Chapter 23: Chapter 23

(Chapter twenty-three, yooo, let’s goooo! I’m so grateful to everyone who’s followed along with Kettrin and her journey so far! As always, I have a Patreon, please feel free to support me if you can! Also, I have an announcement! After I post chapter 24 of this story, I’ll be taking a break from Aegis Online, since I’m getting a little bit burned-out. However, I WILL be posting chapters of a NEW story I’ve begun working on. Don’t worry, Aegis Online is only on hiatus!)

The next few hours are a blur, as my mom, a force to be reckoned with in her own right, is enhanced by the high-pressure weather formation know as Dana. The two of them whisk me from store to store, reams of fabric, and lace, and all kinds of frilly, punky, and Goth garments thrust upon me from all directions. I try on outfit after outfit, modelling for them, as they discuss the pros and cons of each, faces serious, as though this is a matter of life and death. Honestly, it feels so amazing to have my mom being so supportive.

Each outfit that gets the nod from both is packed up and sent to be shipped via the mall’s rapid-transit drones. Once we leave, everything will be delivered to our door within the hour, thanks to mom’s gold business debit-card. The shiny, embossed logo happens to guarantee us great service, one of the perks of my mom’s work. She’s really good at her job, but it does mean I don’t see her as much as I would like to. And dad’s much the same. He’s always travelling with mom to other cities and countries, since he can work from anywhere, and he even attends symposiums as a guest speaker, often uninvited!

It’s a shame that I can’t spend more time with my parents, but they always make sure that there’s food, and they call me as much as they can. I love them!

Finally, after about a million years of trying on different getups, my mom agrees to pack it in, and we head for lunch at the food court. Dana accepts an invite graciously, and I smile. Yes, I have a huuuge crush on Asteria, especially after she…. K-kissed me…. But Dana’s so calm, and kind. She’s easy to talk to, and I can kinda tell that I’m developing a second crush on the bonnie lass from the Tailtéann Republic.

Lunch is delicious, but not as good as my mom’s cooking. Mom’s always had good taste when it comes to food, and even her ‘experimental’ dishes turn out well. Winking at Dana, I ask, during a break in the conversation, “Mom?”

“Yes, Kylie, what is it?” mom smiles, and I respond, “so, why are you so good at cooking?”

She sighs, leaning forward and steepling her fingers. “Well, my inquisitive daughter, when I was in college, I was quite the rebel. Full-on ‘fuck the man’ attitude, dressing like an angry witch, even getting into fistfights on the regular.  Then… I met your father, Thomas. He wasn’t the most handsome guy, or anything, but he was… special. His eyes were sharp, and always focussed on whatever he was working on. He gave everything he did 1000% effort, no matter how long it took, to solve any problem you could throw at him. My GOD, he was dreamy….”

She tails off for a moment, lost in reverie, and I clear my throat softly. She starts. “a-ah, yes, right… well, I started to think, did I really want to be some cocky, bitchy, nonconformist for the rest of my life? Hell no! So, I knuckled down and worked on myself. I got my grades up, I started dressing less like a witch and more like a… more socially-acceptable witch, I guess. And I learned… to cook. It was hard, but I guess I had a natural talent for it. I started giving Thomas snacks and things I’d made. Eventually, I found out more about him. He was a geek through and through, even the president of the TTRPG society. I joined it myself, mainly as a way to spend more time with him, but… as he showed me how to make characters, and play a part in all those adventures and games he ran for us… I also saw him at his most beautiful.”

“When he was behind that DM screen, telling us how the monsters we were fighting charged at us, or how we drove them back… he was incredible!  Even when we screwed up his plans, he adapted our BS into his world and made it a part of the story. And that’s when I knew… I wanted to marry him. There, in that disused classroom, littered with manuals and minis, and all that paraphernalia… I knew he was the one I wanted to be with. And, shortly after we defeated the Necrotic Hellbeast Kelmaadras, I asked him out. He said yes, and, after we graduated, we moved in together, found jobs, and, in time, we married. Then, we had you, and I had more people I loved to cook for!”

I smile, sniffing a little. I always love hearing that story, and, judging by the answering sniff from Dana, it seems like she found it as romantic as I do! Mom smiles at us, and dessert is brought out, some fruit-and-cream concoction on a bed of fluffy vanilla sponge cake. It doesn’t last long, and, thankfully, we’ve finished with the clothes shopping and can head home.  

Dana parts ways with us once we reach our vehicles, and she gives me a hug, before mounting up and revving her motorbike, gliding out of the mall carpark and into the distance. Mom smiles at me. “She seems nice. I can see why you like her!”  I blush, and then nod, biting my lip. “Yeah, she’s really cool! And she has this MASSIVE dog!”

As we leave the mall carpark, mom swipes her card, activating the drones delivering my clothes home, my phone going off with a message from the streaming site. It’s from Asteria, asking if I was going to be joining her today for a stream. I send back a tentative reply, stating that my dad’s setting up my new pod today, and it all depends on how long it takes to finish. Her response is a cheerful, “Okay! Hope to see you soon! It’s exciting here right now, and I don’t want you to miss it!”

The drive home is achingly-slow, and I wriggle in my seat as my mom takes the turn towards our street, eager to find out if dad’s finished with my new pod’s update. Having a tech-genius for a father has its perks, after all!

After the inevitable heat-death of the Universe, mom pulls in to our drive and, when she tells me to go on ahead and check on dad and my new pod, I almost vibrate across to the front door, using my digital key to unlock the door as a couple of overloaded drones struggle to deliver the massive number of bags and boxes that our shopping trip yielded. Poor things, if drones could look long-suffering, these two would totally be cursing up a storm. From inside the house, I can hear my dad spluttering, the way he does when something really ‘giggles his tickle-box’. His chuckles are accompanied by Jeffrey’s distinctive laughter. And I head for it, following the sound and rounding the corner into the living room.

Dad turns to see me, and then bursts out in a howl of amusement. “Pink-haired dickroomba?!  NOCTURNAL DUMPSTER-GOBLIN??? My daughter certainly has a way with words, doesn’t she, Jeffrey?” Jeffrey grins impishly, and, there on the plasma-screen, is the last bit of my most recent stream, the one where I fought Randy to the death.  I splutter in shock, as my dad wipes his eyes, mirth etched on his face.

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“Sorry, Kylie, but he was really curious about everything you’d gotten up to in-game, so I showed him your first stream. We ended up finishing your new pod ahead of schedule, so we kinda watched a “Sky-Queen Kettrin stream-highlights compilation” or two. I thiiink you’ve gotten a new fan, huh!”

Dad stands, stretching, and gives my mom a quick kiss as she brings in the last of the bags. “Well, my love, I see you’ve run another store out of business! Did you leave ANYTHING on the racks, or am I going to be arrested for indirectly causing a clothing shortage?” he smiles, and mom rolls her eyes and elbows him. Jeffrey taps my shoulder. “c’mon, let’s go check your new pod, yeah? It’s got a ton of awesome features, I’m kinda jealous at how much of a monster this thing is!”

Upstairs, where my pod once stood, is a sleek, oval-shaped cocoon, the battered green shape of my old VR cradle shoved carefully to one side, looking… sad, abandoned. Crossing the room to it, I place a hand on the half-open hatch, sighing. It feels like I’m saying goodbye to an old friend. After paying my respects to the thing that brought Asteria and I into contact, and through her, Dana and Sasha, before turning to my other birthday present. The gleaming white pod almost seems to hover.

Jeffrey nudges me forward, smiling, and I take one, two, three steps, my hand hovering over the start-up button. Drawing in a deep breath, I press the button. The pod hums, near-silently, and then shifts to a variety of colour swatches, with a small row of custom-options to the far right. I select a blue stripe at the top and bottom, with a pink stripe below the top stripe and above the bottom on, leaving the centre band an unbroken white. Jeffrey smirks as I glance at him.

“Come on, Kylie, your egg cracked, why make yourself a trans egg again?” he rolls his eyes, then puts an arm around my shoulder. “It looks noice, and now you have a total beast of a system! Go on, I’ll head home and we’ll meet up in-game, okay? Peace out!” he gives me a hug, and then bounds downstairs. I quickly slip out of my skirt and boots, donning a set of simple, plain clothes suitable for prolonged VR wear. In moments, I’m settling into the smooth, padded interior of my new gaming rig. Instead of the generic greeting that plays when you boot up a pod for the first time, my dad’s voice plays through the internal speakers.

“Hey, Kylie. Your mom and I love you very much, and we just wanted you to know that. You’re our daughter, and we’ll always be your mom and dad. And I’m totally gonna remind you of that every time you log-in to this thing, heheheh!”

I giggle, closing my eyes. “Load the Aegis Online profile for Kettrin, please.” I hear my dad’s warm tones again. Did he overwrite all of the pod’s dialogue? It wouldn’t be out-of-character for him, I guess…

“Sure thing, princess. Don’t spend too long in there, we’re having dinner in a few hours!” My dad’s voice falls silent, and I feel the gentle whirr of the pod pulling me out of the real world, and into the virtual.

 

 

 

Sitting up, I notice the fabric of my tent above and around me. Stretching my wings and shaking them out, readjusting to their weight and the musculature of their structure, I furl them and check I’m still geared up. Once I’m back in the right mindset, I load up the streaming software and start the ball rolling.

“Hello, everyone, I’m back! I had an amazing birthday! May parents kinda showed up by surprise, but I’m really happy they did, and we had a great time! I AM a little upset about something, though. There’s a really awesome LGBTQ-friendly coffee-shop that I visited while on my travels, called The High Ground, that I found out got attacked by the Church of One last night.  It sucks that there are people out there who just hate and hate, for no other reason but to hate. I don’t want my streams to be like that, so, if you’re gonna be hateful, or mean, or rag on someone for their beliefs, their identity, who they love, then I’m going to be really disappointed.”

Stepping out of my tent, I’m met with the sounds of dozens of people, all talking and working, as I stare. The enclosed space we’d made is now a small military encampment, with proper walls and crenellations, with guards, even a watchtower, and a forge, with several stalls at the back wall. A Gnoll is working on one of the anvils, with a cat-person who seems familiar.  When they see me, they wave cheerily. I blink a couple of times, then shout, “Trinity?!”

 

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