Come Clean - part 3
2nd Song of the Kylie Warren Saga

I'm shedding
Shedding every color
Trying to find a pigment of truth
Beneath my skin
'Cause different
Doesn't feel so different
And going out is better
Then always staying in
Feel the wind

Wednesday morning Heather was uncharacteristically calm as she and her mother entered Dr. Alterson’s office at eight forty five. The dream of being a girl and skipping through the forest to her tree and playing her flute had been so realistic and enthralling. The fact that Kylie had arrived to silently watch and listen made her feel contented and happy to finally have a friend. She hoped it was merely foreshadowing what would happen this spring. After signing in, Linda filled out the paperwork detailing their insurance and Heath's health history. The receptionist, Nancy Gregor, checked over the completed papers, then took the forms to Dr. Alterson to quickly review before meeting Heath and Linda.

"Good Morning, I'm Dr. Alterson," the doctor greeted Linda and Heather upon entering the waiting room to shake hands for their nine o’clock appointment. "Please come back to my office."

"Heath, I understand you feel you're a girl," Dr. Alterson began when they were seated.

"I AM a girl," Heather calmly replied. "And as soon as you agree I'm transsexual, my parents are going to call me Heather."

"Well, you certainly feel confident," Dr. Alterson smiled. "But I'm afraid it'll take more than one visit before I can make that diagnosis."

"I understand that," Heather replied. "But you should be able to determine that I'm more girl than boy and make a tentative diagnosis. I'm not asking to return to school as a girl, I know that will require a solid diagnosis. What I'm asking for now is to be able to experiment dressing like a girl at home and possibly going out."

"Well, I'm glad you understand your situation," Dr. Alterson smiled.

The hour was filled with a lot of back and forth conversation.

"Well, I must say you come across as an intelligent and confident person," Dr. Alterson summed up. "Your behavior has been polite and respectful while staying on the target. Your mannerism are a lot more feminine than masculine and your feelings are undeniably feminine. If you're free this afternoon, I'd like you to take a few written psychological tests which will help me make a diagnosis."

"We can do that," Linda replied.

"Wonderful," Dr. Alterson smiled. "If you'd like to get some lunch, then come back about one, I'll have everything ready. Now, Heath, I know you're eager to experiment with being a girl. I don't see any issues with that or with being treated as a girl. I'll give you several business cards listing a tentative diagnosis of gender dysphoria. If anyone gets upset with you dressing as a girl and threatens to contact children's services, this will prevent any legal issues. This is NOT permission to return to school as a girl. You do understand that, don't you Heather?"

"Oh yes! Thank you," Heather gushed as she hugged the doctor. "Oh, I almost forgot. Can you have me excused from phys-ed class? I've been excluded since Kylie was hurt but the school needs a firm reason for the exemption."

"I'll have a one month excuse when you come back for the tests," Dr. Alterson smiled.

Linda and Heather left the office a bit after ten. Linda did her best to keep Heather under control as she was so happy she was bouncing as she walked.

They were barely out of the office before Heather spoke. "Mommy, I know this will sound like I’m pushing but now that I know I’m a girl I need to shed every aspect of being a boy. I need to find the pigments of my true girl colors. I’ve always been different, but now I know my being different wasn’t so different because I’m a girl! Now that I know the truth, I’m not going to stay inside my own fearful world! I want to go out into the world and feel the wind... under my skirts! To get started, can we go shopping to get me some real girls clothes?"

"Yes," Linda smiled at the graphic speech while getting caught up in the idea of having another daughter. "But you'll get only what I think is appropriate and we won't be buying a lot, just enough for a few days."

"Okay," Heather smiled.

They went to a nearby Wal-Mart and headed to the girls department. Heather headed straight to the skirts and dresses. It took a bit to determine what size fit, but once they did, the trying on of clothes began. Linda and Heather were smiling as they shopped. By the time they finished, Heather had two dresses, four skirts, 5 blouses, six sweaters, three pair of tights, 2 pairs of pantyhose, a pair of dress shoes, a pair of casual shoes, and a pair of pink sneakers, three pairs of kneesox, three pair of lace trimmed ankle socks, seven lace trimmed panties, three lace trimmed camisoles, three training bras, one full slip, three half slips, and three lace edged nighties. Needless to say, their shopping cart was stuffed.

Returning to the doctors office building, they selected a nice denim knee length skirt, a pair of knee sox, and a cute sweater as well as appropriate undies. It was a thrill for Heather simply to go into the public women’s restroom, much less to change into her new girly clothes. Luckily, Heath always wore his hair in a long Dutch boy style so it was suitable for his new attire. The smile on her face when she looked in the mirror firmly cemented her desire to be feminine.

Entering the waiting room a bit before one, the Nancy did a double take after recognizing Linda and realizing the pretty girl with her was Heath. While she was accustomed to seeing children transition, to have it happen so instantaneously was quite unusual. Nancy made a private game out of trying to determine a new patient's physical gender versus their mental gender by the way they dressed and behaved. Since patient first names could already be changed by the time they came in, she always disregarded them. Earlier she'd noted Heath was a decidedly feminine in his mannerisms and seemed to be at ease. She'd mistakenly guessed he was a genetic female transitioning to male. But the girl she saw now was unmistakably feminine and undeniably happy which indicated Heath was a genetic male transitioning to female.

Dr. Alterson stopped in her tracks when she saw Heather dressed as her professed gender. Her mannerisms and attitude just screamed GIRL. "Well, I must say I'm impressed," Dr. Alterson declared. "I thought you would make a satisfactory girl, but you are truly beautiful. I'll be delighted to assist you transition. But just because I think you make a cute girl doesn't mean you have my permission to go to school that way. Linda, please wait here or you can come back in three hours while I take Heather for her testing. Heather, please follow me to the conference room where you'll have privacy to take the test undisturbed. If you finish early, just bring the tests to Nancy. There are no wrong or right answers, just answer honestly. If you're not sure of an answer, select the one you feel is closest to how you feel. If you're not done in the three hours, you're thinking too hard and not relying your true feelings."

Heather settled down to take the test. It was not difficult but did require a look inside her soul. She could see that some answers would definitely indicate a male outlook while others a female outlook. But most were ambiguous and difficult to figure out which way the answers leaned. She realized the test would not reveal a persons intellect, but their feelings and emotions. It would show your gender orientation. The three hours flew by.

When she'd completed the test, Dr. Alterson said she'd score it and call with the results on Friday. They set up a follow-up appointment next Wednesday evening when Keith and Kathy could be with them to go over the results in detail.

Before heading home, Linda called Sharon Dixon to let her know she was on her way to pick up Kathy. Kathy had spent the day with her friend Sandy Dixon while Linda and Heath were with the doctor. Heather stayed in the car when they arrived at the Dixon home while Linda went inside to thank Sharon and collect Kathy.

Kathy squealed with delight when she saw her sister waiting in the car instead of her dorky brother. For once she slipped into the back seat without protesting she wanted the front seat. It was with great excitement she asked “So you’re a girl now?”

“Not quite,” Heather explained. “But the doctor thinks I’m transgendered!”

“Don’t get too carried away,” Linda cautioned. “Dr. Alterson gave you a preliminary diagnosis, not a definite one.”

Linda quickly discovered the caution did little to deflate the excitement of her daughters. She had to tell them to wait until they arrived at home to check out Heather’s new girl clothes. Then when they arrived at home, she had to tell them to take the bags up to Heather’s room before opening the bags.

The sisters scurried to Heather’s room. By the time Linda joined them, all the purchases were laid out on the bed and Heather had begun modeling her new clothes. Letting the girls enjoy their fashion show, Linda removed the tags and had the girls put each piece in the closet or dresser.

They heard Keith arrive home as they were finishing. Linda went down to greet her husband. After a hug and kiss, Keith looked at Linda. "So how did the meeting with the shrink go?"

"Quite well," Linda happily replied. "Although she can't give an official diagnosis yet, Dr. Alterson said she thinks Heather is transgendered. We had to go back for three hours of psychological tests to confirm the preliminary diagnosis."

Keith noticed Linda had called Heath Heather. "So, where is our new daughter?"

"She’s up in her bedroom putting on a fashion show for her sister before putting away her new clothes," Linda giggled. “We enjoyed our first mother and daughter shopping trip."

"Ouch," Keith replied as he grasped his wallet. "No wonder it's been so hot today!"

"Oh daddy," Heather scolded from the top of the stairs. "We only spent about three hundred dollars. We'll need to spend a lot more to get a really decent wardrobe!"

Kathy scrambled downstairs to greet her father and stand by him as Heather made her debut.

"Ahh, the pain and agony," Keith whined before smiling. "If you're going to bankrupt me, at least let me see the results."

Heather giggled and began walking down the steps. Keith stood mesmerized as he saw the happy young girl enter his view as she descended. "Oh wow," is all he could say as he saw Heather for the first time.

Heather giggled and when she reached the floor, skipped to him to throw her arms about him. "I love you daddy," she exclaimed before kissing him on the cheek.

"Well, this getting used to having two daughters instead of a son and daughter won't be anywhere near as difficult as I thought," Keith smiled.

"Darling," Linda smiled. "Since Heather and I were busy all day, we haven't had time to make supper. Would you mind being a gentleman and take his three ladies out to eat?"

"Why not," Keith patted his wallet. "Sorry old boy, but we need to go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate our daughter's birthday."

An hour later they were seated in one of the nicest restaurants in the area enjoying a wonderful meal. Keith and Linda marveled at how utterly feminine Heather was in all her actions even down to taking smaller bites and daintily chewing longer. They could tell it wasn’t a show put on for their benefit but obviously was her natural style. They realized the way she behaved before all this came up was a sham and put up to make her appear more manly and for the first time they were truly seeing their child behaving in an unfettered manner. It really amazed them as Heather ate a third of their appetizer and then proceeded to fully consume her large entre'. She even had room for dessert. Heath had never eaten so much. The sisters jabbered happily away all through the meal.

*****

Later that night when Heather was deep in another pleasant dream, Kylie reactivated her astral tag and once more stood to the side enjoying Heather's dream while other astral tentacles checked on Heather's intersexual development. Already half her cells had changed sexual chromosomes from XY to XXY. The ovaries were budding nicely as were the uterus, vagina, fallopian tubes and cervix. She made a few minor adjustments and guided more energy into the developmental tasks. Then she once more removed physical contact and maintained her astral tag.

*****

The next morning Heather excitedly called Kylie to her that Dr. Alterson had given her a preliminary diagnosis of being transsexual and that she'd taken the psychological tests and went shopping for some girly clothes. Kylie responded happily for her girlfriend, knowing that by the time they got around to checking for a possible physical cause, Heather would be fully intersexed.

Kylie invited Heather to come over in girl mode after lunch so they could talk and hang out. After a lot of pleading, Linda reluctantly gave her new daughter permission. Heather wore a mid-calf denim skirt and a pink sweater blouse along with matching kneesox and her pink sneakers. She now understood why girls bicycles were designed differently but still managed to make the trip. She also brought her flute, arriving at the Warren home a bit before one.

DJ greeted her at the door and his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

Heather began to panic as fear surged through her that DJ might get angry. She felt the horrible but all to familiar pressure of her bladder demanding release. Determined not flee, she invoked the mental block Kylie had installed in her mind and forced herself to smile and speak. "Hi DJ, can I come in?"

"Oh... ah... sure," DJ stumbled over his words as he stepped to the side to let her pass. "Wow, Heather, you really look cute!"

Heather blushed and lowered her eyes, relieved that DJ wasn't upset but pleased by her appearance. After closing the door, DJ led Heather to the family room where she greeted Kylie and Billy who were seated together on a settee.

Billy's eyes went wide as he saw Heather. "Man, you're cute," Billy smiled. "I don't understand how a guy goes from being a boy one day and can be such a cute girl the next!"

"Down boy, you're mine," Kylie chuckled as she playfully punched his arm.

Kylie blushed but smiled. DJ ushered Heather to the sofa and as she sat at one end he sat at the other. Naturally Heather had to review her experiences with Dr. Alterson. When the topic moved on to shopping for girly clothes, the guys exchanged pained looks and stood, going over to the entertainment center to play video games.

Kylie shook her head and smiled. "Guys," she said. "So come sit beside me so we can hear each other over the guys."

"Kylie, I can't thank you enough for helping me," Heather exclaimed as she sat by Kylie.

"I'm just glad you're happy," Kylie replied. "After Dr. Alterson told me she thought I was a girl I was so happy I couldn't get enough to eat. So tell me, has your appetite increased?"

"Yes," Heather smiled. "I have been eating everything in sight! Last night we went out to celebrate my 'birthday' and I ate part of the appetizer, my meal, and had dessert. I never ate that much! Even breakfast this morning was doubled in size. I'm worried I might get fat."

"So did I," Kylie answered. "Fortunately it only lasted about a week. I hope it only lasts a week for you too."

"I hope so," Heather stated.

"If it doesn't, let me know," Kylie whispered. "I might be able to tweak something for you like I did with your fear."

"That would be so cool," Heather answered but there was a hint of hesitation in her voice. "Kylie, you've been in my dreams the last two nights but it didn't feel like were part of my dreams."

"I was checking up on you," Kylie admitted a bit too hastily. "I wanted to make sure what I shared with you wasn't messing you up."

Heather just sat and smiled while thinking, "Kylie, please tell me the truth."

Kylie blushed as she picked up the astral urging. Sighing, she knew she had to tell Heather the truth. "I've also been tweaking your body," she said as she opened the astral link. "I actually made myself intersexed. I was just a regular guy like you. I doubled my X chromosome so I became XXY, then I searched for stem cells and placed them where the girl bits should be and tweaked them to begin to develop into ovaries, uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and vagina. Then I marshaled my immune system to speed their growth and development. It took a week and the increased growth increased my appetite to fuel the growth."

"You did that to me too," Heather noted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm still scared of my powers and how others might react," Kylie answered. "After I downloaded all the girlishness into you, I couldn't help thinking that I was condemning you to a life of facing bigotry. I finally decided to make you intersexed like me so you'll be male and female. My big concern now is what will happen when Dr. Alterson discovers you're fully intersexed. It's quite unusual for an intersexed person to be fully male and female. Most are incomplete blends. But for one doctor to have two patients in the same grade and school... there might be investigations to see if there might be an environmental cause."

"I can see where that could become an issue," Heather said. "Thanks for being concerned for me and making me intersexed like you. I just wish you had told me rather than sneaking about in my body."

“I'm sorry, Heather," Kylie said with honest contrition. "I'm second guessing myself too much and I'm still afraid people will think I'm a freak, sort of like the mutants in X-men."

"You're right, many people will be afraid," Heather agreed. "But you said you needed a friend who understood and could help you and that you wanted me to be that friend. You can't just do things to me without my knowledge. Because I was teased so much I’ve developed a heightened sense of perception. Apparently I'm now aware enough of astral intrusions to figure out you're probing or tweaking me. Kylie, either trust me or don't."

Kylie shut down the link to think. Tears filled her eyes and began trickling down her cheeks as she berated herself for being so sneaky. But she was so frightened of being found out and hunted down like a violent killer.

Heather reached over an took Kylie's hands in hers and squeezed firmly. "I'm here Kylie," Heather whispered. "I'm not upset with what you did to me, in fact I'm delighted. The issue is how you did it. I know that Kyle never had to make any moral decisions regarding other people. Kyle was turned inward so tightly you never had people experience. I've had a lot of people experience although most was negative. But even at the worst times, I never wanted to hurt anyone and that's still the way I am. You have Jennifer Sue and James Wilson as examples of how to deal with others but I think since you had no experience in dealing with people, you didn't have a 'pocket' to drop their experiences in and merge with your own. You tucked them away and can access them, but their experiences are not part of your consciousness so your gut actions are still based on Kyle. You need to pull the life experiences of Jennifer Sue and possibly James out of their pockets and incorporate them into your being. I think it might be what you need."

"Heather, you're a genius," Kylie declared as her tears dried. "You're right, I just filed their experiences because they were so different. God, how stupid can I be! I even told you things that didn't match your own feelings wouldn't merge but go into accessible storage."

"You were too close to the issue to see the possibilities," Heather answered. "I want to be your best friend."

"You already are," Kylie happily replied as she hugged Heather.

"You know, this astral stuff is tricky," Kylie said after she settled back. "Jennifer Sue was protected by her mom so other than dancing and school, she had little experience dealing with anyone who wasn't in a peer group and she never faced a life changing event. James Wilson, on the other hand, had too much experience and it turned him bitter. His children wanted nothing to do with him and even when his wife, their mother, died, they didn't come around. That plus his war experiences left him a sad tired old man. I'll have to try to incorporate the good while keeping out the bad."

"How will you determine what's good or bad without trying it," Heather asked. "I mean, some will be obvious but some might be subtle. With your lack of experience it'll be difficult."

The girls sat in silence for a bit. Then Kylie probed Heathers mind. Heather looked at Kylie in surprise.

"It’s just a test probe to see if you realized I was doing it," Kylie stated psychically. "It's the only way I could be sure you’re super perceptive. The abilities I've got are too much for one person. Sharing it with you will help insure the power is used for good."

"I appreciate your trust," Heather said. "But if we merge, won't it open all our secrets to the other?"

"Yes, we'll absorb each other’s mind," Kylie said. "But I've remained myself after merging with James and Jennifer Sue, I think we'll retain our individuality if we merge. Everything that comes into you during a merge is read in light of our personal life experiences. We can merge some things into our selves and store the remainder."

"Okay, I'm game," Heather answered. "But I think we should do it tonight after we go to bed so we have all night to process the data."

"I agree," Kylie smiled. "It'll really help me if we share this. It was fun and exciting at first, especially while I was in the coma. I realized in the hospital it could be dangerous although I really haven't sensed anything. It's simply too much for one person to handle and make good decisions.

"Having two of us will also serve to deflect any investigations that might ensue," Heather added. "Thinking of that, perhaps we could change my intersexed condition so it doesn't match you."

"That's a good idea," Kylie agreed. "I assume you want to be primarily female?"

"Yes," Heather replied. "It wouldn't bother me at all to get rid of my boy bits."

"One of the intersexed possibility is that the person 'appears' to be a male," Kylie explained. "But the guy parts are just non- sexually functional growths caused by the 'XXY' chromosomes. Hidden inside can be fully functional female organs with the vagina opening into the scrotum instead of the outside of the body. Hormonally you'd be female, and as puberty hits you'll blossom like a normal girl. There is some danger because if you begin to menstruate before your vagina is opened, the discharging blood can cause a nasty, possibly even fatal infection."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," Heather responded. "When Dr. Alterson checks me to see if there is a physical cause for my feeling I'm a girl they should discover my condition and fix it before having a period becomes an issue."

"You're right," Kylie concurred. "After we merge tonight, you'll know the details of the intersexed condition we want to create and you'll know how to tweak your physical body to accomplish it. I'll monitor you while you make the adjustments just to make sure everything will work out."

"That sounds like a plan," Heather agreed. "Will we be able to do all this and still be able to get enough sleep?"

"That's never a problem," Kylie replied. "The merger and changes occur in and by your astral existence. Astrally, you never need sleep. That's how I monitor the astral tags I've placed in people I feel a need to monitor."

"This astral tag is how you knew I was about to flake out on Christmas Eve," Heather sought confirmation.

"Yeah," Kylie answered. "A tag is sort of an alarm that when tripped lets me know there is an issue. I put them in people who I thought could give me problems. I placed your's during our fifth period class the day you were so upset that Billy was my boyfriend."

"I guess I was wigging out that day," Heather agreed.

"Yeah, you were," Kylie sighed.

Just then the guys whooped with joy. They'd won their game. They shut down the system and rejoined the girls. They briefly talked about Heath's transsexualism. Both guys assured Heather they would help her make her transition in school when she was ready.

“Thanks guys," Heather smiled. "Now I have a question for you. Can you guys sing?"

"I do alright," DJ declared.

"Me too," put in Billy.

"I have no idea," Kylie said. "I never sang as Kyle and I haven't tried since my change. We won’t sing in my music class our until next semester."

“Well, now’s as good a time as any to find out,” Heather smiled as she pulled out her flute, recorders, and a few pages with song lyrics printed on them which she passed to them.

All three smiled knowing they were in for a treat as they checked the lyrics. Kylie quickly discovered she had a wonderful alto voice. The boys were better than alright, Billy was a baritone and DJ was a bass. All three discovered they could easily sing along to Heather’s melodies. After a bit of feeling each other out, Heather phrased an astral suggestion to Kylie. Kylie marveled that Heather was once more able to make her desire to astrally communicate known without the ability get to the astral plain. It only took an instant to flash the suggestion that Kylie use her astral abilities to sync the four of them. In a few moments, the three voices flawlessly blended with the flute. They sang the ‘Gypsy Rover’, ‘Annie’s Song’, ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’, ‘Kodachrome”, ‘Metamorphosis’, and ‘Come Clean’. The house was ringing with ringing with music.

Laura stopped her housework to stand in the doorway and listen to the wonderful blending. “That was fantastic,” Laura declared when they took a break. “I feel privileged to hear your singing and playing.”

“It really is fun,” Kylie enthused and the boys nodded their agreement. “Mom, would it be possible for Heather and Billy to stay for supper? Then dad could hear us sing!”

“If their parents agree,” Laura smiled.

“Why not invite their parents over,” DJ suggested. “Then they could all hear us!”

“Well, that sounds good but I simply don’t have enough time to make a meal for ten people,” Laura explained.

“We could call out for pizza,” Kylie suggested.

“Yeah,” Heather agreed. “I’m sure my parents would chip in to pay for it.”

“Mine too,” added Billy.

“Give your parents a call and see if they agree,” Laura chuckled knowing these four were burgeoning into quite a team.

The parents agreed and the kids adjourned to the computer to print out the lyrics of other songs they liked. They finished up just as the parents and siblings arrived. Frank and Margie Dawson, Billy’s parents, and his eleven year old brother, Bobby, arrived first followed by Keith, Linda and Kathy Davis. The Dawsons were aware of Kylie’s past so were not put out by Heather’s probable transsexuality. After initial greetings, at the urging of the kids, they agreed to order six pizzas. Kathy and Bobby were classmates and had no problems getting along with the four older kids. Everyone talked and got to know each other while they waited for the pizza. The parents discovered they were quite compatible and felt they could become good friends. After watching the kids demolish four pizzas, they settled back for the impromptu concert. At Billy’s urging, Heather agreed to do a reprisal of ‘What Child Is This’ and readied her recorders.

Once again, everyone fell under Heather’s musical spell. For the Dawsons, this was the first time they heard Heather play. They were aware that Billy had raved about the Heath’s Christmas Eve performance, but assumed he was simply enthused by a classmate. Now that they heard her play, they realized they had underestimated Billy’s review and far underestimated Heather’s accomplishment.

After a brief break during which everyone heaped praise upon Heather. Bobby and Kathy eagerly joined the other kids as they gathered around Heather to sing while she accompanied them. Kylie easily synced the sixth graders with the others. The adults quickly understood Laura’s request they gather to hear the kids perform. They were simply blown away by the impromptu recital. Once they'd performed their selections, the six youngsters were excited and pleased with themselves.

"Do you think the six of us could have a New Years Eve sleep over tomorrow?" Kylie asked the adults as the other kids nodded their agreement to the question.

"We don't have anything planned," Linda said. "We'd be glad to have them stay over.

"I think that's a great idea." Laura agreed. "We were planning to stay home but if you don't mind we could join the kids for a New Years Eve party. Of course we wouldn't be sleeping over."

"That sounds good to me," Dave said.

"We can make it too," Frank said. "It's been years since we celebrated with anyone else so it should be fun.

"If you let me know what you'd prefer we'll bring the drinks," Laura stated with growing excitement.

"We'll bring snacks and dips," Margie excitedly added.

For the next half hour the adults discussed specific wants and who would get what as well as when to begin the party. Since the guys all declared their desire to see the Peach Bowl, they agreed to start at seven so they could be settled in front of the big screen TV by the 7:30 start time. The game at Atlanta's Georgia Dome between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators promised to be quite a battle.

*****

That night as she settled into bed, Heather mentally called out to Kylie. Kylie instantly responded. "I'm going to induce sleep in our physical bodies so we can get the rest we need," Kylie explained as she made the necessary adjustments. “Before we go to sleep, here is my astral tag. Use your mind to hold it, that way you’ll piggy back on me into the astral.”

“Got it,” Heather replied a bit anxiously. For Heather, it felt really weird as she felt her body drop to sleep while her mind seemed wide awake.

"Now for the hard part," Kylie said. "I’m going to try to expand the tag I have in your mind so I can use it as a secondary anchor for my astral body.”

Heather was confused. “Why do you have to use your tag as an anchor for your astral body? I thought you could go anywhere?

“I discovered that a person’s astral body is tied to a 1000 feet limit of your physical body,” Kylie explained. “Astral tentacles can go anywhere, which is what I’ve been using to do most things. But to blend, I need my astral body and we’re too far apart for normal astral body travel. I think if I can morph the tag I have in your mind into an anchor in your physical body, I think I can piggy-back my astral body on you.”

Heather felt Kylie making adjustments to the tag and soon felt a weird and definitely foreign rippling in her consciousness.

“It worked,” Kylie exclaimed. “My astral body is in your bedroom! Now, let your astral body float up out of your body. It'll feel a bit weird at first. You'll be able to see me when you emerge."

"How do I do it?" Heather asked.

"Heather, check your mind," Kylie instructed. "You'll be able to 'see' your physical mind is asleep. You're functioning with your astral mind. Once you realize you've separated your mind, just tell yourself to float up and you'll astrally emerge from your body."

Heather turned her mind inwards and was stunned to see she could now see her brain and feel the trillions of connections. She explored a bit until Kylie reminded her they needed to get on with their plan. Concentrating on floating up out of her body, she suddenly felt her astral self float up out of her body. Once she was free, she looked around to see Kylie hovering above the foot of her bed and smiled.

"This is just fantastic," Heather bubbled. "Kylie, you've got wings! You look like Tinkerbelle but bigger."

"In a way I am," Kylie giggled. "I simply added them to my astral body. It feels neat to fly and hover. If I want, I could shrink myself to be the size of Tinkerbelle."

"Can I do all that?" Heather asked.

"Sure," Kylie replied "In case you didn't notice, you're naked."

"What?" Heather gasped and looked down at her astral body to see she was indeed naked. Almost instantaneously a copy of her nightie pooped into place. "How did I do that?"

"You wanted to clothe yourself," Kylie answered. "Since you didn't specify what to wear the default is to be clad in whatever your physical body is wearing. Now, think that you want to be dressed like I am, wings included."

Again almost instantaneously Heather's nightie morphed into a copy of Tinkerbelle's dress and wings sprouted from her back. Giggling with delight she fluttered about the room for a few moments.

"Let's go outside," Kylie suggested.

"What if someone sees us?" Heather asked. "Won't we be cold outfitted like this?"

"Our astral bodies are invisible in the real world," Kylie explained. "We won't feel the cold, or the rain or snow or wind. We can pass right through walls, animals, people, trees, and anything else. Follow me." With that Kylie flew through the wall.

It was with a bit of trepidation as Heather flew towards the wall. Instead of the feared impact, she simply passed right through. "Oh wow, that was fantastic."

Side by side the duo flew about the neighborhood. Heather was stunned by the view. They discovered the 1000 feet limit of their astral bodies from Heather’s physical body was in force. Finally after what seemed to be hours, they returned to Heather's bedroom.

"You know, maybe we don't have to merge," Heather said. "You didn't need to do more than tell me what to do and I've emerged on the astral plane. I think I can do it at will."

"Yeah," Kylie agreed. "You can place an astral tag on my mind. Then we'd be able to exchange thoughts, ideas and even skills. We'd be constantly aware of what the other was doing without getting in each other's face. We should be able to swap information with ease."

"Okay, let's try it on my body," Heather said. "Download the information I'll need to change my intersex development."

When Kylie had gathered all the pertinent info, she took what looked like a astral cable and plugged it into Heather's astral mind. The information came cascading in and for a moment everything seemed to be spinning. After the vertigo settled, Heather sorted and merged the information. The she explored her physical body and saw the female organs developing in her tummy. She checked her chromosomes and discovered she was virtually all 'XXY'. Then she sought out her testicles and ordered them to die and be reabsorbed into her body. Her penis, which had never been very big, was ordered to shrink even more and lose it's nascent ability to become erect. Within a few days she would be a girl with an enlarged citrous that looked like a small penis, a birth defect.

Kylie was impressed by Heather's speed of learning and felt better about what she was doing. "You did that just like I did," Kylie praised.

"Thanks," Heather answered. "Now I understand you gathered all the information from the internet. Can you show me how to do that?"

"Sure," Kylie chuckled. "Lets go to your computer. Now extend a skinny astral tentacle and plug yourself into a USB port. Okay, follow me as I show you how the computer works. The first time I did this, I crashed the hospital's mainframe."

By the end of the lesson, Heather was able to surf the web at blinding speed. She could 'pop' into the net at any location she knew or into any computer, nexus, or mainframe she astrally touched. When she encountered firewalls she simply ‘stepped’ over them. The information she gathered was easily downloadable into her astral being. The two girls were having a ball as Kylie shared every trick she'd learned. Following Kylie's instructions, Heather built a psychic barrier to prevent unauthorized intrusions in her mind.

"It's almost dawn," Kylie said. "Normally, when your body wakes up, your astral body pops back inside. But if you fight being drawn back in, you can function astrally while you're fully awake and functioning as your earthly normal. It's quite disorienting and was the most difficult thing I did. You can see with your astral eyes, but when you wake up, your astral body will be in the room watching. When you physically wake up, you're suddenly looking through two sets of eyes. The room will spin and your tummy will twist and churn. If it gets too much, shut all your eyes until the vertigo passes. Then you just keep trying until you master looking at the same thing from two different perspectives at the same time. Once you've got it mastered, you're home free. Good luck, I'll see you tonight."

With that, Kylie slipped back to her body and the astral anchor reverted to a tag.

As her physical body began to wake up, Heather resisted the automatic draw of her astral self back into her body. As she woke, she could feel the duality of her being, one tied to her body and the other astral. When she opened her eyes she quickly discovered that Kylie’s warning about vertigo was quite warranted. But using her advice, she quickly mastered the duality.

****

The girls periodically communicated all morning as they went about their daily activities. Heather also sent her astral tentacles to thousands of places. With her interest in music she was drawn to investigate musicians. This led her to wonder if she and Kylie could tap into the minds of talented musicians and copy their abilities to share them with each other and even download some abilities into Billy, DJ, Kathy, and Bobby. Since Kylie had tweaked them to sync their singing, maybe they could channel the abilities of the best musicians to play instruments as well as singing styles and abilities. Then download those abilities to whichever one of them was best suited to utilize that skill and form a band! Kylie loved the idea when Heather shared it with her. Together, their astral tentacles sought to discover and astrally tag the best musicians.

About ten in the morning, Dr. Alterson called Laura to inform her that Heather’s scores on the tests were undeniably feminine and that her initial diagnosis of Heather as being transsexual was now firm.

Heather squealed with delight and jumped up and down with unbridled glee then hugged her parents. Kathy came to see what caused Heather’s excited squeals and quickly joined her sister in the excitement. Quite naturally, Kylie instantly knew Heather had gotten the results and sent astral congratulations. Laura was delighted and thrilled at the prospect of having another daughter. Keith was pleased his son wasn’t gay but fearful of his new daughter’s life as a
transsexual. But he knew she would have his unrelenting support and love.

*****

In their search of the internet, the girls found dozens of sites listing talented musicians in the rock and jazz genres. From these they selected names or at least groups they recognized and listened to samples of the musicians they selected. They did run into some frustration as many were no longer living. For the instrumentalist, they selected Phil Collins and Ringo Starr for drummers. For bass guitar they selected John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney and Flea (Michael Peter Balzary) from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. For lead guitar they selected Eric Clapton, BB King, Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton and Eddie Van Halen. For keyboards they selected Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Preston, Elton John and Billy Joel. For fiddle they selected Charlie Daniels. For banjo they selected Roy Clark who also played a mean guitar. Deciding they might need some horns, they chose Branford Marsalis for saxophone and his brother Wynton Marsalis for trumpet. For a kick they decided to tap Bob Dylan for harmonica. As a bonus for Heather, they decided to probe her flutist inspiration, Sir James Galway.

In addition to the instrumental abilities, they would also pull their vocal abilities and stage presence. Their selections primarily for vocal abilities were Stevie Wonder, Robert Plant, Johnny Cash, Elton John, Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson, Eric Burdon, Rod Stewart, Roger Daltrey, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Fogerty, JamesTaylor, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner, Joni Mitchell, Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton, Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks, Celine Dion, Pat Benatar, Sheryl Crow, Linda Ronstadt, Loreena McKennitt, Spanky Macfarland, and Mariah Carey,

While they conducted the searches, working together, each segmented a section of their astral mind with a one way shield to keep the other from entering the rest of their astral mind. Then they linked the segmented sections together, effectively merging them. This enabled them to communicate freely and access everything in the merged portion. It took them the rest of the morning to accomplish the monumental task.

It was a strange day for the girls after that. Using dozens of astral tentacles each they located their targets by leaving tags on the official and quality fan web sites to locate their targets. At times it came down to discovering cell phones and tracing their locations. One by one they found their targets and tagged them. They had become so adept at their astral tasks they managed to locate their targets in ten hours. Once all were located they began to download their music abilities.

At that point they sent a joint astral tentacle to probe each target’s mind. Kylie kept a gentle watch on the probed mind and shut down any fears or worries that might bud if they sensed the mental intrusion. With her own musical abilities, Heather knew what to look for and easily located their music abilities and stage presence. Once located, she carefully copied them into their joint astral mind. Once done, they quietly left with their target never suspecting they’d been psychically tapped. By three in the morning on New Years day, they were done with the monumental task.

Heather was amazed that they could astrally do so much without interfering with their physical lives. Such multitasking seemed impossible to even contemplate yet they were doing it. Kylie just smiled as Heather began to learn how their astral abilities enhanced their lives.

*****

In the real world, the three families gathered at six in the evening on New Years Eve to welcome the start of 2005. Once everyone was gathered, Heather announced the results of her psychological tests. They all congratulated her on being the girl she appeared to be.

The guys gathered around the big screen TV to watch the Peach Bowl between the University of Miami and The University of Florida. Miami scored first, after Florida missed a field goal, when Devin Hester returned a missed field goal 78 yards for a touchdown, as Miami took a 7—0 lead. In the second quarter, Matt Leach kicked a 34-yard field goal making it 10—3. Roscoe Parrish scored on a 72-yard punt return giving Miami a 17—3 lead at halftime, even though it didn't score an offensive touchdown. In the third quarter, Brock Berlin threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Moore, and the Hurricanes led 24—3. Florida's Chris Leak threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jemalle Cornelius as the Gators got within 24—10. A 32-yard field goal from Miami gave the Hurricanes the 27—10 win.

Kylie, Heather and Kathy helped the mothers set up snacks and prepared a spicy nacho dip. Kylie, Heather, and Kathy took chips and pretzels to the guys while they watched the game, saving the more flavorful snacks for when they’d be aware of what they’d be eating while simultaneously blunting their ravenous appetites. The mothers smiled at the girls wisdom.

After the game, Kylie organized Billy, DJ, Kathy, Bobby and herself around a seated Heather. The five sang their hearts out while Heather accompanied them, much to the enjoyment of everyone. Kylie and Heather were delighted when Billy and Bobby’s father, without any prodding, suggested they form a band. Kylie and Heather exchanged knowing smiles when the others excitedly agreed.

They all settled down to watch Dick Clark’s New Years Rocking Eve. When the ball dropped, the parents kissed, as did Kylie and Billie. Heather was pleasantly surprised when DJ leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Emboldened, Bobby even gave Kathy a quick peck on the lips. No one seemed upset, in fact everyone smiled.

At one, the Davis’ and Dawsons headed home leaving the kids to their sleep-over. For Kylie and Heather, this was their first sleep-over.

Once the adults left them alone, the kids enthusiastically discussed the possibilities of forming a band. Heather assured the others that between the six of them they could easily learn to play guitar, drums, keyboards, banjo, fiddle, and horns. Bobby already played the drums so he was the natural choice for drummer. Only slight nudges were needed for the rest to volunteer for an instrument. DJ took bass guitar, Billy selected lead guitar, Kylie choose keyboards, Kathy picked trumpet and banjo as well as back up guitar, and Heather added saxophone and fiddle with secondary percussion in addition to the flute.

As the excitement of the New Years Eve sleep-over caught up with them. They quietly discussed how their music could possibly change the world. Once they had all nodded off, at least physically, Kylie and Heather astrally began to download the music abilities and skills to the group.

End of the 2nd Song

CHARACTERS/LOCATIONS
M= Metamorphosis C=Come Clean
Dave Warren Sr.--07/25/68-------M/C= father Kylie & DJ, phys-ed teacher, asst, JV F-ball coach
Laura Warren--06/12/74-----------M/C= mother Kylie & DJ, housewife
DJ (Dave) Warren Jr--09/4/90----M/C= Kylie’s older brother (8th)
Kyle/Kylie Warren--08/24/92-----M/C= hero(ine) son/daughter (7th)
Melissa WaterS--04/08/68---------M/C= county social worker & psychologist
Dr. Alterson--05/26/65-------------M/C= psychologist
James Wilson--04/15/21-----------M= dying old man
Jennifer Sue Charles--04/01/92---M= dying astral girl
Doctor Proctor--11/16/64----------M= orthopedic surgeon
Doctor Walsh--01/24/60-----------M= neurologist
Doctor Lance--6/12/65-------------M= pulmonologist
Mrs. Wentzel--12/13/72-----------M= Kyle’s 7th grade home room teacher
Principal Forrest--2/11/70---------M/C= junior high school principal
Billy Dawson--11/23/92-----------M/C= classmate & Kylie’s boyfriend (7th)
Frank Dawson--10/08/72----------C= father of Billy & Bobby
Margie Dawson--01/04/73--------C= mother of Billy & Bobby
Bobby Dawson--10/05/93---------C= younger brother of Billy (6th)
St. Mary's Trauma Center---------M= hospital
Heath Davis--08/23/92------------M/C= hero(ine) classmate/musician (7th)
Dolmetsch Pearwood recorders—C= left-hand alto(treble) & right hand descant(soprano)
Keith Davis--03/04/73-------------C= father of Heath & Kathy
Linda Davis--09/19/73-------------C= mother of Heath & Kathy
Kathy Davis--05/21/93------------C= Heath’s sister (6th)
Mr. Williams--02/29/64-----------C= band director
Laurie Adams--07/12/70----------C= ninth grade flutist
band geekettes----------------------C= befriend Heath
Frodo---------------------------------C= befriended squirrel
Mr. Wilcox--03/01/82-------------C= guidance counselor
Mr Greene--10/11/69--------------C= phys-ed teacher
Nancy Gregor--03/29/75----------C= receptionist, Dr. Alterson
Sharon Dixon—04/30/74-----------C = mother of Sandy
Sandy Dixon—06/17/93------------C= friend of Kathy Davis

*****************************************************
Come Clean
Written by: Shanks, John; Dioguardi, Kara
Performed by: Hillary Duff
Album: Metamorphosis (2003)

Let's go back
Back to the beginning
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned
'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect
Trying to fit a square into a circle
Was no life
I defy

[Chorus:]
Let the rain fall down
And wake my dreams
Let it wash away
My sanity
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder
I wanna scream
Let the rain fall down
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

I'm shedding
Shedding every color
Trying to find a pigment of truth
Beneath my skin
'Cause different
Doesn't feel so different
And going out is better
Then always staying in
Feel the wind

[Chorus]