Titans, but so far, they haven’t been able to arrive at the scene of a Breach quickly enough to do much more than fight the retreating Titans, so all that the Vanguard knows about their world so far is its effect on our world and our people.

They believe that the world on the other side of the Breach is overflowing with something that Jade calls Wild Magic and that when Breaches open Wild Magic spills out into our world through the portal. That magical energy has a profound effect on a small portion of the population; roughly thirty percent of teenagers within five kilometers of a Breach begin to change after the Incursion is over and become Altered. It is believed that elevated hormone levels are responsible for this since changes have also been noted in pubescent animals as well and, rarely, in pregnant women. Moonlight claiming to have been my filly changed by Wild Magic seemed to confirm this for me.

Eight percent of those affected by the Wild Magic of the Breach may not know that they have been affected until later in life when puberty is finished. The remainder of those affected begin to show heightened appetites and superhuman regeneration as their bodies change far more than usual during puberty to suit a new genetic template. Close to fifteen percent of those affected physically even change gender as well. Mostly, new Altered take on inhuman forms, most often resembling supernatural creatures of myth and legend, leaning credence to the theory that these Breaches have occurred before, early in our development as a species.

What is less known is that each different species of Altered seems to come with its own set of natural (or supernatural) abilities and weaknesses. For example, Vampires might be stronger and faster than baseline humans, but they are very sensitive to sunlight and need to drink blood to survive. Sprites like me and Jade are small and fragile but can fly and have a natural aptitude for elemental magic. These natural abilities for their new forms are not the only abilities that Altered can get though. Jade assured me that telepathy is not a natural ability for Sprites, for instance.

Once puberty is finished and the hormone levels of the Altered begin to settle in the later teens and sometimes early twenties, the Altered begin to display unusual, and in some cases superhuman, abilities whether they were visibly altered during puberty or maintained their human appearance. This is called the Waking. Variance in abilities from among those of Altered species that are more common has shown that these abilities may be magical in source if not appearance. The potential to tap into the metaphysical to fuel these abilities, and the nature of the abilities themselves, seems to vary wildly among Altered.

Physically changing into another species, learning to use new abilities, and the looming threat of Waking and having to learn about another new ability means that many Altered have a lot of mental as well as physical baggage. When you consider that most Altered are survivors of attacks by the Titans, it’s no wonder that a lot of us have trauma-related issues. Early Altered were locked up in government labs ‘for public safety’ and to be studied as well, only increasing their trauma.

Altered are often still viewed with suspicion and fear by the baseline human population, but things changed slightly for the better in 2024. That was when Dennis Harrison, a lone Elf who had managed to hide his changes, was caught up in an Incursion in downtown London, England. He began to use his abilities to assist the police and to fight against the Titans, and his largely untrained magic proved far more effective at fighting them than anything else that had been tried during previous Incursions.

Video footage of his fight showed the world that the Altered were useful, so a year and a half later, the UN formed a new international military organization called the Vanguard to provide a fast response to Incursions, turn back the Titans, and to try to find out more about our enemies and what lies beyond the Breaches. Their headquarters was built in the razed town of Amethyst Harbour, which was being rebuilt, and in the year 2030, Vanguard University was opened to cater to the Altered on the site of the first Breach. Since then, Amethyst Harbour has become a city with a population of over eighty thousand people where Altered are protected by law as long as they don’t do anything criminal.

“I was born and grew up in Amethyst Harbour,” Jade told me with a sigh as she carefully washed my hair. “A lot has changed since that first Breach when I was a terrified fourteen-year-old girl being cocooned in crystalized blood. I Sprouted in a government lab and the only good that came from that was that I didn’t feel imprisoned or get treated like some science experiment for nearly as long as the others who became Altered in that Incursion. This brings me to a very important point. Fairy types do not get the same experience as other Altered.”

She paused to rinse my hair and wings of lather and sighed before continuing. “Most Altered just have their bodies change rapidly through some form of high-speed regeneration that seems to be a part of the process. Fairy class Altered are only a fraction of the size of our former bodies though and a lot of mass would have to be expelled during the process if we were the same as other Altered since even shapeshifters usually can’t seem to change their actual mass, they just get more or less dense. If that happened when we changed then we would be too heavy to move at our size, let alone fly.”

“So that’s why I sort of burst from my own chest like some sort of alien?” I asked, shuddering at the memory of what was left of my old body.

“Yes, the cocoons preserve our former bodies in a sort of stasis, keeping them alive and converting one of our lungs to an improvised womb where our new bodies are formed, grow, and mature to adulthood, feeding off the nutrients in our still-living former bodies. Even as small as we are, forming those bodies and growing them to adulthood takes time, as does the transfer of our memories and thoughts. I know that, to you, it may seem like you were a teenage boy one minute and that now you’re an adult Sprite, but that’s not the way it happened,” she gently explained.

“Shit… it’s been months, hasn’t it?” I thought toward her as I trembled in the bath, not certain if I wanted to know the answer.

“I’m afraid not, Lily,” she responded in the tone of someone about to deliver very bad news. “It can take years for the process to complete. I’ve read your file, Lily. The Incursion that you were in occurred on April 22nd of the year 2038. It is now the fifth of July 2041.”

That was… almost three and a half years. I had essentially been in a coma for years. “What…” I couldn’t even finish that line of thought. I was too stunned, and what could I even ask that might make the sudden tightening in my heart go away?

“Yeah, I was shocked too when I found out,” Jade told me sympathetically while giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “There are benefits to being a Sprite though. We can fly, and use magic, and nobody even knows yet how long we and certain other types of Altered can live. I haven’t aged a day since I Sprouted. And since you’re an adult now, you’ll likely Wake soon and can start learning to use your magic and whatever other power you get. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m here to help you with all of that through your rehab.”

I knew she was trying to help by showing me the positives, but this was freaking me out. Not only did I have all of this to get used to, but for some reason, I was in a strange city, and I had no idea what had happened to my family. And what about Kelly and Mom, were they dead, or was there some chance that they could be rescued someday? It has been over three years though, what have they gone through during that time, if they were even still alive? “My family…” was all I could think of.

“I’m sorry, Lily. Your father died in the attack and your mother and sister are missing and assumed captured along with several others who were known to be on your family ranch. The Vanguard team that found you was able to identify you by your implant and they talked to your remaining family, but they were…” she hesitated before adding, “not receptive to taking custody of you so you were brought here.”

From what I knew of how my grandparents and my uncle’s family thought of Altered, that was probably putting it mildly. So, I was all alone now. It wasn’t terribly surprising, but it did hurt. However, what I couldn’t get out of my head right now were my mother’s and Kelly’s screams as they were carried away by those massive mechanical monstrosities. “Mom, Kelly…. Why did they only go after the women? One saw me, I know he did, but he just turned around and left.”

“I can assure you that men were taken in that attack as well, Lily, but the Titans are confusing,” Jade told me as she lifted me out of the bath and sat me down to start gently patting me dry. “Their tactics are always changing and a lot of what they do seems completely random at times. I have friends in the Vanguard though and from what they’ve seen in recent attacks, you’re not the only one to get passed over when they could have been captured, and every one of you has ended up Altered.”

That got my attention, and my eyes went wide. “All of us!?”

Jade nodded, a serious expression replacing her kind smile. “That’s what I’ve been told. The tech that they use is some kind of fusion of magic and technology, so the current theory is that maybe they have a way of seeing which of us are being changed by the Wild Magic and they don’t want us for some reason. A lot of us can counter their tech, so maybe they’re afraid of us?”

That gave me a lot to think about. If they were afraid of us, then maybe there was some way that I could get inside a Breach to find Kelly and Mom. Maybe my small size would make me harder to spot? Then I could rescue them. There was that nagging thought that I might have to avenge them instead, but I brutally shoved that into a box in the back of my mind and securely locked it. I was brought out of these thoughts and back to the real world as Jade said, “There, all clean and dried now.”

With that done, Jade carried me to one of the smaller doll-sized beds, explaining that she would be keeping me near the baths and other facilities for the first part of my rehab therapy, while I trained the muscles in my new body to get past the weakness of just being born and learned to use my wings. After that, I could choose one of the Sprite houses on the walls to live in until my therapy and general education on being a Sprite, using magic, and flying were complete, and I could be released. Generally, Sprites were able to get used to their bodies enough to walk, talk, and do the basics like feeding themselves within a few days. The rest of the time would be spent building up strength and stamina, especially in the muscles that controlled my wings, and learning about the basics of elemental magic.

As she sat me down on the bed and started working my muscles, she explained, “There are two types of Fairy-class Altered, Pixies and Sprites, but we are very different species. Pixies can get up to a foot tall while Sprites only average around five inches. Their wings are more like those found on moths and butterflies, whereas ours are more like those of bees and dragonflies. We are each ‘born’ aligned to a specific type of elemental magic reflected by our appearances, while Pixies use illusions and other mind magic. Pixies can be either male or female and can have children together like humans, while Sprites all appear female, but our gender is… complicated.”

“Wait, what do you mean by complicated?” I asked in concern as she gently maneuvered my left arm to work the muscles.

Jade frowned for a moment, probably trying to think of a way to explain it simply before finally doing so. “Our biology is… odd. We have our human, mammalian, characteristics, but we’re also sort of like the magical equivalent of plant life. Where plants can get energy from sunlight, we can get it from mana, though we still need to eat proper food for certain nutrients. It’s why we’re so good at sensing mana and using our magic. We bear our young in our wombs and give birth to live children like humans, but how we get fertilized in the first place is different.”

That was when she gave me a somewhat twisted version of the birds and bees talk. Apparently, while Sprites can engage in sexual activity, and do enjoy it, it’s not how we make babies, though it does play a role in inducing labor. Instead, it turned out that I was very lucky to have not Sprouted a few weeks earlier because, around the time of the summer solstice, sexually mature Sprites go into bloom. She wasn’t even joking as she very seriously told me that a big ole magical flower grows out of our navels.

The flowers bloom for two days, and during that time Sprites end up feeling tired and sluggish, not wanting to even move, we just want to chill, absorb mana, and feel an urge to be pollinated. If we manage to get pollinated with pollen from another Sprite’s flower, then the ‘seed’ that results from it retracts back into our womb and makes itself at home until the resulting baby is ready to be born. Jade was one of the early ones to learn how this all worked the hard way and warned me not to be out in the open during this time of year if I didn’t want to risk becoming a mother.

“Wait, so you…” I started to blather mentally, both terrified and elated by this revelation for some reason that escaped me at the moment. Why would I possibly be happy about this? Why did I have this surge of joy every time that Jade called me Lily? I was a guy, and as much as I sometimes wished I could be a girl like my sister, didn’t all guys feel that way?

I mean, nobody wants to be big, blocky, hairy, and awkward, right? Being a girl was so much better, they were so soft, pretty, and graceful and they weren’t limited in what they could wear like guys. I hadn’t really gotten a good look at myself yet, but this body already felt so much nicer and more comfortable than my old one. I wasn’t really a girl, as much as I had always wanted to be, but I could at least enjoy looking like one now. I just needed to be careful about the flower thing.

“Yes,” Jade said, interrupting my chaotic thoughts, “I have three daughters that I’ll be going home to once my shift here is done. Speaking of that, Oak should be here soon, so I’m going to let you get a look at your new self and get you something to wear before he shows up to take over for me.”

Without another word, the green-haired Sprite stepped away to drag over a stand-up mirror that would have been tiny for baseline humans but was floor-length for us Sprites. For a time, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the girl sitting on the bed who was being reflected back at me. Her build was all graceful curves with a slim waist, wide and well-rounded hips, and modest but perky breasts. She was pale with long, pale sky-blue hair, and delicate-looking translucent wings could be seen behind her slight shoulders. It was hard to tell from a seated position, but her legs looked long and graceful too.

It was her face, sitting atop a slender and graceful neck that most captured my attention though. It was heart-shaped with a delicate chin and jawline, full pouting lips, a pert little nose, big blue eyes with thick lashes, and long elfin ears. She was beautiful. “She’s so pretty,” I thought in awe.

“Yes, you are, though that does seem to be common for our kind,” Jade said with a laugh as she interrupted my gazing into the mirror to put a simple, Sprite-sized paper hospital gown on me. She told me that Fairy types usually wear clothes made from bamboo or silk since coarser materials tended to be rough on our delicate skin. Thankfully, she didn’t take long to put the gown on and I was able to stare at the girl in the mirror until Jade’s replacement arrived.

Jade’s replacement, Oak, was a male Pixie with an athletic build, lightly tanned skin, short black hair, green eyes, and a no-nonsense attitude. He had mottled black and green moth-like wings and was easily twice my height. It was sobering that a person who was only a foot tall was still so huge compared to my current size, not to mention intimidating.

He wasn’t a telepath like Jade either, so communicating was somewhat more difficult, consisting of mostly head shakes and nods in answer to his questions until I could get my tongue working properly. That was frustrating at first, and whenever I tried to talk, the sounds coming from my mouth were nonsensical and nothing close to what I had intended. He tried to get me to take it slow as he exercised my limbs for me, reminding me that this was a newborn body with very little strength and no muscle memory.

As he was starting my physical therapy to get me used to this new body though, I did learn some things. First, I had Sprouted in the early hours of the morning, during the night shift. The second thing I learned was that I wasn’t the only patient currently in the Fairy Ward.

While I might be the only one who had Sprouted recently, there were several other cocoons from other, more recent, Incursions waiting to birth a new Fairy-class Altered. None of those were due to Sprout for months yet though. There were also two other patients, who had been sleeping in doll houses when I arrived and while Jade cleaned me up.

One of those was Nightshade, a Pixie who had been dealing with depression and extreme anxiety issues ever since Sprouting six months ago. Not that I could blame her after going through the whole thing myself. I mean, after surviving an attack from aliens only to end up in a blood cocoon and burst out of your own chest years later to find that you’re an extremely tiny mythical creature, who wouldn’t have some kind of issues?

Nightshade was apparently a special case though since Oak told me that it didn’t help matters that her special ability was to be a sort of empathic sponge, sucking up the negative emotions of people around her. It made the people around her happier but only made her feel worse, and she didn’t seem to have any conscious control over the ability. For the moment, until they could find some way to help her, she was being kept isolated in one of the larger Pixie houses.

The other current patient of the Fairy Ward was named Poppy. Oak said that she Sprouted a few weeks before I did and that she would probably join us for breakfast. I would be on a liquid diet until I had enough control over my jaw muscles that I could chew and swallow properly though. Luckily, my brain knew how to do all of this stuff, so it was mostly just issues with strength, flexibility, and muscle memory thing, something that Jade had earlier told me usually went fairly quickly for newly Sprouted Sprites.

Unfortunately, Oak wasn’t much of a talker other than what related to my therapy or how things were run in the Fairy Ward, not that we could have had a proper conversation anyway in my current state. Moonlight’s presence had returned to my mind during an unbearably quiet lull before breakfast though and she helped to keep my mind occupied as my body rested from Oak’s earlier manipulation of it for rehabilitation purposes. Without Jade around to possibly sense her mental presence, my faithful filly (well, I guess she was probably a mare now) was able to tell me a bit more about why she was here and how the wild magic had affected her.

One thing that was obvious was that she was now a lot smarter than a normal horse, and she claimed to be faster and stronger as well. She didn’t tell me what she was now exactly, but I didn’t think that she knew either since a lot of what she did know she had learned through instinct, or by observing the people caring for my cocoon. She had instinctively hidden herself from sight when the Vanguard found me and when they had decided to bring my cocoon here, she snuck aboard their transport, unwilling to leave me out of her sight.

“You watched over me for three years?” I asked, moved by her loyalty and affection for me. There was a doubt in my mind that I really needed to address though. “Nobody can see you? Are you sure I’m not just going crazy and you’re just a voice in my head?”

-I am certain, my Maiden,- she replied affectionately. -I have merely made myself ethereal, I am here, just obscured from the senses and immaterial in the body. We are connected though, and as I can only speak with you this way, you should be able to sense me. Relax your mind and focus on our bond.-

I attempted to do as she asked while Oak flew over to greet the human-looking nurse who had entered the room with a small plate and an announcement that it was breakfast time. I kept my eyes closed for a moment as I relaxed my breathing and focused my mind on Moonlight, and the bond that I could sense we shared. I turned my head toward that sense, but it was more like my head kind of lolled to the side.

I could sense something. It was faint at first, just a bright blurring of my eyes until her form began to take shape. Moonlight was a majestic-looking mare, and her coat, mane, and tail were all a bright and pristine white. From her forehead sprouted a golden horn. In hindsight, I should have probably realized what she was earlier, from some of the things she had said, but I was still new at dealing with mythical creatures being a reality.

My jaw dropped, not that that was saying much since I couldn’t really control the muscles in it too well yet. “Holy crap, Moonlight! You’re a Unicorn!”

“I… yeah... Are you absolutely sure this isn’t all in my head? The scenario, I mean, not the conversation. Because that’s pretty obvious by this point.” I reiterated as I gaped at her in wonder.

-I am certain, my Maiden- she insisted. -Or would you prefer that I call you Lily? I have noticed that you seemed happy when the Pixie addressed you by that name earlier.-

“Yeah, I guess… if you don’t mind.” I thought back at her awkwardly as my cheeks flushed with warmth. The name did make me happy, but I wasn’t sure why. It just felt like a better fit than Elliot or Eli and I wasn’t sure why. As she had pointed out earlier today, I did have a girl’s body now, but wasn’t I still the same person in my head? Shouldn’t I, as a guy, feel weird using a girl’s name?

I didn’t though. For some reason, I felt happy and comfortable, like there was a weight I had been carrying all my life that was gone now. It wasn’t just the name either. This body, even with its small size and feminine presentation, felt… right somehow, or at least it lacked the strange discomfort that always seemed to plague me before the Incursion. Shouldn’t this tiny, inhuman body feel wrong for someone who was born and raised as a boy?

I was still trying to figure out why this name and body felt so much better, when a red-orange blur entered my field of vision, quickly resolving itself into a Sprite around the same height and build as I had seen in my reflection earlier. She was very pretty with a nice figure, shoulder-length ginger hair, and eyes that were dark orange. There was an orangey gold tint to her wings, and from what Jade had told me earlier, that probably meant that she was a Fire Sprite, whereas I was a Water Sprite and Jade was an Earth Sprite.

“Eeee! Another Sprite!” a cute and slightly high-pitched voice squealed excitedly. Before I knew what was happening, the other Sprite had my hands in hers as she shook them enthusiastically enough to cause my weakened body to bob and sway with the motion. “It’s about time one of you Sprouted!”

“Poppy, this is Lily,” Oak informed the ginger Sprite who was still excitedly shaking my hands.

“Hi, I’m Poppy!” she offered unnecessarily. “I’m a Fire Sprite, but you probably figured that out. Gosh, you’re pretty! You’re a Water Sprite, right? Maybe when you learn to use your magic, you can train with me because I’m immune to fire but my clothes aren’t and that makes things kinda awkward when I really let loose since I’m still learning to control my fire magic and it would be such a relief to have a Water Sprite around to get me wet when I get too hot and start getting naked.”

Poppy should have been reborn as a Wind Sprite because she was a whirlwind. I almost didn’t catch half of what she said because most of it was spoken without coming up for air. Then her brain seemed to catch up with her mouth and she quickly let go of my hands as her cheeks went as red as her hair for some reason and she sputtered, “Oh gosh! I’m so sorry! I swear that didn’t sound so thirsty in my head!”

Wonderful. Now I was picturing her naked and was almost as red as she was. Was the mention of being naked making her self-conscious? I wasn’t sure what she meant by thirsty either. Did fire magic make her dehydrated or something? I think that Oak got whatever it was because he was shaking his head as he put together some breakfast to take to Nightshade.

The plate the nurse had brought in was table-sized to us but surprisingly, there were tiny doll-sized plates and cups for us to use, and one of those cups was filled with an unappetizing-looking greyish-brown liquid. Other stuff on the table included what looked like some blueberries, cups of what looked like milk, a bowl of golden liquid, and a pile of o-shaped cereal that was large enough compared to our size that one piece could make a meal, much like the berries. Oak put a little bit of everything on a plate for Nightshade and Poppy followed suit for her own plate.

The moment that Oak was gone to deliver Nightshade’s breakfast and check up on her, Poppy leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “Would you like a taste of my nectar?” I just looked in confusion at her extended fingertip, glistening with fluid, since I couldn’t reply, at least not with something that would make sense. “Oh, right, you can’t talk properly yet. Don’t worry, I can help you learn to use your tongue properly… No! I didn’t mean it like that! Bloody Hell! Stupid Poppy!” she verbally blundered as she slapped her forehead.

Poppy’s face was again bright red as she attempted to correct whatever verbal slip-up she thought she had made. “I… uhh… meant that you might want something sweet before Oak makes you drink that horrible nutrient fluid, and this is flower nectar. It’s not from my flower, I swear! It’s really sweet and we Fairy types love sweet things, and it's liquid so it shouldn’t be a problem just to put a little on your tongue to give you a taste of something sweet. And the… ummm… using your tongue thing… I was gonna suggest trying to make alphabet sounds until you can get them right. That’s what I did at first.”

-This girl seems very excitable,- Moonlight commented, earning a mental nod in agreement. Poppy did seem excitable, and a bit awkward, for some reason. She seemed nice though, and the alphabet suggestion was a good one. She didn’t seem to be like that with Oak, so maybe she just got nervous when meeting new people. I opened my mouth and let her dab a bit of the liquid on my tongue before Oak got back, just to show I wasn’t upset with her. She was right, that nectar stuff was very sweet, and I found myself liking it and wanting more.

Unfortunately, that was when Oak showed back up and started pouring that gross nutrient liquid into my mouth, sip by sip. I guess it was the Fairy equivalent of a protein shake, with all the protein, vitamins, and nutrients that a newly Sprouted Sprite needed. Too bad it tasted like toxic waste.

After breakfast, Poppy went off to practice her flying and fire magic in what I originally thought might be this hospital room’s bathroom. It wasn’t though, it actually turned out to be a massive Fairy-sized training area for beginner magic, flight, and trying to figure out whatever special abilities the patients of the Fairy Ward might have in a safe environment. While she was off doing her thing, I practiced my ABCs and managed to get all the way to L before lunch, when I had to force down more of that awful nutrient fluid.

During lunch, Poppy seemed to be making more of an effort to think before speaking, though occasionally something still slipped out that embarrassed her. Our conversation was slow since I still didn’t have enough vocal control to do much more than weakly nod or shake my head in answer to her questions. She seemed okay with doing the majority of the talking though.

She seemed to really enjoy magic and flying and was eager to have another recovering patient to share those with until she started school in the fall. She also told me about the terrible timing of her Sprouting. She had burned her way out of her cocoon the day before all the adult Sprites started going into bloom, including herself.

She said it was like she didn’t have the energy to move for two days, and it was like she was horny the whole time, except different, because she had no idea what it was that she was desiring at first, only that the burning desire was focused in the area of her belly, where the flower had bloomed. The worst part was that she couldn’t even do anything about it, and she had no energy to go through her rehab either. Thankfully, she had been indoors, and the hospital staff took precautions to isolate her so she couldn’t get accidentally pollinated.

Then she told me a bit about herself before the Incursion that caused her to be in this situation. She grew up in Leeds, a city in West Yorkshire, England. I was a bit surprised by that since she had no accent, but I guess that made sense since she had to learn to speak again in a new body, just like I was now, so she sounded a lot like the people who were helping her with that. She was in her last year of high school when the Incursion hit so she was going to be taking some equivalence tests and starting at Vanguard University in September.

After hearing her talk about it, I was interested in doing the same, if I could manage it. Despite being only sixteen when the Incursion drastically changed my life, I was nineteen now and I had been taking the same home-learning classes as my sister, and we both would have had enough credits to graduate at the end of the school year. It sounded like any Altered who attended V.U. got a pretty good deal out of it too.

The students there can focus on Trades or various Arts or Science degrees, and their room, board, and education are all paid for, provided that they serve one year for every year of education they receive in the Vanguard. They’re also required to take some combat classes, and classes to help them learn to control their new abilities, taught by some of the first Altered. I could get a good education out of it, but more importantly, if I joined the Vanguard then maybe I could find out what happened to my sister and mother and rescue them. I wanted, no I needed, to be able to do that.

The mere thought of it galvanized me, and I was determined to find them, even if I had to step through a Breach and into whatever waited beyond. I needed to save them, even though I knew they would never recognize me as I was now. They were my mother and my sister, and I would find them, no matter what it took.

Over the next few days, I was put through rehab exercises several times a day to pave my path to being able to use my new body properly. Jade was the night shift nurse for weekdays, so since I Sprouted on a Friday, I didn’t get to see her again until Monday night. Even during the weekdays, I would only see her before bed or when waking up early, something that Moonlight seemed happy about.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like the green-haired Sprite, but there was the risk that she might sense the Unicorn telepathically, and Moonlight seemed set on not revealing her existence to anyone but me unless absolutely necessary. To my mind, that brought up two possibilities about my unseen companion. The first was that there was a very good reason that Unicorns are elusive and hard to find in myths and legends. As for the second, I didn’t like to think about that one much since it involved me likely being crazy and all of this being in my head.

Yeah, that was not a thought that I liked to linger for long on. Anyway, most of my rehab would be with Oak and the evening shift nurse for weekdays, Violet, who was a female Pixie. There were two of the nurses on weekends who were Sprites like me Poppy though, in case we had any questions about the quirks of our new biology, using elemental magic, or anything else. Willow was an Earth Sprite, like Jade, and Breeze was an aptly named Wind Sprite.

While I thought that this might be troublesome for me and Poppy since we had nobody of the same element to teach us, I was told that elemental magic for Sprites is largely instinctual. In fact, we usually use it for the first time while in a panic to get out of our cocoons. Apparently, that was why my cocoon kind of exploded around me. In my panic, I manipulated the water in my old body and pushed it all violently outward. Once I could move properly someone would be able to teach me the basics, but mastering my water magic was largely a journey that I would need to take on my own.

By the end of the second day, I was able to eat solids and talk again, and by the fourth, I could move around under my own power. It was all tiring at first, would take me a while to build up my stamina, and I was stuck on the ground for the moment, but part of my exercises now was starting to work my wings to get used to them in preparation to fly. I was pushing myself to improve whenever I had the energy, even when the nurses suggested I rest.

I needed to get stronger. I needed to get out of this hospital ward so I could go to Vanguard University when the new term started in September. Being involved with the Vanguard was the only way that I could find Mom and Kelly, and I was not going to let the opportunity slip through my fingers.

For most of that first week in the Fairy Ward, I worked myself steadily toward that goal. Honestly, it wasn’t like there was much to do anyway. I no longer had my implant so I couldn’t go online, study, or play games like I normally would when bored and the only company was the various nurses and Poppy. I was starting to see why Poppy was so eager to talk with me at first since she was alone for a couple of weeks before I showed up, except for Nightshade, and Nightshade couldn’t exactly come out and socialize with her special ability causing her such depression.

The only thing I could do was talk to Poppy, Moonlight, and the various nurses to fill the time when I wasn’t working on my rehabilitation. That time was mostly spent talking with Moonlight though since I didn’t want to bother the nurses with anything unrelated to my recovery and Poppy had her own things to focus on. The Fire Sprite was still working on developing her fire magic and she was starting to wonder if she would ever show signs of having a special ability like most other Altered seemed to once they were physically mature.

Saturday, July thirteenth marked my eighth day in the Fairy Ward, and I was starting to build up some stamina. I even managed to use my wings properly on Thursday and got a flying lesson from Jade before bed. I couldn’t stay up there for long, but it was a start and Poppy figured that in another two weeks, I would have the strength and stamina to fly as fast and as much as Jade and other long-term Sprites and do daily activities normally.

Poppy was quiet this morning, she had been longing for real clothes, anything other than the hospital gowns that we were wearing. Jade had told us last night about a shop in Amethyst Harbour where one of the local Sprites had set herself up as a weaver and tailor to make clothes for those of us of the smaller persuasion, and the excitable Fire Sprite had been very disappointed that we couldn’t go out that very minute to get proper clothes. She was still brooding about it during breakfast.

It was strange seeing the usually upbeat Fire Sprite looking so down and being so quiet as we ate breakfast. She didn’t even stumble over her words once while talking to me, though I suppose that would have required her to say more than three words for the entire meal. She was still staring gloomily at her plate and had barely sipped at her nectar when Breeze, the white-haired Wind Sprite, returned from checking up on Nightshade and taking her something to eat.

Breeze was very pretty, as most Sprites seemed to be, with short-cropped, spiky white hair and sky-blue eyes, though they preferred to use they/them pronouns. I had learned earlier in the week that all that was needed to do to tell what type of Sprite someone was, was to look at their coloring. Our hair, eye, and wing colors were a reflection of our elements.

Wind Sprites have cloud-white hair, sky-blue eyes, and nearly completely transparent wings, while Earth Sprites have hair in shades of green, emerald eyes, and green-tinted wings. Fire Sprites, Like Poppy, had hair in shades of red or orange, orange or amber eyes, and an orangey gold tint to their wings. Then there were Water Sprites like me, whose hair and eyes come in various shades of blue or aquamarine, and whose wings come in various translucent blues to as transparent as a Wind Sprite’s like mine were.

Breeze was one of the first students to graduate from Vanguard University, where they had gotten their nursing degree before doing their service in the Vanguard as a medic and then coming to work here at the hospital. They seemed nice, but like Jade and the other Fairy-type Altered I had met, they didn’t look much older than I was. I guess that wasn’t just a Fairy thing though since I was told that other Fae types and a few other types of Altered don’t seem to age at all after Waking.

As soon as Breeze returned to the table from their brief visit with Nightshade, they focused their attention on me. “Lily, if you’re done eating, I was wondering if I could speak with you privately for a moment.”

I was indeed done eating and was torn between trying to somehow cheer up Poppy and doing my rehab exercise and working my wings some more. With one last look at my usually fiery fellow patient, I nodded and replied, “Sure, Breeze.”

“Follow me then,” they replied before flying off to one of the empty Sprite-sized houses that were mounted high up on the wall.

I quickly started to work my wings to take to the air and fly carefully toward the house that the older Sprite had just zipped into. I couldn’t wait to be able to fly that fast. Once I was inside the little house with a cool, blue-themed interior living room with comfy-looking Sprite-sized furniture, Breeze took a seat in one of the armchairs and gestured for me to sit on the couch.

That couch was so soft and cozy that I almost wanted to take a nap on it, but I wanted even more to know what this was about. “Is this about, Poppy?” I wondered aloud. “She’s not acting like her normally cheerful self.”

Breeze shook their head but gave me a gentle smile. “No, Lily, though it’s nice to see that you’re concerned for her. Given what Jade told me this morning, I think that Poppy is just starting to realize that things are different now, and it’s not all just magic and superpowers.”

“You mean like the clothes thing?” I queried. “I kind of figured out that things were going to be hard when I realized I didn’t have my implant anymore.”

“There are a lot of things that we took for granted while we were still human that just aren’t true for people who are five inches tall,” they explained with a sad sigh. “That was particularly true in the early days for people like us. Now we have people our size who are trying to make our lives more comfortable by creating proper homes, furniture, and other things, and we’ve managed magical alternatives for some things like toilets and other necessities, but our reality is very different now than that of the big people. That is part of what I want to talk to you about, your new reality. So, first, how are you adjusting to your new body?”

I considered their question for a long moment before giving my reply. “Well, my stamina could still use some work, and being this small kinda sucks in a lot of ways, but flying is cool, and I can’t wait to learn to use water magic and find out what my special ability is.”

“Yes, those are common enough thoughts to have, I had them myself when I was in your shoes. I was talking more about how you’re adjusting to this,” they said as they just sort of ran their hands down their body to gesture to all of them. “Sprites only have one gender, and that gender is, for all intents and purposes, female. I know from your file that you were male before the Incursion that changed you, and I know from experience how hard an adjustment this can be to make.”

“I thought that it should have bothered me at first,” I admitted, “but this body is so much nicer than my old one. It feels good, like, really good. Instead of being big, hairy, and clumsy, I’m soft, pretty, and so much more comfortable like this. Except for being worried about my mom and my sister, and the nightmares of seeing Dad killed in front of my eyes, I’ve been kinda happy about this.”

Breeze’s jaw dropped as they stared at me in surprise. “You’re happy to be a girl?”

“Well, yeah,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, nobody really wants to be born a guy, right? It’s uncomfortable, the body sucks, the clothes are so drab, and don’t even get me started about that gross thing that was between my legs, it just always felt so…wrong. We all just sort of… put up with being a guy because that’s what’s expected of us. I wish I really was a girl. I dreamed about it a lot, but I’m sure all guys do.”

“Lily, speaking as someone else who grew up as a guy, I can assure you that all guys do not think that way,” they said, their expression darkening for a moment. “In fact, the way that you just described living as a male is what I feel like since I went through my change, but in reverse. Do you think that you might have been transgender?”

I shook my head and sighed. “I’ve heard about them, but no. Trans girls know that they’re girls inside from an early age and they’re brave enough to do something about it. I kind of wish I was trans because it would have been better than the alternative of being a guy. I could have been a real sister to Kelly too, and not so uncomfortable all the time.”

“So, let me get this straight… you’re more comfortable in your new body, wanted to be a girl, and wish you were trans?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Why? Do you think there might be something wrong with me?” I asked in sudden concern at the very annoyed aura the Wind Sprite was now projecting.

“I think your shell is made of tungsten,” they muttered. Then they sighed, looked up at the ceiling, and muttered again, “Fuck it, time to scramble an egg.”

What were they talking about scrambled eggs for? We just finished breakfast. I was more concerned about that almost scary aura emanating from them though. “Are you okay, Breeze? You seem annoyed about something.”

Breeze took a long and deep breath, probably to calm themself, before answering. “Lily, as someone who now identifies as transgender, let me assure you that not everyone feels like they should have been the opposite of their birth gender from an early age.”

“But haven’t you been feeling that way since you Sprouted?” I asked, going on what little information they had revealed about themself in this conversation and not quite certain what they were trying to say. “That’s technically when you were born, so you’ve felt that way since birth.”

They actually smacked their forehead at that. It sounded like it might have hurt and might explain the wince. “Lily, some trans people don’t know why they’re uncomfortable with their bodies at first, they just know that it feels wrong, and take it from me, cisgender guys do not feel like that or wish to be girls. Gender dysphoria is literally discomfort caused because your assigned birth sex feels wrong. If you felt that way, then there is a very good chance that you’re trans.”

My eyes went wide with realization. “Wait, so you’re saying…” Holy shit. Breeze might be onto something here. “Hey, Moonlight? We’re, like, bonded, and you keep calling me your Maiden. I thought it was just because I’m a girl now, but do you think I could really be a girl? Like… on the inside?”

The Unicorn’s mental laughter filled my mind for a moment before she could reply. -You are just realizing this now, my Maiden? Lily, I did not know what your new physical body would look like when I made the bond, you were still in your cocoon then. I could not have made the bond if you were not a maiden in every sense of the word; pure of heart, virginal, and with the heart and soul of a young woman.-

“Whoa. Okay, well, that’s a lot to mentally unload. I hope Mom and Kelly are okay with it when I find them… well, I guess the Sprite thing might be a bit harder to handle. Wait… Breeze, if I was trans before and I was reborn as a girl, does that make me cisgender now? And I still like girls, Poppy is really hot if you’ll excuse the fire pun, so am I a lesbian now? Wait, Sprites only have one gender, so how does that work?”

Breeze groaned audibly and I was a little worried that they might think I was stupid now. “Sure, let’s just go with that. Identify however you want, so long as you’re happy like this. Now, let’s get on to the real reason I brought you here for a talk.”

What followed was a long and more detailed lecture on the birds and bees than Jade had given me on my first day, but in our case, birds and bees were actually involved in the process instead of just a metaphor, what with the whole flower and pollination thing. Also, safe sex had a completely different meaning for Sprites as well. For us, it involved not being anywhere you can be pollinated if you don’t want to get pregnant and making sure you are in a safe place and have a non-Sprite standing guard somewhere nearby while you’re in bloom so no predators come across you and think you might make a tasty snack. The world is a far more dangerous place when you’re bite-sized.

They also explained that while we might get pollinated instead of impregnated like Humans do, once the seed has retracted into our womb, the whole process afterward is basically the same as a human pregnancy. The only difference is that we give birth to Sprite children, who are born with their wings and everything. People studying us now know that Sprite children, like other children who are born from Altered species, can use their racial abilities (elemental magic in our case) from an early age. What was less certain so far was whether they would later develop special abilities when they fully mature, like the first generation of Altered do.

After the whole sex and parenthood talk, Breeze went on to tell me that the little house we were now in would be mine for the remainder of my stay in the hospital, now that I could reliably fly for short distances. They were also going to take me to the Fairy training room to give me a primer on elemental magic. I was relieved at that since it, and flying practice would give me something to do besides my exercises now that I was more mobile.

We had just left my new little temporary home, Breeze flying at a sedate pace so I could keep up with them when Poppy zipped over to us and began to excitedly babble as she hovered before us. “Guess what! I think I found my special ability! Check it out!” The Fire Sprite couldn’t stop grinning as she gestured to what she was wearing.

That was when I noticed that her Sprite-sized hospital gown was changing before my eyes, splitting apart at the midriff and turning into what looked like a short, pleated skirt and halter top. The material and color seemed to still be the same, but the style was completely different. She looked good in it too, very good, and I had to avert my gaze at first to hide my blush. Wait, no, you’re supposed to be averting, you stupid gaze! Don’t just keep staring and drooling like some perv! Damn, she looked hot.

Poppy beamed at me as she noticed my eyes roaming over her body and completely ignoring my mental commands. “Pretty sexy, huh? Maybe I can sex you up too, Lily.” We both went beet red as we realized what she had said, and I could have sworn I heard Breeze snickering as Poppy verbally bumbled, “No! I didn’t mean it like that! Not that I wouldn’t want to, because you’re totally hot, but I wasn’t… I didn’t… I mean, I can make your clothes into something more stylish too!”

I barely heard Breeze mutter something about a disaster before finally sighing. “Okay, girls, let’s go discuss this ability, and how we should test it, in the training room. Lily still can’t stay in the air for long and it’s time she learned how to consciously use her magic.”

That morning was my first time in the Fairy Ward’s training room, and it was nothing like I had been expecting. I had expected some sort of converted hospital bathroom, but the room was constructed when the Amethyst Harbour Hospital for Altered Care was first constructed six years ago to accommodate the city’s steadily growing Altered population and their medical needs, which were very different at times from the medical needs of baseline humans. It was roughly the same size as a human bathroom would have been, but that, and the human-sized door was only so the maintenance and cleaning people could access it.

It was like walking into some sort of self-contained jungle oasis, with plants and flowers of various types growing all around the room, including creeper vines growing up a couple of the walls. In one corner there was something like a tiny rock garden and at the center of the room, there was a small pool of water, which was pond-sized to us Sprites. There were a few things that still reminded me that this was a room inside of a building though, such as the grow lights on the ceiling, a plugged drain visible through the clear water at the bottom of the pool, and a faucet with a short hose and sprayer attached on one of the bare, ceramic-tiled walls.

While I had instinctively used my water magic to escape the prison that was my former body, learning to use it consciously was going to take time and effort on my part. Other Sprites might be able to give me advice and tell me what worked for them, but how fast I learned would depend on how good my instincts for magic were and how much I worked at developing my skills and perfecting my technique. Breeze was sure to tell me that before starting me on the first step of that journey, sensing and manipulating mana.

Apparently, mana is everywhere, but until the Wild Magic released during the Breaches started changing people into mythical creatures, it was extremely rare for people to be able to sense and make use of it. Beyond Breeze and Poppy telling me that mana felt different to everyone, neither of the other two Sprites was able to help me with this first step. Breeze suggested meditation to open my mind to the world around me, so I tried that for the first couple of hours while Poppy tried to learn more about her special ability.

Unlike other types of Altered, even the Pixies who were grouped with us as Fairy types, Sprites have a very close relationship with mana. We feed on it and are constantly and slowly drawing it into our bodies for energy without even thinking about it, much as plants photosynthesize sunlight. The problem is that once we start using magic, it can drain our mana reserves fairly quickly, which means that to effectively use magic we need to learn to do consciously what we’re already doing unconsciously and at a much higher rate.

After two hours I started to become frustrated and vented to Moonlight, “This is impossible. Breeze said that Sprites have a natural ability to sense mana, but this is like learning how to breathe or make my heart start beating. How do I learn how to do something that my body already does without trying?”

-Perhaps you are thinking too hard about this, Lily,- the Unicorn replied gently. -Breeze said it was akin to sunlight for plants and that you absorb it through your skin and wings. Relax, clear your mind, and focus on your skin and wings.-

I didn’t have high hopes for this, but I attempted to get myself nice and relaxed and do as she had suggested. Clearing my mind of everything else, including my frustration, wasn’t easy, but I tried to just focus on the sensations on my skin and wings. The first thing that I sensed was the warmth of the overhead grow lamps from above, then there was the ever-so-slight breeze in the room from the air circulation fan.

I tried to ignore things like that itchy spot on my left ankle and the slight glistening of sweat from the warmth of the training room. Those were just distractions, annoying but unimportant and unrelated to what I was trying to do. Like the warmth and the breeze, I filtered those out hoping that if I eliminated enough sensations then I would be left with what I was looking for.

I was getting nowhere, all that this focusing on my wings and skin was doing was making me super aware of them and making them all tingly. Starting to get frustrated, I decided to take a break from the whole magic thing for a bit and work on my rehabilitation exercises and flying practice. I tried again before lunch, but it was the same deal, nothing that screamed out, “I’m sucking in mana,” just that tingling sensation after focusing too hard.

I was beginning to feel discouraged as Poppy and I sat down to eat lunch together, especially since the Fire Sprite seemed to be having a much easier time with her task than I was having with mine. She had been trying things with rocks, leaves, and whatever else she could find in the training room, and as best she and Breeze could figure, Poppy had the ability to manipulate any raw material she touched and form it into whatever she could imagine. It was more than just clothes that she could make too, if she could picture it in her mind and had enough of the material she could make it.

Breeze was going to see about getting some metal, scrap clothing material, and other such things for Poppy to test with but so far there only seemed to be two limitations. The first was size, the bigger the item she was trying to make, the more mana it seemed to take to do it. When she tried to form a statue out of a rock a little larger than she was, it took a lot more time and she had to absorb more mana to do it so she wouldn’t completely deplete her reserves. She also couldn’t seem to make anything with moving parts, unless perhaps she made all the parts individually and then put them together.

After turning my hospital gown into something like the outfit she had made for herself earlier. Poppy asked, “So, Lily, how’d your training go? Have you used any cool water magic yet? I kind of thought you’d be all wet by now... I mean, from splashing yourself and stuff. Magic is a bit hard to control consciously at first.”

“I haven’t even got to that part yet,” I told her with a sigh of disappointment. “I’m still working on the whole sensing mana thing. Whatever it is I’m supposed to be feeling, I’m, not.”

“Maybe you just need to be turned on first. Wait, no! I didn’t mean it like that!” Her cheeks were flushed as she thought carefully about what she wanted to say and how to phrase it and a moment later she added, “I meant that you probably don’t have to draw any mana in right now since you’ve been here a week and haven’t used any magic yet since Sprouting, or even done much flying, so you’re probably stuffed… I mean filled… I mean you don’t need any mana right now. So, try going about it in reverse maybe? Try using some water magic and then see what it’s like when you actually need mana.”

Why did Poppy have so much trouble talking to me and keep rethinking how she said things? She wasn’t like that with any of the nurses and we had known each other for over a week now, so I would have thought she’d be over any shyness by now. Was the friendliness just an act? Did I make her uncomfortable somehow?

Wait! What if she realized that I was into girls and found her attractive? What if she knew I used to be a guy and that was making her nervous? Was I being some sort of creeper without realizing it and making her uncomfortable? She was a real girl, and probably straight so of course she wouldn’t want some skeezy pretender drooling all over her. What do I do!?

Depression and uncertainty warred in my mind, and for several minutes I just sat there frozen as I spiraled deeper into self-doubt and self-loathing. I had felt such euphoria earlier when Breeze and Moonlight had helped me to figure myself out, but those feelings were long gone now, and I wondered if I deserved to be calling myself a girl. I was obviously doing something wrong here and making Poppy uncomfortable.

A hand squeezed my own, making me focus a little more on what was going outside of my head, and I found myself staring into a pair of orange eyes set in a face that currently wore a very concerned expression. “Hey, are you okay Lily? You look kind of down. I’m sorry if it was a stupid suggestion, I just thought…”

Shit, and now she was blaming herself for my current mood. I tried to tear my thoughts from my misgivings and try to recall just what we had been talking about and what it was she had suggested. Right, the whole mana and magic thing. She had suggested trying magic first and despite her odd verbal bumbling, maybe she had a point?

I forced a smile that I didn’t feel at all as I tried to convince her everything was okay. “Sorry, I got kinda lost in my thoughts there for a minute. That’s probably a good idea, so I guess I can try that. But how do I use magic?”

Poppy seemed to be thinking over an answer when Breeze, who had just returned from taking lunch to Nightshade, provided one for her. “You should feel a connection to your element. Honestly, for us Sprites, it’s as easy as focusing on that element and what you want it to do.”

Then, as Poppy and I ate our lunches, Breeze gave me an impromptu lesson on basic elemental magic. First, they told me that water is the most versatile of the elements, with Earth being a close second. Water exists practically everywhere on Earth in some form and even if there is no visible water anywhere, Water Sprites can gather it from moisture in the air and manipulate ice or anything that has enough moisture in it, like I had used embryonic fluid and blood to escape my cocoon. Those were more advanced techniques though, and they suggested that I work on controlling actual water first.

Earth was nearly as versatile since they could control not just earth and stone but plants and metals as well to some degree. The other two elements could be versatile as well but took a lot more work to master. Air might be as easy to come by as water and earth, but it was really hard to focus on at first because it wasn’t something you could actually see most of the time. As for fire, it was far less common, but just as I could draw moisture from the air, Poppy could heat it up to generate flames if she needed to or do the same with combustible materials. With enough practice, she would even be able to control lightning and electricity in time.

Then the pair told me what drawing on mana felt like for them. Poppy described it as a feeling of electricity in the air around her while Breeze said that for them, it was more like a breeze blowing over them that felt different than other air did to their senses. Once we were done eating, I was ready to give things another try as Poppy and I flitted back to the training room while Breeze called someone to see about getting some other materials for Poppy to practice her new ability with.

I sat down cross-legged in front of the bathtub-sized pond and attempted to feel my connection to the water. Surprisingly, I didn’t have as much trouble discovering that as I did how to sense mana. There was this definite feeling that I couldn’t quite describe, like a pulling sensation or awareness, but not.

It was kind of like when you walk into your house and someone had been cooking something delicious, you just sort of know it’s there and can practically follow the smell. I wasn’t smelling this with my nose though, but with my mind and I could sense it coming strongly from the pond in front of me. It was in the air around me too, but weaker and harder for my new sense to pinpoint.

I ignored the moisture in the air and focused on the pool ahead of me. This was my element and, if my will was strong enough, it was mine to command. I only needed to bend it to my will and make it do what I wanted it to do. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I willed the water to rise into the air, but the only result was a throbbing pain inside my skull.

“Too much, too soon,” I thought to myself. I needed to start smaller. With that in mind, I left my sitting position and leaned forward to place both hands beneath the water’s surface, holding them apart at around shoulder-width. Now, laser-focused on the water between my hands, I willed it to rise along with my hands as I drew them out of the water, the shape of a sphere firmly envisioned in my mind.

This time there was no throbbing discomfort in my head, which was good because keeping my mind focused on holding that sphere of water took every bit of concentration that I could muster. I did hold it though, and it did rise. It was an unsteady, slightly sloshing sphere, but it was a sphere and didn’t immediately splash downward to join the rest of the water below. I turned to Poppy, feeling very pleased with myself, and then I noticed that she had formed a fireball in the palm of her hand with seemingly little effort.

I almost lost my grip on the water between my hands at seeing her doing it so effortlessly. It was disappointing, but to be fair, she had been at this for a month longer than me and this was my first time trying this. I was about to put the water back where I had gotten it and start again when I was struck with a mischievous impulse.

Holding the water in my hands, I willed it toward the flame as if it had been propelled from a squirt gun. It worked! The flame was extinguished, and Poppy turned to gape at me in surprise. “You were playing with fire,” I teased. “Didn’t you say something about wanting someone to get you wet when you do that?”

Poppy’s face immediately went almost as red as her hair as she sputtered, “I… well… ummm…”

That was about when I noticed that the water I had sprayed her way hadn’t just extinguished her flames. It had soaked the Fire Sprite from head to toe, and now the remains of the clothes she had formed from the paper hospital gown were clinging to her wet skin and leaving nothing to the imagination. My eyes went wide, my cheeks turned as red as hers, and I quickly turned to face away from her as I blurted, “Omigod! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean… I didn’t think… I…”

Shit! What do I do?! She was probably mortified now and likely thought that I was some pervert who did that on purpose to see her naked body. My knees gave out on me, and I fell onto my butt as my mind tried to come up with some sort of apology that didn’t sound either lame or hollow. I couldn’t breathe as the first panic attack that I had had since I first Sprouted clutched viciously at my chest as I gasped for air, my mind spiraled, and I clutched at my knees and rocked back and forth. “You have no chance with her, she thinks you’re some disgusting pervert now. Even if she is into girls, she wouldn’t be into a freak like you. She probably hates your guts.”

-Lily, you must calm yourself,- Moonlight’s voice gently prodded at my mind as she attempted to break through my downward spiral of self-derision.

“…ly. Lily! Can you hear me?! Please calm down… going to be okay,” another voice called as it tried to pull my attention toward it. It felt so distant though, like it was being filtered through a wall of white noise.

“… need to breathe. Inhale…” a third voice tried to penetrate the storm clouds in my mind.

Moonlight’s voice once again attempted to pull my mind away from my thoughts. -Lily, I know you can hear me, even if you cannot hear the others right now. The one named Breeze says that you need to take slow, deep breaths. Please, focus on the sound of my voice. I am here for you, my Maiden. I will always be here for you.-

“But Poppy, she probably…”

My frantic thought toward the Unicorn was interrupted as she told me sternly, -She is concerned for you, Lily. She flew to get Breeze in a panic and now they are both worried. You are stronger than this, get control of yourself. Please, do not make me show myself to intervene. Deep, slow breaths, my Maiden.- Her mental voice sounded so worried.

A different type of guilt and worry now gnawed at my heart and mind. I had made them all worry. I needed to get a grip. Very carefully, I took one long and deep breath before slowly releasing it. A second followed, and then a third, and soon I was in a pattern that relaxed my breathing and slowed my racing heart. When I finally had calmed down enough to find my voice, I mumbled, “Sorry…. I…”

My apology was swiftly derailed as I was practically crushed in an embrace. When I was finally released and had opened my eyes, all I could see was Poppy’s face, tears wetting her cheeks as she blubbered, “Ne… never worry me like that again! I… I thought you…” Whatever she thought, she couldn’t seem to find the words to express it. Then I was the one at a loss for words as she suddenly pulled me toward her and kissed me.

For a moment, I just sat there in Poppy’s arms, completely stunned by the sudden kiss and at a loss for what to do in response. Her lips were so soft and warm against mine. I had never been kissed before, at least, not on the lips. I had only ever experienced kisses on the cheek or forehead from my mother and sister, and this was so very different.

The passion of her lips on mine caused my heart to flutter wildly and my breath to quicken as they crashed together with an intensity on her part that I would not have expected from a seemingly awkward and shy girl like Poppy. Then it felt as if she was going to pull away, that her lips were going to leave mine. Even in my shock and confusion, I didn’t want that, and my body reacted, eagerly reciprocating by kissing her back before my mind could truly comprehend what was actually happening.

Eventually, we needed to part to come up for air, and as we both sat there gasping from our amorous efforts, she cupped my face in her hands and gazed at me as if she was holding some great treasure in her cupped hands. My tongue didn’t seem to want to work so all I could seem to do was stare back as my heart hammered away in my chest and I tried to catch my breath. The moment ended when she seemed to realize what she was doing and released me as if she’d been scalded.

An awkward silence fell over us as she sat there with a look of stunned horror on her face, Breeze watched over us with an odd smirk on their face, and I tried to process what had just happened. Poppy was so pretty and while she could be awkward and shy, she was also very sweet, and I liked her. I really liked her, and she just kissed me… and I kissed her back. Everything before that was a fuzzy and indistinct blur as my mind couldn’t seem to stop focusing on that kiss, and how much I wanted her to kiss me again.

That horrified expression on her face was like a knife to my heart though, as both its rapid beating and my breathing slowed and then quickened again in fear. Did she not like it? It felt like she was really enjoying it. I was too after I started kissing her back. Did I do something to upset her?

I tried to focus on something besides her quivering lips and how much I wanted to feel them on mine again. What were we doing before the kiss? Wait, I was having a panic attack, but why? One glance down at her naked body made my face flush, my building desire for her spike, and served as a reminder of what had happened… what I had done. Some clumps of damp paper still clung to her body in places, but they did nothing to preserve her modesty.

Of course, Poppy was horrified. I humiliated her. The thought was enough to extinguish the flames of desire that had been kindled during that kiss and had briefly elevated at the sight of her naked body. I could once again feel anxiety circling like a shark in my chest, faster and faster as my tension built up.

I felt horrible again, I had probably embarrassed her so badly. I looked away, trying to control my breathing and thoughts to stave off another anxiety attack. I couldn’t face Poppy like this, guilt gnawing at my mind as I tried to get myself under control, and I wanted to be anywhere else but where I was right now.

Moonlight’s gentle voice encouraged, -Yes, calm yourself, Lily. You…-

Whatever she was saying was lost to me as nausea, dizziness, and disorientation crashed over me like a tidal wave. It was a good thing I was already sitting because I probably would have fallen on my face or ass otherwise. As it was, I had to close my eyes for a moment to shake off the disconcerting feelings that had briefly assaulted my senses. Thankfully, whatever it was passed as quickly as it hit me, but I could tell without even opening my eyes that something was off.

The floor beneath me felt different, cooler, and more yielding. The texture was different too, and the air seemed fresher somehow. A sense of familiarity assailed me, the scent of animals and manure, the distant sound of horses and cattle, and when I opened my eyes, I realized why. I was home.

No, this couldn’t be right, it had to be a dream or something. It looked like home, but there were so many differences, completely aside from everything seeming gigantic, of course. The only thing that seemed completely unchanged was the massive oak tree that I was sitting underneath with an old rope swing hanging from the lowest branch. It sat on a hill near the rear pastures and gave a good view of the ranch. Kelly and I had spent a lot of time under this tree, hanging out and enjoying its shade in the summer heat, and even as small as I now was, I would know it anywhere.

The barn, stables, and house were all in the same places as before, but they all looked new, and the house was nothing like the one that I had grown up in and that had been in my father’s family for generations. Both the color and architecture were vastly different; this house was a larger, and much more modern, three-story affair painted a dark blue while our home had been a more inviting and cozier little old two-story in white with dark green trim. Was this some strange dream? If it wasn’t, then how the hell did I get here?

Wait, maybe the whole hospital thing was a dream. A glance downward at my feminine body and hands and my Poppy-altered hospital gown quickly dismissed that idea. I decided that I needed a closer look. If I really was in Montana somehow then that would explain why Moonlight had been cut off, I was way out of range for our mental bond to work. It might not explain how I got here, or how to get back, but maybe I could at least confirm that I was where I thought I was.

I took to the air, flying toward the buildings, and fortunately, people never seem to look up and I was small enough to avoid notice so far since the unfamiliar ranch hands were focused on their work. At least, I think they were unfamiliar since ours were likely either killed or captured during the Incursion. I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure though since it’s hard to make out most identifying features when looking at the tops of people’s ginormous heads, or worse yet, hats.

There was a voice that was all too familiar though, even if it seemed much louder than ever before. And that was saying something since Uncle Pete had always seemed like a loud-mouthed jerk to me whenever he and his family visited us. He was bigoted, opinionated, arrogant, and generally won arguments by being bigger, louder, and more threatening than his opponents. He was even a bully to his wife and kids. With him here and barking out orders, it wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened to the family ranch after we all either died or disappeared during the Incursion.

By the time I landed on one of the fenceposts, well away from the work going on, I was already feeling exhausted and needed a break. I was still getting used to flying around a hospital room and needed to work on my speed and stamina. At least I was close enough now to get a better look around.

Cows, and just about everything else, are so much louder and more intimidating when you’re like five inches tall. Despite my new, smaller point of view and the different buildings though, there was this eerie sense of familiarity. This was my home. Emphasis on the word ‘was’ since it had changed so much in the past three years. Still, there were places and things that I recognized.

There was the old well that had been covered up when I was five and almost fell in, the copse of trees near the front pasture where Kelly and I would always start our daily horseback rides, the place where…
Grief and loss clutched at my chest and tears came to my eyes as I spotted the general area where my dad had been cut down by Titan weaponry. I looked away, only to find myself looking at the area where Mom and our housekeeper, Nancy, had been snatched, and then the newly built stables. The building might be new, but the location was the same.

My mind flashed back to that day, terror squeezing at my heart and lungs as I clutched at my knees and rocked back and forth, trying to dismiss the images from my mind. It was too late though; I was already living through it again in my mind’s eye. Dad being cut in half and both halves of him falling to the ground in slow motion, Mom and Nancy screaming and telling me and Kelly to run as they were gripped in those massive hands, Kelly telling me to hide with Moonlight and riding off on Sundancer, the roof being blown to bits, and then my sister’s and Sundancer’s screams as she was snatched from the horse’s back and the mare was crushed under the Titan’s foot.

I was hiding under the blankets with Moonlight in her stall again, that red eye sweeping over us, before the Titan’s massive fist snatched me up, batting Moonlight aside and leaving her a mangled corpse and blood everywhere. “No! It didn’t happen that way!” I tried to tell myself. “Stop it! I don’t… I can’t…”

I couldn’t breathe and the gasping sobs wracking my body weren’t helping as I desperately tried to cling to reality and shake off the horrible vision. Moonlight was alive, we both had become Altered. I was a girl now, a pretty little Water Sprite named Lily. I was going to join the Vanguard. I was going to find my mother and my sister and save them. Thought by thought, I battered away at the grim visions that had sunk their claws into my mind, pushing them away and loosening their grip.

In the end, I was a sobbing and trembling mess, but I was a sobbing and trembling mess who had won. I knew that I needed to get out of here though, I needed to find a way to get back to the Fairy Ward in Amethyst Harbour. This place held nothing for me but traumatic memories now and I didn’t want to live through that again.

I was still trembling and wiping away tears when I got shakily to my feet and started to think about my current situation. I was definitely back in Montana, but how? It was like one minute I was sitting across from Poppy with Breeze watching over us, and the next I was here. Did I teleport somehow? I was pretty sure that wasn’t a normal ability for a Sprite, at least, from what I had been told about our abilities in general. “Wait a minute… did I Wake?” I mumbled to myself.

It was the only logical explanation. I was told to keep my eyes out for any unusual abilities or weird things happening around me since Fairy class Altered usually go through their Waking within a month or two after emerging from our cocoons since we don’t emerge until our new bodies are fully grown, and puberty is essentially finished. So, my special ability was some kind of teleportation then?

As cool as that sounded, I had absolutely no idea of how I even did it the first time, let alone how to repeat the process. I needed to figure this out, but where should I start? I decided that it would probably be a good idea to think about this somewhere where I wouldn’t risk people seeing me. I had been lucky so far, but sitting or standing on top of a fence post probably wasn’t the best idea if I wanted to avoid notice.

After a quick look around to make sure that none of the ranch hands were looking in my direction, I started stretching out the kinks in my limbs and my wings so I could take to the air again. I was thinking of making for the roof of the house where I could hopefully avoid human interaction. You know that thing I said earlier about humans seldom looking up? Well, I was still just as guilty of that while getting used to the whole flying thing.

Looking up to figure out a flight path that would avoid notice as I was getting ready to work my wings again is what saved my ass. I let out a squeak of pure terror, too scared to even properly scream, as I dove off the fencepost, narrowly avoiding the outstretched talons of the red-tailed hawk that was trying to make a meal of me. I was halfway to the ground below when I managed to get my wings working and got into a hover for a few seconds before taking off as fast as I could for the nearest building that I could hide in, which happened to be the barn.

Fortunately, the bird of prey didn’t follow me. Whether that was because it had lost track of me during its attempted snatch and grab or because it didn’t want to work any harder than it had to for its dinner, I neither knew nor cared. I was far too concerned at the time with finding a good place to hide, where I hopefully wouldn’t become something else’s dinner, to worry about it. My luck was holding, and as usual, it was all bad because that was when the cat spotted me.

I almost didn’t see the tabby chilling in the loft, too panicked from my recent close call with the hawk. It was the movement that caught my eye, as its head and ears turned toward me, and I was immediately back in the air with the feline in pursuit as I darted around the inside of the barn and looked frantically for a place to hide. My wings were feeling like lead, and I had just suffered a near miss as the cat tried to leap into the air to catch me, when I spotted it.

There! I could see a slight gap between bales of hay that I thought I could fit in and put all the energy that I could muster into my wings to outpace my pursuer and slip inside. There was nothing dangerous to me inside, but I barely managed to scooch backward far enough to avoid the cat’s paw, claws on full display, swiping inside and trying to catch me. “G-good kitty, nice kitty, please go away,” I whimpered as my heart threatened to explode in my chest.

Breathing heavily from both exertion and my near-death experiences, I leaned against one of the walls of hay in my shelter as I attempted to calm myself down and catch my breath. Eventually, the cat lost interest in me. Well, that or it was just prowling around and waiting for me to leave my hiding place. Unless I could figure out how exactly I managed to teleport here, I was in deep shit. I was snack-sized to just about every carnivorous animal in the area, I didn’t dare leave my shelter with that cat prowling around the area, and I had no phone or implant to contact the hospital with.

I collapsed into a sitting position and hugged my knees as I tried not to listen to the cat moving around the hay bales when I started to sob again. I didn’t want to be here. I was scared and tired, and all I wanted was to be back at the Fairy Ward with Poppy and Moonlight. It was then that I was hit with another tidal wave of nausea, dizziness, and disorientation.

“Lily?! Breeze, she’s back!” I heard Poppy’s familiar voice call out before a pair of arms wrapped themselves tightly around me. “Where were you, Lily?! We’ve been worried sick! You j-just disappeared and you’ve been gone for over an hour!” The Fire Spite’s voice was shaky as she clung to me tightly, nearly crushing me in a hug for a moment before letting me loose.

-Are you well, my Maiden? What happened? You gave me a fight when I could not reach your mind- Moonlight’s voice asked more tenderly.

“M-montana… r-ranch…” was all I could get out verbally as I sniffled and opened my waterlogged eyes to see a blurry image of Poppy looking down at me in concern. She was in a paper gown again, but it looked like she either hadn’t bothered trying to change it into more normal-looking clothes yet or she just hadn’t thought about it. I tried to give a better answer to Moonlight, but I was too emotional to properly form the words in my mind either.

After I managed to calm down enough to speak and think more clearly, I told them about my little misadventure in more detail and Breeze gave me a quick medical exam to make sure I wasn’t hurt anywhere. When they were done, they said, “I can’t see anything wrong physically, Lily, but I think that after your ordeal you should rest until dinner time at the earliest, you’ve been through a lot. Are you sure you were at your former home in Montana? Teleportation isn’t a common power expression, and I’ve never heard of anyone with that kind of range before.”

I quickly nodded as I insisted, “I’m sure of it, Breeze. That was the place where I grew up.”

“I’ll ask the hospital powers experts about it,” the nurse told me after a moment of thought, “maybe they can figure out some way for you to test it and figure out your limits. I still need to talk to them about getting some other materials for Poppy to work with anyway.”

-The next time you decide to disappear like that, my Maiden, try to at least bring me with you. I cannot keep you safe and healthy if I am not with you,- Moonlight added in concern.

“I’ll try,” I promised her, “but I’m not even sure how I did it yet. I don’t even have a handle on the magic thing yet.”

Breeze left the ward to go talk to the powers experts, leaving me and Poppy essentially alone, if you don’t count the ethereal Unicorn in the room and Nightshade, who was still in lockdown in her little house where she wouldn’t be close enough to pick up on any negative emotions. The latter was probably a good thing with the emotional state that I was in when I returned. I was considering going to my new little house for the rest that Breeze had recommended when Poppy blurted out, “I’m sorry!”

I just blinked at her in confusion for a moment, not entirely sure what she was apologizing for. Whatever it was she looked really upset and even more awkward than usual. After a moment, I managed to stop staring into those sad orange eyes long enough to find the words to ask, “Sorry for what?”

Poppy looked briefly away before forcing herself to meet my gaze and replying, “I shouldn’t have kissed you like that earlier, but you’re so pretty, I really like you, and you had me so worried when you started freaking out, and I didn’t even know why. I didn’t know what to do and got Breeze and they said you were having a panic attack, and I was just so relieved when you snapped out of it and seemed to be okay. Then I kissed you and you vanished. So, I’m sorry if I freaked you out by kissing you, I was being stupid and impulsive. I got caught up in the moment and I wasn’t even sure if you’re attracted to girls or not. I’ll give you some space if you…”

I didn’t let her finish, taking a deep breath and interrupting with, “Poppy, I kissed you back.” I let that stew in both of our minds as I tried to find the words for what I needed to say. “I… like you too, and I kinda want to kiss you again. I’m just… I’m sorry for embarrassing you earlier. That’s what I was freaking out about when I had my panic attack, and when I disappeared. I was happy about using my magic and feeling playful, but I didn’t think, and I destroyed the nice outfit you made. I swear, I didn’t mean to do it or see you n-n-naked.”

Her eyes went wide, and to my surprise, she started giggling. “Th-that’s what you were freaking out about!? Didn’t I tell you that I’m constantly destroying my clothes with my magic? Everyone in this ward has seen me naked, often several times a day. Honestly, I’ve kinda gotten used to it over the past month.”

“B-but you looked so shocked,” I protested.

She managed to cease her giggling as she countered, “I was silly, I totally wasn’t expecting you to actually use your first real attempt at magic to try to put out my flames, but I guess I did tell you to do that.” Then she seemed to become nervous again as she looked away and her cheeks flushed, taking a deep breath before asking hesitantly, “Do you think I could… kiss you again, Lily?”

My heart skipped a beat, my breath caught in my throat at the thought of it, and my cheeks turned bright red as well. “I… I think I’d like that.”

She didn’t hesitate for even a second once my answer was given. She pulled me in close, wrapped me up in her arms, and then her lips claimed mine once again. For a time, all that I was aware of was her arms around me, her lips engulfing mine with urgent fervor, my racing heart, and the fire that was building up between my legs as tired to give back as good as I was getting. I was a girl, being kissed by another girl who I really liked and was attracted to, and I don’t think that I had ever felt this wonderful in my life.

We had to take breaks to breathe and stuff, but Poppy and I were still happily snogging when Breeze returned from her errand. “Geeze, break it up you two. It’s about damn time one of you made a move with the way you’ve been making googoo eyes at one another, but I need to talk with Lily for a bit,” they said, interrupting the bliss that I was experiencing. Then their tone turned from teasing to serious as they added, “It’s important.”

With a sigh, I let my lips leave Poppy’s and tried to look as serious as Breeze seemed to be, though that wasn’t easy with my heart threatening to burst from sheer joy. I took a deep breath to calm myself a bit and asked, “Is this about the teleporting thing?”

Breeze shook their head sadly. “No, Lily, they probably won’t get back to you about that for a day or two. There’s someone you need to see, but the other nurses and I wanted to make sure that you were strong enough to get around on your own first. I don’t think you’re strong enough yet, but I think you need this after what you’ve been through and it could be a good incentive for you to work hard on your rehab and to improve with your magic and special ability, now that you know what it is. A nurse is waiting outside to give you a ride until we get there.”

I was a little confused by what they were saying, and they didn’t seem keen on giving me any details yet. Was Breeze taking me to some kind of psychologist or something? I cast an uncertain glance toward Poppy, but from the look on the Fire Sprite’s face, she didn’t seem to know any more than I did about whatever was going on. Finally, I swallowed the lump in my throat, nodded, and replied, “Umm… sure, Breeze. I can…”

Oh crap. I almost just said that I could ride Moonlight there instead of the nurse’s shoulder. I wanted my Unicorn companion with me for morale support, given the uncertainty of what I might be heading into, and had nearly revealed her existence to both Poppy and Breeze before cutting off what I was about to say. Moonlight didn’t seem to trust most humans, other than me, and that seemed to extend to other Altered as well. She had made it very clear that she did not want anyone but me to know about her existence yet unless it was an emergency, and my life was in danger.

Thinking as quickly as I could, with both other Sprites seeming to hang off that aborted statement, I added, “I… you’ve got me a bit nervous here Breeze, so I was wondering… if I can have Poppy there too?” It came out as more of a question than I intended, but neither seemed to think there was anything more to it.

“Well, this is your business…” Breeze mumbled though they didn’t seem certain if it was a good idea or not, going by their expression and tone of voice. They looked to the Fire Sprite, who faintly smiled and nodded. “I suppose if you want her there for support, we can allow it, but this is a personal matter, and she should be ready to leave if asked. Are you certain that you want her with you, Lily?”

If this really was some sort of therapy session, as I feared, then I wouldn’t mind Poppy being in there with me. In fact, her presence might make me more comfortable. I was a little concerned about how she might react when she found out I used to be male, in body if nothing else, but it was something that I would need to tell her soon anyway since I didn’t like feeling like I was lying to her. Poppy had said there were fifty/fifty odds of me being a guy before the whole blood cocoon thing, so she knew about the possibility, but I was still a little nervous about telling her.

I guess between all the trauma before I zonked out for over three and a half years, and changing into a girl and a Water Sprite, it was pretty likely that the nurses thought it would be good for me to see someone about my issues. I didn’t feel like I was handling it too badly so far though, aside from the occasional panic attack, but I’d had those long before the Incursion that changed my life. Still, it was probably better to just get this therapy session, or whatever it was, over with.

I would sit on the big couch, talk about my feelings, carefully avoid mentioning the invisible Unicorn, and show them all that I was adjusting just fine and didn’t need a shrink. I had already gone from close to six feet tall to a little under five inches and was shorter than every other Sprite I’d met so far. I had been shrunk quite enough already, thank you very much.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I replied to the Wind Sprite. At least, I was sure that I wanted her there until I had some clue about what was going on.

“Okay then,” Breeze reluctantly agreed. With that decided, they took flight and led us to the hospital room door. The door was one of those made with a window in it, at around head-height for the average human, but this one had no glass in it and had instead been covered in lightweight, translucent white curtains. Those curtains could be easily parted to allow Fairy Class Altered passage through the door to access either the Fairy Ward itself or the hallway outside it.

The Wind Sprite hovered to hold the curtain open for Poppy and me before motioning us through and then following us out into the hallway where a nurse, who looked like a regular human woman, waited. She tried to keep her voice quiet for our sake as she introduced herself as Janet. Then, I was encouraged to ride in the chest pocket of her scrubs, so I could rest, and I tried to get comfortable enough that I could lean over the lip of the pocket and see where we were going as she headed down the hallway toward an elevator with Poppy and Breeze flitting alongside her.

Riding in Janet’s pocket, so close to her chest was weird. It was like I was leaning against the biggest and softest pillow ever, and I could practically feel her heartbeat as we traveled down the hallway. Eventually, we made our way into the elevator, where I discovered that the Fairy Ward was on the third of eleven floors, and Janet pressed the button that would take us down one level to the second floor. After leaving the elevator, and a couple turns down the hallways, Janet stopped at room 223.

What was going on? This would have looked like just another hospital room if it wasn’t for the heavy-looking door and the security lock with a keypad. I figured that if this was some psychologist’s office then there would be a nameplate on the door or something to indicate that people were in the right place too. “W-what’s going on here?” I asked tremulously.

Motioning for Janet to hold off on opening the door for a moment, Breeze hovered closer and sighed, wearing an uncertain expression. Seconds stretched on before the Wind Sprite finally admitted, “I should have told you more before bringing you here, Lily. I suppose that I should start by quickly telling you some of the background stuff.”

My mind and my heart were both racing as I wondered and worried about just what was going on here, but I managed to nod and stammered, “O-okay.”

“You know that the Titans seem to be avoiding capturing or killing anyone who might become Altered, right?” I gave another shaky nod of affirmation and that seemed to be enough for them as they continued on. “It’s like they can see who’s going to be changed before it happens, and that’s why you were left alone while the rest of your family was captured or killed. Anyway, they’ve been following that pattern for the past five years or so; not only do they not take anyone who might become Altered, but the Vanguard has also been finding people near the breaches lately, Altered, or their bodies changing to become so. People that we can’t usually identify.”

“Often, they’re young teens, along with the occasional pregnant woman. We figure that their world is full of the Wild Magic that leads to some people becoming Altered and it spills violently out into our world during the breaches. Elevated hormone levels seem to be one of the larger triggers though, so children they capture could still be at risk when going through puberty or other conditions that may cause wild fluctuations in hormone levels, so maybe their detection of the condition isn’t foolproof,” Janet interjected, and even with her being careful to keep her volume low, her voice still boomed to me, and I felt quakes where I was resting against her chest.

“Anyway,” Breeze continued, “these people that we’ve been finding, they usually aren’t able to give any information about what lies beyond the breaches, their memories are spotty after they were captured, and some have complete amnesia. We usually can’t identify them either, but sometimes, we get lucky. The Vanguard found the patient in this room near the breach that opened in Egypt four months ago, she has an implant, and by tracking its identification number, we were able to identify her as Kelly Pierce, listed as missing and presumed captured during the Montana Breach of April 22, 2038.”

“My sister.” I barely managed to get those two words to leave my lips as my heart just about stopped in my chest, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I should be elated or terrified. Was she okay? What had she been through during the past three and a half years while I’d been asleep? Would she even remember me? If she did, would I even be able to convince her of who I was?

“Yeah,” Breeze confirmed, awkwardly rubbing the back of their head. “We thought you deserved to know and see her once you could move around on your own properly, and that maybe you can both help one another heal. I need to warn you though, Lily, she hasn’t been in a good mental state since she was brought here. She was four months pregnant when the Vanguard found her, is likely to have a massive gap in her memories, and the stress on her body from her accelerated change into her new form caused her to lose the baby. She doesn’t talk to the nurses or the psychologist and has only become more morose since her Waking last month.”

“The day after you Sprouted, we tried telling her that you’re alive, that you were Altered and are a Sprite now, but we can’t even be sure if we were getting through to her. For all we know, she might just think it’s a deception to give her hope and keep her from trying to kill herself again, not that she could,” Janet added sadly.

No. This broken person being described to me couldn’t be my sister, the big sister who loved me and used herself as a distraction to keep me safe from the Titans. If she had been here for four months, then why hadn’t they told her about me earlier? It was a question that I didn’t need to ask though since I already had a pretty good idea why. Because I was still in my cocoon, and they weren’t sure whether I would live or not.

The day that I Sprouted, Jade had told me that not all Fairy types can escape from their cocoons by their own power. That is especially the case with Pixies since Sprites’ elemental magic is more useful for that than their illusions and stuff. Still, even some Sprites can’t Sprout on their own and need to be surgically removed from their former bodies, which isn’t an easy task, even if someone is alerted in time that we happen to be trying to break free.

Whatever substance our crystallized blood is transmuted into for our cocoons requires at least a bone saw to cut through and makes taking X-rays and most other types of scans difficult. I was lucky that they were even able to detect the implant in my former brain to identify me. Usually, the only outward sign that we’re starting to ‘Sprout’ is when our early struggles cause the cocoon to jostle.

The hospital tries to have people checking regularly on all the cocoons just in case, and hypersensitive motion detectors help, which was why Dr. Jameson was able to be on hand when I Sprouted. Still, it is never a sure thing that they’ll be able to get someone to us and open the cocoon in time if we’re struggling to escape on our own. I was alive though, and so was Kelly, and now my sister needed me.

“I… I’d like to see her,” I told the two nurses as I shook with nervousness.

“She might not be the sister you remember,” Janet cautioned. “She’s not violent though and hasn’t tried to hurt anyone other than herself. We’ll come in with you for safety but try to give you enough space to have some privacy.” Only once she had my confirmation did she press a combination to unlock and then open the door.

I rode in on Janet’s shoulder and found that the room was very white, with the walls, floor, and even ceiling covered in thick, white padding. Even the inside of the door was covered with it and the room bore no windows. “She tried to hurt herself?” I asked in horror as I looked around the room, though they had already indicated as much, and worse.

“At first, yes,” Janet whispered. “Now though, we’re more concerned with her causing damage to the room rather than herself. Recent attempts at self-harm and suicide have been completely ineffective. Her special ability seems to be some sort of passive, high-level invulnerability and she’s quite a bit stronger than she looks too.”

I glanced at the figure in the corner of the room who was hugging her knees and tightly closing her eyes, likely in an attempt to ignore her visitors. She was dressed in a simple hospital gown, the greenish garment peeking through a blanket of white that half-covered her and it was practically the only item of color in the room. Even Kelly seemed to have no color. Her skin was very pale, and her hair was long and pure white, as were the fox-like ears atop her head. Her pale face had gone through some minor changes, but she still looked like the sister that I loved.

Butterflies danced in my chest. Kelly was alive, she was here. As I flew closer to approach her, I discovered that what I had thought was a white blanket at first was actually a collection of bushy fox tails that she had wrapped around herself. They looked so soft, but there were more important things to focus on right now. “You said you’re a Healer, Moonlight, is there anything that you can do for her?” I asked the Unicorn as I looked at my sister and an unbearable weight settled upon my heart.

-This is no illness or disease of the body or mind, that I can heal,- Moonlight replied wistfully. -I wish that I could, Lily, but her heart is heavy. You have a far better chance of healing her heart than I do, my Maiden.-

It hurt so much seeing her like that, my strong, happy, and brave sister brought low by the burdens upon her heart and mind. What could I even do to help her? How could I get her to believe it was me? I choked back the tears and wiped them from my eyes as I shook my head in denial. No. I could get through to her. I would get through to her.

I landed on my Altered sister’s knee, eyes still stinging with flowing tears. Hugging them close to her chest as she was, with her head lowered, I hoped that those big floofy ears would be able to hear my voice. “Sis… Kelly… It’s me, Eli… your… brother.” Choking out the name and the B word was much harder than I would have ever thought after a week of being called Lily. My heart clenched and I could taste bile in my throat as I had to force the words out.

Her right ear twitched, the movement barely noticeable, but it was a reaction so maybe she could hear me. “I know, I don’t really look like Eli. Well, you’re not even really looking at me, but I assure you, that’s the case. Heck, I’m so small that you can probably barely even hear me. I recognize you though. You’re my sister, and it doesn’t matter what either of us looks like now, or that we’re completely different species. I will always love you. Remember what Mom and Dad always told us, Sis, family isn’t about blood, it’s about love.”

I sniffled and wiped away tears again, hardly able to make myself speak for the tightness in my throat and chest. I pushed on though, needing to prove that I really was who I said I was, for both our sakes. For almost two hours, I sat there, resting on her knee and telling her stories about our childhood, trying to add as many details as I could remember to prove myself. I kept going until my throat was sore and didn’t even stop then.

Janet, Breeze, and Poppy left the room after the first half hour, to give us privacy as I tried to get through to my sister. When I refused to leave until I made progress, Janet briefly stopped me to show me where the intercom was before they left us alone. I could use the intercom when I was ready to leave, or I could just figure out the whole teleporting thing.

Other than the occasional twitch of an ear, Kelly could have been a statue for all the reaction that I got out of her. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and started sobbing there on her knee. “Dammit, Kelly! You’re supposed… to be the brave one. You’re… still alive, m-maybe Mom is too. I need you to help me find her… save her. We can… bring her back together. I… don’t want to hide anymore. It… hurt… so much… when they took you away... and I just… hid. I wanted to stay with you! I wanted to protect you! Why did you make me hide?!”

Mine was the only voice in that room for so long that when I heard another, I almost didn’t believe my ears. It almost felt like I was the only voice in the world, a burden that I alone bore. The voice was raspy and harsh from long disuse, but I would recognize it anywhere. It was Kelly’s voice. “I wanted… to protect you too.”

Over the next few days, I put every minute and every ounce of effort that I could into my rehab and training my magic. I was determined to be ready to get out of this hospital before September when the next semester at Vanguard University was due to begin. My sister was alive so that probably meant that Mom was too, which meant that we could rescue her.

It was still a slim possibility, at best, but one that I held onto with the tenacity of a rabid dog. My special ability, and Kelly’s return, made what was once only a slender and faint thread of hope much more feasible if I could master my new ability and discover its limits and potential. First, though, I needed to be ready, and I needed to help my sister get ready too. I needed to get used to my new body and she needed to deal with the trauma that had broken her this badly.

I was doing my rehab exercises to work on my strength and stamina three times a day; once before breakfast, again at midafternoon, and then before bed as well. I would have pushed it even further if Breeze, Jade, and the other nurses hadn’t placed that limit upon me. I had worked myself to the bone that day after I found out that Kelly was alive and here too, and they didn’t want me overdoing it, hurting myself by pushing too far, and extending my recovery time instead of shortening it.

I was trying to build my strength and stamina and work my wings as much as I could through other means as well. Not only was I flying every chance I could, but I was also exercising my wings whenever I was practicing my water magic as well. It helped me learn to divide my attention to focus on more than one thing at a time, which would be a good skill to develop for when I needed to use magic while flying around. When I was physically exhausted from flying and stamina training, I worked on learning to control my magic with Poppy, and whenever I was feeling mentally exhausted from magic, I would go back to flying.

Flying was going much better than the magical stuff though. While I was starting to get a feel for my element and controlling it, I felt that I still had a long way to go before I would have any finesse with it. There were five times that I managed to put out fires when Poppy set her clothes or other things on fire, but I mostly brute-forced it and got everything around the Fire Sprite soaked in the process.

One thing I was having trouble with though was trying to use my special ability. I just didn’t seem to have enough juice to use it with how much I had been practicing my magic, especially since I was still having trouble figuring out how to consciously absorb mana. I was also kind of terrified that I might teleport into a wall or person or something though, so I was holding off until the power experts were ready to help me figure things out. I had an appointment for that later this afternoon.

My near-constant practice with both magic and flying did help me eventually figure out how to absorb mana before bed last night though. That sensation that I had been feeling when I tried to meditate that made me hyper-aware of my body and wings and made them all tingly (the very same sensation that had me giving up all those times) was actually what it felt like when I was actively absorbing mana. Who knew?

Now I knew what it felt like, and I discovered that by focusing on increasing the intensity of that tingling sensation, I could increase how much mana I was absorbing and how fast. I was feeling just a little bit dense after figuring that out though… after three days of frustration and thinking I still wasn’t getting it at all. Maybe I just hadn’t thought it would come so naturally, that I should have been looking for something that felt alien to me, or at least something that felt ‘magical’. All that time I was missing the forest for the trees when it turned out I was just a natural at mana control, or at least that’s what Jade said.

She figured that my special ability was one of those that was fueled by mana instead of physical or psychic energy, and apparently, it wasn’t that uncommon among Fairy-type Altered. My special ability was also a mana hog, so my body was adapting to be able to naturally gather more mana, and more quickly, than even most other Sprites. Sprites are already better at that than most species since we’re built for using elemental magic. “Ugh… how does that even work? We’re so tiny. How can we possibly hold more mana than a human does?” I asked her when she told me that while watching me do my morning rehab exercises.

“Mana isn’t a type of energy that can be detected in mundane ways, or even humans who couldn’t use magic would have likely discovered it long ago. It doesn’t exist in the physical world, but rather something that I call the Metaphysical Plane. It’s like souls, we may not be able to detect them in any meaningful way, but they’re there, we all have one,” she explained with a patient smile.

“Fairy types, and Sprites in particular, are extremely sensitive to this Metaphysical Plane,” she continued after giving me a moment to process what she was telling me. “Our bodies are designed to tap into the Metaphysical, and while our bodies may act as a conduit to draw that energy into ourselves, mana isn’t stored in the body, it’s stored in the soul. Some souls are merely larger than others or store metaphysical energy more efficiently. Body and soul, every person is a unique individual.”

“This metaphysical stuff makes my head hurt,” I complained. “I’m pretty sure I couldn’t sense magic before I woke up and Sprouted though. So did my soul change as well as my body?”

Jade laughed and shook her head. “No, Lily. I don’t think so. Even if your soul was sensitive to the metaphysical and mana before you became Altered, your human body was not. As I said before though, Sprite bodies are built for this sort of thing and provide a conduit that your soul lacked before. The current theory about Altered is that it’s, at least in part, genetic and mostly determined by what geographic regions their ancestors came from and what genes those ancestors possessed. Even now, there are still some parts of the human genome that are a mystery to us. I prefer to think that our souls play a part in what a person becomes when Altered as well.”

“What, like reincarnation or something? Like we were Sprites in a past life?” I asked in confusion, pausing my wing exercises.

“Perhaps,” she said with a laugh. “Given that most Altered are based on creatures of myth and legend, it is not an idea completely without merit. Maybe there is a reason these creatures showed up in myth and legend, maybe they really did exist once upon a time, and we are their remnant souls seeking to make our new bodies more comfortable for our souls. Breeze would debate that though. I think it is more that both genetics and our souls play a part in the process though. Our special abilities seem to be different though.”

I raised an eyebrow at that last part and inquired, “What do you mean?”

The Earth Sprite looked me over for a moment before replying. “Special abilities don’t seem to be connected to our Altered physical forms in any way. There is seldom any reiteration in displayed abilities of Altered of the same species, to the point that many people thought that special abilities were random at first. They’re not though. The reigning theory right now is that our special abilities are suited to powerful wants and needs once our bodies are fully matured. What was going through your mind when you first teleported, Lily?”

I thought about it for a moment, trying to recall what was going through my head at that moment. “I guess I was ashamed, and I was having an anxiety attack because I felt guilty and terrible because I thought I embarrassed Poppy, and she wouldn’t want to talk to me again. I wanted to be anywhere but here… I guess I might have longed for someplace I thought was safe and familiar too, because I was feeling vulnerable.”

“A powerful need and desire,” she pointed out with a faint smile and a nod. “Poppy was realizing just how difficult life can be for people as small as us and she wanted to be able to have proper clothes and other familiar things that she thought no longer possible for her. As for me, I manifested my special ability not long after Sprouting. I was terrified because I was so small that most people barely noticed me, and I couldn’t move or speak. I was desperate for some way to communicate with others.”

She made a good point, but there was one glaring exception to that potential rule. “What about Kelly? Why did she become invulnerable then? She was trying to…” I couldn’t finish that sentence.

“Your sister thought she lost everything, Lily, and came back to a strange place and a changing body. You of all people should understand how that feels,” Jade pointed out with a sigh. She had a point. If I didn’t have Moonlight and wasn’t hanging on to the slim thread of hope that I could find and rescue Kelly and Mom, I might have very well been in a similar state. Especially after my traumatic and gory Sprouting.

“Yeah, but that still doesn’t explain…”

Jade places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “She may have thought she had nothing to live for but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she wanted to die. Perhaps, on some level, she was afraid that she would succeed in her attempts, and what she truly needed and wanted was to hold on to life, to find some reason for living. The subconscious mind can be a powerful thing when you’re confused, lonely, and hurting.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said as my thoughts drifted once more to my sister.

Every evening since finding out she was here, I had been spending several hours after dinner visiting Kelly, followed by snuggling and snogging with Poppy while getting to know her better. When I visited my sister, Moonlight would always come with me for mental and emotional support, but she was still reluctant to show herself to anyone but me yet, not even my sister, who she technically already knew. It made me wonder again if she only existed in my imagination.

I think that those visits were hard on both me and Kelly. It was hard seeing my sister look so… broken. Bit by bit, I was slowly getting Kelly to open up to me, and I thought that I could see some life returning to those amber eyes, but progress seemed slow, and my mind was haunted by how distant and lifeless she had seemed that first night that I had seen her. What had happened to her beyond the breach?

It turns out that even Kelly didn’t know the answer to that question, and that was part of the problem. She clearly remembered being captured, trying to break free of the iron grip that held her, and then being taken through the Breach, but after that, nothing. The next thing she could consciously remember was waking up alone and buck naked in a small, dark room with a slight baby bump as she started to change into something not human.

The only reason she could even see in the room was because her Altered form possessed very good dark vision, and her eyes were likely one of the first changes. Nurse Janet told me that Kelly was something called a Huli Jing, something in Chinese mythology that bears a lot of similarities to the more well-known Japanese Kitsune. They have some shapeshifting and illusion-based abilities and can feed on life essence as easily as regular food.

She didn’t know whether she was in that room for days or weeks and then she woke again in the middle of the desert, still buck naked and four months pregnant with a baby that she couldn’t remember conceiving, a baby that she lost not long after as a result of either her rapidly changing body or being taken through the Breach. Between that, thinking she was becoming a monster, the Incursion being the last thing that she could remember clearly, and then not being able to contact me through my implant when the Vanguard found her and the other discarded victims and brought them here, it was no wonder that she was such a mental mess.

Last night she admitted that she sometimes got flashes in her dreams. Bits and pieces of strange lives she hadn’t led, things that she wasn’t sure whether they were forgotten memories being dredged up or just her subconscious mind at work coming up with the worst possible scenarios for her lost time. In these flashes, it was like she was a passenger in her body, unable to control it herself.

Sometimes, she was some sort of gladiator in an arena. Other times, she was on a stage, speaking words in a language she didn’t know and couldn’t understand, or she was a slave, or even some kind of trophy. Then there were the times when she would dream that she was being bred like some farm animal or a rare breed of pet. Those scared her the worst, given the state she was in when she awoke in that dark room.

I worried that there was nothing that I could do for her. Telling her that everything would be okay seemed so hollow after what we had both been through, and neither of us had any sort of prescience to make that anything more than empty words. Telling her that they were just dreams would be just as empty because I had no more idea what she went through on the other side than she did.

All that I could truly do for my sister was to be here for her now. I could hold her and make her feel loved as best as I could with my tiny body, I could be a listening ear and a steady presence at her side, I could reassure her that I would never let us be separated again, and I could promise her that together we would find and rescue Mom and make the beings who had done this to her suffer in kind. I hoped that would be enough to help her heal, to help her find a sliver of the confidence and passion for life that she once had.

After my early morning exercises, discussion with Jade, and then getting lost in thoughts of my sister, I was brought out of my pensive condition when Poppy attacked me with a very exuberant good morning kiss. I was gasping for air, lightheaded, and grinning from ear to ear by the time she finally released me and said, “Good morning, beautiful. Since you were wearing your brooding face, I guess you were worrying about your sister again?”

I nodded, my head bobbing against her chest as I leaned into her embrace and enjoyed the feeling of her arms around me. Since Poppy and I discovered that we were attracted to one another and wanted to get to know one another better, I had discovered that Poppy was big on hugs, and physical contact in general. It was something that I liked and took comfort in.

Other than kissing, cuddling, and just spending time together to her to know one another better, we were trying not to take this potential relationship of ours too far yet. We were both fine with just taking it slow for now, for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that neither of us felt comfortable pushing things further than that while we were still in the hospital. Even making out felt kind of awkward here, even when we were in one of our little houses and had at least a thin veil of privacy, and going any further inside a hospital just felt wrong somehow.

The second reason was that, for both of us, this was our first real relationship. While years may have passed outside of our cocoons, from our perspective, we went from being human teenagers to adult Sprites overnight. We might be physically mature now, but in our heads, we were still teenagers.

Teenagers who had been through a lot and were trying to keep our heads above water while we dealt with new bodies, new abilities, and a new reality. So, not only was there all that baggage to mentally unpack, and the memories of the incursions, but neither of us had any real experience with relationships, or family to talk to about it except for my sister. Kelly might be here in the hospital too, but she was probably more messed up about what she’d been through than either of us.

So, we were taking it slow and trying not to put any labels on our relationship. If we still felt this attraction to one another once we were out of the hospital and decided that we wanted to pursue something more then, well, there would be time. From what we had been told, Fairy-type Altered could live a very long time so long as we avoided accidents, predators, or other forms of violent death. Now that I think about that after my experiences on the ranch though, that’s not all that reassuring.

Once again, I attempted to shake off such dark thoughts and allowed myself to enjoy the sensation of being wrapped up in Poppy’s arms as her warm, soft lips kissed everywhere she could reach. Warm, electric tingles lingered after each touch of her lips, and the barest touch from her fingertips as they lovingly stroked my delicate wings sent pleasant shivers cascading through my body. I kissed her back, my fingers running through her fiery ginger hair, and we stayed like that, enjoying one another’s touch and company until Oak arrived, along with our breakfast, to take over for Jade.

For breakfast, Poppy and I split a strawberry that was bigger than either of our heads along with a bowl of milk, a piece of cereal, and some flower nectar. As we ate, we occasionally reached out to caress the other’s hand and talked about our plans for the day. I had my power testing appointment later this afternoon, but other than that, I planned to spend my day in the same pattern as I had the past few to maximize my training.

While I was at my appointment, Poppy planned on playing around with her special ability and the various materials that had been brought yesterday. The testers had brought her a large plastic container with a bunch of different raw materials for her to experiment with including dozens of fabric samples, blocks of wood and metals, spools of thread, pieces of plastic, and even a ball of grey yarn. Poppy couldn’t wait to see what she could create for us to make our lives easier.

I spent the rest of the morning until lunch once again alternating between flying until I was too physically tired to keep going and training my magic until my mental stamina was spent, before doing it all over again. That first time that I tried to lift the entire pond's worth of water had been a failure, not because I sucked at magic, but because my mental stamina and focus were as weak and in need of training as my body was. Jade said that I had plenty of mana available to be a strong magic user, even among Sprites, but I would have to keep training my focus, mental strength and stamina, and ability to multitask to get to that point.

I still needed to train my body’s ability to absorb and channel mana better though, if I wanted to keep improving. Like a metaphysical muscle, the ability would become stronger by using it and pushing my limits. My hard work had been paying off so far and I could almost move all the water in the pool, and I was even starting to develop some semblance of fine control. I had a distinct feeling that it wasn’t my mana control that was holding me back, but rather my lack of focus and mental fortitude.

While I was working on my stuff, Poppy was working on her fire magic. The Fire Sprite had gotten good enough that it was fairly easy for her to generate flames by heating the air or nearby combustible materials, and I only had to put out the flames for her once during the morning. She wanted to start learning how to manipulate lightning, or electricity in general, since that was supposed to be possible for her, but she had no idea where to start with that. Unfortunately, it seemed that we would both need to wait to learn more advanced techniques until we could get into the elemental magic class at Vanguard University.

After lunch, I did my rehab exercises again since I was likely going to be busy with the powers testing people all afternoon and while doing that, I also took care of something really important that I probably should have done a while ago. “Moonlight, I think we need to have a talk,” I thought toward the Unicorn I was bonded with.

-What is on your mind, my Maiden?-

“I need to know more about you, Moonlight, and about this Maiden bond too,” I told her, not wanting to put this off any further. “You refuse to show yourself to anyone but me, so I’m still not even sure if you’re not just some figment of my imagination.”

-I assure you, I am real,- Moonlight countered, but she sensed my frustration and relented. -What would you like to know, Lily? I am afraid that most of what I know is instinctual though, or things that I learned through insight, observation, and experimentation while you were in your cocoon.-

“Okay, so first, what exactly is this Maiden bond? What does it mean for both of us?” I asked.

-That is a difficult question,- the Unicorn responded with the equivalent of a mental sigh. -My kind seems to have a natural insight into the nature of magic and magical beings, and that includes ourselves. When you were cocooned, I began to sense certain things about you and myself. I sensed that you were in a deep slumber within the red crystal that encased you and that when you awoke, you would be changed. I sensed that you were truly female inside, that I could make a lifelong bond with but one Maiden in my life, and only a maiden. I sensed that this bond was something sacred, but that your true self and our closeness would make it possible. By the time the Vanguard arrived in search of survivors, I had discovered how to hide myself from mortals, but I did not wish to be separated from you so I forged the bond between us.-

I listened intently as she told me more about the Maiden Bond. Though the bond needed to be made when a girl was young and innocent, once made we were bound for life. In truth, I had no duties to her, other than those I placed upon myself, but Moonlight was bound to watch over me, keep me healthy and happy, and protect me if it was ever needed. Unicorns apparently cherish their Maidens above all else.

The bond allowed us to speak with one another telepathically, of course but also allowed her to sense if I was injured, sick, or in danger even if separated by a great distance. When I had my little teleportation misadventure, Moonlight had gone into a bit of a panic. She had sensed that I was in some sort of danger, but that I was very far away and that there was no way for her to get to me before the danger was over. That was why she had asked me to not leave her like that again.

I sighed at her concern about us being separated like that again. “You know that they’re going to be testing my teleportation ability later, right? I’m not exactly sure what they’ll be asking me to do, but I might have to teleport far away again.”

-I realize that,- she agreed. -However, I sense that you could bring me with you if I am close enough and you focus on our bond.-

That would be useful if she was right. I wanted to focus on learning more about her abilities though. “Okay, so you can turn all ghostly to hide from people, talk with me like this, and sense things about magical people and stuff. You mentioned being a healer too, how do you know? Can all Unicorns do that?”

-I believe that many of my kind can heal like this, but some of us have other abilities instead. It is like your teleportation ability, but less random than the abilities that you humanoid Altered develop. When I touch someone with my horn, I can heal their physical injuries or illness, but it is taxing for me if I use it too often in a short time. I experimented with it while you were still in your cocoon by healing people in this hospital while they were alone and sleeping,- she explained.

“Is there… anything that I need to know about the care and feeding of my Unicorn companion?” I asked awkwardly. “I mean, I assume that you need to eat, drink, and poop like a normal horse. Are you heading off to do all that while I’m sleeping or something?”

Her answer was quick and direct. -When I am ‘all ghostly’ as you said, I can sustain myself with mana. I only require food and water when spending time in my physical form and have the same diet and physical needs as a normal horse.-

I nodded but let out a long sigh as I braced myself for what I needed to ask next. She would be resistant, and I might need to pressure her, something that I wasn’t very keen on doing, given how supportive she had been of me since I Sprouted. “Why won’t you show yourself to anyone but me? I think if you’re truly real, and my sister knew about you, that you could help her.”

I was right, Moonlight didn’t sound happy about the direction the conversation was now taking as she responded, -Lily, I do not trust humans and my presence would only draw more attention to you. I am most useful to you if I can watch and keep you safe from the shadows, and I have already told you that your sister does not have any physical ailment that I can heal.-

“This isn’t just some human!” I snapped. “This is about Kelly! She adored your mother, and we were both there when you were born. We used to feed, brush, and care for you and your mother side by side so it’s not like she’s some stranger. I think you could help her more than you think, just knowing that she and I aren’t the only ones who survived that day might help her to cope with all that’s happened. I’m too small to properly brush you and stuff but she could help and getting back to familiar things like that would be good for her. Please, Moonlight, this can help her, I know it can.”

She was silent for a long moment before replying. Her mental voice was uncertain with almost a pleading tone to it. -Lily… you are my Maiden, there is nothing that I will ever refuse you if it is something that you truly desire and will not harm others. However, I must warn you that once my presence and connection to you are revealed to the people here, it cannot be undone. Are you certain that this is the course you wish to take?-

“Yes,” I told her without a hint of doubt in my mind. “I really think that you can help Kelly. I need us to do this for her. I will deal with whatever happens, and if we can help my sister, even just a little, then it will be worth it. Also, just sayin’, the confirmation that I’m not completely off my rocker would be nice too.”

-Very well, if it is still your wish then I will show myself when we go to this testing of yours. I will not leave you unattended while some strangers poke and prod you like some science experiment.- She did not sound happy about it, but she had agreed.

“Thank you, Moonlight,” I thought to her as I wiped away the tears that were starting to burn my eyes. “I know that you’re only doing this for me, but I appreciate it. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’ve watched over me for years and I’m pretty sure that you helped me to stay sane when I first Sprouted. You didn’t have to bond with me or do any of that, but you chose to, and that means more to me than I can ever tell you.”

-Silly Maiden, you need not be limited to words with me. I can feel the love that you hold for me in your heart. Now, shall we wait to surprise these people at the testing? Or would you like me to reveal my presence to your lady love first? I know that you have been wanting to tell her about me as well, but have kept the secret for my sake.-

“L-l-lady love?” I sputtered aloud in my surprise and embarrassment. Quickly looking around to make sure nobody was close enough to have heard me, I breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re just…”

-You are completely smitten with her, as anyone can see,- the Unicorn teased, causing mixed feelings in me. On one hand, I was glad that she wasn’t resenting my decision to do this and had grudgingly accepted it. On the other hand, she could be such a merciless tease at times, and she had latched right onto my weak spot. I guess I couldn’t really hide the fact that I was totally crushing on Poppy from her of all people, but at least she didn’t seem to be against the idea that I was interested in a relationship with another girl.

I blatantly changed the topic. “Anyway, about your earlier question, why can’t we do both? I really want to see the looks on those eggheads’ faces when you appear out of thin air. Poppy is all alone in the training room right now, so we could probably show her and get her to keep quiet about it for now. It might be a tight fit for you in there, but I think we can make it work.”

-If that is what you wish, my Maiden, then that is what we shall do,- Moonlight agreed. I was still getting feelings of nervousness from our bond, but she seemed set on doing this for me now that it had been decided. I felt a little bad about that, but I knew in my heart that I needed to do this. Maybe showing Poppy first would help to ease some of the Unicorn’s nerves about the whole thing.

It was hard not to rush through the rest of my rehab exercises after that. I was looking forward to seeing the look on Poppy’s face when we did the big reveal, but I took care not to rush and to do each exercise properly and with the full number of repetitions. When I finally finished, I flew over to the training room, where Poppy said she would be working on training her special ability, eager to finally tell her about Moonlight.

Well, that and to see if the other Sprite could actually see her. I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure whether Moonlight was something that my imagination had cooked up. It would be nice to know for sure whether I was insane or not.

When I entered the training room, Poppy was working with a block of plastic, her eyes focused completely on it as it shifted and flowed in front of her into a new shape, a sphere rather than the square block it started as. Once she seemed finished and was about to turn her attention to another substance, a block of silvery metal, I attempted to get her attention. “What are you doing?” I asked. I had a pretty good idea, but I figured that it was as good a way to get her attention as any.

“Huh? Oh, hey Lily,” she replied, her face brightening almost immediately with a smile that made my heart melt. “I’m just going through the various materials I was given to see which ones I can manipulate with my power. It seems like all of them except raw iron so far. I can manipulate steel, but it’s a little harder to work with than everything else. Maybe because of the iron content? I wanted to know what I can actually work with before I try making things for us.”

“Oh, cool. I figured it was something like that. I was… I need to tell you something… I mean, introduce you to someone,” I verbally bumbled as I looked away.

Now that the moment had come to reveal Moonlight to her, I was starting to falter and doubt myself. What if she truly was just a figment of my imagination? What if Moonlight didn’t appear and Poppy thought that I was weird or crazy and didn’t want to be around me anymore?

My heart hammered in my chest as Poppy gave me her undivided attention and asked, “Really? Is this about your sister? I thought that you were going to wait until she was coping better before introducing me to her.”

The words seemed to slip away before I could speak them, my throat suddenly too dry and tight to get anything more than a wheeze out in place of whatever I had been about to say. I couldn’t even remember how I was going to do this now, and I had gone over it over a dozen times in my head on the way to talk to her. The words had abandoned both my mind and my tongue.

No, I had to do this. I was trembling now, and I could feel a panic attack building up in my chest. I needed to push through this, I needed to tell her and then, no matter what happened, at least I would know if I was crazy or not. Working up some saliva and swallowing, I tried speaking again. “I… it’s not my sister. I… umm… need you to just trust me for a minute, okay? M-maybe we should get in the air for this? You can get a better look at her that way when she… uhh… gets here, and we won’t risk being stepped on or something.”

“Okay?” Poppy more asked than replied. She was looking at me in concern now. I wasn’t exactly doing a good job of hiding my nervousness, but she was giving me the benefit of the doubt and started to beat her wings to follow me upward until we had nearly reached the ceiling.

Once we were in a better position to get a more glamorous view than Moonlight’s undercarriage, if she would indeed show up, I tried to explain. “Okay, Poppy, this is going to sound weird, but I have this… friend. We’re… umm… bonded. She talks to me in my head, and she’s been… uhh… watching over me since before I even Sprouted.”

Poppy’s face fell even as I stammered my way through my explanation, and she looked hurt. Why did she look hurt? Wait, were those tears? What could I have said to hurt her? That question was swiftly answered as she looked away. “This… friend, you said you’re bonded? I guess I should have asked before if you had a girlfriend… I thought that you were like me and you…”

“Ewww! No! It’s not like that at all!” I cut her off in protest. On the one hand, I didn’t even want to think of Moonlight in that way, and from the way her mind responded to those nascent disturbing thoughts that were brought up, the Unicorn was similarly grossed out by the very idea. Our bond was built on friendship, purity, and innocence. On the other hand, there was this little squee of excitement in my now fluttering heart that Poppy seemed so upset at the thought of me being with someone else. Oh damn, I wanted to kiss her so badly right then. “Umm… Moonlight, could you…”

Despite my inability to finish my request verbally, Moonlight was able to glean what I wanted from my thoughts and began to materialize beneath us. I held my breath unthinkingly as my heart seemed to thrum faster than even my wings. I could practically feel my chest vibrating with the galloping of my heart and the torrential cascade of blood rushing through my veins. This was the moment that my sanity rested upon.

There was not a sound from Poppy beside me, save the buzzing of rapidly beating wings, moving almost in a counter beat to my own in the silence that had fallen over us. I was too afraid to turn and look at her face, afraid that there would be no sign of her seeing the pristine, white Unicorn below us who was taking up most of the small room. Well, small for her, not us Sprites.

After a moment, the relative silence was broken as Poppy let loose the breath that had been taken away from her as she said in barely more than a whisper, “Bloody hell. Th-that’s a bloody Unicorn! You’re seeing this too, right, Lily?”

I almost fell from the air as my body relaxed so much in relief that I almost lost control of my wings. “Y-yeah… I was a little worried that you wouldn’t see her, that maybe she wasn’t real after all. This is Moonlight, and she says that she’s sworn to protect me. She was my filly before the Incursion, and I guess she was changed too. She bonded with me and has been watching out for me since I was brought here in my cocoon. She doesn’t really trust humans so she’s been keeping herself hidden until now and she can talk with me because of our bond. Moonlight already knows you since she’s been watching me since I Sprouted.”

“A bloody Unicorn,” the Fire Sprite repeated in stunned awe in the wake of my explanation. “Breeze says they’re still a myth as far as everyone knows. They told me there have been other Altered animals seen, like Pegasi, Gryphons, Dire Wolves, and even the occasional Dragon near Incursion Zones, but some creatures just haven’t appeared yet, at least that the Vanguard knows of.”

“Maybe Moonlight is the first, or the others are as shy about being seen by people as she is,” I suggested with a sigh of relief that I wasn’t crazy. “Moonlight says that they can keep themselves all ghostly to avoid being seen by people, and they don’t need to eat or drink or anything in that state. They usually only show themselves to their chosen Maidens. She really didn’t want to show herself, but she’s doing it for me.”

“Can… I touch her? You know, to make sure I’m not seeing things?” Poppy asked hesitantly.

“I haven’t touched her myself yet,” I admitted. “She’s always in my head, but I was a little concerned that I might be crazy.

-Please tell your lover that I appreciate her asking first. She may touch me, provided that you get to do so first. It is your right as my Maiden,- Moonlight’s voice gently spoke in my mind. -Not my horn though, it is very sensitive.-

I passed her words on to Poppy, not including the 'lover' thing, and moments later we were both stroking the Unicorn's velvety hide after the Fire Sprite had given me a head start. Our hands were too small to get much reaction out of her though, and it didn’t last long before Moonlight once again made herself ethereal. One of the nurses would be coming to pick me up soon to take me to my power testing appointment, and neither of us wanted to spoil the surprise and miss seeing the shock on people’s faces when Moonlight revealed herself.

The nurse escorting me was a Fae woman named Yvette. She was pretty, slender, and graceful with a distinctive elfin appearance, and bore a striking resemblance to Galadriel from the old Peter Jackson version of The Lord of the Rings movies. That was the only version I had seen anyway.

One of the more daring Hollywood directors had released a new version about four years ago, just before I ended up in my cocoon, using Altered actors to play the appropriate roles and actual magic for the effects. Unfortunately, given the negative view that much of the general populace held toward Altered, it was largely boycotted and didn’t do well at the box office. I guess it was only well-regarded here in Amethyst Harbour, but Oak swore that it was the best version yet and stayed true to the books. Poppy wanted to see if we could convince the nurses to let us have a movie marathon in the Fairy Ward to see them since neither of us had yet.

It was quite the trek to where I had my appointment, and though I tried to use my wings and fly for most of it, I eventually needed to rest on her shoulder so I would have some energy left for my testing. We had to make our way down the elevator, then across the hospital campus to another elevator inside the research building, which then took us to the sub-basement, before we had to traverse several hallways to get to where we were now. The last elevator also required a key card, voice recognition scan, and a biometric scan of Yvette before we could even go down to the sub-basement.

“We’re here,” Yvette said unnecessarily as we stopped at a thick steel door labeled, ‘Powers Testing Lab #4’.

She rang the buzzer of the intercom to the side of the imposing entrance and, a moment later, a deep voice inquired through the speaker, “Who is it?”

“It’s Yvette, I’ve brought Lily Pierce for her three o’clock testing appointment,” the Fae nurse replied.

The door buzzed and Yvette reached out to pull it open. It looked heavy, that steel was like six inches thick. What the hell kinds of powers were they testing down here anyway? I tried not to think about it overly much as I rode her shoulder inside what looked like an armored bunker with a bunch of computers and high-tech equipment that I couldn’t even begin to identify. Most of that stuff was in one corner, while the rest of the room resembled a shooting range with what looked like large metallic training dummies lined up against the far wall.

Yvette walked over to the corner with the computers and fancy equipment, where two men sat in simple office chairs. Both wore lab coats but while one was otherwise dressed comfortably in shorts and a t-shirt underneath, the other wore a button-up shirt and black slacks with polished black shoes. I was pretty sure that they were both Altered as well, though in one case it was pretty obvious.

The one with the casual Friday look seemed to be a Faun, going by the horns poking out from his curly black hair and the goat-like legs ending in hooves. He had olive skin, and brown eyes, and was currently leaning back in his chair with his hooves propped up on one of the computer desks. The well-dressed one looked Human but with my sense of mana and magic starting to get better, I thought I could feel the tingle of magic coming from him. He was of African descent and had a neatly trimmed beard and short-cropped hair that was starting to go gray at the temples.

As the older and more distinguished of the two stood up to greet us, Yvette made the introductions. “Lily, this is Professor Lucius Frazier and his assistant Cole. Dr. Frazier does research here for the Vanguard on magic and special abilities and teaches Magical Theory and a couple of other classes at the university. Professor Frazier, Cole, the Sprite on my shoulder is Lily Pierce.”

“Yo,” the casual Faun said, giving a wave but not leaving his seat.

“Ah yes, the teleporter,” the dark-skinned human-looking man said with a grin, flashing pearly white teeth. “I’ve been very eager to see what you can do and to test your limits. You’ll have to excuse Cole, Fauns are naturally very laid-back, but he’s an excellent research assistant.” Even trying to keep his volume low to not overwhelm me, the professor's deep bass voice seemed to boom and shake the very air around me in his eagerness.

“It’s… umm… nice to meet you both,” I nervously replied, though probably only the professor was close enough to hear me. “Before we… ahh… get started, there is someone who would like to be present for my testing… she’s worried about my safety and stuff.”

Professor Frazier stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment before replying in as quiet a tone as he could manage, “It is your right to have someone with you if you feel wary, Lily. Should I have an escort sent for your friend before we get started?”

“Umm… actually, she’s already here. You can probably show yourself now, Moonlight.”

-As you wish, my Maiden,- the Unicorn replied before once again coalescing into her physical form.

“The fuck?!” Cole practically squealed as the Faun fell out of his chair at the sight of my materializing companion.

Meanwhile, Yvette’s jaw dropped, and the professor was openly gaping at the Unicorn that was not only apparently still thought mythical but had somehow managed to get past all their security precautions. “That is a…” the professor started to say in silent awe.

“A Unicorn,” I finished the sentence for him. “This is Moonlight, she’s… um… sorta my protector.”

After Moonlight’s sudden appearance, Professor Frazier was totally having a magical nerdgasm as he asked me all about Moonlight, Unicorns in general, and the Maiden Bond. I told him what I could and cleared up the case of the miracle recoveries that the hospital had been experiencing off and on since I was brought to Amethyst Harbour. This was exactly the kind of thing Moonlight had been wanting to avoid though, and it warmed my heart that she showed herself anyway for my sake.

This also meant that my testing turned into testing for both me and Moonlight while the professor, Yvette, and Cole used various scanners and other instruments to try to monitor us and figure out our abilities. It was long and tiresome, extending well into the evening, late enough that Yvette had to get approval from her superior to stay and assist and had to leave for a while to get dinner for all of us. Moonlight and I were both working up an appetite, especially after he asked Moonlight to allow him to observe while she healed a couple of patients that Yvette collected for us.

He was impressed with Moonlight’s healing ability, though it wasn’t something she could use often since it tired her out a lot. He also wanted to know all about our mental communication and her ability to turn ethereal to hide. He wanted us to test the former with Jade to see if telepaths could communicate with Moonlight as well, but the Unicorn instructed me to tell him that she believed it was possible, which was why she had been staying well away from the Fairy Ward while Jade was working. As for the latter, it seemed that Moonlight could only conceal my presence in addition to her own since we were bonded.

She had tried to conceal Yvette as well, for my sake, but she said that she lacked the connection to make her ethereal as well. That was a really weird experience when she did it with me. Sure, nobody could sense, harm, or even touch me in any way, but I couldn’t exactly interact with anything either, only observe.

As for me, the professor had me teleporting around the room until I could figure out how to bring Moonlight with me. If I could at all. I tried touching her at first, hoping that would work, but no dice. Eventually, we discovered that if I mentally tagged something or someone with a little bit of my mana before teleporting, I could bring them with me if they were close enough.

If a person, or object was within an eighteen-foot diameter sphere around me and I had ‘tagged’ it, I could bring it with me. I could ‘port short distances without a clear idea of where I was going but if it was any further than fifty feet then I needed a clear picture of the place or person I was teleporting to in my mind. Live video footage seemed to work well for that, but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to connect with photos or pre-recorded footage to use those mediums.

I also seemed to have some sort of built-in sense of spatial awareness. When I teleported, I always seemed to end up in the nearest spot to my target with enough unoccupied space to accommodate me and whatever I was bringing with me. That was good since I was a little concerned about teleporting inside something solid.

We couldn’t find a maximum range for me to teleport yet either. I had teleported me and Moonlight to Norway and back by watching a video call to one of the professor’s colleagues at a Vanguard base there. Even though I could seem to teleport as long as I kept my mana reserves topped up, I would still need a few minutes between trips to gather mana, and doing it repeatedly was exhausting and only became more so the more that I brought with me. I was thoroughly tuckered out by the time we finally finished testing everything they wanted to.

As we left, Professor Frazier told me to expect someone from the Vanguard to visit me soon. He felt that when he talked to them about my test results, they would be very interested in recruiting me and, by extension, Moonlight. I could have requested that they remain private, but I was happy to let him send his test results to them since recruitment was exactly what I wanted.

Moonlight once again became all ghostly as Yvette escorted us back to the main hospital building. I wasn’t heading directly back to the Fairy Ward though. I wanted to see my sister first and I was already later than my past few after-dinner visits. Visiting hours would be over soon. Tired or not though, the last thing I wanted was for my sister to think I was bailing on her when she needed me, and I wanted to reintroduce her to Moonlight.

Kelly seemed to be making small improvements in her mental state with me alive and visiting her every day. Knowing that I was still alive and also having to deal with being Altered, after what was essentially three and a half years in a coma, seemed to help her willingness to adjust to her new self and let the rest of the world in. It helped that my changes were a little more extreme, what with my changed gender and minuscule size.

Since I had convinced her that I really was who I was claiming to be during that first hours-long session in her room and told her what was happening with me, she was starting to show that big sister energy with me again. She still had a lot to deal with, but at first, she was worried about how I was coping with my own new situation. It took a while, but I managed to convince her that, while being so tiny sucked in a lot of ways, I was happy being a girl and enjoying playing around with water magic.

Focusing on me seemed to be helping her cope better. With me being her now very little sister, instead of her younger brother, her protective tendencies kicked in again and seemed stronger than ever. That could have been partly due to what we had both been through and survived though. In any case, since she was making small improvements, talking to the psychologist now, and was no longer trying to self-harm, she had been moved yesterday from the secure padded room to one that was more comfortable.

The hospital even placed her on the same floor as the Fairy Ward so we could more easily visit one another for moral support. My sister had promised that she would have the nurses leave the door open a crack when they came and went, unless she wanted privacy, so I could get inside more easily and not have to rely on other people to let me in. Now that I was getting used to the teleporting thing and had mostly figured out my limitations though, that probably wouldn’t be necessary anymore after today.

Once Nurse Yvette had gotten me to my sister’s room, letting me ride on her shoulder since I was tired from testing my teleportation over and over, I parted ways with her to slip inside the partially opened door. I had barely flitted inside when I stopped to hover and stare at my sister. There was a look of concentration on her face as she sat cross-legged on the bed with her eyes closed and her white hair, tails, and fox ears were all gone, as if the Incursion had never happened.

She looked just like her old self, and for a moment, my breath caught in my throat at seeing her that way. It was as I was panicking about the thought of somehow turning back into a guy that I saw her hair start to lighten and her ears and tails reemerge. Heaving a sigh of relief, I muttered to myself, “Right… magic. The nurses told me that her species of Altered have shapeshifting and illusion abilities.”

Meanwhile, my sister was letting out a very different sort of sigh. I flew over to approach her and called out, “Sis? It’s me, Lily.”

Her large, fluffy ears turned in my direction and her eyes opened to give me at least an attempt at a smile. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be visiting today, you mentioned that you had some kind of testing for your special ability today.”

“I wouldn’t bail on you, Sis!” I protested. I was glad that her foxy ears were for more than just show though, in addition to being very cute they also provided her with excellent hearing, which meant that I didn’t have to scream to be heard by her. “It was exhausting, but I came here right after the testing. Have they gotten you to do that yet?”

I was fairly certain that it was probably a standard thing that they do with any Altered who get brought to the Amethyst Harbour Hospital for Altered Care, but with the mental state that my sister was in until recently, I couldn’t be sure if they had tested her formally yet. The appointments usually take at least several hours though and need to be booked early. Poppy was supposed to be tested tomorrow because while we both had discovered our special abilities on the same day, it seemed that potentially hazardous or rare and useful abilities had the highest priority. My teleportation fit both of those criteria while Poppy’s matter manipulation only seemed to fit the latter.

“No,” Kelly said simply as I flitted over to land on one of her knees. Then she seemed to realize how brusque that sounded and quickly added, “Sorry, Lily, I guess I’m just a bit tired. They had a Huli Jing from the Vanguard come in today to start teaching me how to change my shape and cast illusions for most of the afternoon. She mentioned something about testing, so I guess it’ll probably be sooner rather than later, but she said they would likely want a Healer on hand for that. There aren’t many of those and most of them work with the Vanguard.”

“What?! Why?!” I asked, suddenly very concerned for my sister. It was a very good thing that I knew an awesome Healer who could be freed up to help then.

“I’m invulnerable, as far as they can tell, and the Vanguard lady told me that powers like that are hard to test practically. All they can really do is keep trying to hurt me until something sticks, or I feel pain, and that won’t be fun for anyone if it goes too far,” she responded with a shrug.

I cringed at the thought of how that might go. “Point taken, Sis. I can go with you when they test you if you want. Speaking of Healers though, there’s someone I’d like to introduce to you… well, reintroduce since you kinda know her already…” I stammered as I tried to lead up to introducing her to Moonlight.

Confusion was written all over my sister’s face as she attempted to figure out what, or who, I was talking about. “Lily, what are you…”

“I kinda thought that she was imaginary at first, I mean, who wouldn’t? After bursting from my own chest in a shower of gore, it would have been understandable if I lost my mind a bit. She’s confirmed real now though, and I think you and me spending some time together with her might help you start to feel more like yourself,” I said, thoroughly beating around the bush as I worked up to the big reveal. “Okay, Moonlight, you can show yourself now.”

My sister continued to stare down at me in confusion and suspicion for a moment before her gaze moved upward to settle on something behind me, between her bed and the doorway. I knew that she was looking at what I hoped she was when she sputtered, “What… how…?”

“Sis, this is Moonlight. Yes, that Moonlight,” I told her with all seriousness.

“How? That’s not possible…”

“Sis, you’re a foxgirl with nine tails and I’m a five-inch-tall Fairy, I think we might need to change our definitions of what’s possible. Animals can become Altered just like us humans; Moonlight changed during the Breach too, and she’s been watching over me since. We’re kinda bonded, so we can talk, but she can only do it with me because I’m her Maiden and she’s my protector.”

The snow-white Huli Jing continued to stare for another long moment at the equally pristine white Unicorn. She looked from Moonlight to me and then did it all over again as if trying to process what I just told her. Then she did something entirely unexpected, she started to laugh. It was the first time since we had been reunited that I had seen her smile or laugh as a cascade of giggles slipped from her twitching lips. “Pffft… it figures,” she finally managed to get out between fits of giggling.

While seeing her smile and laugh was nice after so long, and the state she was in when I first saw her like this, her reaction had me completely flummoxed. “What?!”

It took a couple of minutes before her giggling finally subsided and she was able to answer me. “You probably don’t remember this since you were so young at the time, but when you were five and I was seven, you were completely obsessed with Unicorns for the longest time. You told anyone who would listen that you wanted one of your own. It was around the same time that you demanded to be a fairy princess for Halloween, I guess I should have seen you for who you really were back then.”

“You must be remembering wrong, I was a cowboy for Halloween when I was five,” I protested. Still, something about the hazy memory that summoned made my stomach churn and my pulse quicken.

“You really don’t remember then? I guess that’s not surprising after what Grandpa Miller…” She immediately shut her mouth and looked away with a guilty expression.

Grandpa Miller was Mom’s father, but I couldn't remember him all that well. He died when I was nine, but I hadn’t even seen him for years before that because Mom had banned him from visiting us for some reason back when I was little and wanted nothing to do with him until the day he died in an accident while driving impaired. It also caused a huge rift between Mom and Grandma Miller; one they didn’t mend until she was in the hospital and dying of lung cancer when I was thirteen.

The more that I let my mind focus on my mother’s parents and that Halloween, the more the uneasiness in me spread. Whatever elusive and forgotten memory was connected to these things, just trying to probe my mind for it summoned crippling emotions in me that all but took my breath away. This haze of fear and pain had me shaking and tears stinging my face, a harsh voice in my mind yelling, “No grandson of mine is going to grow up to be a faggot!”

Like a dam was shattered in my mind, the memories came rushing back. The strong scent of alcohol. My grandfather was screaming at me in the barn and beating me until a couple of the ranch hands came in and pulled him off me. My voice was harsh from crying and screaming from the pain and promising over and over that I would never do it again.

He had beaten me so badly that I had to spend several days in the hospital, and now that the memory had resurfaced, that explained the fading bruises and the cast on my arm in the Halloween photos from that year. It explained the haunted look on my face in those photos too. I was dressed as a cowboy and Kelly as a cat.

-Lily, please calm yourself. I am here. Your sister is here. These memories are in the past, they cannot hurt you now.- Even lost in that horrid memory that was circling over and over inside my mind, I knew that voice.

Just as I knew the voice of my sister as she shushed at me and whispered soft assurances that were only a little too loud. “Shhh… it’s okay, Lily. He can’t hurt you anymore. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up.” I could feel each breath she took rumble comfortingly through me as she used one hand to hold me to her modest chest, the closest thing to a hug that she could come up with at the moment.

I wasn’t even aware that she had picked me up, or of how long I and been sobbing into her chest while I was being steamrolled by that memory. I took a deep breath and tried to get my crying and stuttered breathing under control, and then I thought toward my Unicorn protector, “I’m okay now, I think.”

Around that same time, my sister seemed to notice that my tiny body wasn’t heaving quite as much against her chest and asked, “Are you okay now, Lily? I’m so sorry for bringing that up. I didn’t think you’d remember anything. He hit you on the head a few times and you had memory problems for a little while after that. That almost got us taken away from Mom and Dad, there were social workers involved and everything, and damn it was scary. Mom was furious and broke off contact with her parents after that.”

“It’s okay, Sis. It’s funny how the mind works,” I said with a sigh as I tried my best to hug her back, which was weird since I could only hug her breast at my size and position. “I think that maybe I blocked out that memory after it happened. Mom and Dad said that I broke that arm and stuff by falling out of a tree we were climbing, so I guess I rolled with it since it was less traumatic.”

“Yeah, you didn’t seem to remember what happened, and I guess they thought that it was kinder to tell you that then… what really happened,” she explained with a hitch in her voice that told me she’d probably been crying too. That explained the heaving in her chest when I came out of my daze.

“Can we talk about something else?” I asked, eager to get off the topic and bury those memories again so they would never again see the light of day.

“Yeah, sorry,” my sister apologized again as she slightly pulled away the hand hugging me to her chest, allowing me to fall into it and sit down. She did jump on the change of topic though, by bringing us back to where this had begun. “So, is this really Sundancer’s little filly? And she can talk to you and understand us?”

“Yep,” I replied with all the false cheer I could summon, determined to take my mind away from those recently resurfaced memories. “She’s probably as intelligent as we are, and she’s been watching over me since the Vanguard found me in what was left in the stables. She prefers to keep herself all ghostly and hidden, but I convinced her to make herself known, for your sake. So, you’ll probably be seeing more of her now. She’s a Healer too, so we can probably be there for your Testing.”

“She’s beautiful,” Kelly said with a faint smile before turning to the Unicorn in question. “Thanks for watching over my little sister all this time, Moonlight. Your mother and I were very close, so I hope that we can become good friends too.” Then she seemed to catch on to something I said and asked, “What do you mean by that? Making herself known for my sake?”

I was a little embarrassed about giving my plan away, but I wasn’t about to lie to her. “I… umm… thought that if she was in her physical form more, she’d need someone to help me care for her since I’m too small to do much of that. You know, getting her food and stuff, brushing her coat and mane, getting her properly shod, and taking her for a ride once in a while for some exercise. Stuff like that. I… ahh… thought that getting back into familiar tasks might be good for both of us.”

-I can feed myself perfectly well, but since you seem to feel that this would benefit you both, I will allow you to ‘take care of me’ even though it is my responsibility to care for you,- Moonlight commented in my mind.

“You also said that the only responsibilities that I have to you are those I place on myself, and I think fair is fair and I should be able to take care of you too. We’re partners, Moonlight, or at least I’d like us to be. I think that’s how this bond should work,” I immediately retorted. Then I turned to my very quiet and thoughtful-looking sister to ask, “So, what do you think?”

“I…” my sister started hesitantly before looking down at me in her hand fondly. It was almost like seeing the Kelly I remembered from before the Incursion, always having a smile for me and trying to encourage me. “I think I’ve got the best little sister there is. Thank you, Lily, you might be right about familiar things, and I hope that Moonlight and I can become good friends. Who am I to refuse to help you care for and ride your freaking Unicorn, I mean, how awesome is that? It’s, like, every little girl’s dream come true.”

I stayed with my sister for another hour as we discussed what we would need for Moonlight. Things like feed, brushes, a warm blanket, and a place for her to sleep when in her material form were at the top of the list. Once Moonlight was willing to let Kelly ride her, something that neither of us wanted to force on my protector, we’d also need a proper saddle and a place to get her some exercise. She wouldn’t need a bridle since she was so smart and could take directions verbally, but something for Kelly to hold onto in place of reins would probably be a good idea as well.

It was nice seeing my sister look happy while we talked about things that were a big part of who we were while growing up and it took my mind off the repressed memory that had come up earlier as well. This would work, it could help bring Kelly out of the depression that she had fallen into since returning from beyond the Breach. Before long though, we were both starting to get tired from our eventful day and Moonlight became all ghostly so we could return to the Fairy Ward, I could snuggle with Poppy for a while, and then go to my little Sprite-sized house for a well-deserved rest.

The next morning was Friday, and Poppy and I were snuggling while eating our breakfast when Oak informed us, “When you’re both finished eating, you have a visitor waiting outside, Lily. There is also a nurse here to take you for your power testing, Poppy.”

The Fire Sprite let out a reluctant sigh before saying, “Well, I guess that means we’ll have to stop cuddling and finish our breakfast, love. Maybe we can get back to this later when you’re back from your evening visit with your sister?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I agreed. Then we shared one last kiss before hurrying to finish our morning meal. After one last passionate kiss that left me feeling warm inside and desperately craving more, Poppy flew to the curtains in the door of the Fairy Ward to meet the nurse who would be escorting her, and probably giving her a ride part of the way to her Testing as well.

Once my heart no longer felt like a hummingbird fluttering wildly inside my chest and I had somewhat collected myself, I moved to follow. I quickly discovered that that was unnecessary though as a Water Sprite that I didn’t recognize flitted through the curtains that Poppy had passed through just a moment earlier to enter the Fairy Ward. Before I could even start moving my wings to meet her halfway or something, she was landing on the table that held the ward’s main socializing and recovery area.

“You must be Lily,” the other Water Sprite said with a warm smile as she extended her hand. “I’m Captain Azalea Monroe, and I’m here to speak with you on behalf of the Vanguard.”

For a moment, all that I could seem to do was stand there and stare at her in shock, confusion, and wonder. I knew that the Vanguard would be interested in me with my special ability, something that Professor Frazier had confirmed yesterday, but I didn’t think that they would send someone to try to recruit me so quickly. And to send another Water Sprite to do it, spoke volumes about their interest in me. It looked like they wanted to send someone that I could be comfortable with and relate to, rather than a big person who would make a proper conversation awkward and likely annoy me with a booming voice that hurt my ears.

I had never met another Water Sprite before, which partly contributed to my staring as well. Her hair was almost as long as mine, but a different shade of blue, almost aquamarine, as were her eyes, and she had olive skin and facial features that made it look like she was of Mediterranean descent. She was taller than me by at least a handspan, but practically everyone was taller than me, including other Sprites, so that wasn’t terribly surprising.

Her clothes consisted of what looked like blue camo military fatigues that were sized for a Sprite, a matching halter top that allowed for her wings to be free, and a pair of simple blue slippers. She was also wearing a silver-hued tiara on her head, at least that was what it looked like to me, and it was intricately carved to look pretty but looked out of place with the whole military look. I knew what it really was, of course, since I had seen most of the Sprite and Pixie nurses here wearing one sometimes. It was a comm ring.

Comm rings were the predecessor to implants for being able to use the outernet and internet, make phone calls, and do a bunch of other stuff without having to carry a phone or other device. Poppy and I were told that since Fairy types couldn’t get implants, because of our small size, someone in the Vanguard’s tech and research division had repurposed the comm rings, upgraded the technology inside, and added a bit of magic to allow people of our small stature to do just about everything that human-sized people could do with their implants.

When I managed to finally stop gaping at her and had gathered enough of my errant brain cells to form a reply, it was a hesitant one. “Umm… yeah, that’s me, Lily Pierce. Is this… about my Testing yesterday?” I managed not to smack my forehead at the thought of my own stupidity, but it was a close thing, and being busy shaking her hand helped. Of course, this was about the tests and stuff from yesterday.

The other Water Sprite either didn’t notice my awkwardness or decided to have mercy and not call me on it, I was guessing the latter. “It’s nice to meet you, Lily. It’s always nice to meet another Water Sprite. Yes, this is about the tests that Professor Frazier put you through yesterday. As the professor may have mentioned, your special ability is, well, special. Teleporters are extremely rare among people who have Awoke so far, and you are the first that we know of with such considerable range and the ability to bring other people and objects along with you.”

“Yeah, he did mention something like that,” I admitted awkwardly. I was so nervous that I was shaking, not because of her since she seemed nice enough and she was a Water Sprite like me, but because I was terrified of screwing this up and losing my chance to get into Vanguard University, join the Vanguard, and eventually rescue my mom. A lot was riding on this.

Captain Monroe gave me a reassuring smile. “You look nervous, Lily. There is no need to be, you have done nothing wrong. Let’s have a seat. I’m here because the report about your ability was deemed important enough to make it to the desk of Commander-general Kline himself, the very top of the Vanguard chain of command. He has tasked me personally, as the officer in charge of our Fairy forces, to come meet you and see if you would be interested in joining the Vanguard. Your ability could be a game changer for us in logistics and rapid deployment when Breaches appear. You could save a lot of lives, Lily.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat back down at the table where I had been eating breakfast not long ago and she took the seat across from me. So, this was a recruitment pitch after all, and it sounded like they really wanted me. “That’s what I want, to save lives and stuff. Mom was taken into a Breach with my sister, Kelly. Kelly was brought back, but Mom’s still out there somewhere and if Kelly was alive all this time, Mom might be too.” I wanted to say more, to tell her that I wanted to go into a Breach to find her and bring her back, but I held myself back. I was worried that if she knew what I was planning to do she would try to stop me, that I was too valuable a resource for them to let me endanger myself by doing that.

The other Water Sprite nodded, a sad expression on her face, and placed a hand sympathetically atop one of mine. “All of us Altered know someone who was taken into a Breach. Coping with the people we’ve lost is never easy, but it’s harder with those who were taken than those who died. At least with the dead, we know what happened to them, and we can grieve and find some closure. With the taken, it’s the unknown that’s the worst part. Not knowing whether they’re alive or dead or what they might be going through, how can you mourn that?”

“You can’t,” I agreed. “You can only hope… and it’s hard sometimes.”

“Maybe someday, with your help, we’ll be able to get forces on site quickly enough to stop playing defensive and invade their world for a change,” Captain Monroe offered with a determined grimace. “Our eventual goal is to get people on the inside to get intel. Who and what they are, why they’re attacking us and capturing people, how to stop it, and maybe get some of our people back. Right now though, even with the technology we have at hand, we’re always too late, arriving well into the Incursion, near the end of it, or when it’s over. We can’t do much but try to drive them back and limit their number of captives.”

While it was good to know that their plans for the future somewhat aligned with my own, I still worried that they would try to prevent me from going into a Breach myself. “I was already thinking of going to the university and joining up, to tell the truth. So, I guess you don’t really need to try to recruit me, Captain Monroe. My friend, Poppy, was thinking of it too, you probably saw her on her way to get tested when you came in. She can make clothes and other useful stuff for people our size.”

“The Fire Sprite?” she asked.

“Yeah, she was the one who told me about Vanguard University and got me interested. I’m hoping that my sister will decide to start with us too if she’s cleared by her psychologist,” I told her as I tried to direct the topic away from myself and my ability. I honestly felt a little weird about being that important to them when this was my first time meeting anyone in the Vanguard personally.

Captain Monroe’s eyes unfocused for a moment and I figured that she was looking at something on her comm ring. Probably my file since I figured I probably had one if they were that interested in me. That seemed to be confirmed as she inquired, “Kelly Pierce, right? I believe we had someone visit her yesterday to teach her the basics of her illusions and shapeshifting. She has been through a lot, but her mental state has been improving since you reconnected with her, according to the doctors and nurses who deal with her regularly. If her improvement continues, I don’t see us turning her down. Let’s be real, the Vanguard needs all the people we can get with strong abilities as long as they’re not completely insane. Every one of us Altered has some sort of issues, not like that’s surprising given what most of us have been through and survived.”

My eyes narrowed at the officer’s words. “You were already scouting Kelly, weren’t you?”

“She hasn’t been officially tested yet, but from all the reports, it looks like she has some form of high-level invulnerability. Do you truly think that wouldn’t be of interest to us, Lily? If she can tank some damage on the front lines and give some of our squishier combatants a chance to use their offensive abilities, then she would be a welcome addition to any unit,” she explained with a shrug, showing not the least bit of shame for being caught.

“Well, since you already seem to have a file on me, and those close to me, I guess that you probably know about Moonlight already too.” I imagined that Professor Frazier had mentioned her in his report as well, so I wasn’t surprised to see her nod her head.

“Professor Frazier mentioned her, and the results of her testing in his report,” she confirmed. “I gotta say though, I thought he might be pulling our proverbial leg at first since this will be the first confirmed Unicorn to exist. It does explain the random and sporadic miracle recoveries in this hospital over the past couple of years though. He said she’s a potent Healer, quite intelligent, and has another useful ability as well. Would you object to us using her occasionally? We have far too few Healers available.”

A frown painted my face, and I could already sense Moonlight, who was monitoring the situation but had yet to show herself, working up to a protest. “Captain Monroe, I want to make one thing perfectly clear, right now. Moonlight is not just some animal, nor is she a pet or a magical first aid kit that someone can just borrow. She is a person, just as smart as we are and she doesn’t belong to me, we are partners. She made an oath to protect me and care for me, and we are bound by that oath. She intends to stay by my side, but if you want her help for anything then you will either have to recruit her too or ask her nicely when the time comes.”

At least she had the good grace to appear chagrined. “I apologize, Lily. To you as well, Moonlight, if you’re here. All the animal-based Altered that we have encountered so far have been smart enough to train, but no cleverer than any particularly smart cat, horse, or dog. I did not have time to thoroughly read Professor Frazier’s report and assumed that the same held true for Moonlight. I will not make that mistake again. Is joining the Vanguard something that she would even consider?”

-I have no interest in such things. I will remain by your side to keep you safe, my Maiden, but my duty is to you and nobody else. If they ask nicely I will consider healing others if the need is dire, I am not without compassion after all, but you must be present as my place is at your side,- the Unicorn replied distastefully.

I passed that message on to the captain who promptly frowned. “I am not certain about this, Lily. We can’t have an outside party with no loyalty to the Vanguard accompanying you everywhere and potentially learning classified information.”

-As if they could stop me,- Moonlight said with a derisive mental snort.

“It’s not like you could stop her,” I repeated for Captain Monroe’s benefit. “Her loyalty may not be to the Vanguard, but our bond makes her loyalty to me unquestionable. She only wants to keep me safe and even if she doesn’t take orders from you, she will listen to me. Even if she did learn secrets, who would she tell? I’m the only one who she can talk to.”

For a moment, she looked torn, unsure of how to handle this situation. Finally, after giving it some thought, she let out a long sigh. “I suppose that we could consider her something between a healing consultant and a personal mount if that is acceptable to you and Moonlight. The university and our headquarters both have enough Pegasi in the stables and Gryphons in the aerie that it wouldn’t be seen as too out of place. I will propose it to Commander-general Kline.”

-I suppose that will have to do.- From the tone of her mental voice, Moonlight didn’t seem entirely pleased with the offer but was willing to accept it as a compromise.

“Moonlight says that’ll do, and I guess I don’t have any problems with it if she’s okay with it,” I conceded for both of us.

The other Water Sprite nodded, her expression one of relief. “Very well then, if the Commander-general accepts, I will return tomorrow with comm rings for you and your friend, Poppy. You will need them to fill out the applications and contract for military service, register as students, and a number of other things. I know that it is still over a month before classes begin, but you should decide what program and classes you wish to take early. I have heard that some classes fill up pretty quickly.”

With that, Captain Monroe left us to report back to her superior officer, leaving me to get back to my regular morning training. I spent a lot of that time lost in my thoughts. I could have made things much easier by ‘convincing’ Moonlight to join up with me, but I didn’t want to use our bond to manipulate her like that. I wanted us to have an honest and healthy relationship and, if nothing else, this would tell me how serious the Vanguard truly was about recruiting me.

After my interview with Captain Monroe, the rest of my day was much like previous days in the Fairy Ward, split between my rehab exercises to get my body in shape, building up strength and stamina with my wings by flying, and practicing Water magic. I would have practiced some teleporting as well, but the only places that I was familiar enough with were places in Montana, a couple of other places here in the hospital, and the places that I had been shown the live feeds of when we were testing my range and stuff.

I certainly didn’t want to go back to Montana, especially after my previous, accidental trip there. There was nothing there for me anymore anyway, and almost everything at my parents’ former ranch would be hostile to me, especially the people if everyone there held the same views as my uncle about Altered. I couldn’t exactly go to those places from my testing either because they were secure Vanguard bases, and I could be seen as an intruder since I wasn’t part of the Vanguard yet.

Poppy returned to the Fairy Ward just before lunch and, as we ate, we talked about how the testing of her special ability had gone. There wasn’t anything too surprising there though since she had been pushing herself to find out more about the ability since she first discovered it. The only raw materials that she couldn’t seem to manipulate were raw iron and gemstones, at least from what they tested.

She could make pretty large items too, much bigger than just for Fairy use, but her mana use increased exponentially along with the amount of matter she was manipulating, and really tired her out. She definitely couldn’t make anything with complex moving parts though. She could create the parts separately and then assemble them if she knew how they worked, or had a blueprint and the proper materials, but she couldn’t make them pre-assembled.

After lunch, it was back to training until dinner time, after which, Moonlight and I went to visit my sister. We didn’t really have any proper brushes, hoof-care stuff, or anything else we needed to properly look after an equine, but just our presence seemed to be helping my sister feel some sort of familiarity for now. It wasn’t perfect since we had all changed so much physically since the Incursion at the Ranch, but it was close enough and she seemed to be improving just by spending time with us and talking about her worries and fears, as well as the hopes that she was now clinging to with us back in her life.

Kelly had adopted my hope that we could find Mom and rescue her, and I could see my sister’s determination for us to do that together. She had been training with her shape-shifting and illusions all day long when she wasn’t eating meals or being visited by her psychologist. For the shape-shifting, she could only turn into a little white fox or a version of her old human self somewhat easily, but it still took a lot of mental focus and energy since she was still a beginner. Yue, the Huli Jing who had introduced her to their species' abilities, seemed to have the same limitations but was far more experienced and could hold her other shapes for hours at a time, so it gave my sister something to work toward.

As for the illusions, my sister complained that they were somewhat more difficult to master. I guess that she had to form an image in her mind and concentrate on where she wanted it. If she wanted it to move realistically, change, or seem solid then she needed to keep focused on the details the whole time. She couldn’t just fire and forget. Yue could seem to not only make the images look realistic but fool the other senses as well, so Kelly knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her to get the most out of that ability as well.

After visiting with Kelly for a while, talking about old times and planning for the future, I teleported myself and Moonlight back to the Fairy Ward and then the Fire Sprite and I spent a couple of hours just cuddling on the comfy couch in her little Sprite house. While it would have been nice to have some movies or something to watch to pass the time, Poppy and I were content to just snuggle together, make out, and enjoy one another’s warmth and presence. It was as we were sitting there that I asked, “Hey, Poppy, what were you like before you Sprouted?”

“Comatose inside a gory cocoon made from my own body, same as you, Love,” she teased.

I pouted in response to her playful reply, “Not that, silly. I mean before the Incursion.”

The Fire Sprite shrugged, jostling my head on her shoulder. “There isn’t really much to tell. When I was three, Da died in the 2024 London Incursion. After that, Ma moved us out to Leeds to live with her parents, where she thought we would be safer, and she could better handle the expenses of raising a kid.”

She paused to let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. “Yeah, we were so bloody safe there when a Breach opened a block away from our apartment building. After I Sprouted, the doctors told me that Ma and my grandparents died when our building collapsed in the Incursion. I was brought here because I don’t have anyone else. I was lucky that I was visiting a friend a few blocks away from home, we almost got to one of the shelters before...”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have as…” I started to apologize as I looked away guiltily from her sad eyes and the tears running down her cheeks.

I didn’t get to finish though as she put a finger on my lips to silence me and kissed me on the cheek. “No, I’m sorry, Lily. I know that isn’t what you wanted to know, I just… miss them sometimes. I mean it’s been almost four years, but to me, it was less than two months ago. I shouldn’t complain. I mean, we all have stories like that here, right?”

“Yeah, I’m still sorry though. I shouldn’t have asked that; I should have known it would bring up bad memories. I’m lucky by comparison; I have Moonlight, they found my sister, and we’re gonna try to rescue our mom. I didn’t think about how bad it might have been for you,” I offered as I hugged her tightly and nuzzled against her. “I should think before I speak.”

“That’s usually my problem, Love,” she countered with weak humor. “I’ve never been good at holding my tongue, I just blurt out whatever pops into my head, especially when I’m nervous. You’ve made me nervous since we met, you’re beautiful, and I wanted to get to know you better since I first laid eyes on you, but I worry sometimes that I’ll say something stupid and mess everything up. If you really want to know more about me too, then I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t think anything you say is stupid, Poppy. I think it’s hella cute the way you stumble over your words when you say something and then try to correct yourself. I mean, you’re real, you’re not hiding behind some act and trying to impress me,” I told her candidly as I kissed her pointed ear and then downward along her jawline.

Her jaw shifted and she shivered beneath my roaming lips, and I could almost feel the heat of her flushing cheeks as she struggled to form the words for a response. “I… umm… gosh… I wish I could use my tongue to make you squirm like you do to me…” She quickly shut her mouth before opening it again to let words pour out. “No, wait! I didn’t mean it like that! I know you don’t want to rush things in our relationship, and I don’t either! I… umm… meant that I wish I could just naturally say sweet things like you, instead of just blurting things out without thinking and...”

I hugged her tighter as I shifted position to settle myself in her lap and silence her with a kiss on the lips. A moment later I pulled away to smile at her as I gazed into her pretty orange eyes. “I said it’s cute when you do that. I really like you, and you’re honest about the way you feel for me too. I think that everything you say to me is sweet because it’s coming from you.”

“See! That! Right there! You’re being all sweet and understanding, even though I’m all…”

“Adorable?” I suggested as I cut her off. I didn’t always understand what she thought she was saying wrong with these verbal blunders, but she was so cute when she tried to correct herself and I could tell that she never meant anything bad when she did stuff like that. It actually made me all warm and gooey inside knowing that she was that flustered because of me, because she thought I was sweet and beautiful. I gazed into her eyes as she verbally floundered once again.

Poppy’s cheeks now rivaled her fiery eyes and hair for color as she blushed and couldn’t seem to look away. “I… umm… so cute!”

“Yes. Yes, you are,” I cheerfully agreed, my heart racing as I stared at her pretty face, her eyes now staring back into my own. I just wanted to kiss and cuddle her forever. Just looking at her and being here with her made me happy, and my heart raced from the feeling. Was this what love felt like? There was more to it than just my feelings for her, there was horny stuff too. The warmth building up between my legs at our closeness as I straddled her lap, and my achingly hard nipples wanted to poke right through my paper dress. Even I wasn’t dense enough to not realize what those signs meant.

I took a deep breath to steady myself and ignored the fire building up in my core. I didn’t want to rush things. I wanted us both to have the time to explore this relationship and be sure that we both wanted to take it to the next level before we did that so neither of us would have any regrets. In my arms, Poppy took a deep, calming breath as well and it was a moment before our silent gazing into one another’s eyes was broken.

“You… wanted to know what I was like before?” the Fire Sprite asked, her breath catching as she made a visible effort to calm herself as well. As I nodded, a thoughtful expression settled on her face for a moment before she hesitantly spoke again. “I… well... I guess that I was pretty average. My grades in school weren’t top of the class, but they weren’t bad. I wasn’t really into sports or anything, but I was really big into music. I played several instruments, though my favorite was the flute. I wanted to join an orchestra when I was older.”

“Aww, I wish I could hear you play,” I mumbled in disappointment.

“Maybe you can someday, I want to try to make a flute in my size now that I know more about my special ability. I might not be able to make a proper, modern one, but maybe I can make something simpler, like something based on a tin whistle. I don’t want to give up music if I can still play somehow. Other than music, I didn’t really stand out in any way. I was pretty, I guess, but kind of average with brown hair and eyes. I kind of figured out that I was gay a year before the Incursion, and I was a bit of a disaster lesbian for a while… I guess I still am.” The last was said as her cheeks once again flushed bright red.

She was just too cute for words, causing me to kiss her passionately. When I broke it off, I needed a moment to calm myself and slow the pace of my throbbing heart again. Then I asked, “So… umm…What’s your goal? I mean, why do you want to go to Vanguard University?”

“I guess I don’t really have one yet, at least, not a big one,” she replied with a pensive tone. “I still want to study music, even if I can’t join an orchestra someday, and the University does have a small music studies program. Maybe I can learn enough to figure out how to make enough types of instruments for Pixies and Sprites to start a Fairy Orchestra someday. I could give lessons to Pixie’s and Sprites too, at least on the instruments I know.”

A sigh escaped my lips as I realized that her barely considered plan was probably more thought out than what I had in mind… or didn’t. Sadly, I admitted, “I don’t have even that much of a plan. I don’t even know what I might want to study. Honestly, I’m just going to the university to get some sort of education and get into the Vanguard so I can rescue Mom. I haven’t really considered what I want to do beyond that.”

“You have time to figure it out, we still have plenty of time before the fall semester starts,” Poppy assured me as she pulled me closer to kiss and snuggle once more. We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s touch and presence, reluctant to part. Eventually, we fell asleep there on the couch together, still snuggling in one another’s arms.

Captain Monroe was as good as her word, arriving the very next morning after breakfast with comm rings for both me and Poppy. I was expecting it to take a lot longer for the man in charge of the Vanguard to make a decision about me, despite what she had said, so I was a little surprised by this turn of events. I guess Commander-general Kline wanted me even more than either of us thought since she hadn’t sounded very confident that the compromise she had suggested regarding Moonlight would be considered.

So, come September, Poppy and I would be students/cadets at Vanguard University. There were five dorms on the campus, two for females, two for males, and one for people who were various flavors of the rainbow spectrum or whose physical genders were complicated due to their new species. Sprites sort of fit that category, and we were both very gay, so Poppy and I would likely be housed there, though we really didn’t need a lot of space.

The Rainbow Dorm was also the closest to the stable and pastureland on the western edge of the campus, which in turn was on the opposite side of the campus as the aerie, so the Pegasi and Gryphons that were being trained as flying mounts for the Vanguard wouldn’t bother one another. That worked out well since, as my personal mount, Moonlight was being offered a stall in the stables. It would probably be close enough to the east face of the dorm that she could stay in contact with me telepathically if she slept there, and it would give me a place to keep any riding and grooming gear that me and Kelly got for her.

I was still planning on having Kelly help me with the usual daily care stuff with Moonlight, to give my sister a sense of familiarity and help the two of them hopefully get closer as well. Moonlight didn’t seem thrilled with the idea of staying in her physical form and the stable, but I managed to convince her that she could sleep there and still turn ethereal to accompany me to classes and stuff. The university would have no issues with her accompanying me to classes so long as she remained out of sight and wasn’t disruptive.

The comm rings that Captain Monroe brought for me and Poppy fit a little loosely on our heads, but she told us where we could take them in town to get them properly fitted and personalized. They didn’t work like the comm rings that I was familiar with either since instead of using a holographic display, these had a modified neural interface that put the information right into our heads like my old implant did. They still had the holo-projector for watching movies and stuff, but the neural interface was used for most things. I guess Poppy had an implant before too and the familiar interface made things a lot easier for both of us.

After she showed us how to use our new comm ring tiaras, there was a lot of work to be done, not to mention a metric fuck-ton of paperwork. Not only did we have to sign our service contracts for the Vanguard and register as students for the university, with all the paperwork involved in both of those tasks, but we also needed to complete high school equivalency exams since neither of us had graduated. It took most of the morning to finish those tests, which we both fortunately passed, and get all the paperwork filled out and virtually signed.

By the time the other Water Sprite was finished putting us through the tenth circle of hell (the one where you deal with endless red tape and bureaucracy), Poppy and I were both mentally drained and ready for lunch. We had succeeded though; we were both now officially students at Vanguard University. I would have felt relieved if it wasn’t for the daunting decision that now loomed over me; what in the hell should I study?

It took me a whole two weeks to settle on what I wanted to study. As a kid, I had never really thought much about what I wanted to do when I grew up, and even since Sprouting, I hadn’t been seriously considering the future. To me, the future consisted of getting used to being a Sprite, getting out of the hospital, joining the Vanguard, and finding Kelly and Mom. Until I had to make a serious decision about what I wanted to study, the future beyond those goals seemed like a nebulous thing, almost impossible, and the only thing that had altered my plans for it was finding out that Kelly was alive and here in the hospital too.

Now I had to actually think about the future beyond when we rescued Mom and brought her home, and it was a little bit intimidating. Thankfully, now that I had a comm ring (or crown in my case), I could at least browse the outernet and the university website to see what my options were. There were a lot of options, but a lot of those were quickly discarded as things I had no interest in or that were completely impractical. I mean, could you see a slightly less than five-inch-tall Water Sprite as an electrical engineer? No, I didn’t think so, as adorable as it would be.

The choice that I finally settled on was a program called New World Synergy, which focused on studies of the Altered forms of humanity, as well as new Altered flora and fauna that and been appearing in and around Incursion Zones, magic in general, and the effects they had on our changing world. Mostly the courses were drawn from other programs such as the various courses from environmental sciences, ecology, biology, history, social sciences, and magic studies programs. There were courses unique to the program as well though, such as magical conservation, Altered herbalism, and magical mixtures.

To be fair, I wasn’t very focused on trying to decide my tenuous future during the past two weeks though. I was still training constantly to get my new body into the best shape possible, strengthen my wings, and increase both my power and control with my magic. My determination and focus on physical stuff was really paying off though since by the time I decided on what university program to take, I was as physically fit and mobile as any other Sprite and could stay up in the air for a long time. As for my Water magic, I was making steady progress there too, but I had a bit of help with that.

I guess that we Fairy-type Altered usually don’t have much of an upside when we join the Vanguard since we’re so small and fragile unless we luck out with our special ability like I did. The one benefit of all Fairies was that we had natural magical abilities and, with practice and training, could get pretty powerful with them. With that in mind, the Vanguard usually tries to help any Fairy-type recruit/students to get a solid grip on those skills before classes and training start taking up the lion's share of our time.

Since ninety-nine percent of Fairies Sprout in the Amethyst Harbour Hospital for Altered Care and then spend our time acclimating to our new forms and doing rehab in the hospital, we’re pretty easy for them to contact and make arrangements with once they know we’re joining up. I guess there isn’t a lot to do except paperwork, public outreach, and training whenever the Vanguard isn’t responding to an Incursion, so they can arrange training for any new signups in need. That was why Poppy and I both had visitors from Vanguard Tower every day since we officially signed on.

Captain Monroe came for two hours every afternoon to drill me in Water magic while her colleague, Lt. Daisy Williams trained Poppy with her Fire magic. The Water and Fire Sprite officers worked me and Poppy like we were a pair of fresh-faced recruits, which I guess we were. They had no mercy as they pressed us relentlessly to push our limits and become more powerful and adept with the magic of our respective elements.

The Huli Jing that they had come in to teach my sister the basics of her species abilities had been visiting Kelly the past couple of days as well, to help her refine her skills since she had her power testing and signed on to attend Vanguard University as well. She had been showing marked improvement in her mental state over the last two weeks, mostly due to spending time with me and Moonlight. She hadn’t been able to ride the Unicorn yet or do much more than give her a good brushing, but just spending time with us and having goals seemed to help her a lot. She had even met Poppy a couple of days ago.

Moonlight was another problem entirely. While she was getting used to spending more time in her physical form again to interact with my sister and other people, she was still wary of people and preferred to keep a low profile, which isn’t easy when you’re the only known Unicorn in existence. This was also complicated by the number of doctors and nurses who had seen her since her first appearance, and it only got worse after she consented to heal a little Centaur girl who was on life support following an accident last week.

Not only was the little girl enraptured with Moonlight now, but her mother wanted to do something to pay her back for saving her daughter’s life. People were starting to put two and two together and connecting her with the mystery ‘miracle recoveries’ in the hospital over the past couple of years as well. Now we were both getting a lot more attention than either of us was comfortable with, which was exactly what she had tried to warn me about before I decided to reveal her to Poppy, the power testers, and my sister.

Now gifts of thanks were showing up for us at the Fairy Ward and I couldn’t even refuse or give most of them back since a lot of them were showing up anonymously. The only good thing about this was that at least most people were putting thought into these gifts. The baskets of apples were thoughtful and not too expensive, so I was willing to take those, but some of this stuff was ridiculous.

Don’t get me wrong, for the most part, it was only small stuff. There were a couple of digital gift cards to stores in town that I’d never heard of, flowers, and drawings from little kids of them with a Unicorn and Sprite. I had to admit that there was useful stuff from Moonlight’s new fan club too, but I just didn’t want to think about people spending a lot of money on this stuff when Moonlight didn’t heal those people for material gain. And some people had obviously put both money and thought into their gifts.

There was a very nice horse care and grooming kit for Moonlight as well as some warm, good-quality blankets for her, but the worst of the stuff was directed toward me since when the nurses asked for people, Moonlight insisted she had no desire for material things, she only wanted me happy and healthy. If they hadn’t been delivered anonymously, I would have thought these things were bribes or something. The worst offender was the house. Yes, someone had left a literal house for me.

Sure, it was only the size of a large dollhouse, and clearly meant for Sprites, but it was a lot bigger and fancier than any of the basic and cozy little houses that Poppy and I were using while in the Fairy Ward. The outside was painted powder blue with white trim, and it had actual glass windows. According to Jade, there was a business in town that built regular dollhouses, furniture, and clothes for dolls, as well as making custom stuff for Fairy-type Altered, and she thought that this house looked like one of their higher-end models. It had three bedrooms, a den, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen, though the latter had only counter space, a pantry, space for a table, and little cupboards since Sprites don’t need to cook most of our meals due to being mostly vegetarian.

Other than the lack of a fridge and stove, this place had the works; electricity, lights, heating, a fireplace, and even running water for the bathroom. That water came from an indoor, heated reservoir and was filtered through a water purification system before being recycled, and the bathroom also boasted one of the new magical equivalents of a toilet for our size that disintegrates waste. The internal walls of the house were painstakingly painted, every room had doors that could open and close, and the floors were covered in plush carpet.

The reason that it had proper windows, and a fireplace and stuff, was because this house wasn’t just some dollhouse, it had a weatherproof roof and walls and could be placed anywhere outdoors if I wanted to so long as I had permission from the property owner or the city itself. And since a regular-sized person could carry it with only a little difficulty, it was truly a mobile home. The whole thing also ran on one of those new little magitech batteries that had been developed recently to draw mana from around them for power, meaning that the residents would never have to worry about power outages.

If this was one of that store’s higher-end models, like Jade thought, the house alone could be worth upward of ten grand, and that was without the furniture. The fact that the place was fully furnished with temptingly comfortable Sprite-sized furniture only made me feel worse about not knowing who had left it so I could ask them to take it back. I guess that one of the gift cards we had received was for the same store and Jade suggested that I use it to get some clothes since the store had clothes geared toward Water Sprites that were made from water-resistant or waterproof materials. Poppy could probably use something from their Fire Sprite line as well, so she wouldn’t keep destroying all her clothes.

The gifts were only half of the problem though since people who had heard about Moonlight wanted her to try to heal their loved ones too. Neither of us wanted to hear about every broken arm or case of the flu that people had come to the hospital for. If it was something life-threatening and the doctors couldn’t do anything, like with the little Centaur girl, Moonlight and I could probably be convinced to help if asked nicely, but the doctors here were good and a lot of stuff could be handled just fine with everyday medical care and a bit of patience.

With all that on my mind, I was so glad that I had finally come to a decision about my studies, had registered for my classes, and that we were getting out of the hospital for a bit today. It was Saturday, August 3rd, marking almost an entire month in the hospital for me since I had Sprouted, and apparently, I was now healthy and fit enough that I could get out of the Fairy Ward whenever I was ready. Poppy, Kelly, and I wouldn’t be having magic training sessions with our coaches today since one of the Vanguard’s Seers had sensed that a Breach would be appearing somewhere in South America today. They were already in the air and on their way south to be closer so they could mobilize as soon as the Electromagnetic Breach Analysis Satellite System determined a more precise location.

With no magic training and my exercises now reduced to a morning workout, my day was mostly free when a brief tour of the city and a shopping trip were suggested by a certain Centaur lady who had come to visit first thing this morning, and who was still trying to find some way to thank me and Moonlight for saving her daughter’s life. Annika seemed like a nice enough lady and her daughter, Lyra, was a little sweetheart so I had accepted her offer of the tour, so long as I could bring Poppy and my sister along. Moonlight agreed to come along as well, even if only to keep an eye on me, but she would remain out of sight unless needed for something specific.

Poppy, Moonlight, and I learned quite a bit about Annika and Lyra while waiting for my sister to meet us in the hospital lobby. Annika was originally from a small town in Greece which had been mostly destroyed during an Incursion. She was three months pregnant at the time, lost her husband in the attack, and then started changing into a Centaur. The rapid changes were hard on both her and the unborn child and there were a few scares where she was worried that she was going to lose the baby, so she was brought here, where they knew more about Altered health care than anyone else on the planet.

In the end, Lyra was born… as healthy as a horse, you might say. She was born a Centaur and apparently, baby Centaurs are a little awkward to care for so there was a bit of a learning curve for Annika until a Centaur couple with an older child were brought in to show her the ropes. Despite the difficulties involved, or perhaps because of them, she adored her daughter. That girl meant more to her than anything in the world, and it was obvious to anyone who saw them together.

She also greatly resembled her mother. Both had deep brown eyes and freckles set in pretty faces, and auburn hair with lightly tanned skin on their human half. Below their human waists, they had the body of chestnut horses with reddish-brown coats and tails and they both looked like they were healthy and took good care of themselves. They wore simple T-shirts for modesty and Annika was shapely up top and looked to be in her mid to late twenties, with a generous chest that strained the material of her shirt. Lyra looked like she could be as old as seven, but I knew for a fact that she was only five. I guess that Centaurs mature slightly faster than humans do.

We had been waiting and talking for over half an hour and it was almost ten o’clock when my sister finally showed up. Kelly seemed stable enough now, both mentally and physically, that she was due to be released soon as well, and Captain Monroe was telling me that they were considering letting us move into the dorms early so we could all get out of the hospital on Monday. If that happened, they would put Kelly in a room overlooking the stables and we could do our future magic training sessions at the university training area. Poppy and I could use my new house, placing it in Kelly’s dorm room, somewhere on the roof of the Rainbow Dorm, or even above the stable itself.

“Hey, Sis, what took you so long?” I asked as my sister approached and absently tugged at the clothes she was wearing, which consisted of a long, flowing black skirt that bulged and swayed at the back from her nine tails being stuffed underneath, a too-large navy-blue t-shirt, and a pair of worn sneakers over ankle socks.

Kelly sighed but quickly shrugged off whatever had her down to give me a weary smile. “I had to look through the clothing donations to find something that fit since I was naked when they found me. It’s nice not having to wear a hospital gown, but it took forever to find something that could work for my tails. I still can’t hold my human form for long and we’ll likely be gone most of the day.”

“Yeah, I guess that has to suck, I have enough problems with my size and wings, but Poppy has been a huge help with our clothing situation so far. I can’t imagine how awkward a tail would be, let alone nine of them,” I said as I glanced down at my own clothes.

My outfit was a pretty, baby blue dress and boots that Poppy had made from some of the material and thread she had gotten to practice with her special ability. The dress had a backless and sleeveless white halter top and panties that served as an underlayer and were almost a match in color for my pale skin. Over the white halter top that served as the base, and kept me modest without interfering with my wings, there were panels of sheer and shimmery translucent blue material covering from the chest down to the waist, but leaving my midriff and navel exposed as they draped off to the sides. There was a skirt of matching panels that resembled flower petals, covering me from hips to mid-thigh. The boots looked like something a pirate would wear but were more like boot-shaped slippers, reaching up to my knees, made from powder blue cloth, and laced up with navy blue thread.

“Hopefully, we have time to get some shopping done today,” my sister replied to my comment. “I heard that there are places in town for people with tails or other odd body features to get clothes, so maybe I can find stuff that works. That start-up grant we got should hopefully cover new clothes and the essentials.”

The grant Kelly was talking about was something that the city, in conjunction with the Vanguard, offered to all Altered who were displaced from their homes due to their changes, or other reasons, and brought to Amethyst Harbour. It was meant for exactly what my sister was talking about, getting clothes and other things needed to start over when you had lost everything. With our release from the hospital now looming, Poppy, Kelly, and I had gotten our grants deposited into new bank accounts that had been created for us yesterday and that were linked to Kelly’s implant and the comm crowns that Poppy and I had been given.

I led my sister to where Poppy was waiting with Annika and Lyra and quickly made the introductions. “This is my sister, Kelly. Kelly, this is Annika and her daughter Lyra, they’ve offered to show us around and take us to the best places to shop for whatever we need.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Kelly offered, directing a smile toward the pair of female Centaurs.

Annika looked a bit stunned for a moment but quickly recovered enough to say, “It’s nice to meet you as well, Kelly. Your sister and her Unicorn saved Lyras’s life, so showing you all around is the least I can do. I must admit though, I was expecting another Sprite.”

She was probably thinking that since when more than one member of a family becomes Altered, which is fairly rare, they usually lean toward the same species, what with similar genetics and all. “We were both adopted,” I quickly explained.

The Centaur nodded and smiled as she replied, “That explains it. Let’s get going then, I have a pretty big day planned for us. It’s going to be fun, right Lyra?”

“Yeah, Mom! We’re going to the park too, right?! I wanna race Moonlight!” the girl excitedly answered.

“Of course, Honey, we’ll show them the park on the tour,” she said, ruffling her daughter’s hair. “Come on, ladies, we’re burning daylight, and we have a lot to do today!” She said as she turned to lead us to the lobby doors and what would be the first trip outside the hospital for me, Poppy, and Kelly. Poppy and I found a perch atop my sister’s head, right between her big fluffy ears as she followed the Centaurs outside and into the unknown.

Amethyst Harbour was a big city, so obviously we didn’t have time to see it all in one day. That being said, Annika wanted to try to show us some of the major landmarks before lunchtime. She didn’t have a hover-jet, or even one of the old-fashioned ground vehicles, for obvious reasons, so we mostly had to rely on public transportation. Luckily, the transit system in Amethyst Harbour was state-of-the-art and could be easily used to get anywhere in the city quickly.

Not only were there three underground mag-lev train routes with stops all around the city, but also large capacity passenger hover-jets that ran regular aerial routes with landing pads citywide. You could catch either at one of the scheduled stops or at Central Station, which was in the large commercial zone in the middle of the city. Annika told us that we would probably end up heading there for lunch since Superior Centre Mall was close by and one of the best places in the city to go shopping.

It was strange being out of the Fairy Ward, and the hospital in general. Poppy seemed to feel the same and we were both constantly alert to any potential dangers like stray dogs and cats that might think we were tasty. My sister seemed similarly tense and watchful at first, but she had been in the hospital for the longest of the three of us and was only now starting to come to terms with being Altered after months of hiding from it and the world at large.

I think part of our nervousness was from being in such a large and unusual city that we were unfamiliar with. We were all too used to the safety of the hospital and not used to interacting with many people aside from one another and the doctors and nurses. It wasn’t just dealing with strangers though, it was dealing with the public in general as visibly Altered people for the first time, in a place where our safety couldn’t be assured.

Sure, Annika tried to reassure us that Altered have all the same rights and protections under the law as regular humans in Amethyst Harbour, but it was still kind of scary with how Altered get treated in some places and how people like my uncle and grandparents talked about them. Even the Centaur woman had to admit that while the city we were in was pretty safe and Altered-friendly, the rest of the world was… less hospitable to us to varying degrees. And that didn’t even include the inherent dangers of being Sprite-sized. I guess that we had some tradeoffs for being so small and fragile though, we had our elemental magic, we could fly, and we could hide in most places that larger creatures couldn’t if the need arose.

Our first stop was Memorial Park, which was just across the street from the main gates to Vanguard University’s campus. Both the park and the university campus were located on a large portion of the very first Incursion Zone, which had essentially been the entire original town of Amethyst Harbor. The whole town had been leveled in the unexpected, otherworldly attack and most of the residents were either killed or captured. Less than a hundred people survived, mostly families living on the outskirts who had time to get away or hide.

From what Annika told us, one of those residents who would become one of the first Altered, was Commander-general Kline. When Altered began to prove their worth and capability to fight effectively against the Titans and were released from captivity and from being studied as lab rats, he represented the Altered in negotiations with the UN to form what would later become the Vanguard. He had insisted that their headquarters and a sanctuary for Altered be built on the site of his former hometown, the site of the first Incursion.

From there, Amethyst Harbour expanded as Altered, their families, and those who wanted to study the growing fields of magic and the Altered themselves flocked to the area. It expanded even further over the decade after the University was finally opened in 2030 to give Altered an education and recruit and train new members for the Vanguard. Now, the city boasted over a hundred thousand people and almost rivaled nearby Thunder Bay in size. Close to half of that population were Altered, and represented most of the world’s current Altered population, at least of those Altered who had started as humans.

As Annika told us the history of the city that she had learned since coming to Amethyst Harbour, she and Lyra led us through the park to the memorial that the park was named for. The park was mostly a large, open field with the occasional shady trees, and colorful flower gardens surrounded the low, cast-iron fence that surrounded the memorial itself, which stood at the very spot where the first Breach opened, as a reminder of what we had to fight against. The memorial was a large obelisk of black marble and bore the names of everyone who had died or been taken through the Breach during the first Incursion.

We spent long enough at the memorial to pay our respects with a moment of silence and then explored the rest of the park a bit. With its mostly open field of grass and shady trees, it looked like a nice place to spend a summer day, especially once we got to the sandy beach at the lake shore. There were picnic tables and the biggest and strangest playground for kids I had ever seen near the beach as well. Families, both human and Altered, were in the field, on the beach, or near the playground, playing or having picnics as they enjoyed their weekend and made the most of the sunshine.

Now that we were at the park, little Lyra was practically chomping at the bit to do some running around and pleaded for Moonlight to show herself. “Pleeeease, Moonlight, I wanna have a race with you!” the little Centaur girl begged. “It’ll be fun, I promise!”

Moonlight was reluctant, but I managed to convince her to do so, and it was nice seeing the Unicorn out and getting some exercise as they ran around the field. Lyra was practically glowing with happiness as she ran around with the Unicorn and tried to keep up, though she was still young and had neither the stamina nor speed that Moonlight did. That didn’t stop her from trying though, and she promised the Unicorn that she would get fast enough to beat her in a race someday when they finally halted so the Centaur girl could get a bit of rest.

Moonlight showing herself was not without consequences. She had the attention of practically everyone in sight and, given that we were in a popular park on a Saturday, that was a lot of people. While she was running with Lyra, it wasn’t much of a problem, but the moment their race was over and they rejoined us, curious people and wide-eyed children began to approach us. Thankfully, she was patient with the children, letting them get some petting in, but once those of us fresh out of the hospital started getting antsy about the crowd, and people started firing questions at us, such as where they could buy a Unicorn too, we decided it was time to excuse ourselves and Moonlight made herself ethereal once again.

The university campus was right across the street from the park, and since Lyra had burned off some of her seemingly boundless energy, Annika asked if we wanted to see about a tour since we were already close by. After discussing it though, Poppy, Kelly, and I decided to wait on that. It sounded like we were going to be going there on Monday anyway, and we could save the tour for when we got there or after we got settled in.

Instead, our guides led us back to the underground station that served as the University stop along the city’s main mag-lev train route. My sister and Annika had both bought transit day passes since we would be taking either trains or transit hover-jets at least a few times today, but fortunately children under twelve and Altered under a certain size rode free, so Lyra, Poppy, and I didn’t have to pay. We didn’t even have to stop at a station to switch to a different route since the next stop that Annika had planned for us was along the same route.

That stop was Lakeview Tower. It was a massively tall tower of gleaming steel and glass that had a glass elevator and dwarfed every other building in the city in height. From the observation deck on the top floor, we could see the whole city spread out in every direction and we got a fantastic view of Lake Superior stretching out toward the southern horizon as well.

The view was absolutely amazing, and Annika used it to show us some of the more important and easier-to-spot landmarks like the Vanguard’s headquarters and main base, the hospital for Altered Care, Memorial Park, the University, and the commercial zone that was practically right under our feet. I could have stayed up there taking in the view forever, but as it approached lunchtime, we all started to get hungry. So, with food on our minds, Annika took us back down the glass elevator to discuss what to have for lunch. Annika told us that the tower had a restaurant on the floor beneath the observation deck, but it was very expensive, and we would have needed reservations to get in during the lunch rush.

Since the Superior Centre Mall was close by and within walking distance of the tower, we decided to just get something for lunch in one of the food courts there before starting our shopping. Annika didn’t take us on a direct route to the mall though. Instead, she took us on a bit of a detour, saying that there was a store she wanted to show us first.

Annika stopped us in front of a little shop, and I would have guessed that it was a leatherworker’s shop or something from some of the stuff in the windows, but there were horseshoes there too. I was trying to wrap my head around this weird mass of leather straps with metal buckles in the window when I noticed them. Part of the contraption even looked sort of like the seat of a saddle. “Wait, horseshoes? What is this place?” I wondered aloud as I fluttered backward from the window to look for a sign.

The Centaur woman’s finger pointed above the door of the shop, where a sign said Mounting Trail Harnesses and Sundry. “You said that you were looking for a proper saddle and some other things for Moonlight so your sister could ride her, and now that I’ve met your sister, that makes a lot more sense.”

The name clicked in my mind, but I wasn’t sure if this place would have what we needed. If they had saddles, wouldn’t they be displayed in the window? “I think I might have a gift card for this place,” I told her. The name was certainly familiar, and I had scanned and uploaded the gift cards I had gotten in preparation for this shopping trip so I would have to check the digital wallet linked to my comm crown.

“This place is the main supplier of harnesses and gear for the Vanguard and anyone else with a Pegasus or Gryphon. See those leather straps in the window? That’s a riding harness, the wings make normal saddles impractical for Pegasi and Gryphons,” Annika explained as she gestured to the straps in question. “They also make horseshoes for Centaurs and Pegasi and various other necessities too. They don’t have a lot of saddles, but I know they make them because some Centaurs make a little extra cash by acting as ground transportation for two-legged folk and get them made here.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Kelly said thoughtfully. “Yue was telling me that there’s a breeding program for Pegasi and Gryphons because they’re smart enough to be trained and far too useful to the Vanguard to be ignored. They’re quick and maneuverable in the air and offer an advantage to people with long-range, offensive special abilities or magic. They can focus more on attacking and avoiding attacks by staying strapped into the harness and just giving commands to the mount when needed since hover-jets, even small ones, are impractical in combat and usually targeted and shot out of the air by Titans before they can do much.”

“I have friends serving in the Vanguard right now, and it’s more than just that. Though that is a huge part of it,” Annika responded. “Some people are buying personal mounts from the breeding program that they train themselves, with help from the Vanguard animal trainers, so the commands are more intuitive for them and to form bonds with their mounts. They use them not only for combat but also to get around the city instead of using a hover-jet or just to enjoy the occasional flight.”

“I’d probably do that too if I were big enough,” I admitted with a grin. “Flying is fun, and it explains why there are already procedures in place for recruits having personal mounts. I was a little surprised when Captain Monroe suggested that as a compromise for Moonlight.”

“Fortunately, we don’t need mounts to fly, Love. We have wings of our own,” Poppy said cheerfully.

“Yup, and flying under our own power never gets old,” I agreed with a grin. “I’m gonna check my wallet and see if I was right about having a gift card for this place. The name sounds familiar, and maybe we can find what we’re looking for here instead of having to special order stuff, Sis,” I added as I turned my grin on my sister who was looking thoughtfully into the store window.

“It’s worth a try,” Kelly finally agreed with a nod. “At the very least we can get horseshoes here. Moonlight really should be shod if she’s going to be spending time walking around the city.”

-Hmph, do I truly need those things?- Moonlight grumbled in my mind.

“You haven’t been getting a lot of exercise since you’re staying ethereal so much, Moonlight. You could injure yourself or damage your hooves without them, especially if you need to walk on the roads or sidewalks for some reason,” I pointed out. “Putting them on you won’t hurt if you cooperate, and Kelly has done it before on the ranch.”

-Fine. If you believe that I need them, then I will allow it, my Maiden,- she replied with something akin to a mental sigh of resignation.

It took a moment of mental searching, but I found the gift card in my digital wallet. “Huh, that’s weird, there doesn’t seem to be an amount here, maybe it’s glitched. I’ll have to find out what’s up with this gift card, but Moonlight agreed to it, so let’s see what they have. I don’t know if we’ll be able to buy any of it today, but we can at least have a look,” I informed everyone.

“I was thinking of getting a new set of saddlebags for shopping anyway, it was part of the reason I wanted to stop by here,” Annika agreed as she approached the door to the shop, causing it to slide open before motioning for her daughter and the rest of us to follow. Eager to see what the shop had, I joined Poppy atop my sister’s head as she followed Annika and Lyra into the shop.

The door chimed as we passed through the threshold, and I looked around me as my nose was greeted with the familiar scents of metal and leather. To my delight, I could see that they did indeed have a few saddles, including a black one for western riding. They also had grooming stuff, like the kit that had been one of the gifts left for Moonlight, as well as various types of saddle and harness bags, bridles, and even horse feed, which I assumed was meant for Pegasi.

The store looked empty at the moment, the only customers consisted of our group and there was nobody behind the counter. A door to a back room was left ajar though and a deep voice emanated from the room beyond, calling out, “I’ll be with you in a moment!”

We were all browsing the wares, and Annika was picking out a set of saddle bags when the owner of that voice stepped through the door to the back to make himself known. He was of middling height with brown eyes and short, black hair that was beginning to go grey at the temples, and he was clean-shaven with a complexion and facial features that hinted at Native American ancestry. His build was that of a man used to physical labor and he wore simple jeans and a flannel work shirt that were well-worn but clean.

“Hi, I’m Alex, the owner of this place, what can I help you ladies with today?” the man asked as his attention fell on my sister and the pair of Centaurs.

“I’m looking for some large saddlebags for shopping,” Annika told him as she hoisted up a pair of large bags with a harness, all made from dark brown leather. “I think I’ve already found something that should work well for me though.”

I flew up to the man with all the moxie my tiny little body could summon, leaving Poppy to enjoy the soft carpet of my sister’s hair alone. I flew straight into his field of vision so I was sure he wouldn’t miss seeing me and said, “Hi, I’ve got a digital gift card for this store, but I’m not really sure what the amount is. Do you think that you could find out for me?”

A pensive expression settled upon the man’s features as he began to reply, “There must be some mistake, young lady, we don’t offer gift cards here… unless…” The man’s eyes went wide in realization and his words faded almost to an almost reverent whisper. “You’re the Sprite with the Unicorn.”

I looked away awkwardly, focusing on keeping my flight stable and staying in his field of vision as I replied, “Yeah. I don’t really own her or anything though. We’re just bonded, she is my partner.”

“As it should be,” the man agreed with a nod. “Do you think that I could see her though? We will need to make sure that anything you purchase is a good fit for her.”

“Umm… sure? I can probably convince her to show herself,” I replied somewhat dubiously. Then I asked the Unicorn in question, “Could you please join us, Moonlight? It’s just this guy here, so there aren’t any crowds to worry about like earlier.”

Moonlight’s answer was to take her physical form, coalescing into existence close enough that I could land on her head, which I did to give her mane an affectionate stroking with my tiny hands and arms. She might not feel it much, but she could at least feel the affection that I was sending her through our mental link. Alex stepped back; a look of wonder etched into his face as he murmured, “Oh, my stars. I wasn’t sure whether to believe them or not.”

“Believe who?” I asked, keeping my voice loud enough for him to hear.

“My wife, and the nurses at the hospital,” the man responded absently as he gazed at Moonlight. After a moment, he seemed to shake it off and smiled at us. “As for your earlier question, little one. That gift card has no value because your money is no good here. My wife was quite clear that if you ever came in to redeem that card, we would cover the cost of your purchases, within reason, to suit your needs. I happen to agree with her.”

“Wait, what?” I squeaked. This was sounding suspiciously like a blank check, and I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that.

It was as bad as I feared, and Alex wouldn’t take no for an answer, especially after my less proud and more practical sister told him that we originally came to look at prices for how much it would cost to get Moonlight kitted out properly for Kelly to ride her. Horseshoes, a bitless bridle, riding reins, a western saddle, saddlebags, a hoof care kit, and even a bag of feed were all added to the growing pile on the counter. He probably would have added a horse blanket and grooming kit if I hadn’t told them we had been given those already.

The saddle and associated riding paraphernalia were all in nice black leather that contrasted Moonlight’s white coat and mane. With my sister’s help, Alex was able to get everything fitted properly onto Moonlight, who didn’t even complain, at least not too much, and only to me. The horseshoes went into one of the saddlebags so Kelly could properly shoe her later. Since we were too small to be of any use, Poppy and I hovered and watched, while I occasionally protested.

He was looking over it all while Kelly checked the tightness of the saddle when he suddenly snapped his fingers and exclaimed, “There’s one more thing you’ll likely need!”

”No!” I complained. “I don’t need anything else, I’m not even sure how we’re going to carry those big bags of feed!” The two bags were fifty pounds each and unless one of us suddenly developed the power to bend time and space, there was no way that they were going to fit in the saddlebags. Not to mention I was worried that all that gear was just going to fall right off Moonlight when she pulled her disappearing trick, and we would have to ask Annika to carry it for us.

Alex wasn’t hearing my protest though as he went into the back of the shop and returned a moment later with something made of black leather, which he securely clipped in place to where Moonlight’s bridle was secured behind her head. Curious, I flew closer to inspect it, seeing what looked like a tiny Sprite-sized black leather couch with a lap belt. It looked like it could seat two comfortably, but you would probably squeeze three sprites on there if it was needed and they were very friendly.

“That’s a fairy saddle, I wasn’t sure if we had any of the Sprite-sized ones still in stock,” the shopkeeper explained. “The Vanguard uses them to give Fairies a place to land and rest on Pegasi and Gryphons during pitched battles or to allow them to travel faster to Incursion sites. You’re all pretty tiny and, while you’re good fliers and Sprites are excellent at offensive elemental magic, you don’t have the speed and stamina of a flying mount and can get worn out if you’re constantly spell-slinging and flying during pitched battles.”

Okay, that was pretty cool, and it would mean I could still sort of ride Moonlight. Still, I wasn’t sure that I was comfortable with this level of generosity. “Why are you doing this?” I asked while he finished securing the fairy saddle.

The man turned to look at me in confusion for a moment before what I was asking finally clicked and he gave me a wan smile. “My wife, Valerie, is a member of the Vanguard. She’s an Elf, and while her special ability isn’t very powerful, she is exceptionally talented with battle magic. She’s on one of the first response teams, those sent in on flying mounts to harry the Titans and prevent them from capturing or killing innocent civilians until reinforcements can arrive. Pegasi and Gryphons aren’t quite as fast as a hover-jet, and they can’t carry nearly as many personnel, but they are far more maneuverable and less likely to be shot out of the sky.”

He paused to laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Did you notice how I said, ‘less likely’ there? About a year and a half ago, Val’s team was responding to an Incursion and a Titan got off a lucky shot. Swiftwind, her Pegasus, got her wing clipped and they were knocked out of the sky. It was a miracle that Val lived. The doctors said that it was probably because Swiftwind had taken the brunt of the impact, but they told me that she was paralyzed from the neck down and they were worried that they might have to amputate one of her legs.”

“Moonlight healed her?” Annika asked, the Centaur giving Alex a sympathetic look as she reached out to hug her daughter tightly. “She healed Lyra too, and I will never be able to thank her and Lily enough for that.”

I was about to protest that it was all Moonlight, and I hadn’t done anything when Alex replied. “Yes. Her doctor went to check on her during his night rounds and found her completely healed and trying to get out of bed. They called it a miracle. Val swore that she had seen a Unicorn that night, but people brushed it off as a hallucination from the drugs she was on at the time. Then, we heard from one of Val’s friends who works as a nurse about a Sprite in the Fairy Ward who had a Unicorn that could heal people, and we put two and two together. Val is still alive, whole, healthy, and back to fighting the good fight because of Moonlight’s kindness. It’s only fair that we return that kindness now.”

I couldn’t find it in my heart to refuse their generosity after hearing that, though I did insist on paying for any future purchases from the store just like any other customer. Alex relented to that but offered to deliver anything that we couldn’t carry with us to the stable at the University under my name since he often made deliveries to the stable and aerie anyway. Fortunately, that delivery would only consist of the bags of feed since when Moonlight vanished before we left, her saddle and everything else in physical contact with her turned ethereal along with her.

That was a pleasant surprise since we hadn’t tested that earlier. Moonlight thought it was possible, but we just told Professor Frazier that it was without really testing it since they were far more interested in her healing ability at the time. I briefly found myself wondering if she could make people who were riding her ethereal as well, as I thanked Alex and we said our goodbyes to get some lunch before shopping. Annika had gotten her saddlebags, paying for them after my purchase was complete so Alex wouldn’t get any ideas. So, the Centaur was ready to carry any purchases for us that my sister couldn’t. If needed, we would have Moonlight’s saddlebags available as well.

Superior Centre Mall had two floors and dwarfed the tiny mall that Kelly and I were used to in Boulder Creek. Seriously, you could have probably fifty of them inside of it. It had over a hundred and fifty stores, and the doors, ceilings, and stuff were all made to accommodate even some of the larger Altered like Ogres or Trolls, who could get up to ten feet tall. Such a vast space made me feel even tinier than I usually did, and I don’t think I was alone in that because Poppy was warily watching our surroundings from atop my sister’s head as much as I was.

They really went all out to be inclusive for all types of Altered though, as we discovered in the food court that Annika and Lyra led us to. While most of the tables and chairs were made to normal human proportions, there were a few larger ones for those larger species and some smaller ones for Dwarves, Gnomes, and the like as well. There was even a wide pillar of sorts in the center of the food court that seemed to be geared toward us Fairy types.

The pillar was about three feet high and was a four-by-four foot circle that had Pixie and Sprite-sized tables and chairs on it and even a couple of little food stalls our size that were run by Pixies and Sprites respectively. We had our own little food court! Poppy and I decided to eat there for convenience, while my sister went to go satisfy the craving she was having for a meat-lovers pizza and Annika and little Lyra got something from a vegetarian place and then the three of them ate at one of the tables near the Fairy food court.

One of the booths was run by a Fire Sprite who used her Fire magic to get an actual little grill and something like a wood stove to work and was offering a surprisingly nice range of dishes. “Ooh! I want to go there, love!” Poppy squealed excitedly as she half dragged me toward the place.

We both ordered a fish burger along with a blueberry and a cup of flower nectar and while we waited for our meal, Poppy had a chat with the other Fire Sprite about the intricacies of cooking for their kind. Apparently, she baked the tiny buns herself and thin slices of fish that she grilled for the burgers were trout from Lake Superior. She had a deal with the sushi place in the food court for the fish and to store what perishables she couldn’t store in her tiny cooling unit at the back of her booth.

The Fire Sprite, whose name was Tigerlily, told Poppy that cooking for them required not only very precise control over their fire to not burn things to a crisp, but also being able to get or make tools that could do the job, without being damaged in the process. It wasn’t only the grill and oven she was talking about either, but various things like even knives small and sharp enough to cut things without making a mess of them. As we took our meals to a table to eat, I could see that Poppy already had some ideas for having her own little working kitchen at home someday floating around in her mind.

The burgers were really good, well-cooked and they had a bit of tartar sauce and a shred of lettuce leaf on them. It was a nice change from the usual cereal and berries. We finished eating shortly after the others and went to join them at their table to discuss the plan for this shopping trip. Kelly was eager to get clothes, but we decided to start by going to the drugstore for personal hygiene stuff.

The only stuff we had in that regard was things that the hospital provided, so we needed a lot to cover the basics. My sister needed tampons, though as Sprites, me and Poppy had dodged that bullet. I didn’t even want to think about how Pixie girls handled their monthly visitors since they weren’t part magical plant like we were. We got everything that we could think of for my sister: haircare stuff, a nail care kit, shower stuff, deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and even a couple of towels and washcloths.

Things were a little trickier for me and Poppy though. The Fire Sprite had already made us both some towels and stuff, and she was working on some clothes and other simple things with her special ability, but I feared that the hygiene stuff was going to be a lot more difficult. Fortunately, Annika pointed out some small, refillable dispensers geared toward Fairy type Altered that could be filled with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and the special cleansing and toothcare mouth rinse that was created for us to use rather than toothpaste.

The dispensers were small enough that we could lift and install them without any trouble, and they had a sticky back so they could be secured to the wall in places like the bathroom of my house. As for the refill cartridges of various products, they were made locally and could be easily bought at any drug store or grocery store in the city. They did have Fairy-sized towels and stuff as well, but I liked the ones that Poppy had made for us more since they were cozy, fluffy, and really absorbent.

Next, we went to the store that sold the dollhouses and clothing for both actual dolls and Fairy-type Altered since it was close to the drug store. The place had the humorous name, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. We must have spent an hour there, trying on different outfits and getting the opinions of our companions.

My sister and Lyra were very happy to play dress-up with me and Poppy, and we spent my entire gift card on some nice clothes and comfy little slippers for the two of us. We got some warmer winter clothes as well since autumn would be coming soon. They also had some Sprite-sized hairbrushes and accessories like scarves, hats, and mittens for people our size.

Then it was my sister’s turn to shop for clothes. With that in mind, Annika led us to some of the best stores in the mall for people with tails, wings, or other nonstandard body types. Luckily, tops, bras, jackets, and shoes weren’t a problem for Kelly, and the places that we looked at had plenty of underwear cut for people with tails, even if my sister had nine of them.

Skirts and pants proved to not be a problem either since they had plenty of those for people with tails as well. They all had tail slits in the rear that fastened at the top with buttons or snaps for easy removal and Kelly seemed happy with what she was buying once she got used to having to fasten her jeans at the back rather than the front. They still looked like regular jeans at the front, but I guess that was just cosmetic, for style purposes.

It was starting to get close to dinner time when we visited the fourth store geared toward young Altered women. They had some nice clothes and even had a couple of things in Sprite sizes that Poppy and I were considering getting. We had gone to show my sister our prizes while she was looking at a nice azure sundress with a tail slit in the back that would go wonderfully with her pale complexion and white tails and hair.

That was when the saleslady came over to announce, “We’ll be closing in ten minutes, ladies.” Okay, why was that voice strangely familiar?

“Sure, thanks for letting us know, we’ll be done s…” my sister replied as she turned around. The woman’s appearance made Kelly stop short and I instantly knew why when I got a good look at her myself. Kelly recognized her. There was no other explanation because I recognized her too. “Aunt Maya?!” we both blurted out at the same time, but my voice was as small as the rest of me, so she probably only heard my sister.

She gave my sister a confused look before her face suddenly lit up in recognition. “Lord Almighty, as I live and breathe. Kelly Pierce, is that really you? You’ve changed, but I’d know that face anywhere.”

“It’s me,” my sister replied, and I could hear her voice trembling at the sight of a familiar face. She wasn’t our real aunt, of course, just a neighbor and a close friend of our mother’s, but it was such a relief seeing her looking alive and well after the Incursion. Aunt Maya hadn’t changed much in the past three years, there was a touch of gray now in her black hair, but otherwise, she looked much the same as I remembered, only much bigger in scale. She was an attractive older woman of Polynesian descent with dark brown eyes and long black hair that she usually kept in a braid.

Before the Incursion, the Mackenzie family lived on the property next to our ranch, and Aunt Maya’s husband, Uncle Gavin, owned the hardware and feed store in Boulder Creek. Aunt Maya also made clothes for us sometimes since Boulder Creek was little more than a large hamlet with a lot of ranches and hydroponic farm labs nearby and only had a dozen stores of various types and one pathetic excuse for a strip mall. So, she acted as a seamstress for people in town who wanted something nice to wear for special occasions and didn’t want to have to go through the trouble of going to Billings or ordering things online.

The Mackenzies also had three kids, who Kelly and I used to hang out with since our ranch was pretty large, and they were our closest neighbors. Aiden, who was the same age as me, and a pair of identical twins, Samantha and Selina, who were a couple of years younger than me and Aiden. At first glance, you would never be able to tell that the three were siblings though since the twins took after their mother and Aiden took after their Scottish father.

Aunt Maya wrapped my sister in a hug as soon as the words to confirm her identity left her mouth. “It’s so good to see your face, Kelly, I was told you’d been taken. Ai… Aiden was right near the Breach; he saw you struggling and screaming blue, bloody murder as they took you through. There were others being taken through with you from the direction of your ranch, but he couldn’t make out who most of them were. None of your family was on the transport either.”

“Dad… was killed,” Kelly explained, the words practically choking her. “Mom and I were captured but I guess the Titans sent me back through a Breach once I started turning into this… I don’t remember much, and I wasn’t coping well until Eli showed up, and he… she… well, maybe she should introduce herself.”

I flew in front of Aunt Maya’s familiar face to make sure she could get a good look at me and then spoke as loud as I could without shouting. “Hi, Aunt Maya, you probably don’t recognize me like this, but I was Eli, though I go by Lily now. I guess I was in sort of a coma and trapped in a gory cocoon since the Incursion while my new body was growing. I only woke up about a month ago.”

Her eyes immediately widened, “Is that really you? I heard about how Fairy-types change, but I didn’t think I would ever know someone who had gone through it. How are you dealing with…”

She couldn’t seem to finish that question. I wasn’t sure if she was going to ask how I was dealing with being a girl or being less than five inches tall, so I told her, “I kind of like it now that I’m getting used to it, there are benefits to being a Sprite and I’m happy being a girl.”

Kelly quickly interjected, “What about your family? Did you all make it out okay? You don’t look like you’re Altered, did one of your kids…” She quickly put the brakes on her line of questioning as she glanced around the store.

Aunt Maya looked around the store as well. We weren’t the only customers, and they were going to be closing soon, and I doubted that she wanted to share what was probably something very personal and heartbreaking in front of other customers. It seemed that she was thinking the same way since she glanced at me and my sister for a moment before drifting over Poppy fluttering near me with an inquiring expression.

Annika had already left to wait for us in the food court with her daughter since it was close to dinner time and Lyra had started to get hungry again, and a little tired, from hours of shopping. I suddenly felt very sheepish and awkward as I looked at the beautiful Fire Sprite who looked maybe as awkward as I felt. The sight of a familiar and friendly face from home, especially since she hadn’t batted an eye at our new appearances, aside from surprise when she first recognized my sister, had caused me to almost forget Poppy was there for a minute.

I should probably introduce her. “Oh… umm… right. Aunt Maya, this is Poppy Lancaster. We met in the Fairy Ward at the hospital for Altered. She’s… umm... my girlfriend. I… uhh… mean if that’s what she wants because we’ve been trying to avoid labels, but I really like her and…” I started to ramble. For some reason, I was nervous about introducing Poppy to her. It felt like that one time, when Aiden and I were seven and got caught with our hands in the cookie jar, pilfering fresh-baked chocolate chip goodness with the twins.

I was somewhat distracted from her response though as Poppy damn near crushed me in a hug and squealed, “Of course, I want to be your girlfriend, Love!” Which, of course, made me process what I had just said and caused me to turn bright red. No fair! I wanted to ask her romantically, but Aunt Maya’s arrival totally put me on the back foot.

Aunt Maya looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered the situation. “Have you girls eaten dinner yet?”

“Not yet,” Kelly told her. “We had a late lunch. A friend of ours has been showing us around town today and we’ll probably have to take all our stuff back to the hospital soon.”

“You’re still in the hospital, Lily?” I was asked as Mrs. Mackenzie sent a concerned glance my way.

“We all are,” I told her. “I just got done my physical therapy and stuff in the Fairy Ward though and Kelly has been okayed for release soon too, once she has a place to stay. I have a little doll house that me and Poppy can stay in, but Kelly doesn’t have anywhere to go yet so we’re kinda waiting for the Vanguard to see about maybe getting her into the dorm at the university early. We can put my house in her dorm room.”

“I won’t have that,” Aunt Maya said with a stern look. “You two are the children of my best friend, and you practically spent as much time at my house as you did your own while growing up. I have a spare bedroom that Kelly can use, and all of you can stay with us for as long as you want. Wait for me at the nearest food court on this level and once we’re done closing shop, I’ll drive you all back to the hospital and we can see about getting you released. Then we can all have dinner at home.”

“Aunt Maya, I…” my sister started to protest before Aunt Maya slammed down the parental, ‘This is going to happen’ look on all of us. Even Poppy balked and mumbled a quiet ‘yes Ma’am’ with us, and she should have had no stake in the game.

After our agreement was given, Aunt Maya nodded, “Good, now go get Selina to ring up your things using the family discount, while I go make sure the other customers know we’re closing soon.”

“Umm… your Aunt seems nice, but she’s kinda scary with that mom aura,” Poppy whispered to me once she was well away and on her way to speak with a group of varied Altered teenage girls. None of us had moved a muscle. I merely nodded mutely to the truth Poppy spoke. Once Aunt Maya glanced back at us over her shoulder though, I was practically rocketing toward the checkout counter with the dress I’d been showing my sister still clutched in my hands, with Poppy and Kelly hot on my heels with their own purchases.

As I waited with Kelly and Poppy behind another customer, I noticed that Selina had grown a lot over the past three years and change. I could still sort of recognize her, at least, now that I knew it was her, but wow. She still showed her Polynesian heritage as much as her mother did, but she had grown into a true beauty with long curly hair, curves for days in all the right places, and sparkling amber eyes. She probably had to beat off the boys with a stick at school.

Was she Altered too? Did that mean Sammie was too? Was that why they came to Amethyst Harbour, for the twins? That brought my mind to a horrible thought. Omigod, I hoped Sammie had come out of the Incursion okay too. The twins had always been connected at the hip, much like I stuck with my older sister, but calling them close sounded so lacking.

They were more than just ‘close’, and it was hard to think of a term that could properly convey the bond they shared. If something had happened to Sammie, I wasn’t sure how Selina could have coped. No, the fact that Selina was so smiling and friendly as she conversed with the customer ahead of us meant that Sammie had to be fine.

As we were waiting for the person ahead of us to be finished, Moonlight commented, ~You seem to trust this ‘Aunt Maya’ person. You very much wanted her approval back there. ~

“I would trust her and Uncle Gavin with my life,” I told her seriously. “They were our neighbors, and we spent a lot of time at their house playing with their kids growing up. I always felt a lot closer to them than Dad’s family. I was afraid they would have been killed or taken for sure since their property was in the direction the Titans came from. Yeah, I guess I was worried that she wouldn’t believe this is really me and I was kinda nervous about introducing Poppy since I wasn’t sure if she would actually accept the whole girlfriend thing.”

~ Oh, please. You have been the only one reluctant to put a title on it, my Maiden. Poppy seems a good match for you, and I know that you have gotten close, but I am glad that you took the time to figure out what it was you wanted with her. ~

I sent her a sort of mental hug in response as Sammie finished with her previous customer and turned that million-watt smile of hers on me and the others. Her voice was like music itself as she said, “Hi, thanks for shopping at Fantasy Frocks, which of you was next?”

“Go ahead, Sis, you might as well get the explanation out of the way,” I told her.

Kelly nodded and offered, “Hey, Selina. Shit, you’ve grown up in the last few years. Aunt Maya told us to come check out, and she said something about a family discount.”

For a moment, Selina looked confused as hell as her gaze went from my sister to scanning the store for her mom, and then back to Kelly. “I don’t think… wait. Kelly? Holy shit! Kelly! I gotta let Sammie in on this right now! She and Ainslee are gonna freak!”

“Yeah, it’s me,” my sister said with a relieved smile that matched my own. She had thought she had lost everything until I came along too, and finding out that Aunt Maya and the twins were okay too must have her heart bursting with happiness now, just as mine was. I hoped Aiden was okay too. I was sure Aunt Maya mentioned him earlier. I was distracted from wondering who this Ainslee person might be as my sister gestured to me and offered, “It’s not just me either, this is Eli, but she goes by Lily now.”

I was glad there was nothing glass nearby because the excited squee she let out at that information would have surely shattered any. When she finally stopped, she practically jumped over the counter to crush my sister in a hug. “You’re both alive!”

She looked like she was trying to figure out how to hug me half to death as well as I said, “Uhhh… and this is my…”

“Girlfriend,” Poppy proudly declared, interrupting my uncertain introduction with a huge grin. “I’m Poppy, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Poppy,” Selina agreed. “Sammie is sooo freaking out right now, girls! She’s getting out of the pool to go tell Ainslee right now!”

“We should get this stuff paid for, Selina,” my sister suggested. You’re closing soon, and a line is forming. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up later since Aunt Maya wants us to stay with you.”

“That’s great, it’s so good to see you both again, well, sort of anyway since you’re both Altered now and different. I’m sooo glad you’re both still alive. Let’s get you rung through then,” she said as she made her way back behind the counter. “Sorry for the wait, folks, I’ll ring them through really quick.”

I looked behind us but the two people there were smiling and didn’t seem to mind the wait. They were both Altered, a blonde Catgirl and a redheaded woman with horns, a spaded tail, and demonic-looking wings. They weren’t much older than me and my sister, so they probably lost people during Incursions too, and would be just as happy if they were reunited.

“I’ll pay for it all, Sis,” I told Kelly as Selina started ringing up the various items “I haven’t had to spend nearly as much of my setup money as you, and I want to buy the dress Poppy picked out for her to celebrate our new status.” That got me a hug and a very passionate kiss from my new girlfriend. Once Selina was done ringing us up, including the 30% family discount, I focused my thoughts through my comm crown on my new bank account and mentally directed it to connect to the payment terminal to send the required funds.

It was finished at the speed of thought, which admittedly is faster for some people than others. Still, it’s much faster and more secure than the physical debit cards of the old days that had been phased out when comm rings, and later implants, became a thing. Each ring or implant is permanently attuned to the user’s brain wave patterns upon first use, and since each person’s brain wave patterns are unique, that keeps anyone else from using them, which keeps things like debit and credit payment methods secure.

A person can try to clone a card or steal an account number all they want, but they can’t do shit without the right brainwave pattern if said account has been linked to a comm ring or implant. That security is kind of a relief since I’m now too small to carry physical cash around, not that anyone but really old people do that anymore. Payment terminals only work for registered employees of the place of business using biometric data, always have a dedicated connection to the outernet, and don’t have to worry about power outages either since the new ones are all run by magitech batteries, like the one running my little house.

With promises to see Selina soon, we headed to the nearest food court, which thankfully, was the one where Annika and Lyra were eating, and where we needed to wait for Aunt Maya. It looked like they were finished eating but there was a dinner rush for a lot of the places in the food court. They’d be staying open until the mall as a whole closed at nine, but I guess some stores in the mall didn’t see the need to stay open that late on a Saturday unless it was holiday hours or something.

“You’re all done looking around, or is there anything you still think you might need?” Annika asked upon our approach to their table.

“I think we’re done, thanks for bringing us and showing us around for the day, Annika,” I told her before jumping onto Lyra’s head and ruffling her hair, though I had to use practically my whole body to do it. It was like making a snow angel. “We’ll probably see you later kiddo. Your mom has our numbers if the two of you want to hang out again. Maybe we can get you and Moonlight in another race. You almost had her today.”

“Awww, stop it, Lily!” Lyra protested. Though that protest was mostly giggles.

Annika gave us a curious look as I lifted off from her giggling daughter’s head. “Did you not need help getting things back to the hospital?”

Kelly smiled and shook her head. “No, but thanks so much for today, Annika. It was a great day, better than you know, and I think we found everything we needed and more. We actually have a ride back to the hospital and might be able to officially get released too. That last store was run by someone we knew from back home, and she’s offered to let us stay with her family for a while.”

The Centaur’s eyebrows shot upward. “That’s great, I take it you know this person and her family well then?”

“Yup,” I said, popping the P. “Close enough that we call her Aunt Maya, we grew up getting into trouble with her kids. We thought they might have all died during the Incursion. The Titans were coming from the direction of their place when they hit us and they were the first people Kelly tried to contact besides me. None of them had implants like me and Kelly did and she got nowhere when she tried to contact their comm rings.”

“Maybe they had to change them for some reason or just decided on implants instead,” Poppy suggested. “Comm rings don’t store data the same way as implants do, and the operating systems are completely different. Transferring account and contact information from a comm ring to an implant is pretty much impossible and the reverse wasn’t even imagined to ever be necessary. Plus, phone numbers aren’t tied to people but rather the individual devices. And if you’ve actually lost your ring, instead of just upgrading, you better hope you have all that info stored away somewhere for backup.”

“Which was why I had to start everything new on my comm ring, even though the damn implant in my deceased former noggin’ is still perfectly functional. The only way I would the able to get access to the savings account Mom and Dad made for me would be to go to the branch in person, and they’d laugh me out of there, if they didn’t try to spray me with pesticide or something first. Honestly, even if they did have the info backed up, their house was probably near ground zero in an Incursion, who knows what could have happened to their house, let alone the contents,” I pointed out.

“I’m doubly glad that you found each other again then,” Annika offered.

She and Lyra stayed and hung out for another fifteen minutes before she released custody of Kelly’s cloth shopping bags, which had been secured to her saddlebags by carabiners. Then they said their good nights and we were left alone until just before 6:30, when Kelly spotted Aunt Maya and Selina heading our way. The former seemed tired but very happy to see us waiting as they approached, and she offered, “Well, girls, what do you say we see about getting you all out of that hospital?”

Ainslee Mackenzie smiled at her reflection in the mirror on her vanity. There, she was freshly showered, and her makeup was done about as well as she could get it. The lessons that her younger sisters had been giving her were really paying off. Now she was as beautiful as she could make herself, which should hopefully satisfy her compulsion for the night. She was also wearing a beautiful green dress that showed off her slim waist, wide and soft hips, and an ample amount of her generous cleavage, yet had a long enough hem to hide her hooves.

It had been a little over three years now, but finally, she was starting to recognize, and perhaps even like, the beautiful girl being reflected back at her in the mirror. Intense, green eyes with slit pupils gazed back at her, set in a pale face with splashes of freckles adorning her cheeks. Delicate eyebrows arched above those bright green eyes, the same bright red as the hair that hid her pointed ears and cascaded over her shoulders and down her back past her plump and tempting butt. Her nose was slender and proud, and her lips were plump, pouty, and shaped in a cupid’s bow.

It was warm enough outside still that she wouldn’t need a jacket, at least not where she was going, so she put on her comm ring, slung her purse over her shoulder, and left her bedroom to be on her way. Hunger was gnawing at her, and she still wasn’t very comfortable with feeding, so she would rather get this over with so she could get back to living a somewhat normal life for another week. She had just made it to the bottom of the stairs, and was heading for the front door, when her sister’s musical voice called out, “Ainslee, wait! I just got the most amazing news!”

She turned to look at her very damp sister, who had most likely just gotten out of the pool. Not that that was a surprise, seeing as the twins were both Mermaids now and liked to keep their skin and tails damp, especially when it was hot out like it had been lately. They needed to spend at least eight hours a day in the water, usually using that time for sleeping, but they needed to shift their legs back to tails and get them and their skin wet every so often as well. That was the reason why Mom had bought a house with an indoor pool and let the twins use the poolroom as their bedroom, so they could swim or just take a quick dip whenever they felt the need.

The twins were still very much identical, making it difficult for most people to tell them apart, but she knew that the twin who had just called for her attention was Sammie. Not only was it Selina’s turn to help Mom in the shop today, but Sammie had very faint flecks of green in her amber eyes that Selina didn’t. It took a trained eye to notice them, but such was the benefit of being both their sister and a Fae with sharp vision.

“What’s up, Sammie?” she asked, curious about this ‘amazing news’ despite her desire to go and get her feeding done for the week.

“You are never going to believe who popped into the store just now!” Unwilling to play guessing games, Ainslee motioned with her hand for Sammie to get on with it and her kid sister needed very little prompting and excitedly squealed, “Kelly Pierce!”

Ainslee’s eyes went wide and if her jaw had dropped any further, it would have likely hit the floor. “What?! How?!” Then she rapidly shook her head and protested, “No, that can’t be… I saw her that night. I saw the Titans take her through the Breach…”

Thursday, April 22, 2038
4:07 a.m.

He half-ran toward her, screaming her name, only to freeze when the barrel of a weapon swung toward him, humming dangerously and glowing violet with the promise of death. His stop had been instinctual, and he scrambled backward in terror, away from the weapon, only to see it swing away once more as the Titan made its way toward and into the Breach with Kelly still in its grasp as Aiden collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Just like that day, over three years ago, Ainslee’s knees threatened to buckle as the memories burned through her mind. She, or rather he, had stayed there, stiff and frozen with fear until the last Titan passed through the Breach and it closed, and then he tried to focus on anything else. He was still trying to find his parents in the wreckage of their former home when the Vanguard showed up.

Their father was dead, but their mom had lived, though she spent several weeks in the hospital here in Amethyst Harbour after the Incursion, recovering from surgery and the injuries she had sustained. During that time, Aiden and the twins had started to change, the twins into Mermaids and her into a type of Fae that the doctors called a Baobhan Sith, a creature from Scottish folklore. Their whole lives had changed since then, but there was one lesson that Ainslee had taken to heart in the aftermath of the Incursion. She never wanted to let fear stop her from helping those she cared about ever again.

“A… are you sure it’s her? How is that possible?” she asked her sister, her voice tremulous.

“Yeah, I looked through Sil’s eyes, it was her, though she’s some sort of white fox girl now,” Sammie insisted. “Mom seems to think it’s her too, and that’s not all.”

“What do you mean, that’s not all?”

“Eli was with her,” the mermaid told him with a huge grin, “though she’s a tiny little Water Sprite and going by Lily now. She’s even got a Fire Sprite girlfriend.”

“Eli… too?” Ainslee was completely flummoxed at the news, confusion and disbelief warring with the joy that filled her heart near to bursting.

“Yeah, if she’s a Sprite, she probably hasn’t been back in the world of the living for long though,” Sammie said thoughtfully, with a distant look on her face, before nodding. “I heard they can be in their cocoons for years. Yeah, it sounds like they’re both just getting out of the hospital. Maybe you can help your old bestie get used to being a girl. It sounds like they’re going to be staying with us for a while.”

“I… wow… holy shit, this is wild. I… I need to go feed, Sammie.”

Sammie winced but nodded. “I’ll tell Mom that you’re out if they get here before you. I don’t know how you can do that.”

“It’s not like I have a choice,” Ainslee retorted with a long sigh before hugging her sister and heading out the door.

Ainslee looked tiredly at the receptionist as she sifted through files on her computer. “Any preference for blood type?” the woman asked.

“No,” the redheaded girl said with a shake of her head. “I just… want to get this over with.”

Ainslee had gotten used to having hooves instead of feet, even though they hurt like hell when they were changing, and she couldn’t walk for weeks. She had gotten used to being a girl too with help from her support group. Periods sucked, but honestly, she didn’t see how people like Breeze had such a problem with it. She didn’t have problems being treated and addressed like a girl. This was her body and once she got used to it, it was no more or less horrible than being a guy was, if she was being honest with herself.

One thing that she didn’t think she would ever get used to was feeding though. It made her feel like a monster. She could still eat regular food like everyone else, but once in a while, she needed to feed on life force, by way of blood. If she was injured, she would have to feed for her body to fully regenerate and heal, but even without any other reason to do so sooner, once a week seemed to be the longest that she could go between feedings. That was why she was here, at the Blood Bank.

Well, that’s what people who needed to feed like she did call the place, but it was more commonly known as Amethyst Harbour Maximum Security Prison. It was an underground complex that held some of the worst filth that humanity had to offer. Mass murderers, serial killers, serial rapists… basically anyone in the world who had earned a life sentence, or the death penalty, was sent here.

It was said that those prisoners were being sent here to serve as cannon fodder in the Vanguard, but that was merely the story that the public was fed. They were here for a darker purpose. Vampires and the like need to eat, and this stopped them from feeding on the innocent.

“Just follow the guard to the… visitors’ room, Ainslee,” the woman behind the desk said with a barely suppressed shudder. “This one is a death sentence, so feel free to drain him dry if you need to.”

Ainslee nodded, feeling as sick to her stomach as the receptionist looked, if only for the reason that she was known here by name. Then she followed the guard through the doorway and down the hall toward her… meal. Death sentences were usually exactly that, meant to die for their crimes, and it was either someone like her doing the deed or lethal injection. She was well known here because when they had a death sentence here, it was usually her who did the killing, it had been that way since she first started feeling the Thirst three years ago.

She wasn’t allowed to drain Lifers though. They were there to suffer in prison for the rest of their natural days so those feeding on them were usually those who didn’t need much blood or who could spread out their feedings. They drained maybe enough to make those prisoners lightheaded and when they were recovered enough after a few days someone else could feed on them again. She too would have to feed on lifers sometimes and be careful not to drain them, though it was hard to remain in control while feeding and she would have to feed on two or three people to get what she needed.

The visitors’ room was dank and cold, made of stone with a solid steel door to give people like her some privacy during feedings, and to be extra secure in case the prisoners got any bright ideas about taking their visitors hostage. That had happened before, and it never worked out well for the prisoners. The guard let her inside once they were there and she found that the room already had an occupant.

The man was tall, probably close to six foot four, and very well-muscled. Muscled or not, he was still human and no match for the strength Ainslee could bring to bear if she needed to. The man’s eyes widened in surprise as she entered the room and the guard remained outside, locking the door securely behind her. His eyes roamed up and down her body and he licked his lips before smiling. It wasn’t a pleasant smile; this was predatory, there was a hungry look in his eyes, and she had a suspicion about just what he was in for. “Heh, looks like…”

Ainslee ignored him, all that mattered was that her beauty had drawn his gaze. That was why her kind had a compulsion to look as beautiful as possible after all, to lure in their prey, to get the man’s eyes upon her so that he would be easier to get under her spell. At least, that was the theory of the eggheads.

Her hooves had already begun to move beneath the hem of her dress, moving her body to her inner rhythm and tapping upon the stone floor. The tapping rhythm and the movement of her body were hypnotic, the man’s eyes beginning to glaze over before he could even finish what he had been about to say. He was caught up in her rhythm now, dancing along to it like a puppet on a string as she felt the geas that was a part of her take hold of him.

They always danced, and the dance would get the blood pumping, more lifeforce to sate her appetite but still never enough. She kept dancing, and he was too bound in her personal melody to do anything but try to match her ever-quickening steps until his clumsy human feet tripped him up. Then it was over, he collapsed from exhaustion, too weak to move and too weak to resist. It didn’t take long, he had lasted half an hour, longer than anyone else before him, but her rhythm always claimed her prey.

The man on the floor breathed heavily, staring up at her in a mixture of wonder and horror. Even if he wanted to move, he couldn’t now. He had lost the dance, and his life was now hers to do as she wished with. He didn’t, couldn’t, fight her as she leaned in to take her prize, her fangs sinking deep into his neck. The blood sang with life energy and power, like liquid euphoria, as it flowed down her throat, and she drained him dry. As delicious as that crimson ambrosia was, as much as the lifeforce it carried satisfied her down to her core, this was the part that Ainslee Mackenzie hated the most.

After we got back to the hospital, it took almost an hour to get officially released. Poppy and I weren’t a problem since we were cleared to be released from the Fairy Ward already and just needed to sign the appropriate paperwork, but things with my sister were a little trickier. We had to talk with one of the psychologists overseeing her recovery and get him to sign off on her release.

Dr. Gehrig came around to the idea though when we told him that Aunt Maya was a close friend to the family and that we had grown up spending a lot of time at her home with her and her kids. He felt that familiar faces would be good for Kelly and give her a sense of normalcy that she likely needed until we needed to move into the dorms in September. Having people who we were close to around us would probably be good for both of us or so he said as he signed off on her release papers. He still wanted her to come to see him once a week to see how she was adjusting though.

While we were waiting to meet with Dr. Gehrig, Aunt Maya and Selina helped us to bring my sister’s stuff as well as my little house and all the other physical gifts that had been dropped off for me and Moonlight to Aunt Maya’s hover-jet. It was one of the family models, meant to seat up to eight human-sized people, and it had plenty of storage space for our stuff. Poppy didn’t have much, and we just brought her stuff with mine since she’d be staying in my little Sprite-sized house with me.

It was almost eight o’clock by the time that we were finally able to leave the hospital and Aunt Maya decided that it would be too late to start cooking us all a proper dinner. With that in mind, she suggested we order dinner from a place near their neighborhood called Everyone Eats. She hadn’t tried it yet, but the place advertised that they had meals for people of all shapes and sizes, except for Vampires, who could only consume blood.

The place boasted things like pizza, wings, and burgers, but they had some healthier selections for vegetarians or herbivores as well. They were also as good as their claim, having an entire Fairy menu as well. From what the server who took our takeout order said, one of the restaurant’s owners and cooks was a Pixie who had an ability somewhat similar to Poppy’s, which excited my girlfriend no end. Where she had been missing just about everything about being human-sized, he had mostly missed the food. We weren’t able to learn the details of his special ability (except that it was magic, duh), but he was able to produce Pixie-sized versions of most human food dishes.

The Pixie versions were still a bit big for me and Poppy, but a small Pixie-sized pizza would be like an extra large deep dish to us. We decided to go for that and an order of chicken bites. I was kinda worried about where we might find some flower nectar, which is both delicious and an important part of a Sprite’s diet, but apparently, Poppy already knew where to get some. One of the nurses in the Fairy Ward had told her that there was a large greenhouse and flower shop in town that not only sold various plants, gardening tools, soil, and bouquets of flowers but also collected and bottled flower nectar to sell to Sprites.

It sounded like the stuff was heavily regulated too, not because of the high sugar content (though it probably should be), but because it was difficult to collect in large amounts. Because of that, it was reserved for Sprites, who needed it as a part of our diet. So, only Sprites were able to purchase it. Jade, Breeze, or one of the other Sprite nurses usually purchased any that was needed for the Fairy Ward. By the time our order was ready, and we left the restaurant to go back to Aunt Maya’s place to eat, Aunt Maya had promised to take us to the greenhouse or have one of the girls show us where it was tomorrow.

Once we were back in the hover-jet and heading to Aunt Maya’s home, Poppy and I got settled cozily into one of my sister’s tails for the trip. She had plenty to spare and since there were no seat belts for Sprites, we had discovered earlier that it was best to have something to hang onto in case the autopilot needed to make any turns or change altitude suddenly. Kelly’s tails were so warm, cozy, and fluffy that I nearly fell asleep while snuggling Poppy. She should really put a warning label on those things, with great floof comes great responsibility.

Aunt Maya’s home was in a nice neighborhood near the university and the homes all looked well-maintained and had large yards. The house was a large two-story brick affair with green-painted wood trim and a large flower garden in the front. Given the location and the size of the house I was looking at, I was guessing that this area was very affluent. Kelly seemed to be thinking the same as she asked, “Aunt Maya, how can you afford this place?”

The woman in question shrugged as she took the food and a handful of Kelly’s shopping bags to take inside. “Honestly, we got this place because it has an indoor pool, and the twins needed that. Between the insurance money for the house and the hardware store, selling the properties, and allowing the university to study the girls, I was able to afford this and get the new business started.”

I briefly wondered what she meant by ‘allowing the university to study the girls’ but she had Kelly and Selina gathering the rest of the stuff from our shopping trip and the hospital and bringing it inside before I could press the issue. We got everything inside but didn’t bother taking anything to the bedroom that Kelly would be using yet. We were all hungry, and the twins promised us a tour of the house and to help us get everything upstairs after we all ate.

The twins were still identical and had this eerie way of finishing each other’s sentences but neither of them had really changed much in looks (at least not obviously) except for the new amber color of their eyes and getting a few years older while Kelly and I were out of action. It was almost like old times, except Uncle Gavin and Aiden were conspicuously missing as we all sat down to eat, with me and Poppy using a table and chairs from my little house set on top of the human-sized dining room table. As we all started to dig in, Aunt Maya asked Sammie (at least I think it was Sammie), “Where is Ainslee?”

“She’s out doing her… weekly thing,” Sammie replied with a faint frown. “She should be back soon, but she probably won’t be hungry.”

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and had to ask in my loudest voice, so I could be heard, “Who’s Ainslee? And where are Aiden and Uncle Gavin?”

Aunt Maya sighed but gave a brief nod. “There’s a lot to catch you girls up on. We’ll tell you everything while we eat.” So, as we ate, Aunt Maya and the twins started to tell us everything that had happened to their family since the Incursion.

The Breach had opened right near their house, killing their comm rings and all other electronics, and even though Aiden had been awake and noticed the Breach forming, they hadn’t had time to escape. Aiden took the twins through the back door, and Aunt Maya was on her way to follow them while Uncle Gavin tried to cover their escape. He only got off one shot from his shotgun before the retaliatory attack destroyed the front half of their house and collapsed the rest. Uncle Gavin was killed in the blast and Aunt Maya was buried when the house collapsed on her.

Aiden tried to get the girls to safety, but they couldn’t outrun the Titans. The twins had been terrified that they were going to be captured, but just like me, as soon as that red sensor beam passed over Aiden and the twins, they were all promptly ignored. Aiden hid the twins in the remains of their cellar after that and tried to search for his mother in the rubble of their home and when the Titans returned, that was when he saw Kelly and several others being taken through the Breach.

One of the Vanguard’s post-Incursion search and rescue teams found Aunt Maya in the wreckage and gave her medical attention, but she needed to stay in the hospital for over a month afterward due to her injuries. They brought her and the kids here to Amethyst Harbour for care since it looked like both Aiden and the twins were becoming Altered and Boulder Creek was essentially leveled, only those who had made it to the shelters had avoided death or abduction. There was nothing left for any of them back home with their home destroyed and most of the people they cared about dead or captured, so once Aunt Maya was out of the hospital, they decided to settle down locally.

It also helped that the university and Vanguard-associated scientists were really interested in Aiden and the twins as a case study and offered to pay to study them and run tests while Aunt Maya was recovering and they found a place to live. Cases where multiple genetic siblings became Altered in the same Incursion were rare, and it was even more rare for siblings to become two different types of Altered. The scientists and university professors had a field day with them as theories on how influential genetics were to various types of Altered were revised.

Aiden had clearly taken after his father’s Scottish side of the family, while the twins had mostly inherited their mother’s Polynesian genes. The fact that the twins were apparently both Mermaids while Aiden became some type of Fae that they hadn’t seen before yet, a Baobhan Sith, was of great interest to the scientific community. Like most Altered, the Baobhan Sith seemed to have a place in myth and legend, Scottish Folklore in this case, but a lot of what they knew about them had to be taken from those legends since Aiden was the first to appear in the modern age. Everything else they had to learn as Aiden discovered it through his changes.

A completely new type of Altered was fascinating to scientists though. This new type of Fae shared the usual Fae quirks and vulnerabilities but had hooves rather than feet and needed to sometimes feed on blood like a Vampire. Apparently, Aiden also became a girl when changing, which was why they were now calling her Ainslee. This made me think that I should have a talk with her and make sure she was adjusting okay since not everyone would be as happy with a magically induced gender swap as I was.

And then there were the twins. Mermaids were quite a bit more common, but there had never been a case where a set of Identical twins had both become Altered before. Both remained identical and had the normal abilities and needs that Mermaids displayed, but their bond had become even closer than it was before. They discovered soon after their changes were complete that they could communicate telepathically with one another and see through one another’s eyes.

This wasn’t an ability that any Mermaids had shown before, but the scientists were fairly certain that it wasn’t their special ability either since they weren’t physically mature yet. This was probably unique to them due to being a set of Mermaid twins. They were looking forward to seeing whether the twins would still develop special abilities when they were mature enough, and how their bond might affect those abilities if they did.

That might still be a couple of years since the twins were just about to start their senior year of high school. They were going to a public school now, one of two in the city that was specifically geared toward the local Altered kids. Ainslee had graduated from there a year ago and from what Aunt Maya knew, her oldest daughter was looking to join the Vanguard and attend the university once she went through her Waking and discovered her special ability. Ainslee hadn’t Awoke yet, but she was still hoping to do so in time to register for the fall or spring semester this year.

Dinner was good, and both Poppy and I were stuffed and would probably be having leftovers of our pizza tomorrow. The time passed quickly as we learned what had happened to the Mackenzie family during and after the Montana Incursion. Kelly and I were about to tell them what had happened on our end when I heard the front door open and a voice call out, “I’m home!”

The voice was feminine, yet husky, and when its owner walked into the dining room my jaw dropped. Ainslee, because this could only be her, looked nothing like the close friend that I had known while growing up. She was absolutely gorgeous for one thing, and she seemed to ooze feminine sex appeal. If I weren’t so damn small and didn’t have a girlfriend that I was completely head over heels for, I might not have been able to take my eyes off her.

A look at my sister showed that she was completely transfixed by the redheaded Fae bombshell entering the room, like a deer caught in the headlights. I had been pretty sure that she was attracted to girls before the Incursion, but the dazed, dropped-jaw gaze she was giving Ainslee now seemed to confirm it. And Ainslee was gaping right back at my sister as she stood there looking stunned in the dining room entrance.

There was a brief silence as the two seemed to drink in one another’s new appearances. It was broken before it could become awkward by one of the twins. I wasn’t sure which twin, and whether she just hadn’t noticed them staring at each other or just didn’t care, but the twin in question smiled and said, “You’re just in time, Sis. We just got done telling the girls here everything that happened to us and Lily and Kelly were going to tell us their side of things.”

With the moment over, the Huli Jing and the Baobhan Sith both managed to shake off their awe and almost look at one another like normal people as Aunt Maya introduced Poppy as my girlfriend and then reintroduced my sister and me to Ainslee and vice versa. “Holy shit, Sammie was right, it is you,” Ainslee finally said with another awed look at my sister.

“Language, Ainslee,” her mother scolded.

“Mooom, I’m nineteen, and I was sure that I’d never see Eli or Kelly again. Cut me a little slack here,” Ainslee protested before drinking in the sight of my sister again and then drawing in a deep breath before looking down at me and Poppy sitting at our little table. “Wow, you are tiny now, E… Lily. How does that even work?”

“Like something out of a horror movie,” I replied with a smirk. “So, I guess we both got new bodies and names. It’s good to see you again, even if I’m having a hell of a time seeing that and thinking of my friend.”

“Believe me, I know just how you feel,” the redhead answered with a nervous laugh. “So, just out of the hospital and you already have a girlfriend, huh? And she’s a redhead too, I approve.” She returned my smirk with a shaky one of her own as she flipped her long, bright red tresses behind her shoulder. She was nervous, a little stunned, and looked nothing like she used to, but just that interaction filled me with relief. She was still the same friend I had grown up with, just in a new package.

This was so weird and awkward, but it was such a relief to see that most of them made it through, even if all of us kids had become Altered in the process. Things got easier once my sister started to explain what little she remembered and how she had ended up in Amethyst Habour. She didn’t go into a lot of detail and glossed over how bad her mental state was when I found her, but that was understandable.

Kelly didn’t want them to worry about her, she just wanted to enjoy being with people she cared about again. She also didn’t mention Moonlight, probably because she was bound to me, and it wasn’t her place to reveal the Unicorn’s existence. She did tell them about her special ability, racial abilities, and what it was like being a nine-tailed fox girl though. There were things that she had learned from her teacher, Yue, as well, such as the fact that fox spirits were a lot like the Fae in some ways, including not seeming to age.

When my sister finished her story, I started to tell mine, starting with what had happened after Kelly was captured, and my very gory Sprouting. I told them about meeting Poppy and our time in the Fairy Ward, and finished up with my testing, Moonlight’s big reveal, and the rash of awkward thankyou gifts afterward. Of course, they didn’t believe me about Moonlight until I had the Unicorn in question show herself as I finished my tale.

The twins reacted as I expected, with a lot of excitement and girly squeals while Aunt Maya just stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and muttering, “Every time that I think I’ve seen everything, something shows up to prove me wrong.”

Ainslee’s reaction was the best though. She actually snorted with laughter as she tried to choke out the words, “A lesbian Fairy… with… a Unicorn… pfffft! Lily, I’m… telling you this… as a friend. You take the gay… to a whole new level. Does she fart rainbows? Because… that would be… awesome. Ooh! Maybe we could… dye her mane in rainbow colors to make it more obvious!”

Yup, this was definitely my friend, and she didn’t seem to have any issues with my new self. I couldn’t stop laughing to give her an answer as Poppy chortled across the table from me. As for my loyal Unicorn steed, she just snorted and vanished again.

Moonlight must have felt my happiness at having my friends back though, because I could feel contentment in her mind voice as she said, -You have very strange friends, but I am glad you are happy. And we are not dying my mane, so get that mental picture out of your head right now.- Of course, she said that, but I knew that if I really had wanted to, she would never deny me anything. She was lucky that I loved her just the way she was.

Aunt Maya had her assistant manager running the store that Sunday and with nobody in the house having anything pressing to do, except getting some flower nectar and possibly some other things needed for me and Poppy to have a proper diet for Sprites, it looked like it was going to be a lazy day as my sister, Poppy, and I settled in. I thought that a nice quiet day, and spending time with Aunt Maya, Ainslee, and the twins would be nice. Kelly and I hadn’t seen them since before the Incursion and wanted to catch up, and it would give Poppy a good chance to get to know everyone.

Poppy and I had the last of our pizza for breakfast until we could do some shopping for other food. Sprites generally need a lot of carbohydrates, especially sugar, in our diets. Flying uses up a crazy amount of energy after all and, while we do get energy from absorbing mana, we still need a diet that helps offset the high energy demand. It’s why we eat a lot of grains, fruit, and berries, and why flower nectar is so important for us. That stuff is crazy high in natural sugars, though how much varies by different flower species.

We do eat protein and stuff too, usually once a day, but sugar is much more important to us. Our metabolisms are similar to a hummingbird’s so not only do we need those carbs, but we also need them often, especially once we start flying everywhere. If we weren’t passively absorbing mana for energy as well, we would have to eat a lot more often than three meals a day. As it was, Poppy and I regularly had to drink flower nectar, juice, or sugar water between meals. We also crashed hard at night.

I had wondered why Poppy slept so deeply at night the first few times that she fell asleep while snuggling with me, but now that my metabolism got a kickstart from constantly flying, I was doing it too. At least I knew why now since Jade had explained it one morning. She told me about how my metabolism was changing due to needing to process more energy faster for flight and how, when we fall asleep, our metabolisms drastically slow down to conserve energy and function just from the mana we’re absorbing, so we’re practically hibernating when we fall asleep at night.

Thankfully, Aunt Maya’s house had plenty of cereals, juices, and fruit stocked. We could get some berries and any other necessities at the grocery store later and flower nectar at the greenhouse, but since most of us had slept in and it was looking to be a lazy day, I figured that wouldn’t happen until much later in the afternoon. So, it came as a bit of a surprise when Ainslee offered to take me shopping for necessities as we were all eating lunch.

Ainslee said that she wanted to spend some one-on-one time talking with her best friend and catching up, and at first, I wasn’t sure about it since it felt like I would be abandoning Poppy with a bunch of strangers. She had been getting to know my sister better recently, but she’d only known Aunt Maya and her family for less than a day. Poppy slammed the brakes on that line of thinking though.

“I’ll be fine, Love,” she told me. “I’d like to get to know everyone here better anyway. I know that if I was suddenly reunited with my best friend from before the Incursion, I would want to reconnect too. Go with her and try to have fun.”

I gave in because not only was my girlfriend right, but I thought that it would be a good time to have a private talk with Ainslee about how she was coping with being a girl now and having to drink blood. She didn’t look upset, but even after this time apart and both of us changing so much, she was still my best friend, and I could tell when she wanted to talk about something serious. Maybe this was bothering her more than she wanted to admit to her mother and sisters, and since I went through something similar, she thought I could understand.

We wouldn’t be completely alone since Moonlight had insisted on coming along, though she would remain out of sight unless we needed her for some reason. She would also remain quiet unless one of us asked her something directly since she didn’t want to intrude on what would likely be a very personal conversation. She promised me that she would hang back and keep an eye on us from a distance unless one of us got injured or she felt that we were in danger.

I watched Ainslee as we made our way to the nearest mag-lev train station, and I tried to figure out how to bring up what might be a sensitive topic for her. Hell, I wanted to be a girl deep down, and changing into what I was now still came with a bunch of trauma and repressed memories that I still wasn’t sure that I was ready to deal with. Changing into a girl when she didn’t want it, and having to drink blood, had probably been very difficult for her, and she had been dealing with stuff for a little over three years now while I’d only been aware of the past month or so. At least I was happy with how things turned out.

My friend seemed to favor long dresses that would conceal her hooves and her very long red hair covered her ears. Was she ashamed of what she was now or just trying to blend in? The thought of her hating what she had become made my heart ache for her and I just didn’t know what to say at first.

Ainslee was the one who finally broke the miasma of awkward silence that had settled over us. “So… how are you handling it? Being a girl and a Sprite and all, I mean. Are you… okay with it? If you need any help adjusting, there’s a support group for Altered who have changed gender, I could take you there sometime… if you want. Mom thought it was a good idea for me when I was changing and everyone’s nice, but I haven’t gone to the meetings in a long time.”

It all came out of her at once, like she had rehearsed it over and over in her mind and just wanted to get it said as quickly and painlessly as possible. Wait, there was a support group for people like us? I guess that made sense since it was probably pretty traumatic for people who didn’t want it and were uncomfortable with their new bodies.

Wait again, it sounded like she was actually worried about me. Was that because she had a rough time adjusting and expected the same for me? I needed to reassure her that I was perfectly fine. She shouldn’t be so worried about me, especially if this was so hard on her that the support group wasn’t helping her, and she had stopped going.

“Being so small took some getting used to, but flying and using magic is awesome and I love being a girl, or as close as we Sprites get to it. We only really have one gender, even if all of us look like women. Turns out that I was transgender all along and didn’t want to admit it. I had some help realizing that, and it brought up some repressed childhood trauma, but I’m happier now than I ever was before,” I informed her cheerfully as I settled myself comfortably on her shoulder opposite the one that bore her purse.

Ainslee halted her forward momentum to stop and stare at me on her shoulder. “Huh. You know, in hindsight, that makes a lot of sense. There were a lot of things when we were kids that make so much sense now, and it totally explains why you became so moody and withdrawn when we both hit puberty. I guess I was worried for nothing, I can help you learn all the girl stuff Mom and the twins taught me though, if you want.”

I stood up and hugged her neck and then smiled at her as I settled back into a comfortable sitting position on her shoulder. “Poppy and the nurses at the Fairy Ward taught me most of the stuff I needed to know over the past month. Poppy has fashion covered, we’re too small to use makeup, and we don’t need to worry about periods and such because we’re part magical plant, I guess. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Ugh… yeah, periods suck, but some of the Sprites in the support group told me about that whole flowering thing you all go through. That’s fucking weird,” she muttered with a shake of her head, causing her long red tresses to shift with the movement and brush against me.

I took a deep breath as I brought up a potentially hurtful topic. ”So… why did you stop going to the support group? Was it not helping you?”

She shrugged her shoulders, jostling me, and quickly apologized. “Sorry, I’m not used to having passengers there. I guess you could say that, but it’s more like I didn’t really need it. Being a girl isn’t nearly as terrible for me as other people in the group made it out to be, and I kinda felt bad and out of place because I wasn’t suffering like they were. It’s like being a girl is no better or worse than being a guy was for me. It’s different yeah, and I can see positives and negatives to both genders, but I’m still the same person inside, so it’s not a big deal to me and I’m getting to like this body, except for the whole drinking blood thing.”

“Huh. This is not how I was expecting this conversation to go,” I told her honestly. “I was worried that you were trying to hide how much it was upsetting you.”

“I know what you mean, I was thinking the same thing about you. I’m glad we got that out of the way,” Ainslee replied, letting out a long sigh of relief.

“If it’s not too weird to ask…” I timidly pressed after a brief silence as Ainslee started walking again. “I was actually wondering about the bloodsucking thing. What does it taste like? And why do you even need it? I’ve seen you eating regular food today.”

She looked down for a moment in silence with a thoughtful and somewhat conflicted expression on her face. Her tone was quiet, subdued, and perhaps a little guilty as she answered, “It’s… delicious. I guess it makes sense that I would like since if I have to drink it, but I think that makes me hate doing it even more. I feel like… a monster. As for the why, we don’t really know for sure since I’m the only one of my kind so far, but the eggheads that studied me have a theory that seems to fit. They’ve been wanting me to test it, but I don’t feel comfortable trying it.”

The theory was that Ainslee wasn’t getting any more nutrients from the blood itself than any other person would and that she wasn’t actually a hemovore like Vampires are since she could eat normal food most of the time and only required blood once in a while. They thought that the blood was just a medium that she used to get what she really needed to feed on, something that they called vitae. It was essentially life essence, an energy that was produced in blood but that humans had no way of detecting yet. Ainslee though, could smell it, and it smelled delicious.

She could smell when a person was producing more, and usually, that was when they were active, and their blood really got pumping. Altered smelled better to her than regular humans though, and the long-lived or functionally immortal Altered, like other Fae, smelled so much better than either that it wasn’t even a contest. So, they theorized that the longer-lived Altered naturally produced more of the vitae that she needed, which was why they usually don’t age and live for a very long time.

The eggheads, as she insisted on calling them, thought that the density per drop of blood was far greater in such Altered, meaning that she could probably get a much more filling meal while drinking much less blood if she fed on them. Ainslee was scared to try it though. Right now, she was feeding on criminals, terrible people who usually had death sentences because once she started feeding it was almost impossible for her to stop until she was fully sated, usually when the prisoner was sucked dry, or close to it. She worried that if their theory was wrong, she could end up killing an innocent person.

Altered criminals were uncommon, especially these days when there were so many benefits to joining the Vanguard. There were still the occasional idiots who thought they could become famous as some sort of supervillain, but those were few and far between. Most Altered criminals these days were usually those who were pissed off at the world, were in communities that were unsupportive, had mental issues from their changes, or got a rush and felt invulnerable from their new forms and abilities.

We tried to talk about more cheerful topics as we got to the station and took the train to a stop near the Greenhouse. We talked about old times, Ainslee caught me up on what she and the twins had been doing with themselves since settling in the city, and then we just enjoyed one another’s company and the pleasant summer weather as we made our way from the station to our destination. The greenhouse itself was absolutely huge, far bigger than I had imagined, but luckily we didn’t have to walk through it since the small steel and glass building adjacent to it, which served as the main storefront, faced the street we had approached from.

There were apparently two ways for Sprites to purchase flower nectar. The first was to buy the prepared bottles which were stored on shelves on one side of the flower cooler, opposite the prepared bouquets. The other was the U-pick option where, for significantly less money, someone could show us how to properly gather the nectar ourselves and we could go through the greenhouse and harvest our own.

I was considering trying the second option some other time, possibly as a sort of date with Poppy, but for now, the bottles were far more convenient, if painfully expensive. Still, the bottle was taller than I was, which meant that it would probably last me and Poppy months if kept properly stored. I was so glad that Ainslee had come along to help carry things.

“There’s a grocery store a few blocks down that way if you want to get any other things that you and Poppy need for food,” she offered as we left the greenhouse’s storefront. “I know this area of town pretty well since I went to school near here with the twins.”

“Sure, that sounds good,” I agreed. “Once we’re done, I can teleport us back to the house, so we don’t have to take transit.”

I let Ainslee do the walking since she knew the way and conserved my energy as I sat on her shoulder and enjoyed the sunshine until I received a somewhat hurried message from Moonlight. -Lily, you are being followed… look out!-

I didn’t have time to tag both Moonlight and Ainslee to teleport. I barely had time to let out a startled squeak. It was a good thing that the projectile heading toward us was made of ice because I could affect it as easily as water. I stopped it midair even as Ainslee swung around at the sound I made, accidentally throwing me from her shoulder. That forced me to start pulling my weight and using my wings to stay aloft as I kept the massive icicle that had been flying straight at her back floating in the air where I had stopped it.

Two people were there, about thirty feet away, and Ainslee was glaring at the larger of the pair as she practically snarled, “Hmmmph… Terry. I thought I smelled something rancid.” They were both around our age, but the guy was easily eight feet tall and built like a linebacker, and he had short white hair, blue eyes, and a blue tint to his pale skin. Beside him was a somewhat pretty girl who looked like some type of Fae with her pointed ears and slit-pupiled orange eyes, but she was far curvier than most Fae I had seen, except for Ainslee, and her skin was a blueish grey in color while her long hair was silver.

I was already starting to mentally tag both Moonlight and Ainslee in my mind as I kept the icicle hovering and asked, “You know these assholes, Ainslee?”

“I know him,” Ainslee spat bitterly. “We went to the same school.”

“This is the slut who humiliated you, Terry? Can’t say I’m impressed. She’s pretty, but she won’t be when we’re done with her,” the odd-looking Fae said as she licked her lips, and some sort of sickly green energy gathered in her hand. “I’ll take care of her mosquito friend while you have some fun with her.”

I was about to offer to get us both the hell out of there and call my contacts in the Vanguard since I had already had my comm crown start recording the moment we turned around. We could let them deal with these assholes. Unprovoked attacks with Altered abilities were against local laws, equivalent to assault with a deadly weapon, and the Vanguard handled such cases themselves. And given how very much they wanted me and my teleportation abilities to remain intact; I was going to bet these two were going to be in deep shit when the Vanguard found out about this.

Before I could get the words out though, Ainslee’s glare turned to a look of fury, focused upon the one who had just made the threats, and her green eyes turned crimson. She was out of the range of my teleport sphere and had closed most of the distance between them before I could as much as get the first word out, let alone teleport us. Something as crimson as her eyes had been, and crackling with violent energy, appeared in her right hand as she lunged toward what I’m going to call the Dark Elf. She was almost upon the other Fae when the darker-skinned woman seemed to panic, and that green energy focused into a violent beam that tore through Ainslee as I screamed.

I don’t know if it was adrenaline or something else, but Ainslee barely slowed down and didn’t make a sound other than a grunt of pain as that big fuck off beam ripped through the left side of her torso, just above her hip. That slight slowing of her speed, and a panicked stumble backward, prevented the Dark Elf from having her throat sliced open or perhaps her head cut clean off by the crackling crimson energy in Ainslee’s right hand that looked suspiciously like a sword. Instead, the other Fae woman took a wound to her left cheek that would probably leave a nasty scar.

Ainslee wasn’t so lucky. She had a large gaping hole in her side and the wound was bubbling and hissing as if she’d been hit with acid, and that bitch’s hand was glowing again as she raised it and got ready to take another shot. Ainslee didn’t let that happen.

The crackling crimson blade flashed toward my best friend’s opponent and the dark-skinned Fae was suddenly screaming and clutching a steaming stump where her right forearm had once been. Whatever that energy was, it had probably instantly cauterized the stump because I couldn’t see any sign of blood other than Ainslee’s. And that was when Ainslee stumbled into the screaming young Fae woman and sank her fangs into her neck.

All of this seemed to happen in an instant as I stared on in horror and fear for my best friend. And now that big asshole was heading right for her too. “Moonlight, get ready to make yourself visible and heal Ainslee, she looks pretty bad. I’ll try to distract the big guy until the authorities show up,” I instructed my Unicorn companion. There were probably going to be other injuries too, but I wasn’t feeling particularly sympathetic to our attackers, and they would not be receiving Moonlight’s services.

-Of course, Lily. Be careful and keep your distance.- she replied, the concern obvious in her voice.

"I will, I just need to keep him distracted until the police or Vanguard show up," I assured her as I used my magic to launch that huge icicle I had kept hovering nearby at him. “Hey, Asshole, catch!”

It stopped midair and I was struggling to keep pushing it toward him, which I suspected wasn’t just because ice is harder to control than water in its liquid form. He turned to glare at me as he casually took the hunk of ice in hand to wield like a club. Damn, I really wasn’t expecting him to actually catch it, except maybe the business end in his shoulder, violently. He was a big target after all.

“This is my ice; I created it, and I control it. You may have surprised me enough to stop it at first, but it won’t happen again. Stay out of this, insect, this isn’t your affair. This is between me and the cocktease, so do the smart thing and save your own skin. You don’t want to be added to my list.” He barely spared me a look as he gave his little monologue and turned his attention back to Ainslee, who was going to town on his girlfriend’s neck while the Dark Elf continued to scream herself hoarse.

Her wound was healing, so fast I could practically see her flesh knitting itself back together. Right, Ainslee did mention something about feeding speeding up her natural regeneration, so it looked like I just needed to keep the asshole off her for a bit and let her drink that Dark Elf like a bitch-flavored juice box. Still, that special ability of his was going to make things difficult.

It sounded like he could not only create and control ice, but he bound the ice he created to him somehow so it couldn’t be used against him. It wasn’t too different than what us Sprites do with our magic, except for the binding thing and he was likely limited in how much he could create from nothing since he hadn’t created more yet. He was probably limited to ice too, but even if I fired blasts of water at him, he looked tough enough to shrug off a lot of water pressure, and what if he could freeze it and give himself more to work with?

Fuck. I couldn’t take that risk, throwing water at him was too risky and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teleport him somewhere nasty either since I had just gotten a text message from Captain Monroe. -= Containment team inbound. ETA seven minutes. You’re doing fine, keep him talking and his attention on you. Incapacitate him if you can. =-

Incapacitate him?! How the fuck did she expect a five-inch-tall Water Sprite to incapacitate an eight-and-a-half-foot-tall Frost Giant with water that he would probably just turn to ice to use against me? I would have to use… ugh.

It looked like I’d be using Captain Monroe’s advanced lessons sooner than I wanted to, and the whole idea gave me chills. I wasn’t even sure if I could do it since we’d only really gone over the theory of it. Cursing my luck, I began to concentrate on my new task as I tried to get his attention back on me, using my comm crown to amplify my voice via the microphone and sound projection system.

My laughter boomed through the area loud enough that it made me wince as I taunted, “You have a list? Really? Do you check it twice? I know who’s been naughty and guess what, it’s you. Oh, and another fun fact, I’ve been recording this whole time and streaming it to my superior officer in the Vanguard.”

Damn, taunting assholes and focusing on something that Captain Monroe had barely begun training me on was really fucking difficult, and the asshole being even more of a giant than usual to me wasn’t helping matters. I had definitely gotten his undivided attention though because his head swung toward me, and did he ever look pissed.

He stomped toward me with murder in his eyes. Fuck, and now I was going to have to divide my attention further by being ready to make evasive aerial maneuvers or teleport out of the way. His ice club was raised and in position to swing toward me, and I was about ready to teleport out of the way when I felt it all click. He stumbled, looking almost drunk as I smiled and said, “Gotcha.”

The big man was wavering almost instantly, struggling to keep on his feet and keep glaring at me. “Wha… d’you do?”

“It’s simple, Asshole,” I happily explained. “Water Sprites can control water in all its forms; liquid, gaseous, and ice, but if we work at it, we can also control certain other liquids, like blood. Right now, I’m restricting how much blood your brain is getting. You may experience dizziness, slurred speech, difficulty with motor control, and fainting.”

With almost perfect timing, he collapsed to the plascrete sidewalk unconscious, and with great relief, I stopped using my magic and allowed the blood flow to his brain to return to normal, almost ready to collapse myself. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, I guess. That was much harder than I thought it would be, especially dividing my attention so much like I was. Both sensing the blood flow inside his body and controlling it felt weird and unnatural, and it had taken more out of me in terms of both mental focus and mana than most of the bigger stuff that Captain Monroe had been teaching me to do with my magic.

All of that for like a minute or two of work, and now I was feeling a little wiped, but Captain Monroe had warned me that there were more reasons than the obvious one that she didn’t like Blood magic. Oh great, it looked like we were gathering an audience from the nearby buildings too. It seemed like I didn’t have any time for a break, and I was worried about Ainslee and wanted to go check on her before the containment team showed up anyway. I was already collecting more mana as I turned myself to fly over to her, only to find her staring at me.

“You, know, for such a little Sprite, you were kinda terrifying just now,” she said, her emerald eyes wide and locked on me as I approached where she sat beside the unconscious Dark Elf. At least I hoped she was just unconscious. Surprisingly, Ainslee looked fine, except for the blood on her lips, and if it weren’t for the massive bloodstain around the big hole in her dress, it would look as if she’d never been injured at all. The skin looked just as pale, smooth, and flawless as it did everywhere else on her body.

“You… uhh… saw that, huh?” I muttered quietly as I awkwardly looked away, only to realize that the microphone and voice projection apps were still active. We both winced and I quickly shut them off before retorting, “You’re one to talk, Miss Blood-on-your-face. I didn’t know you could move that fast or do that red crackly thing.”

Ainslee hurriedly wiped the blood away and shrugged as she replied, “I usually carefully control my strength and speed. Apparently, my kind is naturally very fast, strong, and agile. I’ve never done that other thing that happened before though. It’s just… she threatened you. I… couldn’t fight to protect Kelly three years ago and I… snapped.”

I landed on her shoulder and hugged her as best I could. “I know, I couldn’t do anything back then either. Look how we’ve grown… well, one of us,” I joked, prompting giggles from both of us as I thought to Moonlight, “Is the bitch okay? Other than, y’know, missing half an arm and hand.”

-Her breathing and heartrate are beginning to return to normal and she does not seem to be in any danger of bleeding out if you can stop the bleeding on her neck wounds, though they are not bleeding profusely. Her arm and the wound on her cheek should be cared for, but neither is bleeding and I do not think that Ainslee took enough blood to cause her any serious harm, I believe she merely fainted from shock,- she replied calmy. -Do you wish for me to heal her?-

“Hell no, she tried to kill Ainslee with that fuck off acid beam of death, as far as I’m concerned, she can just suffer and get mundane medical care,” I told her. Then, after a glance at the big guy to make sure he was still snoozing, I turned my attention back to Ainslee who was looking at the long and deep, cauterized gash across the woman’s left cheek.

“Moonlight says that bitch will live, you didn’t take much blood, but those wounds should be cared for, and we should probably stop the bleeding on her neck. She just fainted sometime after you… disarmed her and took a bite out of crime. We can wait for the containment team unless you want to see if one of those people has a first aid kit and wants to give the bitch… a hand.”

Ainslee snort-giggled adorably. “You’re terrible, Lily. Uh, yeah, people. We should probably do something about that but we're a little... short-handed.”

I gave a giggle snort of my own before I nodded, once again activated my microphone and voice projector apps, and called out in my clearest voice. “The Vanguard will be on site soon to take care of this mess, so please, everyone remain calm. If you have any way of restraining that big guy or have a first aid kit, your assistance would be welcome.”

I turned off the apps again and since nobody seemed willing to approach any closer than they already were to volunteer, Ainslee sighed and muttered, “Fuck it. The dress is already ruined anyway, I really liked this one too.” Then she ripped both sleeves off her once pretty garment and wadded one up to apply pressure to the fang wounds on the Dark Elf’s neck.

Silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity, but it was likely less than a minute before I broke it. “So, Ainslee, are you okay telling me what the hell that was all about? Why did those two want to kill you?”

“The hell if I know,” she muttered angrily before adding, “I’ve never met this bitch in my life, though she’s probably one of that asshole’s rich friends…” Then she proceeded to tell me how this had all started as I listened and kept an eye on the big asshole to make sure he wasn’t waking up.

Terry Lundburg and almost a dozen other kids from obscenely wealthy families had become Altered in an Incursion at some exclusive resort down in Mexico along with a bunch of kids in the nearby city. You know, the type of kids who are used to getting whatever they want, when they want it. The kind who don’t take well to being told ‘no’ and get away with everything.

So, he was probably a rich, entitled bastard before that Incursion. Ainslee suspected that becoming a powerful-looking Altered only made his attitude and sense of superiority worse. She had the bad luck that he came to start his senior year of high school at the same school where she and the twins were going.

I knew that Ainslee was captivating to look at, but she was considered, by far, the hottest girl at school and Terry decided that she would make the perfect trophy girlfriend for him. She told him, in no uncertain terms, that she wasn’t interested in him, or any other guy, then or ever, and he didn’t want to take no for an answer. He threw her against the hallway lockers hard enough to dislocate one of her shoulders and began quietly threatening her. She wouldn’t say what the threats were, but it looked like just thinking about them made her uncomfortable.

Ainslee countered his threats by introducing the powerful fist of her good arm into his conveniently placed groin, in front of Terry’s friends and the large crowd that had gathered, causing him to fold over like an origami crane. Then she made her way straight to the principal to report the incident and the police were involved. Long story made short, despite hallway surveillance footage he was able to get off practically Scott-free thanks to Daddy’s money, a high-priced lawyer, and the wrong judge.

They made it out that Ainslee had instigated things, she got him worked up and then turned him down, and they had witnesses willing or paid to lie to support him. So, he got off with a slap on the wrist instead of assault charges. Still, Ainslee got a restraining order against him and had thought that it was over because the pair had avoided each other for the rest of the school year and, when they did meet in the halls at school, their interactions were frosty. Apparently, the bastard had just been biding his time.

Every word that I heard only made me more pissed off. I should have deprived his brain of blood longer than I did. Fuck the risk of brain damage, that bastard deserved it. I was still fuming, hugging Ainslee the best I could, and trying to console her when I saw the huge hover-transport with Vanguard markings approach.

Holy crap, Captain Monroe had taken this situation seriously. As soon as that massive hover-transport landed in the street, a dozen Vanguard troops of various Altered species poured out of it, each armed to the teeth. They immediately surrounded our two unconscious attackers and the first thing they did was to have one of their team members slap these flexible metal bands around their upper left arms.

Those strange-looking metal bands immediately tightened as they wrapped around the upper arm until they were secure, and it looked like they would be very difficult to remove. Strange, glowing symbols ignited with cerulean light along the length of the bands to encircle their arms and I could sense really strong magic emanating from the devices. Were they magitech? Once the bands were secure, they called in a medic from the transport to look over the Dark Elf and treat and bandage her injuries, especially the neck wound.

While this was going on and the prisoners were then being loaded onto the transport, Ainslee and I both just stood off to the side quietly and let them handle things. The Baobhan Sith found my bottle of nectar, which had been dropped in the chaos, which was great because I was feeling really drained after using Blood magic to take down that giant bastard. Thankfully, the bottle was made of sturdy plastic and only suffered a few scuff marks from its encounter with the ground. Now I just needed a Sprite-sized cup for Ainslee to pour some into for me.

I was just considering that issue when the sole Sprite on the team flitted toward us with a large man with dark red skin and a pair of demonic-looking horns sticking out from his short-cropped black hair. The latter was carrying what looked like a med kit, which made sense since he had been the one patching up the Dark Elf. The green-haired Earth Sprite said gently, “I’m Corporal Nelson, and big red here is Private Armstrong. You look like you could use some of that nectar, Miss Pierce.”

“Yeah,” I agreed tiredly, “taking down that big bastard took a lot out of me.”

To my surprise, Corporal Nelson laughed. “I can imagine so. Still, not bad for a fresh-faced recruit. Captain Monroe has been teaching you well. There’s a Sprite care kit on the transport, it has some small drip bags of nectar and some granola and stuff in case one of us starts going sugar-low. We can get you refueled before we make the flight back to headquarters. I’d like Private Armstrong to have a look over Miss Mackenzie as well, to make sure she’s fully healed from her injuries.”

“Wait, you know who I am?” Ainslee asked, not looking too happy about being on the Vanguard radar.

“Of course, Miss Mackenzie,” the Earth Spite replied candidly. “We were fully briefed on both of you, and the two who attacked you, on the way over. Miss Pierce is already a recruit and a person of interest due to her unique circumstances and her special ability. You are the only known Altered of your kind so far, our scientists have studied you and your sisters, and your feeding needs have been concerning. As for your attackers, the Vanguard keeps tabs on all possibly dangerous individuals in the city in case they go rogue, as those two who attacked you did. It doesn’t happen often, but…”

“But it does happen,” I finished as she trailed off. “So that’s why you had those magical thingies that you put on their arms.”

“Restriction bands,” Corporal Nelson agreed with a nod. “One size fits most human scale Altered and some bigger ones like that Frost Giant too, and the enchantments on them prevent the use of any Altered or special abilities. Now if you’ll come with me, we can give you both a checkup and get some nectar into Miss Pierce before we head back to base. You might want to call home too and let them know you’ll be a while. Your testimony might be needed, and we’ll probably have to test Miss Mackenzie as well. Today was the first time that you used that ability, right?”

Ainslee, who the last question had been directed toward, nodded with a concerned look on her face as she answered. “I… uhh… yeah. I’ve never done anything like that before. She just threatened Lily, and I was so angry and wanted to keep her safe. I didn’t mean to maim the bitch, I just… and then I was bleeding out and needed to feed to regenerate.”

The demonic-looking man, Private Armstrong, gave her a reassuring smile. “Special abilities don’t come with a user manual, Miss, and you were defending yourself and your friend. Given that she’s only missing some blood and part of her arm, and she’s still alive, I’d say that you showed remarkable restraint. We were all connected to Miss Pierce’s video stream to keep tabs on the situation on our way here. Given the situation, you could have done far worse. Now let’s make sure that you’re all healed up.”

Despite Ainslee’s protests that she was fine and was even feeling full, Private Armstrong insisted on looking over the area where she’d been blasted with that beam and checking her over for any other injuries as well. She was perfectly fine, save for her ruined dress, but it took several minutes for him to confirm that. While he was looking over Ainslee, Corporal Nelson took me to the first aid area as well, where she guided me to what looked like an IV bag full of nectar. The tube attached was connected to a little nozzle, which she turned to fill two fairy-sized plastic cups that she had gotten from somewhere.

While we both downed our nectar and had some honeyed granola to give ourselves an energy boost, I looked toward the cargo area of the craft, where our two attackers were now firmly strapped down onto some sort of super secure medical beds with thick metal restraints holding them down. They were both awake now and struggling against their restraints, and the Dark Elf was bitching loudly until someone shoved something in her mouth to shut her up.

I was so tempted to ask Captain Morris exactly where we were going as our large procession made its way through the wide hallways of Vanguard Tower, the global headquarters for all Vanguard operations. Captain Morris had met our transport as soon as it landed and had barely greeted us all before she began leading us through the hallways to wherever it was we were supposed to be going. I thought that Ainslee and I were just here to give a statement or something before they dragged her away for powers testing, but the team that had come to get us was accompanying us and pushing the beds with the two captives.

Somehow, the Dark Elf bitch had managed to work whatever she had been gagged with free and snapped, “I want to talk to whoever is in charge here. That redheaded bitch attacked me and cut my fucking arm off!” Oh right, she was unconscious when I did the whole reveal that I had been recording everything.

“How fortunate for you, Miss Smythe, that’s exactly who we’re going to see,” Captain Morris said with a cold smile. “I don’t imagine they’re going to be very happy about having to take time out of their busy schedules to deal with this mess though.” The Dark Elf probably couldn’t see it, but I could, and there was no humor in it at all. Smythe, or whatever her name was, had just enough time to look smug before someone shoved something in her mouth to shut her up again.

Our destination turned out to be a large room that looked suspiciously like a courtroom. There was a large dais along the back wall with a frankly imposing desk atop it, another dais in the center of the room, what looked like a juror’s box off to the right side of the room, and some benches or observers with a wide aisle between them originating at the door we had entered from. The entire room was dominated by glossy, dark wood, including a decorative barrier between the central dais and the main dais at the front of the room.

Sitting at the desk on the main dais was a raven-haired Elven man with an aura of authority and a very fancy uniform, and standing beside him and leaning over the desk was a blonde woman with large, angelic wings on her back in a uniform that was only slightly less fancy. They both seemed to be reading the contents of a pair of dossiers on the desk. Captain Monroe turned on the voice projection of her comm crown so she could be heard across the large room and reported, “Commander-General Kline, Vice-Commander Carpenter, we have brought the prisoners, Miss Pierce, and Miss Mackenzie, as ordered.”

Holy shit. Those two at the desk were the two at the very top of the Vanguard chain of command, the very founders of the Vanguard. Terry, the asshole Frost Giant and his Dark Elf accomplice were wheeled to the smaller dais as Captain Monroe got the attention of the pair of commanders and their beds were adjusted so that the pair were almost entirely upright and facing the main dais at the front of the room. The first words out of Terry’s mouth were, “I want my attorney.”

The Elven man, who I could only assume was Commander-General Kline from what Captain Monroe had told me of him, snorted as he turned his serious gaze upon the Frost Giant. “I imagine you would, Mr. Lundburg. He has proven very adept at navigating the civil courts to keep you from facing the consequences of your previous actions, including your last assault on Miss Mackenzie. This, however, is not a civil court.”

“What? But I…”

“I make it a habit to stay informed about everything going on with Altered in my city, Mr. Lundburg,” Commander-General Kline stated, interrupting the Frost Giant’s protest. “And make no mistake, this is my city. Our civil court laws may be based on those of other North American countries, but Amethyst Harbour is a city-state, recognized by the U.N. and under the purview of the Vanguard. Abuses of powers from Altered or matters dealing with the Vanguard itself are not tried by civil courts, they are dealt with here, in this room.”

“The two of you used your special abilities to attack a very promising Vanguard recruit, and that places this case firmly in our jurisdiction,” the angelic Vice-Commander added. “There are no lawyers here, only the evidence, testimony, and the two of us taking time out of our very busy schedules to mete out swift and unyielding justice. Captain Monroe, if you would state the charges, please?”

Captain Monroe flitted over between her commanding officers and our two attackers, her voice projection carrying her small voice to every corner of the room. “Terry Lundburg and Karen Smythe, you are both charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault against a Vanguard officer, uttering threats, and use of Altered abilities as a deadly weapon. Mr. Lundburg also faces charges of violating a restraining order.”

“We have been watching the video streamed by Miss Pierce and reviewing your files. Mr. Lundburg has a long history of abuses of soft power, that being money and influence, and the psych profiles put together by your respective schools were concerning enough that you were both ordered to report any special abilities that you manifested, should you remain in the city. Neither of you reported your special abilities for testing,” Vice-Commander Carpenter stated. “The video and audio evidence point toward your guilt, but you will be given the opportunity to defend your actions.”

Karen started to mumble something behind her gag and Terry almost managed to look regretful as he stated, “We were only messing with Ainslee. There was no intent to kill her. I would have stopped the ice if the Sprite hadn’t, but then they viciously attacked us and…”

His spiel was quickly interrupted by the Vice-Commander. “You misunderstand, Mr. Lundburg. It is not your words that you will be defending yourself with, but your thoughts and memories. My special ability allows me to read minds. I’m told it can be quite excruciating when people resist, but it will allow me to see the naked, unblemished truth of your intentions and actions. I’m sure that if you have nothing to hide, that you will be fine though.” The eyes of both of our attackers went wide with sudden realization and terror.

That was a little bit terrifying. Watching Vice-Commander Carpenter read the minds of our attackers, and the agony on their faces as they attempted to resist her mental probes sent chills down my spine, though Karen seemed to be fighting the process less than Terry. At least they had been gagged so their screams were muffled, though that wasn’t the main purpose of the gags. The actual purpose was so that they wouldn’t bite their tongues off.

In the end, it seemed that Terry really did intend to kill us, though neither had even noticed me until I stopped Terry’s first attempt to impale Ainslee from behind. The pair had only stumbled on us accidentally, seeing Ainslee passing through the neighborhood from a distance. Believing her to be alone, he decided that it would be the perfect time to use his new special ability to get his ‘revenge’ on her for humiliating him.

Karen was willing to help and had threatened me with her new special ability, though she didn’t intend to actually use it, let alone kill, and thought that Terry only wanted to hurt and humiliate Ainslee. She had a lot of pent-up aggression but didn’t intend to fire on Ainslee or me after issuing her threats, just intimidate us with it. She had panicked though when Ainslee summoned that energy weapon and shot toward her and had instinctively fired to defend herself. She wasn’t a nice person, but it seemed she wasn’t completely terrible either.

Terry’s passing mention of a list during our brief fight was true as well. Ainslee’s name had been at the top, but there were eighteen other people that he fully intended to kill, given the opportunity. Most of those were other Altered women he had gone to school with. None of them had punched him in the junk and then pressed charges like Ainslee had, but all of them had turned down his advances publicly and in embarrassing ways.

The pair of commanders deliberated for a few minutes after the Angel shared her findings and then Commander-General Kline began to announce their verdict. “Karen Smythe, you are only guilty of uttering threats and use of Altered abilities as a deadly weapon. You are sentenced to either ten years in the Altered wing of Amethyst Harbour Maximum Security Prison or a ten-year probationary sentence, two years studying and training at Vanguard University followed by eight years serving in the Vanguard. The choice is yours and both sentences take into consideration your potentially long lifespan and the hopes that you can be rehabilitated, educated, and your aggression channeled into more positive outlets.”

The angelic Vice-Commander quickly added, “In either case, during that time, Miss Mackenzie will feed on you twice a week to sate her thirst for blood and to make you useful during your sentence. Should you choose the Vanguard route, you will be housed in the dormitories while at the university, where you will have a curfew and wear a tracking device to ensure you are keeping to it. Your course of studies will be determined by me and any use of your abilities, or any form of violence, against Miss Mackenzie or other people, will be considered a breach of your probation.”

Karen looked conflicted, though the choice was a fairly easy one. She was probably getting off lucky that she could even choose her sentencing. The way she was glancing nervously at Ainslee though made me think that she was more worried about being fed on twice a week for the next ten years, the only part that she didn’t really have a choice in. When her gag was removed though, she made the obvious choice. “I’ll take the Vanguard route.”

Vice-Commander Carpenter looked at her and smiled faintly as she said, “Excellent. The university has a fantastic nursing and trauma care program. It should teach you empathy, and you’ll be useful as a field medic in addition to providing a powerful ranged ability to whatever unit you’re in.”

With Karen’s sentence issued, the Commander-General’s face became grim as he turned to Terry to lower the boom. “Terry Lundburg, you have been found guilty on all charges. We have rarely had Altered in our city face such severe charges, and it’s rarer still that they show such a callous disregard for human and Altered lives. Given your past activities, the severity of this incident, and your blatant intent to murder others in cold blood, I am forced to issue the second death sentence since the establishment of the city-state of Amethyst Harbour. To ensure that your death is not pointless, you will be held at the Altered wing of Amethyst Harbour Maximum Security Prison, where the city’s Vampire population will be free to feed on you until you have been bled dry.”

After Terry was wheeled away by the unit that brought us to Vanguard Tower, the Commander-General and Vice-Commander approached us, and Captain Monroe made the introductions. “It is nice to finally meet you, Lily. We’ve heard much about you from the hospital and Captain Monroe,” Commander-General Kline said before extending his hand toward Ainslee. “And you as well, Miss Mackenzie. Though I must warn you both, you could have faced charges for that incident as well, were it not obvious that you were attacked first and defending yourselves and one another. Captain Monroe also vouched for you, and the first time using one’s special abilities can be emotionally charged and uncontrolled in circumstances like this.”

“Yessir,” I replied, looking down at my feet from where I was sitting on Ainslee’s shoulder. “I wanted to just teleport us away, but the situation quickly escalated out of control.”

The Elven man laughed. “Yes, situations like that tend to do so. Still, you handled the situation well, given your limited training so far. Captain Monroe will continue your Water Magic training until the semester starts at the university. Miss Mackenzie, are you considering taking classes there and joining the Vanguard as well?”

“Uh, yessir,” my friend replied nervously. “I was just waiting to see what I got as a special ability, if any.”

“Good, we’ll need to get you and Miss Smythe properly tested,” he said with a nod. “Lia, could you please handle that? I’m afraid that I still have several fires to put out from that Incursion last week.”

“Of course, Commander,” the Angel responded along with a snappy salute. “And while the two of them are being tested, I can have a long overdue talk with Miss Pierce.”

With the Commander-General and Captain Monroe returning to what they were doing before they were interrupted by the news of the attack on us, and the team that had brought us here transporting Terry Lundburg to the prison, Vice-Commander Carpenter took charge. Karen had been released from her containment bed at some point during the introductions and brief conversation with the Commander-General, but she didn’t look very happy. I guess I couldn’t really blame her though since she was pretty messed up, missing an arm, and now had to share air with the person responsible as we were all transported to a very familiar hospital complex with an armed escort.

Now we were in a private hospital room, waiting for someone to look over Karen, see what could be done for her injuries, and inject her with a tracking implant to monitor her. I guess that being bitch, under those circumstances, was understandable, but I was pretty sure she didn’t need a reason to be a bitch. I didn’t like her, especially after seeing her blow a large hole through my best friend.

Ainslee was quiet for the whole trip to the hospital and since we arrived, I think that she felt pretty bad about Karen’s arm. She was reacting to a perceived threat, and we were both told that the first use of special abilities, especially offensive ones, could be dangerous and uncontrolled. Still, as my friend glanced at the Dark Elf keeping her distance on the hospital bed and as far from us as she could manage, she turned to me to whisper hopefully, “Lily, is there anything that Moonlight can do to heal her?”

I had been against healing her before, but she wasn’t quite as much of a bitch as she was pretending to be during the attack if what the Angel had seen in her mind was true. She was just a garden variety bitch. “What do you think, Moonlight? Can you do anything for her?”

Vice-Commander Carpenter raised an eyebrow as she too turned her attention my way at Ainslee’s request. “Can she? The Vanguard does have access to new, state-of-the-art magitech cybernetics, but I can’t speak about how well such a replacement limb would work with her special ability. Usually, it is standard procedure to keep severed limbs on ice, in hopes they can be reattached, but from the report that we received when you were inbound, what remained of the limb that Miss Mackenzie removed was in no condition to be reattached.”

Ainslee looked at the floor, a pained look on her face as I raised a hand to let them know that I was discussing things with the Unicorn in question. Moonlight hummed pensively in my mind for a moment before replying, -I am uncertain, Lily. I have never attempted to heal something like that before. I will try if you wish it though.-

“Moonlight says that she’s not sure what she can do, but she’ll give it a shot,” I informed them.

The Angel nodded and led us from the doorway of the room to where Karen was sitting on the only bed and looking very uncomfortable as she watched us approach. I flitted along beside the Vanguard’s second in command while Ainslee followed a few steps behind. A look over my shoulder showed that my best friend looked as awkward and uncomfortable as the Dark Elf, not to mention a little guilty.

Once we were close enough for conversation without shouting, the angelic woman in charge motioned for me to get the ball rolling. I let out a sigh, but complied, a little nervous as I said, “Hi, Karen. We… uhhh… weren’t properly introduced in all the excitement. I’m Lily and my friend back there is Ainslee. This is probably gonna sound crazy, but I’m… umm… bonded with a Unicorn and I… she’s gonna try and heal your injuries.”

Of course, she didn’t believe me until Moonlight materialized in front of her, but even then, she covered her surprise well and managed to keep that frown on her face as she looked away. Ainslee’s jaw dropped though and she couldn’t look away from my Unicorn companion as Karen snapped, “Fine, whatever, tell your little pony to hurry up and do its thing. My arm fucking hurts.”

“You could at least say ‘thank you,’” I grumbled.

“Riiight, for trying to heal me after your friend fucking maimed me in the first place,” she snapped back with a sneer.

I was fuming as I got right up in her face. “Ainslee only attacked after your friend tried to kill us and you threatened me, bitch! And she didn’t cut your arm off until you blew a hole through her with that nasty fuck off beam of yours!” Was it too late to refuse to heal her? Moonlight wouldn’t be happy if I asked her to take it back or half-ass the job though and I was doing this because Ainslee asked. I was hoping this might ease some of her guilt over what happened if Moonlight could actually heal her.

I could see a brief flash of guilt on Karen’s face before she turned it away. “I didn’t know that Terry was going to actually try to kill someone, I thought he was just going to mess with her. When she came at me, I panicked. She looked like she was going to fucking kill me!”

“Ladies, calm down,” Vice-Commander Carpenter said in a commanding tone that stopped us both cold. “Mistakes were made on both sides, but you’re all going to have to learn to get along and work together. Now let’s see what Moonlight can do for Karen, so I know whether I need to take you all to the testing room or get Miss Smythe fitted for an artificial limb first.”

-Please have someone remove all her bandages, especially on her arm,- Moonlight calmly requested. -They might get in the way.-

I passed that message on and the Vice-Commander quickly got to work removing all the bandages. The bite wound on Karen’s neck looked relatively minor, but the wound on her cheek, and the cauterized stump where her right forearm used to be, looked nasty up close. I had to look away while Moonlight got to work.

Moonlight started with the less severe injuries first, and the bite wound took only an instant to heal up. The burnt gash on her cheek took a little bit longer, but soon the only indication that she had ever been injured there was a slightly paler line in her blue-grey skin, it didn’t even look like it had scarred, it was just new skin. The arm took much longer, and Karen was screaming in pain the whole time as it slowly grew back before our eyes.

When the Unicorn was done, the new part of the arm was again a little lighter in skin tone than what was above it, but it looked whole and healthy. Karen had passed out sometime during the affair, which wasn’t surprising since that looked like it hurt like hell. Moonlight was breathing heavily and wobbled as unsteadily on her legs as when she was a newborn as she finished the job. Even her mind voice sounded tired as she told me, -It is done. That took a lot…-

“Moonlight!” I called out, my heart racing as she collapsed to the floor beside the bed in an unconscious heap.

Thankfully, Moonlight was only unconscious, and we were able to revive both her and Karen with some smelling salts. My Unicorn companion was exhausted and in need of a good meal after her efforts though. Vice-Commander Carpenter arranged for some pillows and a blanket to be brought in to make her more comfortable while she rested for a bit and for some food to be brought for her as well, including some apples, which Moonlight had shown a fondness for.

I heard a very quiet, “Thank you,” from Karen as she experimentally flexed the fingers on her restored hand, though she quickly looked away when I turned toward her. I let it go and didn’t ask her to speak up, mostly because Ainslee looked so relieved. We had done this for her, not Karen, and I was glad that this worked and relieved some of her guilt.

Still, I told the Vice-Commander that Moonlight would not be trying to regenerate limbs like that again, at least not anytime soon or on full-sized people. That was only half an arm, and if regenerating it caused her to collapse like that, I didn’t want to know what trying to do so for an entire limb or more would do to her. The Angel seemed to understand and accept my reluctance about it and said that the Vanguard would continue to offer cybernetic replacements or cloned transplants for limbs, despite those means taking significantly longer, until a more practical form of regeneration magic could be discovered.

Soon, Karen was injected with her new tracking implant, somewhere between her shoulder blades and then she and Ainslee were being escorted to the abilities testing rooms by the armed members of the Vanguard that had escorted us to the hospital. Vice-Commander Carpenter decided to stay and watch over Moonlight with me after making the arrangements for the immediate testing of both girls. After a couple of minutes of silence, I couldn’t take it any longer and asked, “You wanted to talk with me? About what?”

“Various things,” she answered with an enigmatic smile. “Perhaps we should begin with Moonlight though.”

Moonlight’s head wearily turned in our direction, but I mentally urged her to rest as I addressed the Angel. “What about her? I just told you I don’t want to try that thing with regrowing limbs again anytime soon with her. She can barely move right now.”

The Vice-Commanded kept that soft smile on her face as she nodded, seemingly not put off by my words. “I agree with you completely on that matter, Lily. I do not want to endanger Moonlight’s health any more than you do. This is about your request to have her recognized as a personal mount. That, I’m afraid, I cannot agree with.”

I blinked at her in surprise. “What? Why not? Not that I mind, it was really just an excuse for Moonlight to stay close to me since she doesn’t want to join the Vanguard herself, and Captain Monroe didn’t want someone not associated with the Vanguard following me around everywhere.”

“I don’t like the precedent it would set,” she said simply before deciding to elaborate. “We have no issues with her staying in the stables if that is what you both wish, but as you have pointed out before, Moonlight is not some simple animal. She is a sentient being and deserves to be recognized as such, and properly compensated, when she assists the Vanguard with her abilities, as she did today. You have said that she does not wish to officially join the Vanguard, but perhaps she could be a consultant.”

“A consultant? What exactly do you mean by that?”

“We would ask that she assists with healing sometimes, mostly during emergencies or whenever she is present and wishes to lend a hand, or hoof in her case. We wouldn’t order her to do anything, but her assistance would be appreciated, and she would be paid fairly for her efforts on a case-by-case basis,” the Angel explained.

Moonlight weakly snorted. -I do not care about, nor do I have a need or desire for human money.-

I quickly passed that message on, but Vice-Commander Carpenter merely continued to smile and shook her head. “If Moonlight wishes it, those consultant fees could be paid to you, as her representative. You could use the money, in part, for costs associated with her care. The rest could be used for your needs and desires, which I suspect is something that Moonlight does care about.”

Moonlight snorted again but didn’t argue the point. -As long as I am free to stay at your side, my Maiden.-

“I… uhh… think she just agreed to your terms,” I said with a glance to Moonlight, who tiredly bobbed her head up and down in a nod.

“Good, I’ll have a consultancy agreement drawn up for the two of you by our legal team,” she replied, her smile widening. “For the next matter, we would like you to help deliver first response teams and resources, whenever possible, should there be an Incursion in urban areas where we can get camera access for you to use.”

“To be honest, I was kind of expecting that anyway,” I told her with a shrug of my tiny shoulders. Besides, I wanted to get close to Breaches, so I could eventually rescue my mom.

The Angel nodded, seeming happy with that answer. “You’ll likely be one of the first on-site for many urban Incursions going forward, Lily. With that in mind, we would like you to take officer training at the university. Most of the university students we sponsor are Cadets, and once they officially join the Vanguard, they start as Privates. If you take the officer route, you would be a Cadet-Major and start your Vanguard career as a Second Lieutenant, and the pay would be significantly better.”

“You want me to be an officer? I’m not really officer material,” I quickly protested.

“I beg to differ,” she immediately countered. “Going by your psyche evaluation and what I’ve seen of you so far in person and on that stream, I think you will make a fine officer. You’re intelligent, care about people, and you’re not afraid to go up against a potentially superior opponent in a crisis. When you were attacked, your first instinct was to evacuate your friend, who you thought was in danger and when that didn’t work out, you took charge to keep her from getting overwhelmed, distracted the potentially more powerful attacker, and then took him down with the most efficient means at your disposal.”

“I don’t know if…”

She did not take that for an answer as she quickly cut me off. “It’s an order from your superior officer, Cadet-Major Pierce. I have already contacted the university about adding the officer track courses to your schedule when the semester begins. Now, let’s talk about your training team.”

I already knew that all cadets at the university had a sort of basic training on weekends, bright and early in the morning. I figured that it was probably a necessary evil. There were plenty of regular students too, who didn’t plan on joining the Vanguard and were paying for their education out of pocket, but cadet students were a major focus for the university since it was largely funded by the Vanguard.

On the first day of classes, there was supposed to be a big gathering of all the new cadet students, where they would form training teams of anywhere from four to eight people. Training teams were just what says on the can, teams of people who train together. I wasn’t really sure how those teams were chosen though.

Vice-Commander Carpenter thankfully decided to explain that bit. “We usually allow people to form their own teams from friends or people who they think they might click with during the meet and greet. We want teams who are going to work well together and support one another when we push them to their limits and beyond. Most of the time it works out and those groups end up serving in the same units when they enter the Vanguard. Sometimes there are skill and talent gaps that need filling in such groups though, and we choose people to fill them from people who can’t find teams on their own.”

“That sounds like it could get complicated, throwing some poor sap into an established group of friends,” I said, frowning at the thought.

“It doesn’t always turn out well,” she admitted, “but well-rounded training teams are preferable and sometimes there are good reasons for doing it. Speaking of which, I am assuming that you would want to have your team officially consisting of yourself, your Fire Sprite girlfriend, your sister, and Miss Mackenzie? With Moonlight as an unofficial member, of course.”

“Yeah,” I replied, still not certain about this officer thing at all. “That sounds good.”

“Good, but we will be adding Miss Smythe as well. And you are, of course, free to add another team member or two at the meet and greet if you find a good fit.” She was smiling but her eyes were daring me to argue.

I took that dare. “What?! You want me to have that… Karen on my team?! She almost killed Ainslee!”

“And Ainslee maimed her,” she said with a nod of agreement. “Neither action was intended and there are several reasons why this is a good idea. First, Karen will need to be in close proximity to Ainslee for feedings. I believe that she deserves a chance, she just needs to be away from the negative influence of her former social circle and with people who will be a better influence on her and bring out the best in her. She will also provide a solid ranged attack ability to your team, from what I saw on the video.”

I had a sinking suspicion that this was also supposed to be some sort of test of my leadership abilities, but I didn’t say that out loud. I was still grating at the thought of having Karen put on my team, but I knew there wasn’t anything I could really do about it either since the orders came from the top. So, I muttered the only thing that I could say right then. “Understood, Ma’am.”

We had to wait several hours for Karen and Ainslee to finish their testing. At least when I was tested myself, I had been doing something, but now I could only sit and wait. The time to rest and the food that was brought helped Moonlight to recover her strength though, so I guess it wasn’t all bad. Still, it was the same boredom for me as when I had to wait for Kelly’s testing to be over.

When my sister was tested, they didn’t let me into the lab since they were going to be throwing a lot of dangerous shit at her. They tried everything short of weapons of mass destruction but couldn’t find anything that would hurt Kelly physically. There were ways to attack her indirectly, such as gasses and such, but she just shrugged off most magical and physical attacks.

I thought the waiting was bad, but afterward, Vice-Commander Carpenter wanted to go over the results of Ainslee’s and Karen’s tests with me, so I knew what I had to work with. Yeah sure, it was probably good to know, but the reports were so dry and boring. How can someone make an acid beam or magical plasma sound boring?

Karen’s special ability was pretty straightforward, she could fire blasts of magic with acidic properties. The blasts packed a punch and could melt through solid steel and had a maximum range of about 75 feet or so. It could even eat away at magical barriers if she kept the beam going long enough.

As for Ainslee, my best friend could summon weapons made from the magical equivalent of superheated plasma. That shit could cut and burn through just about anything and she seemed completely immune to its effects. She also seemed to have developed a natural affinity for close-quarters combat, especially bladed weapons, and was able to summon weapons ranging from as small as daggers to huge ass claymores longer than she was tall.

They were both going to have to be very careful with those abilities, weren’t they? And, just my luck, I was the one in charge of both of them. By the time we finished going through the reports, it was dinner time, and I could feel a massive headache coming on as I prepared to teleport myself, Moonlight, and Ainslee back home. Vice-Commander Carpenter was taking Karen back to Vanguard Tower, where she would be staying until she could be moved to the dorms.

I tried to ignore the mounting migraine making me miserable as I mentally tagged both Moonlight and Ainslee and teleported us back to the living room of the Mackenzie household. It had been a long day, I was hungry, and the only reason that I hadn’t collapsed like Moonlight did earlier was because I had a snack and several cups of flower nectar while I was waiting for the testing to be over and bored out of my mind. I had also called my sister to let her know we were going to be late, but now we were going to have to explain everything.

Oh well, at least it smelled like dinner would be ready soon, and it smelled delicious. “Small victories, Lily,” I told myself. “I can deal with all this other shit later. For now, I’ll enjoy a nice dinner with the family, Ainslee and I can tell them about our horrific day out, and maybe after I can snuggle with Poppy in one of Kelly’s tails to relax.”

“We’re back!” Ainslee called out tiredly as soon as she was able to get her bearings enough to realize that we were in the living room and that nobody else was.

“We’re in the dining room!” came a reply from one of her sisters, the direction of the call confirming her words.

We headed toward the room in question, and I was divebombed as soon as we stepped inside. Well, Ainslee stepped inside while I rode on her shoulder. Poppy crashed into me, nearly knocking me from my perch on that shoulder to wrap her arms around me and start raining kisses upon me. “I was so worried, Love! You said you were just going out to get nectar and stuff and then, when you called and said you’d been attacked and were at Vanguard Tower, I…”

I held her still a moment to plant a very enthusiastic kiss on her lips. Not only did this put a stop to the stream of thought rapidly escaping from between her lips, but it also reassured her that I was okay, like I was hoping it would, and she relaxed her hold on me a bit. “Sorry that I wasn’t able to give more details, Poppy. We’re both fine though, it was just a bit of a rough day, and I promise we’ll tell you all about it over dinner. We even got the nectar like we promised.”

The twins were too far away to hear my tiny voice without the voice projection app on my comm crown so, as I tried to calm down Poppy, I heard one of them ask. “Are you okay, Sis? What happened? Lily didn’t say much when she called.”

“That jackass, Terry Lundburg, decided to attack me with his new special ability and a friend. My special ability manifested, and Lily and I kicked their asses. So, he’s not going to be a problem anymore,” Ainslee replied. I noticed though that she carefully did not mention the fact that she had a hole blown through her in the process.

“That’s what the lawyer said when you got the restraining order, fat lot of good that did,” one of the twins who I thought might be Sammie, spat bitterly.

“Yeah, well this time we can be sure of it. He’d have to be alive to cause me any more problems,” the Baobhan Sith replied as she tried to get them to drop the topic.

That didn’t work out very well as both twins stared at their sister wide-eyed. “Y-you killed him?” the twin that I thought was Selina gasped.

Ainslee groaned and protested, “No! Lily was the one who took him down while I fought his friend. Nobody is dead yet, but he… look, can you just chill and wait a few minutes? Please? We’ll tell everyone what happened while we eat dinner, okay.”

“Holy crap… Lily took down a Frost Giant?” one of the twins asked as their awed gaze focused on me trying to soothe Poppy. Then she shook her head as if to clear it and quickly agreed, “Okay, Sis, we’ll wait. We were just setting the table anyway while Mom and Kelly finished getting dinner ready.”

That wouldn’t give me and Ainslee much of a reprieve as it would probably only be a couple of minutes before Aunt Maya and Kelly emerged from the kitchen to start putting dinner on the table. The twins had indeed finished setting the table, and Poppy had been setting our own little table with Sprite-sized plates, cups, and silverware that she had made for us. Apparently, my girlfriend had been nervously doing things with her special ability to try to keep her mind occupied after I had called.

I felt kind of bad about worrying her like that. I honestly didn’t know how much I was allowed to tell them when I called though, so while I had reported in, I hadn’t given many details. Poppy wasn’t going easy on me either as she gave me a look that was somewhere between a pout, a look of concerned worry, and a stern glare.

“This better be good, Love, you had us worried sick,” she told me, though she sounded relieved that we both had come home unharmed. “I wasn’t sure if I should just hug you or give you a sound tongue-lashing when you arrived.” Then, her cheeks flushed for some reason before she quickly and awkwardly added, “N-not the fun kind.”

It took me a moment to realize what had made her turn bright red and then my own cheeks flushed in response to the picture that was put in my head. “I’m…uhh… sorry, Poppy. I… umm… didn’t know how much I was allowed to tell you when I...”

My apology was immediately cut off by an excited girly squeal, in stereo no less. From the way that the twins were staring in awe with their gazes focused somewhere behind Ainslee, I could only assume that they had spotted Moonlight. I didn’t really have the chance to formally introduce her last night or this morning and since she was still a little worn out from healing Karen earlier, she didn’t have the energy to pull her disappearing trick yet. While they were all seeing her in person for the second time as she stood majestically behind us in the living room, the first time had been very brief.

“What the…” Ainslee managed to get out before her sisters rushed past us and straight for the Unicorn.

“O M G! She’s real! I thought one of you was using magic to prank us last time after she vanished right away!” one of the twins squealed, causing Ainslee to swing around to see what the hell her sisters were getting so excited about.

Poppy and I were dislodged in the process and had to start moving our wings to not fall to the floor and Ainslee just laughed and said smugly. “Lily wouldn’t do that to us. Of course, Moonlight is real.”

This was funny coming from the girl who couldn’t stop staring at Moonlight after she appeared to heal Karen. After Karen was healed and Moonlight was resting, she kept sneaking awed glances until she and Karen were dragged off for testing. I made sure that my bestie knew it too as I teased, “You took it so much better of course. Moonlight can’t disappear right now, girls, she needs some rest, so you can probably spend some time with her this time.”

“Hey, what’s all the noise about out here?” Kelly asked as she and Aunt Maya came out of the kitchen. Then she saw the twins fawning over my Unicorn pal and gently stroking her mane as they introduced themselves and smiled. “Ah, I see you’ve finally met Moonlight for more than, like, two seconds.”

Aunt Maya was staring but quickly managed to shake it off. “Now that I’m getting a good look at her, she is very lovely. You had all best get washed up for dinner though. Girls, you can get to know Moonlight later. Does she need to eat, Lily?”

I turned on my voice projection app and replied, “No, Aunt Maya, she ate earlier. She probably would have gone all ghostly by now if she wasn’t so tired.” Then to the Unicorn in question, I inquired, “Is there anywhere you would prefer to rest? The backyard seems to have plenty of space.”

-The backyard will be fine,- Moonlight agreed. -I suppose I can spend some time with these girls later if they bring me some apples.-

I gave her a mental grin, pleased to see that she was trying to interact with people I considered family, though it probably helped that the twins knew to be gentle with her despite their excitement. They also weren’t little kids anymore, no matter how much I wanted to think of them that way. Then I passed on her message. “Maybe the twins can bring her some apples a little later, they’re her favorite. She’ll just be resting in the backyard for a bit.”

Soon, everyone was seated at the table, with Poppy and I at our little table on top so we could be part of any conversations with our voice projection apps. We all had full plates bearing our dinners. Kelly and Aunt Maya had split the cooking, and we were looking at a spread of ham, mashed potatoes, corn, fresh-baked bread, and cherry pie for dessert. Poppy and I both currently had cups of the flower nectar that I had brought home with a Sprite-sized plate containing a small piece of thinly sliced ham, a kernel of corn, a small glop of mashed potatoes, and a little chunk of bread.

It all tasted really good, and we were gathered as a family, reminding me of simpler times before that Incursion had changed all of our lives. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Ainslee and I had to come through on our promise to explain things as Aunt Maya looked pointedly at the military fatigues her eldest daughter was wearing and said, “Well, that is definitely not the outfit you left the house in, Ainslee. Lily didn’t tell us much on the phone, so do you girls want to explain what happened now?”

It may have been phrased as a question, but her tone said that we would not be getting out of giving this explanation any longer. I could hear Ainslee mutter, “That was my favorite dress too,” before we gazed at one another to see who would take the lead on this. She had been offered the military garments during her testing since her dress had been too badly damaged to keep wearing with half of the torso material gone, and her undergarments had apparently taken some damage from the acidic properties of Karen’s magical blast as well.

Finally, Ainslee nodded at me, took a deep breath, and began to explain how Terry Lundburg had seen her while we were walking after leaving the greenhouse, followed us, and tried to kill her from behind with his special ability before I stopped the ice he had created for the purpose. From there we both chipped in as we went back and forth while telling everyone about the fight in as great detail as we could remember. We had to stop and elaborate several times, such as when practically everyone started freaking out when I mentioned that Karen’s beam had put a huge hole through Ainslee’s torso.

Yeah, that kind of got everyone talking over one another as they all wanted to know if Ainslee was okay. Aunt Maya was grumbling about how that bastard of a Frost Giant should have been behind bars by now, the twins were wide-eyed with concern for their sister, and Kelly looked like she wanted to hit something, most likely Karen. Even Poppy seemed pissed, but that was likely because it was Karen threatening me that caused Ainslee to lose it and attack in the first place.

Most of them were properly relieved once Ainslee told them that she had been able to regenerate by feeding on Karen. She assured them that not only did she get fully healed, but she felt full for the first time since she started feeling the Thirst, and she didn’t even kill Karen by doing so. The bit about her cutting off her arm while using her new special ability caused eyes to widen further and earned a concerned look from Aunt Maya. I figured she was probably worried about how Ainslee might be handling that.

With all the stops and starts to explain things, it took almost an hour before we finally finished explaining the attack and the whole courtroom thing with the leaders of the Vanguard. Dinner and dessert were both long finished by the time Ainslee finished telling everyone about what she had found out during her testing. Then it was my turn to pick things up as I told them all about my talk with Vice-Commander Carpenter.

“At least that big blue asshole is finally getting what he deserves,” one of the twins muttered darkly, her arms crossed and a grimace on her face once I had finished explaining things.

“Language, Selina,” Aunt Maya scolded. Then she turned her attention upon me with a concerned look on her face. “I’m glad that you girls will be able to stick together and watch one another’s backs once you start classes and training at the university. However, I am not certain that having this Karen girl working so closely with you is a good idea. From what you said, she could have killed Ainslee if she didn’t have her regeneration, what’s to stop her from just shooting one of you in the back?”

Honestly, I had similar concerns, even though Vice-Commander Carpenter had explained her reasoning and such. I sighed before replying, “It’s not like they’re giving me much choice. Vice-Commander Carpenter looked through Karen’s mind very carefully during the trial though. She only thought that Terry was going to mess with Ainslee and that was all she wanted to do. She was trying to be intimidating and only actively used her ability because she was panicking when Ainslee suddenly rushed her with that fuck-off plasma sword.”

That earned me a frown and a stern, “Language, Lily. Are you sure that you can all trust this girl?”

“No, I’m not,” I said with another sigh. “Vice-Commander Carpenter seems sure that she won’t do anything and believes that she just needs a positive influence and maybe some friends or comrades that aren’t so toxic. I can even kind of see that too. Okay, yeah, she’s a total tsundere, but I don’t think she’s really a terrible person under that prickly exterior.”

“You’re not making me feel very safe, Sis, and I’m supposed to be invulnerable. I’m not sure I want to test that against what sounds like a really nasty ability,” my sister remarked with a frown.

“I’m kinda with Lily on this,” Ainslee spoke up after a brief silence. “Yeah, she’s a prickly bitch, but that’s understandable since I did cut her arm off and feed on her. Honestly, I think she’s just acting tough because she’s scared, and that totally makes sense in her situation too. I’m not gonna treat her like we’re besties right away, but I’ll give her a chance and hope she gives me one too. I… know what it’s like for people to look at me like I’m a monster and not see the person inside.”

Both twins hurried to wrap their arms around their sister and consoled her and their mother sighed. “I’m just worried about your safety, girls. We just got you and Kelly back in our lives, Lily, and it sounds like we almost lost Ainslee today because of this girl.”

“I know, Aunt Maya. I’ll be careful,” I promised, “but Vice-Commander Carpenter seems to truly believe that Karen isn’t as bad as she makes herself look on the surface after going through her mind. The Vanguard will be monitoring her through her tracking implant too, just to make sure that she’s not doing anything or associating with people she shouldn’t. They’ll be giving me an app to monitor her implant too so I can keep track of her as her commanding officer, and if she does turn on us for some reason then I can use that app to activate the implant’s taser function and bring her down fast. I’m not going to jump the gun on that though unless it seems she’s a present danger. We need to give her a chance to prove herself.”

Aunt Maya didn’t seem happy, but she nodded and said, “As long as you’re taking precautions. Don’t hesitate to do what you have to if any of you are in danger though.”

“If you and Ainslee are willing to give her a chance, I guess that I will too, Love,” Poppy offered.

That only left my sister since Moonlight thought we should give Karen a chance, though she too would be watching her. Finally, Kelly groaned and muttered, “Fine. We’ll give Ainslee’s new tsundere juice box a fair chance. I’ll be watching her though.”

Yeah, Kelly wasn’t happy about his, that much was apparent from how she left for the kitchen to start taking care of the dinner dishes and blow off some steam. She had gotten pretty worked up over my description of Ainslee’s injury when we were explaining what happened. I knew that she would keep her word and give Karen a fair chance though, even if she watched her like a hawk.

Aunt Maya kicked her out of the kitchen before long though, insisting that we should all just try and relax and take our minds off things. So, while the twins went out to the backyard, armed with apples, to try and woo Moonlight into being friendly, Ainslee and Kelly decided that we should all curl up on the couch and cue up a movie to watch. Soon, the pair were armed with a bowl of popcorn and some drinks and sat side by side on the couch while we watched a movie.

I wasn’t sure what movie we were watching, but then I was a bit preoccupied with snuggling with Poppy in the warmth of one of Kelly’s tails while we had a very intense snogging session. I did have to get up to use the little Sprite’s room at one point and before settling back into my sister’s tail to get cozy with my girlfriend again, I noticed that Ainslee and Kelly were sitting very close together. I was pretty sure that they weren’t paying much attention to the movie either with the way that they kept stealing glances at one another.

I zipped between their heads, giggling as I said, “Geeze, will you two just kiss already? You’ve been making bedroom eyes at each other since we all got reintroduced last night.”

They both turned bright red, but I didn’t stick around to see if they would go for it or not. That was between the two of them. Instead, I flitted back to join Poppy in my sister’s tail and continue our make-out session. It was so damn cozy, warm, and pleasant just kissing and snuggling Poppy there that before long we both drifted off to sleep.

Karen Smythe couldn’t sleep, and staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling and lying in an unfamiliar bed wasn’t helping. She was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally after her hellish day, but still, sleep refused to claim her. She even knew why and the irony of that was bitter since that was the very word keeping her awake. ‘Why’, one word that summed up all the turmoil in her life, and all the questions that tainted a life full of nothing but regrets.

Right now though, the big ‘whys’ were all related to this godawful day, like why did she get out of bed? That one was easy; it was because she had promised Stephanie that she would go to her stupid pool party that afternoon. Why the hell did she even do that when she already had a pool of her own at home? The answer to that was just as easy to determine, and harder to stomach.

She had gone, in part, because she would need to go out to get something decent to eat anyway and because her ‘friend’ had asked her to. Not that she cared about the party or even Stephanie enough to go, but she knew that if she didn’t agree to go, Stephanie would keep bugging her until she did. Their other ‘friends’ would get involved and then she would be under enormous amounts of peer pressure until she finally caved anyway. Karen was self-aware enough to know that when push came to shove, she just didn’t have the spine to stand up to them. Not even her ever-simmering aggression seemed to help with that, not with all of that anger directed at herself.

She was a weakling of willpower, a spineless coward who couldn’t say no under pressure. As much as she wished that she could be stronger and stick up for herself, she would have to have a self to stick up for in the first place. She was just a shell though, if any remnants of the girl she used to be still existed, she had long ago buried them deep inside herself where the pain could never reach them.

What remained was a shell of false bravado and ego carefully constructed to keep anyone from getting too close. It was simple social mathematics; if people didn’t get too close, then she wouldn’t start to care about them, and that would equal not having to worry about losing someone close to her ever again. Her ‘friends’ weren’t affected because they were used to dealing with people with big egos in each other, and possibly because they knew or suspected how weak she truly was.

She had learned a lot from them though, lessons like never show weakness and demand, don’t ask. If they hadn’t made her learn that lesson, just by being themselves, then she wouldn’t be able to keep people away half as well as she could now. And the fact that they were all assholes meant that she wouldn’t risk actually caring about one of them.

The biggest asshole of the bunch was Terry. She wished she hadn’t run into him on the way to the party because that led directly to all the other ‘whys’. Why had she agreed to follow that girl? Why had she started playing along with him by trash-talking the redhead and threatening the Sprite? Why had she been so fucking stupid?!

Even though the Unicorn had healed her cheek and somehow managed to regenerate her lost arm, she could still feel phantoms of the burning agony that had caused the now non-existent wounds in the first place. She had never felt physical pain like that in her life before, not even when she started changing into whatever she was now after the Mexico Incursion two years ago. She couldn’t make herself truly angry about it, at least, not anymore. Not when she knew that she deserved every bit of pain that she had been given.

She should have grown a spine and told Terry, “No,” but she had caved and gone along with it. She just thought they were going to mess with the girl, like Terry said, it wasn’t anything that he and the others hadn’t done before and she usually just had to make a catty comment and/or a vague threat or two to be involved enough to keep them off her back. She didn’t know that he actually intended to kill the girl. She didn’t know he was that psychotic, just that he was an asshole.

This time, her reluctant involvement had finally bit her in the ass. The redheaded girl, Ainslee, had barely reacted to her insults, but when she had threatened the Sprite… Karen didn’t expect her to react like that and, thinking about it now, she couldn’t truly blame her either. She was protecting her friend from a possible threat and Karen probably would have done the same herself, if she actually had friends and not disposable stand-ins. Ainslee Waking and gaining her special ability at that moment was just terrible luck that made the situation worse.

The memory of using her special ability on Ainslee when she panicked burned almost as badly as the phantom pains from the wounds that the redhead had given her in return. She could have killed her; she probably would have if the girl hadn’t drunk her blood to regenerate. Karen had been so terrified of that vision of death that was nearly upon her that she had reacted on instinct. The thought that she had used her acid beam on a living person made her want to throw up every time she thought about it.

She had been at home alone when she Awoke two days ago, opening a package that had come by courier at the kitchen table. She wouldn’t have opened it at all if she knew it was from Alistair. He was into her, but she wasn’t attracted to him, or any guy, so she had been avoiding him recently. He wouldn’t take the hint, and he was being fucking creepy about it.

It started with lewd messages and dick pics, but the day that she Awoke there had been a dildo in the package with a note from Alistair saying that he’d had it made from a cast of his own… disgusting thing, and he thought she might want to get a feel for it before he made her take the real thing. She was so horrified, scared, and disgusted all at once and just wanted that disgusting thing gone, so she would never have to see it again. The acid beam took care of that, but it also burned holes through the refrigerator and several walls in her house.

At first, Karen had been okay with the whole Dark Elf look. She figured that maybe it would help encourage people to keep their distance from her. Since Waking though, she was scared and wondering if her kind really were meant to be as evil as in the stories she had read. There was all the heightened aggression she felt that the doctors said was normal for her kind and then there was her special ability. It was an acid beam, for fuck’s sake, how could a good person ever get an ability like that?

She had hardly left her home in the two days since, not until she left for Stephanie’s party so people wouldn’t think she was acting unusual. She was terrified of reporting her ability and getting tested, afraid that the Vanguard would deem her evil and dangerous. What if she really was as bad as Terry, Stephanie, Alistair, and the others and she was just lying to herself this whole time?

Somehow, that fear hadn’t manifested, even when she fucked up by helping Terry and almost proved those misgivings to be true. The agony of Vice-Commander Carpenter searching through her thoughts and memories had almost rivaled what Ainslee had caused her physically, but she had seen something there, something that stayed her hand and convinced her to give Karen another chance. She probably didn’t deserve it, but maybe ten years of serving in the Vanguard and feeding Ainslee would make up for almost killing her.

She couldn’t admit that though, least of all to Ainslee and the Sprite, Lily. She would need to keep them at a distance and be the bitch they probably expected her to be. She couldn’t let herself be real or vulnerable with them because if they ever forgave her then this might not be the penance it should be. She might let them get close, they might come to mean something to her, and it would hurt all the more when they eventually left her like her parents had.

That thought only brought to mind the question that still haunted her every night. Another ‘why’. The biggest ‘why’. It had always been, and likely always would be, the one that had forever changed her life. Why did she ever go to that fucking resort? She knew the answer, of course, and always had, but that never helped to relieve the pain and loss. Thinking about it only ever made it worse.

She and Mom had planned that damn trip for months to celebrate her sixteenth birthday, and she had been so excited about it. Daddy had even taken time away from running the business that he had built up from nothing to join them for the family getaway. Her family wasn’t obscenely rich, like Terry, Stephanie, Alistair, or any of the other kids close to her age that she had met on that doomed vacation, but even without her parents’ life insurance policies, she likely would have been set for life. She would give up every cursed penny just to have her parents back.

She still had nightmares about that day. The Titans’ weapons sizzling through the air, the sounds of explosions, collapsing buildings, and screams of people being captured or killed both near and distant. The smell of blood, burnt ozone, and charred bodies filling her nose and making her want to vomit. The worst by far was the flashbacks though. Just thinking about it was enough that she was forced to live those moments again in visceral and agonizing clarity.

What was once paradise was now Hell as Karen ran alongside her mother through what had once been the picturesque resort town that she had begged her parents to take her to for her sweet sixteen. There was nothing sweet about this birthday though. The sound of screams, thundering Titan footsteps, and explosions filled the air that her strained lungs desperately screamed for as she ran.

An accusatory voice, her voice, told her, “This was my fault. If I hadn’t wanted to come here, Mom and Dad would still be alive. It was all my fault. My fault… my fault… my fault… my fault.

Karen couldn’t breathe and familiar hot tears streamed down her face and onto her pillow as the accusations rang through her mind and she rocked back and forth in the fetal position. “Karen… Karen, snap out of it!”

A nudge against her mind. Familiar, and painful, but somehow, she got the sense that there was an attempt at being gentle. What? Why? Wait, she was having a flashback, wasn’t she? She didn’t know how long she had been lost in it this time, but she probably didn’t want to know. “Don’t think about it,” she told herself firmly as she struggled to regain control of her breathing and wiped at the tears on her face.

When she could finally breathe somewhat normally again and was lying on her back to keep taking slow and steady breaths, she opened her eyes to once again find herself looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling of her current room in Vanguard Tower. “Are you okay now?” a familiar voice asked. She turned her head to see Vice-Commander Carpenter hovering over her bed with a concerned expression on her angelic face.

“I’m fine, I didn’t need your help,” Karen snapped out of reflex. Push her away, can’t have her get close. She didn’t have the energy to direct her aggression toward the woman right now anyway, it was all directed where it belonged, at herself, for letting this woman see her so weak and for bearing the responsibility of her parents’ deaths.

The Angel coolly arched an eyebrow, calling bullshit with a mere expression. “I’ve seen everything in your mind, Karen. You need to start letting people in, but I won’t push it if you don’t want to talk about it yet. It’s something you can explore with the therapist I’ve arranged for you.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Karen snarked, wishing that the woman would just leave so she wouldn’t have to say something really mean and feel bad about it later. “They can tell me all about how I have survivor’s guilt from the Incursion and losing my parents, how I push people away because I’m afraid of losing people I care about again, and because of what my family did after the Incursion. I’ve been down that road before, at school.”

“Yes, I’ve read your file as well as your mind,” Carpenter said. The look in her eyes made Karen think that she was trying to decide whether to try to talk more or comfort her. “So, what did happen with your family? Your file only states that you emancipated yourself and kicked your uncle and aunt from your home not long after you moved to Amethyst Harbour and started going to your school.”

Karen considered the question and decided that it wouldn’t change anything to tell her the truth. It wasn’t like she hadn’t probably seen it in her mind already. “I was never close to the extended family. After the funeral, all these relatives I barely knew or never heard of showed up to start kissing my ass and to try to claw out a slice of the family fortune. They didn’t give a shit about me, only the money. My aunt and uncle acted like they were my parents and hired some shifty lawyer to try to steal what Dad worked his ass off most of his life to build. When I read the papers that they wanted me to sign, I got my own lawyer and kicked them to the curb.”

That wasn’t all there was to it, but it was enough to give the general picture. She didn’t include the fact that she had found her gold and ruby bracelet, the last birthday gift that her father had got for her, in a pawnshop downtown. It still had the engraving and everything.

It was the one time that she had truly stood up for herself. After she got a good lawyer, she got herself emancipated and got her lawyer to sell her father’s business, liquidate any other assets, and donate a large sum anonymously to an orphanage in Amethyst Harbour. An orphanage for teens like her, who lost their families in Incursions, had nowhere else to go, and needed to deal with being Altered.

She suspected that the telepathic Angel knew the details she had skipped, but she didn’t say anything about it. She didn’t say anything, just watched her with an uncertain expression on her face, as if wondering how far she could push without breaking her like fine China in the hands of a clumsy waiter. When Carpenter spoke again, the words were not what she had been expecting.

“You’re a better person than you’ll let others see, even yourself. You don’t need to be alone, and you won’t be. That’s why you’re on a team now. Don’t push them away, give them a chance. Give yourself a chance. I can’t order you to make friends, but you’ll be depending on one another. Would it really be so bad to open up and let them get to know the real you? They need to be able to trust you to have their backs, and trust goes both ways,” she said in a quiet tone.

She made it sound so easy, but the fact that they would be training together as a military unit only made Karen more certain that allowing herself to get close and have feelings for them would be a bad idea. She would do her part and watch their backs, but she couldn’t go through watching someone she cared about die again. Burying that surge of pain that surged through her chest at the thought down deep, she forced out a noncommittal grunt and grumbled, “Yeah, well thanks for the pep talk, is there anything else you came for, or can I sleep now?”

“I had time available and the readings of your vitals from your tracking implant were concerning, so I thought I would check on you. I also thought I would see if you wanted to get anything from home to help make you more comfortable while you’re here. We could grab you some clothes, self-care stuff, and maybe a keepsake or two in a secure jewelry box… like a bracelet,” the Angel gently suggested.

“Hmph. Do you treat all your conscripts like this?” Karen asked suspiciously. Still, she couldn’t deny that she would very much appreciate getting those very things from her home.

“No,” Vice-Commander Carpenter said as she shook her head and offered an arm to help Karen off the bed. “Just the ones I want to see turn their lives around. And since you’re a conscript, as you’ve so helpfully pointed out, I can order you to take action. So, get your ass out of that bed, and let’s go get you some things from home.”

The morning after our altercation with Karen and Terry, I found myself waking up early, snuggling with Poppy on a pillow atop the dresser in my sister’s bedroom. My sister and Ainslee must have extracted us from Kelly’s cozy tails and placed us in our current location because the last thing I could remember was the cozy warmth of those tails and Poppy’s body close to mine. Whoever brought us in must have been extra careful not to hurt us or wake us too.

While the former was certainly a possibility, due to our small size and relatively fragile bodies, waking us up unintentionally was far less likely. We Sprites sleep pretty deeply due to the whole hibernation to conserve energy thing after all. Usually, we would only wake up once we had enough rest or due to loud noises. Usually, six hours of sleep seemed to be plenty for us though, and we usually had a secure place to rest with no imminent dangers.

The only real danger while we were sleeping would normally be from animals, but Aunt Maya and the girls didn’t have any pets wandering around that might want to take a bite out of us. We were indoors, had my house as well now to keep us safe from most animals, and if there were any real emergencies, like a fire, Aunt Maya assured us that the home emergency alarm was extremely loud.

So, I was feeling plenty safe even if we weren’t inside my house, which would be almost impossible for Ainslee or Kelly to put us inside and to bed. It might be the size of a dollhouse, but it wasn’t built like one so you could just open it up to put things inside. It had to be built like a big people’s house to keep us secure, comfortable, and safe from predators should I choose to put it outdoors somewhere.

I snuggled closer to Poppy only to hear a happy sigh as she wrapped her arms around me. Turning my face slightly upward toward hers, I found her propped up on one elbow and gazing at me with a contented smile on her face. “Mmmm… I could get used to waking up with you like this, Love,” she hummed.

“Well, you are a very nice sight to wake up to,” I agreed.

“Yeah, we should get out of these clothes,” my girlfriend murmured before her breath hitched and she got that look in her eyes like she thought she might have said the wrong thing. “N-not because I had anything sexual in mind! I’m totally fine with taking our relationship slowly, I just thought… we were sleeping in them and…”

I silenced the floundering Fire Sprite with a kiss. “I know, hot stuff. My clothes are bunched up in the worst way from sleeping in them all night and we could both probably use a shower too. We have a busy morning ahead of us.”

Despite our shared eagerness to get out of our clothes from yesterday and to get clean, we stayed snuggled together for a few more minutes before getting up, finding our comm crowns that had slipped off our heads sometime during the night, and heading into my little house to shower and change clothes. We ended up showering together. It wasn’t like we hadn’t seen each other naked before after all, and we were girlfriends now, so I figured it would be okay, and we could help one another wash our backs and wings properly.

The latter required a gentle touch, and it was hard for us to do it ourselves, especially the base of our wings, where we couldn’t reach easily. I wouldn’t trust just anyone handling my wings since they were very sensitive and delicate, but I trusted Poppy. She was my girlfriend now and I cared for her more than I’d ever cared about anyone but close family members and Aunt Maya’s family. Poppy was ecstatic when I suggested it.

I was not prepared for how awkward showering together would be, not to mention the feelings that it would summon within me. We’d seen each other naked before but actually touching each other, wet skin to wet skin, was something altogether different. It summoned a heat to rival Poppy’s flames within my core, I shivered under her touch despite the heat of the water, my nipples were so hard they ached, and I was relatively sure that not all the moisture running down my inner thighs was from the water.

I wanted to do such things to her, and I wanted her to do them to me too. This frustration was not just limited to me either, or at least that’s what I believed, going by Poppy’s staccato breathing, flushed skin, and her similarly hard nipples. As tempted as I was to give into those urges then and there and learn what heights of pleasure we might be able to bring each other to, I had to keep us on track since we really did have stuff to do.

Thankfully, I was starting to get pretty good with my Water magic and was able to cheat to speed up the process by controlling the water streaming over us to rinse us off thoroughly once we were done. It was like the fluid was giving us a massage and I had managed to calm down some by focusing on that instead of my desire for Poppy. She used her own magic to generate enough hot air to dry off our wings too, so we wouldn’t have to towel them dry. I had learned in the Fairy Ward that even gently patting my sensitive wings dry, even with the fluffy towels Poppy had made, was irritating and uncomfortable.

All too soon, we were leaving the bathroom and heading to our respective bedrooms to get ready for the day. We had decided on separate rooms for now while we explored our new relationship because I had three bedrooms in this house and because Poppy seemed reluctant to push me into anything that I wasn’t completely ready for. It was one of the things that I loved about her; she was always trying to consider my wants and needs as much as her own in our growing relationship.

Still, in light of what I had been feeling when we showered together, I thought that maybe tonight we might share a bed. Hopefully, we wouldn’t just be sleeping either. With Poppy reluctant to push me into things like sex for fear of hurting me or scaring me off, I figured that I might have to take the lead on this, which sucked because I had zero experience in this kind of thing.

I was admittedly dense about a lot of things when I first Sprouted, and probably before that too, but dense isn’t always the same as stupid. Maybe it was because I was trying so hard to hide from the fact that I was a girl inside while growing up or the fairly sheltered upbringing that Kelly and I had. Regardless of the cause, I had been ignorant on a lot of things but Sprouting and spending the past month in the Fairy Ward with Poppy, the nurses, and later my sister had taught me a lot and helped me to fill some of those gaps.

Even Poppy’s adorkable verbal slip-ups and hurried, apologetic corrections helped me to learn and find myself. Poppy was a natural flirt, at least with me, but it wasn’t difficult for me to see that she was trying to hold herself back and give me the time and space I needed before going further with our relationship. While I appreciated that greatly, I now looked forward to a time when she could just be unrestrained in her affections and not worrying about scaring me off.

“Tonight,” I promised myself as I got dressed in the master bedroom. I wasn’t going to call it ‘my room’ because hopefully after tonight if all went well, it would be ‘our room’ instead. I liked the sound of that. Fun later, for now, I had a busy morning ahead of me.

As soon as Kelly and Ainslee were up, we all had to go to Vanguard Tower. Poppy and I both had our regular training sessions in elemental magic with Captain Monroe and Lt. Williams while my sister had schooling in her illusion and shapeshifting abilities with her coach, Yue. Ainslee would be coming along as well since she needed to get the paperwork done to sign on with the Vanguard, get registered as a student at the university, and hopefully choose her program and courses as well.

Then there was the rather ominous message that I had gotten from Vice-Commander Carter last night. She wanted me to meet her at her office after my morning training session with Captain Monroe to talk about things related to being a leader, go over certain rules and regulations, and securely transfer the monitoring app for Karen’s tracking implant and some files to my comm crown that were for my eyes only. The whole idea was making me nervous just thinking about it.

I still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being a leader, of the lives of the people I cared about being in my hands. I wasn’t fond of the idea of Karen being on our team either. I was going along with it because I was in no position to argue and there were precautions in place, but I wasn’t sure that I was willing to trust her with my life and those of my friends. I said I would give her a chance though, and I planned to keep that promise.

I tried to shake those thoughts off as I took a quick look at the time on my comm crown and thought toward Moonlight, “Are you awake? Do you need something to eat before we leave? It sounds like Kelly is up and getting ready, so we’ll be leaving after we eat.”

-I am once again ethereal, my Maiden,- was her immediate reply. -I have been since the twins went to bed last night, and keeping watch over you and your loved ones. Worry not about me. Save your concern for the group of people outside.-

“Group of people? Outside?” Well, that was certainly alarming, especially after what happened yesterday.

-They showed up not long after Maya left to go to open her store. Allow me to show you what I see, Lily,- Moonlight responded. There was a slight pressure in my head, but I trusted Moonlight enough to relax and let her do whatever it was she was trying to do. It turned out that she was projecting an image of what she was seeing. It was sort of like watching movies with an implant, only there was a slightly hazy quality to it.

“I didn’t know you could do that, it could be useful someday,” I thought before concentrating on the image that she was projecting into my mind. There were a bunch of people outside the front gates to the property with varying types of cameras and holo-recorders. “Shit.”

It looked like the media had gotten wind of what happened yesterday and found Ainslee’s address. I knew that they would probably hear about it sooner or later since we were told that transcripts of yesterday's private court session in the tower were supposed to be released to the public for full transparency, but I didn’t think they’d catch on and find us this quickly. While I could see why the Commander and Vice-Commander of the Vanguard would want such transparency regarding legal matters, even releasing some of the footage I had gotten of the attack while streaming, this was concerning.

The Vanguard may not want to hide anything from the citizens of Amethyst Harbour, at least about the running of the city or legal proceedings like this, but our names and those of our attackers were all over those transcripts. With Terry and Karen both being very wealthy, this was bound to stir up a media feeding frenzy, and neither of them was available for interviews with one being in prison and the other in Vanguard Tower. I had no legal address yet either, so of course they’d come after Ainslee.

Oh, this was not good at all. I thought we’d have more time before having to deal with this shit, and nine o’clock in the morning was too early to be facing a gaggle of rabid reporters, especially since Ainslee was still pretty shaken up about things last night and needed a while to process it all emotionally and mentally. I had a terrible feeling that this was going to be a very long day.

Once we were all up, dressed, and had eaten breakfast, we quickly discussed the situation outside and Ainslee muttered, “Assholes, the statement that the Vanguard released told those vultures to leave us the fuck alone.” Well, it hadn’t said exactly that, it was a lot more official sounding and a lot less angry, but the idea was the same.

“Yeah, but since when do journalists give a shit about that?” one of the twins, who I was pretty sure was Sammie, commented acidly.

“This is going to be like when you pressed charges against that big blue asshole in the first place, isn’t it, Ainslee?” the other twin, Selina, asked with a miserable look on her face. “Those vultures are gonna follow you around and drag your name through the mud all over again.”

“Our lives only just got back to normal too, or as close as it gets for us these days,” Sammie added with a frown.

“I’ll handle it,” Ainslee said with a grim look on her face. I was a little worried that my best friend was about to do something drastic before she explained, “I did some research after the last time and there are laws in place in Amethyst Harbour to protect people from having reporters camped out on in front of their homes or following them and their families around. The media doesn’t make it common knowledge because they want to be able to question as much as possible and provoke reactions from the people they’re harassing, even if they can’t get official interviews or exclusives.”

“So, why doesn’t it look like you’re happy about it?” Kelly asked, looking concerned.

Ainslee groaned as she looked toward the front door. “Because, as the target of their attention, I’ll need to do something I’d rather not do. According to statute M-78, if I give an official statement on camera, even if that statement is just telling them to fuck off, they have to leave it at that and leave me alone unless I agree to an interview. I’ll probably still get calls asking me to do interviews, but I can block those.”

“You don’t have to,” I told her gently. I could see in her eyes how little she liked that idea. It would be too much like giving them what they wanted. “I could just sneak us out by teleporting. Moonlight could sneak us out by turning ethereal too, but I don’t think she could carry both you and Kelly at once, and teleportation is faster. I could teleport the twins to the mall for work too, if needed.”

A sad shake of her head preceded my best friend’s reply. “No, Lily, that would just be putting off the inevitable, and Mom would have to deal with their shit when she gets home. I’ll go outside, say a few words to get them to fuck off, and then we can teleport to the base. You’ll all be late for your training otherwise.”

She was probably right. In fact, it would probably be a good idea for me to get ahead of this too. They may not have an address for me yet, but it was stated in the transcripts that I was a Vanguard recruit, so they might try to harass me at school. “Fine,” I replied, “but if you’re doing this, I’m going with you. You’re my best friend, and I have your back.”

Poppy half-crushed me in a hug. “Be careful out there, Love.” She made it sound like we were going off to war instead of facing down the media.

Then as my girlfriend released me, Kelly advised me and Ainslee, “Try not to do anything threatening because they would be sure to use that against you. Just make a quick statement, don’t let them ask any questions, and be calm and professional. Maybe reference that stature so they know that you know your rights.”

“I guess that’s the best we can do,” I agreed before turning back to my best friend as I considered what I wanted to say. “Let’s get this over with so we can get going. I have other things to do today.”

Ainslee headed for the front door as I rode on her shoulder, and I could feel her tenseness as she opened the door and headed toward the front gate to the property. As soon as she stepped into sight, the media hounds began to excitedly bark, the cacophony of dozens of people trying to be heard over one another as we approached. Questions were being hurled as soon as we were within range to pick up individual voices among the droning of many. “Miss Mackenzie, how are you…”

My friend immediately cut the question off to say, “I would like to make a statement.” The droning of voices immediately quieted as cameras and holo-recorders were aimed in our direction. Once she had their attention, Ainslee simply stated, “Terry Lundburg is a psychopath and I’m glad that he is finally facing justice for his crimes. That is all, I will not be taking any questions.”

I turned on my voice projection app and flitted from her shoulder as the vultures began to protest. It seemed that many of them hadn’t even noticed me on her shoulder. “I’m Lily Pierce, and I too would like to make a statement regarding the attack on us by Terry Lundburg and Karen Smythe, and the hearing that followed.”

They were all now very focused on my tiny form, hovering in the air in front of their cameras. They were likely hoping for something more from me than what they had gotten out of my friend, but I was only too happy to deny them that as I stated. “Justice has been served, and we just want to go back to our lives. In accordance with statute M-78, I ask you to please disperse and leave us alone. I will not be taking any questions either. Goodbye.”

It was short, and to the point, and I was very happy to see the realization, disappointment, and frustration bloom on the faces of the reporters in attendance. I paid them no more attention as followed Ainslee back toward the house and then inside. The set of Ainslee’s shoulders still looked tense, and I was still a little on edge myself, despite getting that business out of the way.

The moment that we were both safely inside the house, Ainslee slumped against the wall in relief as she muttered, “Well, that was fun. I’m glad it’s over with.”

Thanks to my teleportation ability, we were able to get to Vanguard Tower for our respective tasks a few minutes early, despite our encounter with the media. While Captain Monroe was pushing me to push my limits with my Water magic, and teaching me new ways to do so, my girlfriend and sister were getting similar training with their natural abilities and Ainslee was going through a mountain of paperwork for both the Vanguard and the university and then registering for her classes.

In the end, Ainslee decided to take a program for Magitech Engineering, which focused on studying the fusion of magic and technology that the Titans seem to use by studying damaged or recovered Titan mechs and the research and development of Earth-made magitech. She seemed really eager about it once we all met for lunch in the Vanguard Tower mess hall. The mess hall had surprisingly good food and catered to the diets of a wide assortment of Altered species.

“So, what are you girls going to school for?” she asked once she was done gushing about the program enough to start eating her lunch.

“I’m taking Music Studies,” Poppy volunteered, “These two-year programs are intense though, we’re all going to be working our butts off if we want to keep up with classes and do our Vanguard training.”

She was right, all of us had opted for two-year programs and while each trimester’s course load wasn’t suffocating, we were going to be very busy trying to keep up while doing Vanguard training on the weekends as well. The two-year programs were bachelor degree programs and instead of two semesters, Vanguard University divided the year into three school trimesters, each with only three weeks between them. The reason we couldn’t move into the dorms yet was because the summer trimester students were doing final exams this week and those who were graduating wouldn’t be leaving the dorms for a couple of weeks to make space for new students.

“I’ll be taking the New World Synergy program,” I offered with a smile. “It’s like a mix of studies about all kinds of Altered, magic studies, environmental and social studies, and the study of Altered flora and their uses in magic and alchemy. At least that’s what I got from the program brochure. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study, but when I saw this, I knew I wanted to give it a try.”

“What about you, Kelly?” Ainslee asked as she reached out with the hand she wasn’t using to eat and placed it over my sister’s to give a gentle squeeze.

Kelly had gone into one of her quiet moods again after her training session and I was worried that she might be cycling into depression again. She had been good at fighting it off lately, and familiar faces seemed to be helping a lot, but she still had dreams sometimes about what might have happened during her lost time as a Titan captive. Those dreams always seemed to bring her down, not just because of the content, but because she could never be sure if they were real memories resurfacing or her imagination taunting her.

My sister tried her best to shake off the cloud of gloom that seemed to hover over her and gave us all a shaky smile to let us know that she was okay. “I’m fine, something we did in training just brought me back to one of those dreams. To answer your question though, Ainslee, I’ll be taking the Psychology and Counseling program. I want to be able to help people like me, who the Titans brought back, and people who have lost everything during Incursions and are trying to adjust to being Altered.”

“You can help them, I know you can, Sis,” I told her, hoping that this field of study might help her as well. Then I looked down at my empty doll-sized plate and sighed. “Well, I guess I can’t put this off any longer. I’m off to go see Vice-Commander Carpenter.”

Poppy crushed me in a hug and gave me a quick but passionate kiss. “We’ll be here waiting for you, Love.”

“Yeah, you’re our ride home,” Ainslee teased with a grin before adding, “Good luck.”

The Vice-Commander’s office wasn’t what I was expecting. It was well-organized for sure, but it also had a sort of easy comfortable feel to it. It was a small place, mostly dominated by the large plastic and metal desk in the center and a pair of cozy office chairs both behind and in front of it. Most of the wall space was bare and painted a comforting light blue, while the wall behind the desk, and the Vice-Commander herself, was dominated by a massive bookshelf that bore various personal items, including actual paper books. Those were practically antiques.

“Cadet-Major Pierce, reporting as ordered,” I reported once I flitted through the door that was being held open for me by the Vice-Commander’s personal secretary.

“Please, Lily, at ease, and have a seat,” she replied as her secretary closed the door behind me to afford us some privacy.

“Yes, Ma’am.” I flew closer to her desk and saw that she had a pair of chairs on the surface of it, one sized for Pixies and another for Sprites. I didn’t say anything more as I settled into the smaller of the chairs atop her desk. She had asked me to come here after all, so I assumed that she would give me the details when ready.

Almost as soon as I sat down, I got a ping via my comm crown requesting an information packet transfer. I quickly accepted and saw that there were several text files, including one that said Officer Manual and the others had the names of my sister, my girlfriend, my best friend, and Karen Smythe. There was also some sort of app. I didn’t install the latter yet since I wanted to be sure it was safe.

“Those files and the app are for your eyes only, as a team leader,” the Angel explained, wasting no time. “They are heavily encrypted and can only be opened by you, now that you have received them. The officer manual file is self-explanatory and contains everything that you will need to know about being an officer and all the rules and regulations that you and your team will need to abide by. We’re relatively easy-going compared to many military organizations, so keep in mind what rules and regs we have are important. Memorize them, and the contents of those personnel files as well.”

Well, that explained the files with everyone’s names. “Umm… what’s in those files?” I asked as my chest tightened with uncertainty. “I don’t really want to breach my friends’ privacy.”

The Vice-Commander smiled at me sympathetically. “I understand, but you’re also their commanding officer now and the more you know about everyone, the easier it will be for you to command them to their full potential and keep all of you safe. The information contained in those is mostly stuff that you already know or could find out easily enough on your own. Racial and special abilities, limitations, and general background information, but it also contains their psychological assessments. I want you to especially familiarize yourself with Cadet Smythe’s file since you don’t know her as well as the others.”

“Yeah, it’s probably a good idea to know all I can in case she decides to acid-beam us in the back,” I muttered.

A long and weary sigh brought my attention back to the Angel seated behind the desk. “Cadet-Major Pierce… Lily, I would like for you to give her a fair chance, to try to bring her out of her shell. She’s not the hard and uncaring person that she wants others to believe she is. Her file is quite extensive and includes some of my own observations, based on what I learned while I was inside her mind. Read it, all of it, and share it with nobody else. I think that you’ll find it very illuminating. She would not tell you anything that you read in there on her own.”

She looked so sad as she told me that, and the fact that she had changed to using my first name meant that she was making this personal. She seemed to think that I would see what she saw in Karen if I read that file. She was probably right though, I should try to read the file, learn more about her, and give her a fair chance. “I’ll read it, and I’ll give her a fair shake, and make sure the others do too,” I finally said after a moment.

“That is all I ask,” she responded with a sad smile. “She isn’t who you think she is, she is hiding so much pain beneath that prickly armor she’s wrapped herself in. She needs to allow herself to let people in and have friends. Real friends, not people like her former associates. Her file also contains what information we have on them. Keep an eye on her and don’t let any of them close to her or any of your team, they’re dangerous and may be hostile to you and Cadet Mackenzie considering recent events.”

“Recent events? You mean us kicking their friends’ asses?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Yes. Well, that and the talk I had with Mr. Lundburg’s parents earlier today,” she grumbled as a frown fixed itself firmly upon her face.

“Let me guess, they weren’t happy with Big Blue’s sentence,” I said. She did not look like a happy camper.

“No, they were not,” she agreed. “They flew to Amethyst Harbour as soon as they got wind of their son’s sentencing from his lawyer. They came, they made threats, and I had them thrown out of the building.”

“What kind of threats?” I was morbidly curious. After all, what kind of idiot would come to threaten the Vanguard on their own turf and in their city?

“Lundburg Technologies is one of the Vanguard’s major military equipment suppliers,” she replied. “Or rather, they were. They threatened to pull their ‘support’ and I kindly told them to go fuck themselves because we weren’t going to change our sentencing and let that lunatic son of theirs back on the streets. What they fail to realize is that while the personnel transports and other vehicles we buy from them are useful and cheaper than we can get elsewhere, we have plenty of them right now and we have researchers at the university working on some new magitech options that should be available soon. We also have you now, but we won’t take that for granted. The worst-case scenario is that we use another supplier until then. There are plenty of them who would be happy to take our money.”

After that, the meeting was fairly short as we got back on topic, and then she had me install the app to monitor Karen’s tracking implant and went over how to use it. Mostly it could be used to track her location and monitor her vitals, but it also had the built-in taser in case she went out of control and needed to be subdued. Vice-Commander Carpenter seemed to believe that was a long shot though and asked that I try to talk her down before resorting to drastic measures, unless she was a clear and present danger to my team or the public.

The meeting ended with her giving me some new orders. First, in addition to training my Water magic with Captain Monroe, she wanted me to teleport as much as I could manage and try to push the limits of my special ability. They were hoping that if I pushed myself, I might be able to increase the range I could tag people or objects in or discover new aspects of the ability. She also wanted me to start some group training exercises tomorrow after the morning magic training, and to include Karen.

I wasn’t sure about that, but we were going to have to bring her into the team eventually, right? At least this way we would be doing so in the relative safety of Vanguard Tower, with a trainer watching over us. It was probably the best way to do this since trust was going to have to be earned all around. Still, I wasn’t looking forward to it as I went back to the mess hall to join the others. I wasn’t looking forward to a long night of going through rules, regulations, and personnel files either.

What. The. Fuck. Those were the words going through my mind as I read Karen Smythe’s file. I had to admit that I maybe had some preconceived biases about her, but this wasn’t what I had been expecting at all. I had expected an egomaniac, like that big blue asshole, Terry. Or perhaps for her to truly be the Karen I had seen thus far, but holy fuck, this girl had more layers than a wedding cake.

I had started by reading her psychological assessment, hoping that it would give me a better understanding of what the fuck might be going through her head, and it did. From the way the report read, this girl was deeply broken, perhaps more so than my sister when I was first reunited with her. She supposedly had survivor’s guilt in a big way and a fear of losing people close to her that was so deep-seated that she pushed everyone away and erected that frosty bitch exterior to keep anyone from wanting to get close to her.

She had frankly told her psychologist in school that the rich assholes she hung out with weren’t her friends. The psychologist believed that the only reason she let them get close was because she didn’t care about them, their presence helped her to push other people away, and she had a hard time standing up for herself, despite the bitch persona she had developed. There was also the possibility that she was trying to punish herself by not letting anybody care about her.

All of this was confirmed by Vice-Commander Carpenter when she went through Karen’s mind. While I hated the thought of using her weakness against someone so broken, at least I could be fairly sure that she would follow orders if she had a hard time saying no. I had to wonder though, what had left her so shattered inside that she would willingly try to sever almost all human contact?

With that in mind, I started reading her file more thoroughly, starting with what was known about her previous to the Incursion that had made her Altered. She wasn’t the spoiled socialite that I was expecting, her parents had been middle class until her father’s hard work paid off to build a very successful business when Karen was very young. While she was likely a little spoiled, it looked like her parents had kept their values and work ethics intact and tried to pass them on to her.

The trip to Mexico had been a rare splurging of wealth to celebrate Karen’s sixteenth birthday, and the Incursion itself had happened on her birthday. As if that wasn’t bad enough, when the search and rescue people with the Vanguard found her, she was with her mother’s corpse. Her mother had been hit with shrapnel from an explosion and bled out before her eyes, and Karen was exhausted and still trying desperately to resuscitate her when the rescuers had to pull her away.

Then she found out that she was becoming Altered and that her father died when part of the hotel they were staying in collapsed, all of that amongst the destruction and dead bodies of the post-Incursion cleanup. She had to organize her own parents’ funerals at barely sixteen years old because her extended family was far more concerned about who was going to get the ‘family business’ and the money. When she moved to Amethyst Harbour, her aunt and uncle came with her, supposedly to give her a stable home life, but that didn’t last long before she cast them out and emancipated herself.

When that was first mentioned, I thought she might have done it because she wanted to push them away, but they were apparently part of the problem. The Vice-Commander’s notes said that they had tried to get some scummy lawyer to help them steal her father’s business from her and had stolen some things, including something important to her. It was the birthday gift her father had been planning to give her for her sixteenth birthday, he had it in his pocket when he died. Damn, it was no wonder she was so broken and wouldn’t let people in.

It didn’t seem like she actually hated people though, even if she acted like it. The Vice-Commander’s notes indicated that when she sold her father’s business, Karen anonymously made a very large donation to an orphanage for Altered kids who had lost their families. Vice-Commander Carpenter only knew about the donation, and where it came from, because the orphanage in question was funded in part by the Vanguard, and she was on the Board of Directors.

So, Karen cared about people and wanted to do good, but she didn’t want to let people get close to her because she was afraid of either losing them or of them using her for her money. This was not going to be easy to navigate. Not only did I have to make sure the others gave her a fair chance, without telling them what I had learned in her file, but I also needed to somehow convince Karen to let us in and take down her walls. That last one was going to take time and trust, and I had a feeling that Karen didn’t trust easily.

Just to be thorough, I also ended up reading the files on Karen’s known associates. That was a fairly apt term since she didn’t view them as friends, and I doubted that any of them viewed her as one either. They seemed to be no more than associates of convenience due to wealth and social status.

There had been close to a dozen wealthy kids who had been at ground zero of the Mexico Incursion two years ago. Of those only eight ended up in Amethyst Harbour to form a rough social clique, including Terry and Karen. I knew more than enough about the big blue asshole already, and he wouldn’t be a problem for much longer, so I went on to study the files of the other six.

The first was Stephanie Du Pont, a Fae girl who came from old money. She was a socialite through and through and, while arrogant, manipulative, and selfish, she was probably the least likely to cause any trouble other than getting plastered at a nightclub and doing something stupid. She was likely more dangerous to herself than anyone else, though she tended to cajole other members of her group to join in when she was about to do something stupid. If she had a special ability yet, she hadn’t revealed it to anyone.

Most of the half dozen people, at least according to the information the Vanguard had on them, were like Stephanie. They were wealthy and arrogant socialites who were used to getting their way, acted like assholes, threw money at their problems, and tended to follow Stephanie’s lead for the most part. Other than the occasional bribery and much more prevalent bullying of the less affluent, they didn’t have any major strikes against them yet.

Slightly more concerning was Marcus Conrad, who was some sort of Demon since becoming Altered. His father was the CEO of a major pharmaceutical and medical company and in the past two years since becoming Altered, Marcus was in drug rehab more than he wasn’t. His record said that he had a history of violence due to drinking and drug use.

Thankfully he had already developed his special ability, and it was relatively harmless, perhaps even a good thing since the ability manifested when he overdosed on something. The hospital wasn’t sure what it was, possibly some new drug that his father’s company was working on. His special ability seemed to be a complete body detox, that could be used on himself or other people. He was in the hospital now and seeing a mandated psychologist so he likely wouldn’t be a problem for us, and maybe he could be convinced to use his ability to help others.

The big red flag on the list was Alistair Davenport, a Satyr. Like Stephanie, he also came from old money, but he was probably the biggest concern of all of them. He had a reputation for being a predator even before becoming Altered, but charges never seemed to stick. Now, due to being a Satyr, he had pheromones that could attract almost any woman he wanted.

One would think that would satisfy him, but his psychological profile said otherwise. He didn’t like being told no and in the past two years, there were three restraining orders placed against him, five complaints of stalking, and nearly a dozen suspected sexual assaults. These cases usually weren’t pursued because of lack of evidence, the victims backing off, or out-of-court settlements. The Vice-Commander was just itching to get something solid on him or have some way for one of his cases to fall within her jurisdiction. After the sentencing of Terry and Karen, I figured he might be more careful to avoid that, but I was also worried that he might be a problem if we encountered him.

This was too much to think about and I was starting to get a bit of a headache. I was going to have to handle this whole Karen situation very carefully. I did my best to memorize the photos, names, and pertinent information, especially those of Alistair Davenport, and then I left the virtual environment that my comm ring had provided to read the files and opened my eyes.

I had gone to the den in my little house and started to read the files right after dinner, telling the others that I had homework to do, and now the clock function of my comm ring told me that it was just after nine-thirty. I had been going over the rules and regs book and those files for almost three hours.

Stretching to get the kinks out of my muscles, I got out of the cozy little office chair that faced my desk and left the den. I was a little surprised to find Poppy in the living room watching a movie through the holo-projector on her comm crown. She had been hanging out with Ainslee and my sister when I left them.

My girlfriend looked up and smiled as I joined her on the couch and snuggled close to her. “Hey, Love, did you finish your homework then?”

I let my head bob lazily in a nod against her shoulder before responding, “Yeah, I read all the stuff that I was supposed to. Now I just have to figure out some stuff, but I don’t need to be stuck in the den reading for that. Soo... I wasn’t expecting to see you here; you were settling in to watch a movie with Kelly and Ainslee in her room when I left.”

Okay, so maybe I kinda changed the subject there. I didn’t like keeping secrets from the people I cared about, especially when these secrets might involve them at some point. Unfortunately, I was under orders and those files I was studying were for my eyes only. Not only could I not tell them because of that, but if I did, even if it was only to convince them that Karen wasn’t as bad as she seemed, it would probably hamper any attempts to build Karen’s trust.

They could only learn about this stuff if Karen herself decided to open up and tell us, and for that, I needed her to trust us, and me in particular, so she would relax her guard and drop the act. I was going to have to walk a very delicate tightrope here or perhaps it was more akin to walking through a minefield in the dark. I let out a soft sigh and snuggled closer to Poppy as she shrugged.

“I was feeling a bit like a third wheel,” she explained. “It’s about time those two started making out after the way they’ve been looking at each other the last couple of days, but I didn’t think they needed an audience.”

Good for Ainslee and my sister. Speaking of making out though, I smiled as I shifted position to straddle her lap and said, “You know what they say, Poppy. If you can’t beat them…” I didn’t finish the sentence as I kissed her, banishing my worries about the Karen situation for the moment and igniting a spark of desire within my core as she began to passionately return my amorous affections.

Our tongues danced wildly as each of us tried to establish a rhythm and it wasn’t long before our hands began to roam, turning that spark into a blaze that filled my core with a pleasant heat until we had to come up for air. This was far from the first time that Poppy and I made out, and we both tended to have wandering hands when we did, but I knew that Poppy was holding herself back for my sake and usually the hands stayed on top of the clothes. I wasn’t going to let her do that anymore.

If she wanted to wait until I was ready, then I was going to let her know that I was ready. I let out a breathy moan as one of her hands caressed my right breast through my dress and the other firmly gripped my ass. “…Bedroom…” I gasped. “Let’s get out of… these clothes.”

“Are you… certain, Love?” she panted back huskily.

“I’ve never been more certain… in my life,” I replied in a raspy whisper. I felt hot and wet between my legs, and I flushed at the thought that my panties were quickly becoming damp. My nipples were painfully hard, aching for more than the gentle kneading that she was providing my one breast. It was so unfair; she should be giving them both the attention that they needed.

I stood up so quickly that it made my head spin a bit and grabbed her wrists to pull her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, she kissed me again, cupping my face in her hands with a tenderness that belied the passion of the kiss. When we broke apart and I opened my eyes, I found myself looking right into her dark orange eyes. She looked conflicted. Clearly, this was what she wanted, and she was she was practically trembling with excitement, but she also looked nervous.

“I… want you so badly, Love,” she whispered, “but I… don’t have a lot of experience with this.”

For a moment I could only gape at her in shock. She was such a natural flirt. Was she truly as inexperienced as I was? “I… but you…”

“Disaster lesbian, remember?” she said as she looked away. “Before the Incursion, I never really had the nerve to… and I was so awkward. Like I was with you at first, but mostly with straight girls, and you’re the first girl to actually show an interest. I mean, I kind of know what to do in theory, I read a lot of lesbian fiction, but I only really have experience with… myself. What if I’m no good and you don’t like it?”

I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly, leaning close to kiss the pointed tip of her ear. “Poppy, I don’t have any experience either, not even with myself. We can both learn together and figure out each other’s likes and dislikes, learn more about each other. Experienced or not, I’ll be making love to you, so it’s gonna be amazing.”

When I pulled away, she was blushing and had a teary smile on her face as she said, “I hope you’re as good with that silver tongue in bed.”

A moment later, we were both in the master bedroom, hurriedly stripping out of our clothes. What followed wasn’t as rushed. No, this was no frantic sex. We made love slowly, exploring one another’s bodies, experimenting, and trying different things to give each other pleasure and hopefully bring each other to climax. We were a bit clumsy, and some things just didn’t work, but there was a lot more that did.

We had to stop twice for nectar breaks before we both finally collapsed in exhaustion. It was as much a learning experience as it was making love, but there was no feeling like figuring out something new that drove Poppy crazy and sent her screaming into climax. When she did the same for me, it was even better. It was a constant give and take as we discovered each other’s weak spots and exploited them and just like I hoped before we started, even with our mutual inexperience, it was amazing.

The next morning saw us once again heading to Vanguard Tower for training, and Ainslee would once again be joining us. Not only was she going to have to be there for the team training exercise after lunch, but during the morning, while the rest of us worked on improving at using our racial magical abilities, she would be working on her special ability. Not the part where she summons those magical plasma weapons since that seemed to come to her as easily as breathing, but the more physical aspect.

Part of Ainslee’s special ability was a natural talent for close-quarters combat, especially with bladed weapons. So, she was going to be working with a close-quarter combat specialist to develop that talent into experience and skill, at least until school started and we had less free time. I thought that she might be reluctant when I brought it up yesterday, but my best friend actually seemed pretty eager to get started. She was serious about wanting to protect the people she cared about and fighting the Titans.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to deal with the media again since Ainslee and I gave our statements. Not that we would have anyway since I was teleporting us to Vanguard Tower. I was supposed to be training my special ability by pushing my limits and teleporting as much as possible, so it made sense and saved us from paying for public transit.

It was probably for the best that Ainslee and I avoided public places for a while anyway, at least until the whole situation blew over and the media got tired of us. The big story on last night’s news feeds was that Terry Lundburg was dead. Apparently, after the local Vampire population heard about the charges against him and his sentence, they didn’t let the grass grow under their feet. The prison was swarmed by them, all of whom specifically requested the big blue special. They all wanted a piece of him, and he was drained dry within a day of being put on the menu.

As expected, Terry’s parents did not take this news well. In addition to publicly announcing that Lundburg Technologies was severing all ties with the Vanguard (their biggest customer), they also launched a smear campaign against not only Vice-Commander Carpenter and Commander-General Kline but me and Ainslee as well. Those rich assholes were taking victim-shaming to a new level with any news agency or reporter that would listen.

They were painting me as having viciously attacked him without provocation and Ainslee as a slut and a tease who provoked their poor, innocent boy into a fight, despite his previous charges and evidence that the attack was premeditated. Not only did the video I streamed clearly show that, but so did his own thoughts and files that were found on his comm implant, which had been surgically removed as normal prison procedure to prevent communication with the outside world. The Vanguard countered by releasing those files, including Terry’s kill list, and Vice-Commander Carpenter released an official statement first thing this morning.

The statement declared, in no uncertain terms, that Terry Lundburg was a citizen of the city-state of Amethyst Harbour and subject to its laws. Laws which he had repeatedly broken. The statement specifically referenced the law regarding using special abilities or dangerous Altered abilities to attack people and the law about assaulting Vanguard personnel, stating that I was an officer in training. Finally, it stated that his sentence was issued due to the premeditated nature of the attack, his lack of any remorse, and the danger he posed to the population in general if allowed back on the streets.

The media was having a field day with all of this. So, I was more than happy to avoid any possible encounters by teleporting us to Vanguard Tower. The only good thing about this whole affair was that Karen’s name was hardly coming up at all, but she was currently locked down in Vanguard Tower and keeping quiet. Like that girl needed more trauma in her life.

People were mostly focusing on Terry since he was an attempted murderer with rich and influential parents. Those same parents, who were making their presence very known, were also a major focus, and through them, the Vanguard, me, and Ainslee. My best friend and I were getting the focus as both victims and secondary targets of the smear campaign, while people outside of Amethyst Harbour loved to read about a possible Vanguard scandal, which some of the headlines were touting.

Regardless, we all went through our morning training sessions with our individual trainers and were due to meet for lunch in the mess. I was not on my way there yet though. Even though I was tired from training my magic and teleportation ability over the past couple of hours, I had to make a stop before joining my sister, Poppy, and Ainslee for our meal.

I still didn’t know the layout of Vanguard Tower very well yet, so it took me longer than I would have liked to find the room that Karen was staying in. It probably would have taken less time to follow the locator beacon in her tracking implant than to look for the right room number on the right floor, but after ten minutes, during which I had to call the others and assure them that I would meet them shortly, I found the correct room. However, I hesitated before reaching out with my comm crown to issue the security code that would unlock and open the door.

As eager as I was to get what would likely be a very awkward first meeting with our new respective positions and ranks over with, I was also worried. I had so many different worries about how this would play out. What if she refused to play ball and follow my orders once she found out I was her commanding officer? What if she got hostile and I had to taser her with her implant?

My biggest fears of all though were: What if I’m not the leader that Vice-Commander Carpenter thinks I am? What if I can’t handle this? What if I fuck up somehow and make the broken girl behind that door worse instead of better? They were valid fears, very real possibilities, and that was what made them so insidious.

Karen was so traumatized inside and hurting so much and her tendency to push people away was going to make it hard to reach her so that my friends and I could have any sort of positive relationship with her, or one that was not purely negative at the very least. I was going to have to handle this situation, and Karen herself, very delicately. I hadn’t even opened the door yet and already it felt like I was walking a tightrope of possible success while a yawning chasm of failure stretched out below me, waiting to swallow me whole. And if I did fail, it wouldn’t be me who paid the price of my failure, but Karen.

No, I needed to think positively. Vice-Commander Carpenter seemed to believe in me and the sure way to fail was to hesitate or let myself be paralyzed by fear and not even try. If I played this right, I could help Karen, but I knew that success would likely be a long road, one that I would have to take one careful step at a time.

“It’s time to take that first step,” I told myself firmly as I mentally reached out with my comm crown to issue the security access code.

~You can do this, my Maiden,~ Moonlight gently encouraged. ~It may take time, patience, and effort, but I believe that you and the others can help Karen.~

“Thanks, Moonlight. I hope you’re right,” I replied as the security lock beeped, and I could hear a faint clicking sound before the door slid open with a pneumatic hiss. The room it opened to reveal was spartan, there was little more than the bed with a trunk at the foot for clothing and other belongings, a simple nightstand, and a metal desk with a basic office chair. There was one other door besides the one that I had just opened, which I assumed must lead to a bathroom since Karen was basically a prisoner here until school started.

Vice-Commander Carpenter had mentioned taking Karen home briefly to get some clothes and personal items, so that explained the small, decorative safe atop the nightstand, which I figured must contain valuables and/or personal items. It looked expensive, not like it belonged in a room like this one. Much like the well-dressed figure who was lying on the bed.

Karen was on her side facing away from me and didn’t even turn her head to see who her visitor might be, she just remained there lethargically. I might have feared that she was dead if I wasn’t already watching her vitals via the app for her tracking implant. The readings were all in the green and the lack of flashing red in my HUD or any alerts assured me that she was merely either sleeping or ignoring her visitor.

“If you’re here to deliver my lunch, just leave it on the desk and get lost,” she said. She sounded despondent, so empty of life, like she couldn’t be bothered to put out the effort of putting any real fire behind her words.

I hit my voice projection app and called out, “Attention, Cadet Smythe!”

As much as I would have rather called her by name, I feared that getting familiar with her too quickly would put her on guard with me from the start, if she wasn’t already just because of how we met. Going by what I knew of her, I felt that she would ironically be more at ease if I first addressed her by rank, like another cog in the machine. I hoped that it was the best approach, at least to start with, for a girl who wanted to keep people at a distance. This way, she could think that this was just business for me, or that I maybe still held some hostility toward her, and so I wasn’t a threat of getting past her guard.

Karen hadn’t received any real Vanguard training yet, much like me and the others on our team, so she didn’t snap to attention and get to her feet. She did, however, turn her head to regard me for a moment before eliciting a derisive snort of feigned disgust. “Oh, it’s the mosquito,” she said dryly, nearly getting under my skin despite my resolve to be understanding and not let her do so. “What the fuck do you want? Are you here to see me suffer? Are you enjoying the show?”

I sighed, feeling helpless and trapped. There were so many metaphorical landmines for me to step on here. I didn’t believe her feigned ignorance for a minute either, I knew very well that the Vice-Commander had informed her about being placed on my team. Perhaps I was wrong about keeping her at a distance at first. Maybe I needed to push her a bit instead. Or maybe a bit of both?

“No, I’m not,” I told her sternly, “so you can drop the tough act and get off your ass, Karen. I’m here as your new commanding officer, to take charge of my new team member. We’re going to the mess for lunch and then we have some team exercises.”

Karen snorted again but did get to her feet as she sarcastically stated, “Whatever. I bet we’re all going to be one big, happy family and that your Unicorn shits lollipops and farts rainbows.”

“I think we all know that trust is going to take time to build after your last meeting with me and Ainslee. On both sides,” I told her honestly. As much as I wanted to add that she wasn’t the only one suffering, that she wasn’t helping anyone with her bitch act, least of all herself, I held that back for now. There was pushing her and then there was pushing her too far. I needed her to lower those walls a bit first and I was really hoping that these team exercises and being around the rest of us might help with that.

Karen was quiet all the way to the mess, though she maintained her scowl, and her body language remained closed off as I flew alongside her, observing and giving the occasional directions to our destination. Wasn’t it mentally exhausting keeping up the act all the time? I wanted so badly to break down those walls, but if I moved too fast and shattered them, I would likely do more harm than good and make it harder to gain her trust.

Ainslee was the first to notice us as we arrived at the mess hall, got our respective meals, and approached the table she and the others were sitting at. I saw her whisper something to my sister and Poppy and then they too were looking up at our approach, their expressions guarded. “Poppy, Sis, this is Karen Smythe, our new teammate who I was telling you about. Karen, you already know Ainslee, so this is my girlfriend, Poppy Lancaster, and my sister, Kelly Pierce.”

There was a mishmash of muttered greetings from my loved ones while for a brief instant, Karen stared at my sister and then looked between us in confusion. It was fairly obvious that we weren’t genetically related after all, even before becoming Altered, and now it was even more so with me being a Sprite and Kelly a Huli Jing. It was nice to see Karen show an actual honest reaction, even if it was out of surprise. Her eyes seemed to linger on my sister though as she tried to put her mask of angst back in place.

My sister tried to extend the olive branch by offering, “Our Mom couldn’t have kids naturally, so we were both adopted.”

“I didn’t ask for your life story, Whitey,” Karen snapped as she sat down, looking very carefully down at her food and taking a sip of her drink before speaking again. “Hmph, and I thought this team was going to be bullshit before. Now I have to work with the fucking mosquito and her little pony, her firefly girlfriend, the bitch who maimed me, and you? I feel so fucking safe. What do you do, Whitey? Besides looking pretty. It’s like I’ve been conscripted to join a fucking girl band.”

As much as I really wanted to defend my sister and the others, I needed to at least give them all a chance to come to some kind of truce on their own first. That wasn’t looking likely though as I sipped at my nectar and Poppy fumed. “Firefly? Racist bitch.”

It was grumbled under her breath so only I heard it, and I gave my girlfriend an imploring look over our tiny table as I whispered, “Please, we all promised to give her a fair shake.” Poppy didn’t seem happy, but she reluctantly nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself.

“I’m invulnerable,” my sister was snapping back at Karen over us. “Nothing hurts me, least of all your pathetic little barbs. Desperate cry for attention much? I’ll be covering everyone’s asses and putting myself between you and the stuff that might splatter or incinerate you otherwise, so if you want to feel safe, maybe you should give me a reason to want to do that for you.”

I found myself wincing as Ainslee muttered bitterly, “Yeah, this was such a good idea.”

Unfortunately, my best friend had a point. This was not going well, and I was not looking forward to the work ahead of me. “Get through lunch first,” I told myself as I held back a sigh. “If I’m lucky, they won’t all try to kill each other before we’re all finished eating.”

We all ate our lunches quietly for a while before I decided to do something about it. This oppressive silence was even worse than the fighting. Karen wouldn’t look at anyone and everyone was all tense as if waiting for things to socially explode. We couldn’t work together like this, and it wasn’t doing any of us any good.

“Umm… maybe we should all get to know each other a little better. You know, tell a little bit about ourselves and maybe how we became Altered and stuff,” I suggested, trying to find some common ground and maybe show Karen that we had all lost people and been hurt.

“Hmmph, maybe we should all join hands and sing Kumbaya while we’re at it. That sounds like a great use of our time,” Karen snarked without even looking up from her food.

Somehow, I managed not to let slip a sigh of exasperation, I didn’t want to do that while my voice projection app was running and let her know that she was getting to me. “Think of it as a team-building exercise. I’ll even go first,” I offered.

With that decided, I gave an abbreviated story of the Incursion and how I had become Altered, starting with when Kelly woke me up in the middle of the night. I tried to keep it brief and tell only the important things, like how I saw my father cut in half by Titan weapons, how Mom was captured, and then how Kelly was captured too while trying to act as a distraction to protect me and Moonlight after telling me to hide. I also admitted how scared I was, especially when that Titan looked like it was going to kill me and Moonlight.

I finished my tale with my Sprouting, how I had burst out of my cocoon, and the events that immediately followed it. I told them how big and scary everything was at first, about Moonlight making her presence known and me thinking I was going crazy, and how I learned that I had been trapped in that cocoon for over three years. I told them how frustrated I felt having to learn to use my new body and how confused I was by the gender stuff at first until Breeze cracked my egg and made me realize I was trans.

For a moment, after I had finished my story, everyone was quiet and I thought that I might have actually gotten to Karen, but that hope was dashed as she snorted. “Nice story, but there’s one thing that doesn’t add up. You said that your sister, Kelly, was captured by the Titans, but she’s sitting right in front of me. She must have really suffered.” Her tone was thick with sarcasm, and she rolled her eyes.

“You don’t know anything,” Kelly all but growled and Karen let her mask slip for a brief moment from the sheer vitriol in my sister’s tone. “I remember them taking me through the Breach and then nothing! Nothing for almost three years until I woke up naked and pregnant in a dark room with no memory of how I got that way! I had no idea what they did to me or what I was turning into, and then the Titans dropped me and some other Altered outside of a Breach in the middle of the desert five months ago like we were garbage! I lost the baby, and I thought that everyone I gave a damn about was either dead or on the other side of the Breach still!”

A lot of eyes in the mess hall were suddenly looking our way at my sister’s outburst, and I thought I saw Karen wince, but whether that was in sympathy or discomfort, I couldn’t tell. Kelly was shaking and her eyes looked a little damp as Ainslee put an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. “Yeah, that was a great idea, Lily, that made things so much better,” I chided myself bitterly.

Ainslee seemed to be helping to calm down my sister so taking a deep breath, I decided to try to salvage this somehow as I turned my attention to Karen. “Every Altered has been through an Incursion and lost something we care about, Karen. Most of us have lost our humanity and have had to get used to being something else, many of us have lost people we care about, some have lost our whole lives, and some of us have lost a hell of a lot more than that. Do you really think you’re alone in having trauma? Let me tell you, you’re not.”

Karen was looking guilty now, shrinking back into her chair as I added, “And yeah, maybe some of us get lucky too. I got a body I was happy with, I have Moonlight, I met Poppy, and I was able to reconnect with some of the people I thought I lost. I was lucky that my sister still had her implant so Vanguard could identify her, and the nurses were able to bring us back together after I Sprouted. She wasn’t as lucky, she needed me.”

“I’m… sorry,” the Dark Elf said quietly, just loud enough to be heard by the people at our table. “I…”

Whatever she was about to say, she couldn’t seem to finish it, so I took the opportunity to say more while I had her attention and silence. “In our first meeting after the Incursion, Kelly was catatonic in the psych ward. She tried to kill herself several times, but her invulnerability prevented it, and she constantly has nightmares that she can’t be sure are just her worst fears manifesting or memories of things those alien motherfuckers did to her while she was their captive. She still has a lot of healing to do.”

“I… didn’t know.” Karen’s voice was barely audible now as she looked anywhere but at her table mates.

“No, you didn’t,” I agreed, “and that’s the lesson here. If we’re going to be a team and work together, we need to know and trust one another. If we don’t, and we’re not all on the same page, someone is bound to get hurt. It could be emotionally or physically, and it could be any one of us. Right now, none of us knows or trusts you, but we’re willing to give you a chance, even if you don’t make it easy for us. I’m not asking you to be nice, tell us your story, or give us trust we haven’t earned yet, I’m just asking you to give us the same opportunity we’re trying to give you. Get to know us and give us a chance.”

“What, because friendship is magic? Is that what your little pony told you?” she snarked, though it seemed more of a learned reaction than having any real bite to it as if her heart just wasn’t in it. “Love and trust aren’t going to prevent people from getting hurt, I know that better than anyone. Sometimes, the people you care about die right in front of your eyes, no matter how hard you try to save them, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”

I wasn’t expecting to bring down the walls she had spent years erecting in one day. I was optimistic, not stupid, but if I could just get one crack to show on the surface then there was hope for her in the long run. This might just be that crack. I was trying to think of something motivational to say when Ainslee interjected.

“That sounds like experience talking,” my best friend said as my sister took deep breaths to calm herself and they both looked over our new teammate. “So, is that your thing then? You lost someone you cared about, so now you push everyone away with this act? We’ve all lost people, just like Lily said. That pushing people away though, that’s bullshit. I’d rather get stronger and learn to use my new abilities to protect the people I care about, so that shit can never happen again while I’m there to prevent it.”

Then Poppy piped up with, “Sometimes you can’t prevent it, and I’m still learning to accept that. It was pure luck that I wasn’t at home with Mum and my grandparents when the building we lived in collapsed during the Incursion. I still blame myself sometimes, but I know that even if I had been there with them, I couldn’t have done anything. I probably would have just died along with them. I think they’d be happy I lived, and that they would want me to be happy.”

Karen’s mask started to slip again; I could see it as her frown deepened. She had more in common with my teammates than she probably wanted to believe or accept. I didn’t want to push her too hard though, not right away, it would just push her away and then I would have more work ahead of me. “I’m not asking you to join our little family, or even to be our friend, Karen. I just want us all to be able to get along and trust one another so we can work together. Can you manage that?”

The mask slammed firmly back into place as she grumbled, “Fine, whatever. It’s not like I have much choice anyway.”

“One step at a time,” I reminded myself. This was going to be a slow process, and we would need to remain emotionally available to her and try to include her in our group. Hopefully, this would act like exposure therapy for her feelings, and we could get her to slowly open up and confront her fears over time. I still wasn’t sure that I was the best person for this job, but I would do my best.

Ainslee and Poppy shared their origin stories as we hurriedly finished our lunches, but Karen wasn’t ready yet to open up about her past, so I told everyone that we had to hurry to get to our scheduled training exercise on time. We were actually a bit early, arriving at the training room a little over five minutes before we were scheduled to start.

The team training exercises were not what I was expecting, I was expecting training drills, obstacle courses, and the like. There was no equipment in the massive room though, save various holo-projectors, let alone an entire obstacle course, even though the underground chamber that we were in could probably fit several football fields. Other than those projectors in the walls, floors, and ceilings, the room was bare save for us and our instructor, Sergeant Vale.

The sergeant was an imposing Vampire man who was six and a half feet tall, had muscles for days, and whose arms were covered with strange, glowing tattoos. He had crimson eyes, pitch-black hair that was down past his shoulder blades, and an expression that said that he would take absolutely no shit. The man was quite frankly terrifying as he fixed his gaze on us and sniffed at the air.

“I smell fear,” the sergeant said as his lips curled upward into a smile that I didn’t like the looks of at all. “That’s good, fear is our instincts telling us that we’re in danger. Listen to those instincts, but don’t let them control you. Two types of people die in their first altercation against the Titans, those who don’t have the sense to respect the danger they are in and those who let their fear control them. Respect your fear, but don’t let it rule your thoughts and actions. Courage is what lets us do that, and I’m here to help you find your courage. Any questions?”

None of us moved or said a word as the Vampire spoke, remaining at attention and I was the one who spoke up, using my voice projection app to carry my words. “Vice-Commander Carpenter didn’t tell me what these exercises would involve. I was expecting drills or obstacle courses.”

The sergeant nodded thoughtfully before replying, “You will be facing those very things during your weekend training sessions with all the other Cadet students once you start classes, but for now we will be doing something different. I’ve been told that your team may be called in for first response if Incursions happen if Cadet-Major Pierce can transport troops and equipment there. It’s my job to prepare you for that.”

He paused, letting that sink in before speaking again. “Listen up, buttercups, I know you’ve all been in at least one Incursion before, you wouldn’t be Altered otherwise at your age. There is probably fear and trauma attached to those memories for you, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, but today you’re going to start to face those head-on while you learn to work as a team.”

“W-wait… you mean…” Karen started to ask, sounding nervous as her eyes darted around to take in the projectors spaced around the cavernous room.

“This entire chamber is a hardlight holographic training simulator, and we will be doing Incursion training,” Sergeant Vale replied. “Most people would be putting you kids through virtual training to start you off, but I’m not most people and the VC wants you ready for the real thing. With virtual training, your minds know that it’s not real, that the danger isn’t real so I’m dropping you in the deep end.”

He went on to tell us that since we had a healer on hand, he wouldn’t stop the simulation unless one of us was in danger of being seriously injured or worse. He also would not be participating himself since he would be monitoring our progress in the main control room with roving cameras that would be following each of us. Then he sent us to a changing room at the far end of the colossal chamber to prepare ourselves.

Waiting inside the room was a woman maybe in her mid-twenties with olive skin and dark hair and, while she looked human enough above the hips, her lower body was that of a huge snake. The Lamia was pretty and wore the uniform of a Private in the Vanguard. As soon as we entered the room, she gave us an encouraging smile.

“Hi, I’m Private Callas,” she said with a slight accent that I thought might be Greek. “You girls are pretty lucky; you’re not even going to the university yet and you’re all being issued equipment and getting special training already. I guess that makes sense if you might be jumping into Incursions though. I’m here to give you a quick primer on how your gear works before throwing you into the sim.”

“Gear?” Kelly asked in surprise. “I was kinda worried he was just going to have us go in like this. Wouldn’t we need training for any kind of special gear?”

“Normally you would,” the Lamia agreed, “but you’re just being issued the basics today and I can show you how to use them in a few minutes. The body armor will be yours to keep, but the weapons will have to be checked out and then returned when you’re finished the sim. Anyway, let’s start with the armor then.”

Private Callas led us to a bench that was probably usually used for changing clothes and sitting, but for the moment hosted weapons that I had seen being worn and/or carried by the team that came to retrieve Ainslee, Karen, the big blue asshole, and me after our scuffle. A box, roughly the size of a small toolbox, also sat on the bench. It was that which she opened first, revealing what looked like some sort of silver-hued metal chokers, three in normal person sizes and two that were surprisingly small enough for me and Poppy.

“These are the DS-4 Personal Protection System. Using them is fairly intuitive and they’re standard issue for anyone that has even a speck of magical talent or abilities,” she explained as she pointed to a similar choker around her own neck. “To activate the armor or retract it, you just need to push some mana into the collar, and it’ll do its thing.”

“Is it some kind of nanotech?” Poppy asked, though I was pretty sure we didn’t have anything like that yet, at least not as advanced as this.

“Nope,” the Lamia said with a grin. “It uses dimensional shunting enchantments to store the armor in the collar when it’s not in use. It also has enchantments for self-repair if the armor is damaged and a shielding spell that will give additional protection to your torso and head. The added spells aren’t super powerful though since there’s a limit on how much magic an object can hold so I’d try to avoid taking any hits if possible. They’re looking into better magical materials, but that’s probably going to take time.”

We each took one of the chokers and put them on and I was a little surprised at how easy it was to use. I just had to put the tiniest bit of mana into the choker, and I was suddenly covered by a skin-tight black body armor from neck to toes and fingertips. It had slits for my wings in the back, felt easy to move in, and was essentially a simple black catsuit with no embellishments but the Vanguard decals on the shoulders. The material almost felt like leather on the outside and there was a bit of squishy give to it that made me think there was a gel underlayer to absorb impacts.

The others managed to activate theirs as well and Poppy sidled up against me, practically purring, “Ooh, I do love a girl in uniform, Love.”

Thankfully I was small enough that nobody but Poppy could see my blush as I asked, “So… umm... how good is this armor? And what happened to my clothes?”

“They’re tough but fairly basic,” Private Callas replied with a shrug. “Mine has protected me against shrapnel, and heavy impacts that would have broken bones otherwise, and they’re rated as bulletproof, but with some of the heavier magitech weapons that the Titans bring to bear, it’s better to just try not to get hit in the first place. Some people choose to wear a heavier armor over top, but it hampers mobility. As for your clothes, they’ve been shunted into the dimension that usually stores the armor until you activate the collar again.”

Kelly nodded and looked thoughtful as she replied, “I guess that’s the best we can ask for. It’s not like I really need it, and I’ll do my best to keep you all covered.”

The Private nodded and gestured toward the bench once again. “Okay, weapons now. I’m afraid we don’t have anything in Sprite size that would be useful in combat, but you all have elemental magic anyway so it’s not like you’re helpless. For you other three though, we have the standard-issue Desert Eagle Mk XXVI handgun and the M7 Punisher high-powered assault rifle.”

I was about to object that a regular handgun wasn’t going to do shit to the Titans, even if it was a fifty caliber, but that was when she explained that in addition to being able to use a normal loadout of armor-piercing shells, there were enchanted rounds available as well. They still probably wouldn’t do much against a fully shielded Titan since the bullets could only hold so much magic, but they would get its attention. The bullets exploded on impact and would do far more damage to one of us, which was why she gave Kelly, Karen, and Ainslee a brief gun safety lesson and told them not to point them at anyone but the giant alien mecha.

The Punisher on the other hand, was a pure magitech weapon that had been developed by studying damaged or destroyed Titan weapons. It looked bulky for an assault rifle, more like a small cannon and the barrel was diamond shaped rather than round. It could be loaded with condensed mana clips, or the user could feed mana to it directly, and it fired massive bursts of destructive magical energy, much like a smaller version of that violet beam of energy that had eviscerated the roof of our stables.

Once Private Callas finished showing my human-sized teammates how to use their weapons and reminding them to be careful where they pointed them, we were ready to go. Thankfully, neither weapon would be using live ammo, and she was just trying to get them into good safety habits, since nobody wanted an accident with first-time weapons users. The guns all had little sensors attached that would connect them to the simulation so it would act as if they did have live ammo when used against our holographic opponents and the Punishers were otherwise disabled. We would still have to be careful with our special abilities and magic though, especially Poppy, Karen, and Ainslee.

After the safety talk, the Lamia in uniform directed our attention to a holographic image that she activated from a console in the wall. It looked like a peaceful little town. “Okay, girls, this shows the interior of the training room. Any minute now, a Breach will open to begin the Incursion simulation. Your job is to get there as soon as you can after the Breach opens and to protect civilians and the designated shelter until reinforcements can arrive. Good luck.”

I watched the holographic image, which seemed to be an overview of some sort of beach resort town, my muscles growing more tense with each second that we waited. This was going to be rough, especially for Karen, given what I knew of her. I was practically shaking from nervousness and had to carefully control my breathing as we waited for something to happen.

Not that I was doing nothing. I had already mentally tagged all my teammates, including Moonlight, and I was ready to teleport in there as soon as I had a good idea of where I needed to teleport to. My eyes were also darting all over the holographic image in front of me as I scanned for where the Breach was going to appear.

Ainslee’s sharp eyes spotted it first, not surprising since she was the only one of us who had seen a Breach up close before. It looked like a growing circle of light on one of the busier streets with blue-white lightning arcing around it to hit anything metallic in the area. A couple of hover-jets had dropped out of the air and several older, land-based cars were stopped in the middle of the street from the massive amount of electromagnetic energy being thrown around. “There!” she said, pointing to the area.

“Wait for it to fully form before getting too close,” Private Callas warned. “You don’t want to be near a gate while it’s still forming if you value anything electronic like implants and comm rings.”

“Yeah, I know that from experience,” Ainslee muttered.

Meanwhile, the private continued to explain. “Usually, this is around the stage when the Vanguard satellite network detects the unique energy signature of electromagnetic disturbance and uses it to pinpoint the still manifesting Breach. It can take a few minutes to do that and scramble teams to the area, and usually by then the Breach is fully formed. So, whenever you’re sent in for first response, the Breach will usually be fully formed and spitting out Titans in a full-on Incursion by the time you get there, even if Cadet-Major Pierce can teleport like I was told.”

“And once that Breach is fully formed, we’ll have to try to make things difficult for them for forty-seven minutes until it closes, or until reinforcements arrive,” I said thoughtfully, with my voice projection just loud enough for everyone to hear as I stared at the forming Breach, or as close as the holo-projectors could come to making it look real. “Wouldn’t I usually be ferrying in other first response and strike teams though?”

“That’s the goal, as far as I know,” the private agreed, “but there is always a chance that you can’t for some reason and might need to engage the enemy instead. Oh, it looks like it’s fully formed now. Good luck, girls.”

As soon as those words left the mouth of Private Callas, I focused on the holographic projection, which had zoomed in to give an overhead view of the general area of the fake town where the Titans were beginning to emerge from the Breach. Turning my attention to an alley near the breach, but not within view of it, I willed myself and my teammates to appear there. I didn’t want us being attacked before everyone could get their bearings, nor did I want us to be stepped on by one of the massive mechs. Hardlight holograms or not, they were solid enough that it would be awkward and risk injuries.

As soon as we were in place, I started issuing orders. “Moonlight, stick close in case anyone needs healing, but keep hidden for now so you don’t become a target and keep an eye out for any civilians in danger.”

-Of course, my Maiden,- the Unicorn quickly agreed.

Turning to my girlfriend next, I told the Fire Sprite, “Poppy, you and I are the hardest to hit and the most mobile, so we’ll find out where the shelter is and start leading people there. If we have to, we’ll get in the Titan’s faces and cause a distraction with our elemental magic.”

“You’ve got it, Love. I’ve got your back.”

Then I turned from my girlfriend to the human-sized members of our team. “Ainslee, you and Karen try to take those big fuckers down, try to cut them down to size with your ability while Karen covers you and targets their weapons with her acid beam from a distance. Kelly, try to keep them and any civilians covered, if you can manage it. The priority is keeping the civilians safe until we can get them to a shelter.”

Once the three of them (Karen grudgingly) had accepted my plan, we poured out of the alley to face the Titans that were already causing panic and destruction. People dressed for warm weather and the beach were running for their lives through the streets and I caught sight of a few very familiar blasts of energy that caused a nearby building to collapse, causing tremors to shake the ground beneath my friends’ feet and knocking several civilians off theirs. Then I saw those giant alien mechs up close, which were now far bigger to me in terms of scale and a lot scarier as well.

Widthwise, they took up most of the two-lane street and they were as tall as the two-story buildings. Energy blasts shot hover-jets out of the air and one man, who was trying to cover his family’s retreat into an alley was cut in half by one of their lasers before he could do more than throw a couple of stones at one of the colossal mechs. I flashed back to seeing my father die the very same way, though at least he had a gun. They were coming for us, and they wouldn’t stop until…

-I know you are afraid, Lily, but you are not the same person as you were back then,- a familiar voice assured me as fear caused my heart to race and I could barely breathe. It was Moonlight, and she was right, I was literally a different person now, and I had magic that I could use to defend these people.

“L-let’s move it everyone!” I called out, my voice tremulous from the terror I was trying to push through as I pulled myself together and turned to check on my companions.

Hovering in the air nearby, Poppy looked like she had seen a ghost, but she was visibly trying to shake it off as she gathered flames from a nearby explosion to send them right at the eye sensor thing of the lead Titan with a scream of rage. Ainslee gritted her teeth and summoned a massive claymore of magical plasma as she rushed for the legs of the same Titan to try to cut it down to size. Karen and Kelly were both frozen in terror though.

Karen’s gaze was firmly locked on a woman who had been caught in an explosion who was badly burned and bleeding out from shrapnel until she closed her eyes to try to shut the scene out. Her breathing was ragged and panicked, and her whole body was tense as she clenched her fists at her sides. I could hear her murmuring to herself, something about her mother, but I couldn’t make it out clearly.

Kelly, on the other hand, was unable to move as the Titan reached for her, kicking Ainslee away before she could get close enough to use her manifested weapon and swatting at Poppy like she was an errant fly. Ainslee went flying into the side of a building and Poppy managed to avoid the blow meant for her but was having trouble righting herself and had completely lost control of her fire. The Titan’s other hand reached for my sister, ignoring my attempt to get its attention with a quick blast of water that I created with mana from my reserves, and once she was in its grip, my sister started to panic.

That was when the scene faded away as the hardlight holograms vanished, leaving us in a cavernous, empty room once again as my sister fell unceremoniously to the ground. Ainslee was slow getting to her feet and while her regeneration could probably handle any injuries that she had, especially if she was given time to feed on Karen, I felt it better to hold off on that. Tonight was supposed to be her first official feeding from the Dark Elf, but I didn’t want her to do it while Karen was obviously still shaken up since she hadn’t opened her eyes yet and was still mumbling to herself.

“Moonlight, could you please see to Ainslee’s injuries?” I asked my Unicorn companion mentally before turning to Karen and Kelly, who were both still in a bad state.

-Of course, Lily,- she replied, quickly making herself visible and solid once again and then trotting over to the injured Baobhan Sith.

It took me several minutes to snap Karen and Kelly out of their respective traumatized states and by that time, Ainslee was back on her feet and trying to comfort my sister as well so I could turn my attention fully to Karen. She was very shaken up still and honestly, I wasn’t sure how to help her with that. That was something for her to talk about with her psychiatrist, but for now, at least I had gotten her back to reality.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused us all to look glumly toward Sergeant Vale, who did not look impressed with our performance as he walked across the cavernous room toward us. Honestly, I couldn’t really blame him since we did terribly from my perspective as well. I managed to get everyone to attention by the time he was close enough to speak, but I held no hope that he would be saying anything good.

“One minute and eighteen seconds,” the Vampire opened with, the frown on his face and disappointment in his tone making me want to find somewhere to hide. “That’s how long you lasted after engaging the enemy. It’s one more minute than I would have expected and a whole lot less than I was hoping for.”

I found myself tensing in anger at that. It was no coincidence that there had been things in that simulation that were tailor-made to set the most traumatized of us off. The man who was cut in half while trying to protect his family, the woman bleeding out from shrapnel, and the Titan grabbing Kelly. All of those were bound to set us off, even Ainslee since she couldn’t move and I saw her staring in horror at the latter as she tried to get up in vain and couldn’t do anything to intervene.

The bastard had read our files, and he did everything he could to make us break there. “That’s not fair,” I hissed at him angrily. “You set us up to fail.”

The sergeant snorted dismissively. “Life isn’t fair, girl. If there is one lesson that any of you have learned from your respective Incursions, it should be that. Fairness is an illusion, in the war against the Titans there is only victory and defeat.”

“But…”

My protest was quickly cut off before I could finish it as Sergeant Vale gave me a look that could freeze molten lava. “Butts are for sitting on, and none of you have time for that. Once I’m done telling all of you the many ways in which you fucked up, we’ll be going through the simulation again. And we’ll keep going through it until the lot of you can function properly on the battlefield.”

The stoney expression on his face told me that arguing wasn’t going to get me anywhere. There was only one thing I could do right now, and that was to say, “Yes, Sergeant.”

The Vampire nodded grimly, his attention still focused on me, and I guess that was better than seeing him ream out my friends. Not that I thought we could avoid that. “You had a decent plan going in, Cadet-Major,” he began, “for a beginner. Plans don’t mean shit if your troops can’t or won’t follow them though. You need to use the tools available to you in a battle, whether that’s your magic, your troops, or your gear. From the start, your sister and Cadet Smythe were the weak links there. You have control over Smythe’s tracking implant, why didn’t you give her a low-level shock to snap her out of it?”

“I couldn’t, I just…” I replied uncertainly, “I don’t want to use that unless it’s necessary.”

“Well, if she’s catatonic in the middle of a battle, I would say that it’s pretty fucking necessary,” he snapped back. “The alternative is that she dies from an attack because she’s frozen and not focusing on the battlefield, and that’ll probably get the rest of you killed too.”

I winced and was about to respond when Karen’s voice said. “Do it. If I freeze up like that again, shock me out of it. It’s not like we’re friends or anything anyway, so you don’t need to feel bad about it.” Turning to her in surprise, I saw a determined expression on her face.

That expression faded and she winced as the sergeant turned on her next. “Well, it seems you’re not as stupid as I feared. Freezing like that on the battlefield costs lives, sometimes yours, sometimes your comrades’, and sometimes the life of someone you could have saved if you weren’t frozen. You have no place in training to be a nurse or a combat medic if you can’t handle seeing people hurt or dying on a battlefield. It’s going to happen, there isn’t much we can do about that, but you can’t do shit for any of them if you freeze up when you see it. If you can’t handle it, then do us all a favor and take the prison sentence instead.”

Ouch. That was harsh, as harsh as he’d been with me, and I felt myself cringing by proxy. Karen cringed too, but then she straightened back up again and nodded as that determined look settled once again on her face. “I can handle it. Even if she has to fucking shock me a hundred times, I’ll get over this shit.”

The sergeant nodded, turning his attention to Kelly. “Do we need to get you a new implant too or are you going to be able to handle this without freezing up? You’re invulnerable for fuck’s sake! The Titans probably don’t have anything that can hurt you and they’re not going to grab you; they only grab regular ole humans. They’re gonna try to kill you and since they can’t do that, you’re the one who has the least to fear. Instead, be afraid that they’ll kill your comrades or civilians and use that power of yours to protect them. Another thing, you were given weapons for a reason, so use them!”

“That goes for you too!” he continued as he whirled on Ainslee. “You have a strong ability, but you need to be up close to use it. Or do you? Maybe you should try throwing weapons as well. If you don’t have the cover fire to get close or are too far away, use your damn weapon, the Punisher was designed to go against Titans and has good range. Don’t just rush in unless you know someone is providing cover fire to let you do that and stay mobile, hacking away at one spot without moving makes you a target. If you’re in close, hit and run.”

“Yes, Sergeant,” Ainslee said with a dejected expression, though I knew my best friend well enough to know that she was probably determined to learn from this and do better next time.

Then Sergeant Vale turned to Poppy. “Attacking the sensor eye was a good idea. Against a real Titan, you might have done enough damage to blind it with a prolonged attack. However, you can’t be solely focused on that, even at your size it makes you a big, fat target. You have mobility in the air so use it. You need to practice dodging and weaving while maintaining an attack and paying attention to the rest of the battlefield as well.”

Poppy looked as dejected as Ainslee, but she nodded. “I’ll work on that with my magic teacher, Sergeant, and I’ll try to do better next time.”

“Good,” he said with a nod before looking over us as a group and giving us an almost sympathetic look. “Cadet-Major Pierce was right, I set you up to fail this time, at least at being able to win this battle or last long enough for support to arrive.”

“I knew it,” I grumbled.

The sergeant just continued with his speech though. “This exercise was more about facing your fears than the objective I gave you. This isn’t going to be easy, and you are all going to face things in these simulations that will terrify you, but fear is a part of warfare, and you’re going to need to either get over your fears or not let them control you any more to be effective on the battlefield. Now, get back to the changing room, we’ll be going through this again and we’ll keep going through it until I’m satisfied with your progress.”

None of us were happy about that, but we all morosely made our way back to the changing room to wait for the next training session as ordered. I got the point of what he was doing, and I could even understand it to some degree, but this was going to be hard on us all, physically and mentally. Worse yet, I had the distinct feeling that Sergeant Vale was not an easy man to satisfy.

I lost count of how many times Sergeant Vale ran us through that simulation, or others like it, that afternoon and into the evening. It was one brutal simulation after another until they all sort of blended into one nightmarish encounter that seemed to last forever. So, yeah, I lost count, and I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to know the real number anyway. For some things, just letting it all blur together seemed to be a mercy.

One of those things was how many times I had to shock Karen to get her to snap out of it when she froze up after seeing someone injured or dying. I felt horrible for doing it every time, and every time she just quietly thanked me, which made me feel worse in a way. There was no biting sarcasm, no attitude, just a quiet, “Thanks, Major,” like she was resigned to it or felt that she deserved it.

It wasn’t just Karen who was having trouble freezing up and/or dealing with flashbacks either. None of us were immune, we all saw things that brought back traumatic memories, scared us shitless, or made us freeze up for one reason or another, me included. Sometimes a splash of cold water was enough to snap us out of it and sometimes one of us needed a slap to the face from a teammate. Every single time, the simulation would take advantage of our mistakes or inability to act.

If Sergeant Vale was trying to teach us that freezing up and making mistakes in combat was costly and endangered the whole team, he was making his point abundantly clear. We spent until dinnertime in simulation after simulation, never once completing the mission objective, having to face our worst fears over and over again. By the time he finally dismissed us to eat something and get some rest for the evening, we were all mentally and physically exhausted, not to mention shaken up.

Despite his hard-ass attitude and the fact that he was repeatedly putting us through hell, I didn’t think that Sergeant Vale was enjoying our suffering. Oh sure, he would viciously tell us all exactly what we did wrong after every attempt, but he praised us when it was deserved and always told us how we could improve as well. I also got the sense that he was enjoying putting us all through this as much as we enjoyed being his victims, which was not much at all. Still, I thought this training was excessive and might just cause more problems than it solved in the long run.

Eventually, he dismissed us all, with the foreboding announcement that we would be continuing this grueling training three afternoons a week until school started, or he thought that we could handle ourselves in a real combat situation. We would have a reprieve until Friday after lunch this week, but next week we would be thrown in the meat grinder on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from one o’clock until dinnertime. If we couldn’t handle combat by the time classes started, then we could expect to find more of these training sessions to be added somewhere in our already busy schedules.

With all of that, none of us were in a great mood as those of us who had been issued weapons checked them back in with Private Callas and we headed to the mess hall for dinner, mostly because we were all starving and wanted to sit down for a bit. Ainslee had already called Aunt Maya during one of our brief nectar and hydration breaks earlier to let her and the twins know that we probably wouldn’t be home for dinner. By the time that we had all gotten our meals in the mess hall and found a table that had a Sprite-sized table on it for me and Poppy to sit at, we all slumped into our chairs.

For several minutes we all just ate in glum silence. Surprisingly, Karen was the first of us to speak. “Well, that fucking sucked. That sadistic asshole is just going out of his way to make us suffer.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that he’s pushing us hard, and I don’t like him using our fears and trauma against us like that any more than you do, Karen, but do we really have a choice? It’s better if we all get over that shit in the relative safety of the simulation room now than being thrown into an Incursion Zone with little or no preparation later. Or would you all rather have to deal with all of this when there are real lives on the line and our freezing up or making stupid mistakes could cost those lives?” I hated feeling choiceless, and putting the others through this, but what alternative did we have?

There was another brief silence before my sister let out a long sigh and spoke up as well. “You do have a point, but couldn’t he just ease us into it? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Ainslee’s juice box. That guy was taking things too far, Sis.”

This earned her a frown and a glower from Karen, who snapped, “I’m not Red’s anything, Whitey. Just because I’ve been put on this team and told to feed her doesn’t mean…”

“I’m sorry,” Ainslee mumbled, cutting off whatever protest Karen was in the midst of. “I didn’t ask for that as part of your sentencing. I know you’re probably not looking forward to it either, especially with how I fed on you last time. I… I was hurt and instincts took over, so I was a bit… savage. Honestly, that scares me too. I probably could have killed you if you didn’t have so much vitae in your blood.”

“I wasn’t saying I wasn’t going to feed you,” the Dark Elf countered. “I agreed to this and now we’re both stuck with it. Don’t worry, you’ll get your fucking meal tonight.”

“You’ve got a lot of vitae, so I probably won’t need to take too much of your blood,” my best friend tried to assure her kindly. “I promise that I can make it hurt less too, I can even make it feel nice, if you don’t struggle.”

“We wouldn’t need her at all if my stupid skin wasn’t invulnerable and Ainslee could feed on me,” I heard my sister mutter under her breath. Was that jealousy? Did she feel bad that she couldn’t help Ainslee herself or did she just not like Karen that much.

I wasn’t the only one that heard her either. Ainslee put her hand on my sister’s and leaned close so that their shoulders were touching, a look of concern on her face. Across the table from the pair, Karen huffed, “I’m not trying to steal your fucking girlfriend, Whitey. I wouldn’t be spending time with any of you losers if I wasn’t being ordered to.”

My sister’s eyes narrowed, and a growl started to build up in her chest and she snarled, “Who are you calling losers? It was you and your buddy who got trounced by Lily and Ainslee.”

“She has a point there,” Poppy pointed out.

-This is going well,- Moonlight commented wryly.

“Please, Moonlight, just… don’t,” I sent back to my Unicorn companion wearily. “I’m tired and frustrated enough already, and now I have to deal with infighting. I really don’t need your running commentary unless it’s something helpful.”

-Apologies, my Maiden,- the Unicorn replied tiredly. -I too find myself frustrated with those training sessions.-

“He wasn’t my ‘buddy’, and I already told all of you that I didn’t think he was going to go as far as he did. I knew he was a selfish asshole, I didn’t know he was crazy too. I’m working with you, I’m cooperating, and I cut off all contact with the other assholes I was hanging out with, as ordered. What else do you fucking want from me?!” Karen snapped back at Kelly.

“You could be less of a bitch,” my sister shot back. “Ainslee is being nice to you, probably because she feels bad about what happened. I don’t know why since you blew a hole through her. My sister and Poppy are trying to be nice to you too so maybe you should…”

Yeah, I needed to cut this off before they really started going at it and someone said something really hurtful. “Enough, both of you. I know today has shown that we all have some issues that we need to deal with, but we should have each other’s backs rather than going for one another’s throats. Come on, we’re a team, now let’s at least try to act like it.”

Neither replied, but they both at least stopped snapping at each other as they returned to quietly eating their meals. The rest of dinner was quiet and tense until Karen picked up her now mostly empty tray. “Can I be dismissed now, Major?” she asked me pointedly. “I got stuff to do. Red can come find me when she wants her blood.”

I let out a long sigh, but replied, “Sure, Karen, you’re dismissed. Actually, Ainslee and I will probably catch up with you at your room soon so she can feed before we go home.”

“Fine, whatever.” With that she turned around to dispose of the tray and her dinner dishes and then left the mess hall.

The moment she was gone, I flitted up, so I was level with my sister’s face. “Kelly, I thought we were all going to try to give her a fair chance.”

“I…” my sister started to say before looking away. “I was, but she was being a bitch from the moment that we first met her, Sis. I didn’t like the way she was talking about all of us, and I guess I got a bit defensive. I’ve never met someone so prickly before, it’s like she’s going out of her way to be a bitch to all of us.”

“Yeah, she is, and I know how much that probably bothers you, Kelly, but did you ever think that maybe she’s going out of her way to be a bitch and push us all away for a reason?” I calmly countered.

“I said it was like she was doing that, not that she was. What kind of person would…” my sister began to reply before realization struck. “Wait... you know something, don’t you?”

“Not anything that I can share, but yes, I’ve read her file and it’s given me an appreciation for why she acts the way she does. Maybe someday she’ll trust us enough to tell us herself. Please, just trust me, Sis. Karen might not want friends, but she needs them, so try to give her some leeway and be nice. At the very least, try not to rise to her bait and realize that she’s like us, a girl who has lost a lot and endured a lot of shit no person should have to go through during her first Incursion,” I pleaded.

“She did freeze up as bad as you did during those first simulations, Kelly,” Poppy pointed out, and I silently thanked my girlfriend for the assist. “I think that she’s been through a lot.”

My sister let out a long breath in resignation. “I… you’re probably right. I’ll try to do as you asked, Lily.”

“Thanks, Sis. Now, I’m going to lead Ainslee to her room so she can feed, and I can have a little talk with Karen,” I told both my sister and girlfriend before promising, “We’ll be back soon.”

Ainslee had finished her dinner by this point, doing so while watching and listening to us all since Karen left. She nodded and stood up, looking a little bit nervous. “Yeah… umm… sounds good, Lily. Let’s go.”

I rode on my best friend’s shoulder, giving her directions along the way, so it didn’t take us long to get to the room where Karen was being held until we could move into the dorms at the university. Once we were outside her door, I turned towards Ainslee’s ear to ask. “Can you give us a couple of minutes? I’ll open the door when you’re good to come in and feed.”

“Sure, Lily,” she replied before adding, “when I feed on her, do you think you can stay in the room with us? I’m still kinda afraid that I might lose control, and I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Of course, Ainslee. I’m fine with that, and it’ll probably help Karen feel better having someone else there too,” I told her before taking off from her shoulder and mentally reached out with my comm crown to send the access code to the door. Once it had hissed open, I slipped inside and issued the command for it to close itself behind me and told the Dark Elf, “Ainslee is waiting outside for now.”

Karen was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with her eyes slightly unfocused, and I assumed she was looking at something through her comm implant. Her eyes looked a bit moist, but I wasn’t about to mention that since I figured that I needed to tread carefully with her. She heard me at least, so she wasn’t involved in playing a game or watching a movie or something and a moment later her eyes focused again and turned toward me.

“You didn’t seem surprised when I froze up in the sim,” she said candidly, and I would have expected you to happily jolt me out of it with the way I’ve been treating you all. You didn’t. So, how much do you know?”

Yeah, I figured that she would probably put two and two together. I flitted toward her and took a seat on her bedside table before shrugging. “I’m your commanding officer, and I don’t know you like the others on our team, but they gave me a very extensive file on you. I know about your parents, that you wrongly blame yourself for their deaths, and that you push people away to keep them from getting too close. I also know that you’re not as bad as you want to make others believe. That donation to the orphanage when you sold your father’s business for instance.”

“Shit,” she cursed under her breath. “So, what’s your plan here then, going to reveal me to your friends?”

“I don’t plan to tell them anything. Your file is classified, and your past is none of their business until you feel comfortable telling them yourself. I wanted to talk to you as a friend in waiting, all cards on the table here. I know I’m probably not the first to tell you this, but you are not responsible for what happened to your parents. You need to start letting people in.”

“What the fuck do you know?!” Karen snapped back at me. “It’s my fault! We would have never been there if I hadn’t…” she trailed off as the words caught in her throat and her eyes became even more moist.

“I told myself almost the same thing,” I admitted. “I blamed myself for my sister and Mom being captured, kept telling myself that if I have been braver, I could have saved them. Did you know that an Incursion was going to hit that resort before going there? Did you know when?”

She didn’t answer in the brief silence that followed, so I answered for her. “No, you didn’t, because there was no way that you could have. If you want to blame somebody for your parents’ deaths. Then put the blame where it belongs, on the fucking Titans. Help me make them pay for what they’ve taken from you. From all of us. Let us be your friends and we can make them pay together.”

“I… can’t…” she began to protest.

“Why not? Because you’re afraid you’d lose us too? That’s why we stick together and watch each other’s backs, so that won’t happen. And if it does, if we lose somebody, then the rest of us have even more reason to stick together, to help each other through that loss. Teammates or friends, it’s the same difference, losing somebody is still going to hurt and you can’t keep yourself from caring forever. We’re going to be together for a while, day in and day out, we’ll grow on you.”

“Like a fungus,” Karen muttered.

“The very best fungus,” I shot back with a grin before turning serious again. “I’m just asking for you to give us a chance, and to give yourself one too. Give us all the time to build trust, you don’t need to let us inside your walls and share your secrets with us all right this minute, Karen, just let yourself step out of those walls, show us your real self, and get to know us too.”

“What if I don’t know who the real me is anymore?” she asked with a frown.

I tried to give her my best reassuring smile as I suggested, “Then maybe we can all find out who that is, together. I think you know yourself better than you think though, and I think you want to help others that are hurting like you or prevent them from hurting in the first place.”

“Fuck, you’re like a fucking children’s cartoon with your friendship shit and pep talks,” the Dark Elf grumbled.

“That’s totally a yes, isn’t it?” I pressed with a grin on my face.

The Dark Elf rolled her eyes. I wasn’t sure if I was getting through to her, but if she thought she could make me give up easily, then she would probably settle right back into her mopey, self-blaming habits and keep shutting us out instead of actually thinking about what I had been telling her. “You’re not gonna shut up until I say I’ll at least give it a try, are you?” she finally mumbled.

Yes! I was wearing her down! “No, no I am not,” I agreed.

“Fine, whatever, just get Red in here so she can feed, and I can get back to what I was doing,” she relented. At least, I think she was relenting.

I graciously did as she requested, shooting the door the security code it needed to open. Once it was, Ainslee peeked inside. “Are we… ready to do this then?”

“Sure, Red,” Karen told her with a sigh. “Let’s just get this over with and… try not to hurt me too much?”

Thankfully, the feeding went well, but then again, anything would have been better than the last time Ainslee fed on Karen. The Baobhan Sith tried to be extra gentle, didn’t lose control like she feared, and the amount of blood she took to feel full of vitae was barely enough to make Karen a little lightheaded. I even got Moonlight to appear to heal the fang wounds afterward.

We would have to think about stocking up on some Band-Aids for later since Moonlight and I probably wouldn’t be around for future feedings, but Ainslee promised to buy some before the next planned feeding on Saturday. Once we were done, we said our goodnights to Karen and let her get some rest and go back to what she had been doing before we showed up. Then we went back to the mess hall to meet with the others and go home. It had been a very long day after all.

Kelly frowned as she watched her sister and Ainslee leave the mess hall. As much as she wanted to be there for them both, sometimes it felt as if she was holding them back. Today was a prime example of this, and it was like her heart was being crushed in a vice. She was the oldest, she should be guiding and taking care of them, not the other way around.

Ainslee was a close friend, who was maybe becoming more. She wanted them to become more, closer to one another. It was a devastating blow to discover that she was one of the long-lived Altered species who could provide the amount of vitae Ainslee needed to feed on so she wouldn’t have to risk killing regular humans or other short-life species.

For a brief moment, she thought that she could help her long-time friend, the girl she was now smitten with, in a tangible way. Ainslee’s fangs couldn’t pierce her skin though, just like everything else she had tried when she wanted to kill herself. They had tried last night, Kelly had practically begged her to try, but they got nowhere and the attempt just teased Ainslee to hunger.

Kelly had failed her, and now she was going to feed on the girl who could give her what she needed. Would Ainslee decide she wasn’t worth it now? She liked to think that she knew her (or at least her former self) well enough to believe that the answer to that was ‘no’, but what else did she have going for her to keep the interest of a ravishing beauty like Ainslee?

She didn’t used to be like this, doubting and second-guessing herself, not before the Incursion. She used to have confidence and watched over her little brother and the Mackenzie siblings, but her experiences since returning had changed her, more than just physically. Now she was plagued by doubts and insecurities, and she wasn’t sure how to get back to the person she used to be. She feared that there was no going back.

Maybe she had been a little harder than she should have been on the new girl as result. She had promised Lily that she would give Karen a chance, but she fell right into Karen’s trap of pushing her away with her rudeness and nasty comments. Would the old Kelly have fallen into that trap? She honestly couldn’t be certain anymore. What was Karen hiding behind that tough shell to make her do that? Was she as broken as Kelly felt herself to be?

In her heart, she knew that they had all changed from the Incursions and their experiences, but it felt like she and Lily had swapped roles, especially after the chastisement she had just received from her little sister. They had both lost three years of their lives, but the results were like night and day. She had come out of her experiences a mess of insecurities, and she no longer had any confidence to speak of, she was now much like Lily was when she was still Eli. Lily, on the other hand, seemed willing and ready to tackle any problems that came their way. She had the goals and drive that Kelly now lacked.

It hurt more than anything because she wanted to be there for her sister like Lily was there for her. She still wasn’t sure how Lily had blasted through that fog of depression and apathy that had consumed her on the day they were reunited. She was just so earnest and determined, and as Kelly started to truly listen, she realized that the little Sprite knew things that only her brother would have known. Everything she heard told her that this was Eli.

Except that Eli was now Lily. Honestly, it wasn’t that big a surprise, except for the fact that she was now a five-inch-tall Fairy. Kelly had always suspected that Eli might be transgendered given their closeness and what she had seen in her behavior and interests while growing up. She was happy for her too, for the fact that she now had a body and a life she was comfortable with.

So, she was trying to take up that big sister role again and be there for her, but the role just didn’t feel right sometimes, like a pair of shoes that were uncomfortably tight but still technically fit. Maybe it was because she didn’t feel like a big sister anymore, Lily had grown from her experiences while she had regressed. She just wanted to be there for Lily, she had to be. Kelly was well aware that she owed her sister her life or at the very least her sanity.

She thought she had lost everything; her family, her home, her self-identity, three years’ worth of memories, and the baby she couldn’t remember conceiving. If that baby had made it to term, then she would have at least had something, some reason for living, even if she knew that it had probably not been conceived willingly. She was lying in endless darkness, praying that death would take her when her sister shone a light on her and gave her a reason to live.

She had her sister again and Sundancer’s filly, Moonlight, and even if they were all changed, they were at least together. And then they found out that Aunt Maya, Ainslee, and the twins were alive too. Things were getting better, but those missing memories still haunted her, and she was terrified of being taken back through a Breach and losing everything again.

And yet, going through a Breach was her sister’s plan, one that Kelly even supported. Their mother was still on the other side somewhere, going through whatever Kelly herself had, and even if she couldn’t remember what that was, they needed to save her. That was the biggest reason for Kelly’s current dour mood.

It was just stupid training exercises, only some hardlight holograms, but when those fake Titans reached for her, she froze up in terror as visions of what might be waiting for her on the other side assaulted her mind. Sergeant Vale was right too, and she knew it. The Titans never tried to capture Altered and she was invulnerable, so she shouldn’t have anything to be afraid of.

She knew that, but whenever they got close, she flashed back to that Titan’s hand gripping her so tightly that she could scarcely breathe, trying to free herself in vain as she was taken through the Breach. And that sent her into a spiral of fear and led inexorably to the memory of her waking up in that dark room, pregnant and her body changing to something not human. She was useless like this. She couldn’t help Ainslee, and she couldn’t help her sister to save their mother either.

“…you okay? Kelly?” A voice broke through her thoughts, and she suddenly realized that she had her eyes clenched tightly shut. When she opened them, Lily’s girlfriend, Poppy, was hovering in front of her face looking worried.

Kelly sighed and tried to give the Fire Sprite a smile, but she wasn’t very successful. “Yeah, I’m fine, Poppy. I was just lost in thought. Today gave me a lot to think about, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true for all of us. If nothing else, we all learned what we need to work on for the future,” Poppy agreed, though she didn’t look entirely convinced that Kelly was as fine as she claimed.

“What am I doing?” Kelly thought despondently. “I should be using this time while Ainslee and Lily are gone to try to get to know my sister’s girlfriend better, not wallowing in misery because of some stupid training exercises. That bastard even admitted that he set us up to fail and that this is supposed to be about conquering our fears. Next time, I’ll know what’s coming, and maybe I should talk to my therapist about this during my appointment tomorrow.”

She tried to strike up a conversation with Poppy, but they didn’t get very far before Ainslee and Lily returned and her sister teleported them all home. It was strange that after only a few days, she was already thinking about Aunt Maya’s house as home. Or was it? This was where her family was. Mom, Dad, and Uncle Gavin might not be here, but everyone else who was important to her was and they would find Mom and bring her here too.

Without their parents, the ranch was just a place where she and her sister grew up. Lily had even said that the house and other buildings were rebuilt after the Incursion and that Uncle Pete owned the place now. There was nothing there that she wanted to go back to, not enough to face a lengthy legal battle to fight for a place that now only held bad memories and trauma, and not when the people she cared about most were right here.

Speaking of the people she cared about most; Lily and Ainslee were looking at her in concern. It seemed that she had gone all pensive and brooding again. “Hey, Sis, are you okay?” the former asked.

“I’m just a little tired, and I have some things to think about after those horrible training sessions,” Kelly replied with the ghost of a smile.

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Ainslee said as she took her hand and squeezed it gently. “You were kinda out of it just now. We were just telling Mom and the twins about our day, trying to decide what to do now, and making plans for tomorrow afternoon since we’re free from training hell with Sergeant Vale until Friday.”

“It sounds like you all need to relax,” Selina said with a frown, at least Kelly thought it was Selina.

The other twin, likely Sammie, quickly added. “Ainslee wants us all to veg and watch movies together before me and Selina have to go back to our pool to get wet. So, we were thinking… all those tails must be a lot of work to take care of…”

“So, we wanted to know if you’d be willing to let us brush them for you,” Selina said, finishing her twin sister’s sentence. “Pleeease! They look so soft and fluffy, and maybe it’ll help you to relax after such a rough day.”

Kelly had been considering begging off to head to bed, but she never had been able to say no to the twins, especially when they were both giving her puppy dog eyes. Her smile reached her eyes this time as she said, “Yeah, sure. I guess it would save me some trouble. Thanks, girls.”

A short time later, they were all settled on the couch with some popcorn and drinks and watching some cheesy comedy movie that Ainslee had picked out. Kelly was snuggled up next to Ainslee while the twins enjoyed brushing and gently stroking the fur on her tails. Lily and Poppy were cuddling on the armrest of the couch with their cups of nectar and a little bowl of roasted sesame seeds instead of popcorn. Kelly had to admit that after the day they had, just relaxing with those she loved most was a nice way to end it and it helped her to get out of her head.

They had tentative plans for tomorrow afternoon following her therapist appointment too. Moonlight already had a stall in the university stables reserved for her use, so Lily proposed that Poppy, Kelly, and Ainslee join her in taking all of Moonlight’s riding gear, food, and stuff there so Kelly could make sure that Moonlight was properly shod and then she and Ainslee could brush her and ride her for a while if she was willing. Lily said she was, and Kelly had to admit that getting back to doing familiar things might help her feel better.

After the movie, they were all too tired to watch another and the twins needed to get into their pool and get hydrated, so they all decided to head to bed. Kelly usually left her bedroom door ajar so the pair of Sprites could access Lily’s little house when they wanted, so while they went to do that, she helped Ainslee clean up the bowls and drinks and take them to the kitchen before heading to bed themselves.

They had reached Ainslee’s bedroom door when the redheaded Baobhan Sith pulled Kelly into her arms and gave her a very passionate kiss. When their lips parted, Kelly was left panting for air and Ainslee took the opportunity to speak. “Kelly, I’m not sure why you’ve been so out of it tonight, but I hope that the feeding on Karen thing isn’t the cause.”

“It’s not… I’m just…” Kelly sputtered as she tried to dismiss the idea, even if it was part of the reason.

“Good, because it’s just feeding, and only because we’ve both been ordered to do it,” she insisted. “I am not interested in her in any other way. You’re the only one that I’m interested in romantically, I’ve been in love with you… well, for a long time. When I thought I lost you, when I couldn’t save you, it nearly destroyed me. I won’t let that happen again.”

She said the L word. There was an awkward silence after that as Kelly’s heart hammered away in her chest and she was taken aback by the intensity in Ainslee’s voice and the truth in her eyes. Eventually, they kissed once more and then Ainslee let the topic drop as they said their goodnights. Kelly went to bed with a warmth in her heart and very different thoughts dominating her mind.

Despite her happy thoughts as she drifted off to sleep, the dreams made their presence known, just as they did almost every night since she woke up in Amethyst Harbour Hospital for Altered Care. They would not be denied. Those nightmares assaulted her mind with experiences that she couldn’t be sure were memory or her overactive imagination.

She was a gladiator in a strange arena, fighting other humans as alien beings watched in excitement and rapture. The aliens were blurry, she could never make out their distinctive features in these dreams no matter how hard she tried, just those of other humans. She fought valiantly and sometimes she won, sometimes she was dragged out a bloodied mess, but every time she was placed in a machine afterward. In that machine her wounds were healed as if they never existed, not even a scar, at least none that were physical.

Her ‘owner’ gave a command she couldn’t understand and even as she tried to resist, her body moved on its own as she fell to her hands and knees. The man was suddenly behind her, thrusting himself into her from behind with no preamble. Pain lanced through her nethers and her mind screamed out for him to stop as he continued to pump away inside her, but her body just stayed where it was while she was bred like an animal.

Kelly awoke screaming, tears streaming down her face and her breaths coming in deep, ragged gasps. Why did this always happen? Was she remembering things that truly happened or were these visions just nightmares from the darkest recesses of her imagination? Curled up in a ball, she hugged herself with trembling arms and hands as she quietly sobbed.

She must have screamed loud enough to wake Lily, something not easy for slumbering Sprites from what she was told. Her sister alighted upon her shaking shoulder, telling her softly, “It’s okay, Sis, it was just a dream. I’m here for you.” Kelly wasn’t sure how long her sister stayed with her, trying to soothe her, but it was a very long time before she calmed down, and longer still before she could sleep again.