“PFF-- WH-WHAT?!”

That question really shouldn’t have caught me as off guard as it did, but it still feels so out of left field. 

“A-a girl? I mean…sure, I’d try it out… Wouldn’t any guy?” 

I receive a giggle in response, the slime lady holding her hand over her mouth as she does so.

“But like…it’d be kind of creepy, right?” I add sadly. “For a guy to actually go and--”

“Do you think you’d prefer it to be temporary or permanent?” 

She throws the question at me before I can ponder her last one any more. However, this one makes me feel more confused and scrambled.

“Uhh… I mean, it’d have to be temporary, right? I can’t just be a--”

“It doesn’t have to be anything. Only what you want, Vi!”

What I want? What…do I want? I look down at myself. If I could be a girl… Thinking about it is exciting, but that’s wrong, isn’t it? It’s what I want though… The thought of going back to what I am now after becoming a girl is probably the least appealing thing I could ever think of.

“...I’d want it to be permanent.”

I feel Nebula’s arm wrap around my shoulder and pull me close to her. Surprisingly, the metal clothing isn’t actually cold and hard. Rather it’s somewhat malleable, unlike anything known to humans.

“So you want to be a girl then?”

There’s not much I can answer with besides a nod. I’m a guy, but I want to be a girl. Why now? It feels so sudden! I can’t really just be a--

“Then you’re a girl!” she blurts out, as if reading my thoughts.

“W-wait, I can’t just do that, can I? I’m a g--”

“Girl.”

Nebula stands up and walks over to the table to pick up the ‘wand’ from moments ago, sitting back down next to me and looking over it as she speaks.

“Can you say that with me? I am a girl!”

My head turns back down to look at my body. I’d just be lying to myself, wouldn’t I…? 

“Please, try. For me?”

Gulp.

I nod, taking a deep breath.

“I…I...” 

There’s a silence in the air that sticks all around me, like I’m drowning in mud. Each ‘I’ feels akin to scrambling upwards for air. 

“I’m…” 

Nebula’s hand comes down onto my shoulder once again, and I feel lighter for a moment. 

“I. Am…a girl?” 

The air I’d been grasping at finally enters my lungs, and I feel lighter than ever. 

“I’m…a girl?” 

The slime lady smiles down at me and nods, spinning the wand in her free hand. 

“I’m a girl. Oh my god I’m--” 

I think back to everything from the past hour, and even before. Oh my god it just clicks. 

“I’m-- I’m--!”

“A girl--! Oops--!!”  Nebula cheers, throwing her hands into the air with excitement only to lose her grip on the wand. 

We watch the stick fall towards me, landing in my lap and forcing a gasp out of me. Huh? It’s light as can be, why am I-- Oh. Oh the alchemy. It feels like a sudden and bright warmth filling my lap, and beyond that, my hips. It’s a pleasant warmth, spreading further and further through my body until I notice it’s not just spreading, it’s changing. The incredibly weird feeling of my feet shrinking begins the process, then, what was once the bottom end of a rectangular torso spreads wider, forming into more shapely hips and thighs. They’re noticeable even through these baggy pajamas. I now feel so much more of the pants itself without any hair between it and my legs. My eyes are wide and my breathing is heavy, the alchemy seeming to stop as the warmth stays put in my lap. Looking up at Nebula, I see her covering her mouth with a shocked and worried face, looking me up and down.

“Are you okay, Vi…?”

“Vivian,” I say instead of answering. “You can call me Vivian.” 

It doesn’t feel quite right coming out of my mouth, but as soon as Nebula lowers her hand and speaks…

“Vivian. That’s a wonderful name.” 

My heart races. I like this name. I really love this name, actually. It's always been my avatar’s name, not mine, but now it feels so right hearing this slime lady address me as such! 

“Well, Vivian, how are you feeling? We can undo that if you’d like--”

“No. Don’t. Please don’t.” 

Nebula places her hand over her heart (?) and smiles, reaching down and picking up the wand once more.

“Would you like more then?” She gives the wand a playful flick, making sure to keep a tighter hold on it this time.

“I’ve never wanted anything more. I don’t know if I really knew what it felt like to want and love something like this until now…!” 

A sniffle escapes Nebula, the slime woman reaching up and wiping her hand under her eyes. “Oh, it’s like looking in a mirror. My dear Vivian, let us continue then!”

 

With that, she begins lowering the wand down to my chest, the tip of it almost looking like it’s reaching out for me. Upon making contact with me, it pulls another gasp out of my chest. Oddly enough, it doesn’t begin with my chest as I thought it would. Instead, while I feel something fuzzy and warm floating around inside my chest, it then begins to feel its way up to my shoulders, almost like the alchemy is getting a better understanding of my body before doing anything. The first change it makes feels like a hug around my shoulders, warm and tight, pulling them in, their broadness receding. Meanwhile my arms lose both mass and hair, already looking smoother and softer. Then it begins. I feel the same tightness around my waist, taking a sharp breath as the curves leading to my hips only become more accentuated before the alchemy’s grip rises up. It feels as though there are hands roaming over my body, moulding me into the shape in my mind that I didn’t even know was there before. Those hands grasp at my chest, pushing it against the cloth of my pajamas. At first it only feels tight but the more the process continues the more I begin to feel as my top is pushed up and up by my rising chest, the sudden sensitivity really catching me off guard.

Before I even have a chance to process any of this or tell Nebula, the slime woman holds the wand up and bops it gently atop my head. I groan at her silliness before feeling warmth spread through my face, and especially my scalp. The unkempt locks begin to poof out in bursts. Once only barely reaching my shoulders, they now quickly billow out and down to my hips! Without touching it, I can already tell my hair feels so much softer. It’s such an amazing sensation that it’s only now I notice Nebula seems much…bigger… It’s as she wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a huge hug that I realize I’m so much smaller! I must have lost a little over a foot in height and Nebula was already taller than me before then.

“Oh, Vivian! You’re so beautiful and cute!” 

I want to enjoy the hug as much as she does, but a LOT just happened to my body, so I tap on her shoulder. 

“Hmm? Oh! Oh, my bad, my bad!”

She lets me back down to the ground before reaching over to the neon grid panel. Tapping on it a few times, a barrier of neon light appears before me only for the glow to fade into a reflective surface.

“Oh. Oh my god--”

My voice! I grab at my throat, disregarding the mirror for a moment.

“I… I like this. Holy crap, I love this! I-- I actually want to hear myself talk now-- This feels amazing!”

The higher pitch, the softness, no more deeper gravelly voice. I mean, hell, it wasn’t even that deep before but this just feels so much better! I take a deep breath. A few deep breaths. Once collected, I look back in the mirror. Standing before me is a girl. I’m that girl. My hands move up from my neck to my cheeks, which feel so much rounder and softer. Even my hands feel softer! They’re small and delicate looking too. 

I almost want to throw off these clothes and bear witness to all of me! I probably could considering Luna didn’t have a problem with me seeing her without clothes. Granted, her alien biology could mean she doesn’t really have anything to cover up. I’ll definitely need some new clothes though; while incredibly baggy my shirt is big enough to cover me now but the pants are unusable. Underneath the clothes though, is a young girl named Vivian. I hadn’t even registered it until now, but as Nebula sits down on the ground and pulls me into her lap for a hug I realize there are tears gently streaming over my cheeks.

“I… I can’t believe this… I’m a girl… I’m Vivian! I had no idea how much I’d wanted this until now, but… God, I’m so happy!”

The more I talk, the more it feels like I’m beginning to sink into the slime girl’s lap, Nebula sniffling and holding me tight. Do these aliens melt instead of crying? Either way, it’s warm and comfortable and I’m happy… I’ve only just met this woman, and I already feel like I owe her my life, as if I wasn’t actually living until she’d given me this.

 

“Welcome to the family, Vivian…” Her hand comes up to stroke at my hair, and this time it feels like I’m melting into her.

“Wait, so…what happens now…? What am I? Where do I go? What do we do?” I tilt my head and see Nebula looking concerned.

“Well… we kind of committed an illegal exercise of alchemy by doing this without a contract? So uhm…we’ll do nothing for now!”

Uhh.

“But we’ll figure something out, we promise!”

I blink at her. Illegal? Am I about to get vapourized?! No! No, not as I just figured out who I am! Nebula can tell I’m getting stressed, bringing her hand up to my head and beginning to pet me. Oddly enough, it does help a bit. 

“As for what you are, you’re a trans girl, like Luna and I! You’re one of us!”

Trans girl… Somehow I only just made the connection, probably because my situation is pretty different to what I imagine most trans girls go through…unless…nah…

“And where do you go? Yexlo has a bit of authoritative wiggle room, so I’m sure he’ll be able to figure something out for you! So don’t worry your cute little self one bit!”

“That’s comforting at least…” I exhale. 

Slouching more against Nebula, I look over myself and the slime girls behind me. So they’re trans too? I never would have been able to tell just from looking. Then again, I don’t think anyone would be able to from looking at me as I am now.

“So…~” A higher pitched voice says from above me, leading me to believe Luna is back, “You wanna change yourself any more~?”

“Huh? You can do more?” I’m so happy with the current results, I didn’t even think about the fact that this is probably only one of MANY possibilities with alchemy. “I’m not sure. I’m still settling into the fact that I’m not only a girl, but a really cute girl.”

“Those are facts!” She says, swishing her wand to the side before staring at it and tossing it back onto the plant covered table. “You sure though? No cat ears, no wings? Say, are you a furry?”

GUH. If I had a drink right now, you’d see the most comical spit take imaginable. Did this alien from another planet, possibly another galaxy, just ask me if I’m a furry?! Honestly, the worst part is, I don’t think I have an answer, and this is one thing I have no qualms with being in denial over. I shake my head, earning me a smirk and a raised eyebrow from Luna. 

“Alright, alright, but if you ever change your mind--”

 

Beep beep boop boop. The melodic beeping of the door to Nebluna’s room chimes through our ears. Mr. Yexlo’s silhouette appears before us, the alien man looking down at some kind of alien clipboard as he slithers into the room. 

“Well, young Vi, there’s not a trace of my superior to be found, so I suppose for the time being, I will be the one to look after--”

Somehow he got through all of that without looking up and noticing the girl that is me, sitting in the lap of the girls he’s been looking for. Said girls smile nervously and raise their hand, wiggling her fingers as if to wave. The door behind the stunned Mr. Yexlo shuts soon after as he absorbs the situation at hand.

“Hehe… Hellooooo Yexlo--”

“LUNA DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!” the alien man shouts, interrupting Luna’s greeting. 

The mirror standing before Luna and I dissipates as Mr. Yexlo storms through it, grabbing onto Luna’s shoulders and leaving me sandwiched between the two slimes. “You’ve committed a crime punishable by 30 years in prison!! You’ve changed Vi’s body without the proper consent form, you’ve--!!”

“Mr. Yexlo…?” I pipe up, the slime man immediately turning his head down to look at me, his disposition much calmer than when he was speaking to Luna.

“Yes, young Vi? What might I help you with?”

“Vivian.”

“Hmm?”

“You can call me Vivian now.” 

Mr. Yexlo stares at me for a moment, awe in his eye before he closes it and smiles softly, releasing Luna and standing up straight.

“Vivian, you say? Such a wonderful name for a lovely young lady.” 

My heart skips a beat and my smile appears brighter than ever. Yexlo clearly sees this, smirking before pulling up the chair next to the plant covered table and sitting down.

“I’ve never been happier, you know! Nebula told me we’d committed a crime, but… I want this. I’ve wanted this for so long without even knowing it, and I’m so happy! Please don’t be mad at them, they were only trying to help…”

The slime man runs his fingers along the table and closes his eye, deep in thought, only to smile a moment later.

“You really are one of us then. I am truly proud of you for finding yourself, Vivian, your true self.”

Mr. Yexlo stands up and offers a hand to me. I sit there in Luna’s lap staring at it for a moment before reaching up and taking it, the slime man then pulling me up and wrapping his arms around me. God, I haven’t had this many hugs ever before, and they’re so warm and inviting atop that. My arms come up and embrace Yexlo in return, only to feel a softness similar to that in my front now pressing against my back, Luna having joined in the hug. I hear Mr. Yexlo sigh, yet he allows it. We all stay like this for a moment before the slime man clears his throat and we pull away from each other. 

“Well, Luna, am I correct in assuming neither you nor Nebula had a plan beyond affirming our sister here?”

I take a step to the side so I can look at both the slime folk, Luna grinning and rubbing the back of her head with one hand. “Yeah, basically. But we always figure something out, don’t we? That’s how we got aboard this ship, after all!”

Mr. Yexlo groans and rubs his temple with one hand, shaking his head before looking between Luna and I. “Yes, however in that case there was no criminal activity for which we could be prosecuted. Beyond that, I don’t feel comfortable sending Vivian back to her previous home after seeing her conviction. We cannot very well send her to some random point on earth with nary the ill fitting clothes on her back either.”

“Why don’t we just go with her then?”

The sudden suggestion takes even Mr. Yexlo off guard, the man staring at her in complete bewilderment. “J-- Just go with her?! Luna, you buffoon, not only would we be abandoning this sorry ship to the care of those who do not understand our plights, let alone those of humans, but we’d be tracked down to the ends of the Earth! We’d be putting young Ms. Vivian in incredible peril!”

Luna crosses her arms and closes her eyes with a furrowed brow, harrumphing at her subordinate. “And if we send her down there, whether back to her old home or somewhere else, she’ll be left helpless. We could give her manifestable wings, but that doesn’t help her actually find a home. She’d still be all alone, but at least if we go with her, even if we have to evade the justice system, I feel she’d be much safer in our care than anything else.”

 

“U-uhm…” I chime in, both the slimes turning and looking at me, “are you really considering throwing away your life’s work to help someone you’ve only known for a few hours at most…?” 

Luna’s eyes shift to Nebula’s purple, the slime woman smiling softly at me before sliding over and squishing herself down to my height. She looks me in the eyes with her hands held atop her knees.

“Vivian, sweetie, we may have only met very recently, but we’re sure you can feel it too, right? A bond between us stronger than ooze, or in your case, blood.”

The idea takes me off guard for a moment, but thinking about it, I sorta do. These three understand me unlike anyone else I’ve known has before, and in a way, it feels like I understand them too. It’s a new and unfamiliar feeling, for sure, but it’s a good one, one I want to hold onto. Even the thought of having to leave these three behind pains me… I nod to Nebula and try to put on a brave smile, and she offers the same to me, warmer and softer. The slime woman pulls herself up and looks back to Mr. Yexlo who is becoming more and more conflicted about our situation as time goes by. Nebula clears her throat, catching Yexlo’s attention.

“Besides, we don’t exactly like it here, do we? Half the crew is rude as all heck and the captain even worse so. We’re bound by so many rules and contracts that prevent us from truly helping people; don’t you think it’s time we took action? This whole time, we’ve been pushing Vivian here to take control of her life and be who she is, shouldn’t we do the same?”

Mr. Yexlo furrows his brow and groans, deflating in a manner that suggests he’s given up fighting himself on the matter. “Fine. You’re right. I concede. Luckily, our testing has proven fruitful on the matter of our crops’ abilities to be grown in the Earth’s soil. I have all of my tools on me at all times, so we shouldn’t need to hide Vivian for long--”

The sudden sound of loud, slimy footsteps stop Mr. Yexlo in his place, all of us now looking towards the familiar and frightening silhouette in the open door frame.

“Hide him from what, exactly?”