Steven didn't want to think that was possible. To be attracted to guys? What was her mother thinking! There was absolutely no way in hell that would happen to her. She went to her room idly looking around. This was her room, and it was certainly still a boy's room... she felt comforted by that. She had a naughty magazine just under her bed (Not really something she was proud of, but that it was there certainly eased her mind). Maybe she will have a quick flick through it later.
She noticed a lot of her pollen and dust on the bed covers, so she quickly decided to clean that off. Damn it... being a flower-girl was... messy. She really hoped she wouldn't encounter people with an allergy to her. How awkward would that be?
She gently touched the flower on her head, looking at herself in the mirror. It was so surreal to see someone that looked so much like she used to be, yet a different sex. Was this really all it took to make her a girl? Just a few small (and not so small) changes to her body?
She needed to know if she still liked her magazine! She anxiously lifted the bed covers...
"Dinner's ready!" called her mother.
Steven cringed and put the bed cover down again. Her... experiment would have to wait.
Lilly smiled as she was back home. her brother knelt before her and gave a hug. Her parents though looked surprised to see her in the uniform. Her father in particular. Though they certainly didn't mind...
"You look great," Said her mother. "I'm so proud of you."
Lilly blushed. "'s what they all wear in tha' school."
"It's a very good school. Did you see Jenny?" Her mother asked.
"Uh huh. I- I think we'll continue to be friends." At least she was very hopeful. Lilly didn't know how to make friends so well back when she was a boy. How strange to think of that... it seemed like such a distant memory. still... maybe this wouldn't be all bad? If she had another chance at life, she could try to do things right this time. Maybe she would actually study better then before?
The little squirrel girl looked very hopeful
Hiro spent a lot of time looking over the schematics his internal systems provided to him. It was interesting that his senses allowed all his internal processes to be turned into readable and usable formats... even manipulative data structures where the numbers actually meant something to him though there were parts he didn't quite understand at all. It did not just extend to an ability to re-wire his brain. Every organ in his body was capable of being re-arranged. Some more then others.
He could override practically any biological system he desired. This naturally brought with it a terrifying danger... what if he pushed it too far? He could accelerate his biological components until they atrophied by sheer stress. He had already pushed cybernetic systems in that same way since it seemed safer.. but it showed to have it's own dangers. He was not just part mechanical, those systems were all part of the same whole... despite this, there appeared to be inbuilt safe guards. His mechanical component were able to simulate different metabolic states, and how dangerous they would be to implement, as well as a count down on how long he could hold it. The simulations were aided by the organic nature of his brain.
As always, the tricky situation was energy distribution. His biological systems were still dependent on aerobic respiration. Augmentation of his lungs were partial and could only go so far. However, he learned that his cells could respire anaerobically far longer then most normal humans. It seems that toxin removal was inbuilt into his systems.
He booted up a few more of those cleaning programs... and was quietly surprised to have a list of every antibody his organic body had encountered. Holy... he had access to his own immune system! He quickly joined the various antibody structures visualised to the known antibodies he had read about on the internet. His parallelism nature took to the task near instantaneously. He now had a name for each antibody, and the corresponding disease. An antibody against chicken pox was shown...
He gasped as he realised, he had access to his thyroid gland now, and could actually create any antibody he wanted...
... what did that mean? What kind of machine was he? Biological and mechanical... an ability to sense organic molecules and simulate their effects, using both his own brain and a cybernetic component... what exactly did that mean?
There was something he was still missing... but he felt he had found a vital clue.
Kei... that's not her name. This isn't her... She wasn't some... fairy. Yet... she was? This was... so... confusing.
"I.. want to wake up," She whispered. "Please...wake up..." she said.
Keith woke up in pool of his own sweat. That... that dream! It wasn't a dream though.. was it? She- no He was... Agh!
It was dark now, and he was alone. Part of him felt.. weird. What in God's name happened to him! Anxiously he started to make his way out of the forest. Hopefully if he put as much distance as possible from this place, such a weird vision would never greet him again.
The bandit had strange images before. getting caught up in a dream, to have a different persona even. But this one... it wasn't just a different world he was seeing. It was so real. But not only that, his mind was so utterly lost. It was all so natural, and normal the way he acted in that body. Thank God it was just a dream... "Just... a dream," He said to himself. "Just... just a ... a dream." A freaky, scary ungodly dream. An affront to everything he was! His very manhood!
He ran at an unsafe pace, not really caring at the moment. He had to get out of here! Far... run as far away as possible. He was soon on the plains, and headed further west.
Still he travelled, clutching his gold... He had to get a drink though now, and wondered to a stream to get some water. It occurred to him that his eyes seemed... odd in their reflection. He bit his lip as he realised he knew exactly where he had seen those green ethereal eyes...
... they were the eyes of that fairy. In his dream...
He splashed the water disturbing the image not even daring to look if it was still there. It seemed to haunt him even in his waking state now!
It was then he noticed what seemed to be a native... a young girl, also drinking from the same stream. The local tribe here were usually friendly enough... though skirmishes were still common. He stayed hidden in the bush... with all his gear gone, he would need to get a few more supplies. Perhaps he could steel a horse from wherever she came from.
He decided to follow her...
