I gasped.

“No! Hooty! Down!”

There was a sound that was like an owl hooting, followed by a mix between purring and growling.

“Hooty! In!”

A wall of fur and flesh and feathers moved out of the way, and I fell to the ground. Willow and Rose looked completely fine, and I stared at the—

“Monster?” I asked, eyes widening.

“Oh, he’s not a monster, he is a good boy, isn’t he?” Willow put the gigantic beast in a headlock, scratching under its chin, and it cooed.

It must have been six feet tall standing, with a body of raw, muscled flesh, alabaster white with electric blue lines, reflective as if they were made of metal. Any inch that fur didn’t cover it, feathers did, tipped in that same electric blue. Each of its massive eyes were easily the size of my fist, a brilliant light blue like gigantic sapphires embedded into its head, and in the place of a mouth it had a serrated beak.

I stared at it.

“I told you it would be too much for him. We should have put Hooty away before he came in.”

“Oh, he’ll be fine! Come in Rain!” Willow said, and I slowly got to my feet, staring at the animal as I stepped around it.

Willow looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. “Do you need a healing potion?” She asked, smiling.

“I— ah, no, pardon.” I swirled around the free range animal, which emitted a sound that wasn’t quite a roar— like a mix between a bark and the hoot of an owl. “What… what is that?”

“Its Hooty! I got him when he was just a liiil egg!”

“Is that… are you allowed to own that here?”

Willow quirked her head sideways like I had asked something stupid.

“Strictly speaking? No.” Rose said, her heels clicking as she stepped into the kitchen, turning on a very, very fancy coffee maker with the press of a button. “But the law doesn’t really apply to Platinum grade Awoken like it does to me or you.”

“Pfft, as if you aren’t at least a little above the law yourself, my little Gold.”

Rose blushed, handing a mug of coffee to Willow, who immediately started downing it, before starting another.

I paced through the living room, careful to maintain a six pace distance from the— the Hooty. The counters were green and black granite, polished and shining, and the furniture behind it was black. Plants decorated every few feet, making the inside look like a tropical forest. On one end of the room was a TV that stretched across the wall, and beside it, a window overlooking the city. Notably, the open window faced away from Greeley, towards the south of Denver. Real leather couches and love seats in black filled the living room, the long, L shape kind that bent around the corner.

The setting sun painted the city in burning gold and red, light reflecting and shining off the cars that filled the streets below. The world was still more like than the one I remembered than not. I stared at the window until I saw my own refection, the face of a kid at the age of 23, staring back.

I was back on Earth. It was a different Earth, but in all honestly, it was probably a better one for me.

Willow and Rose left me alone there for a while, giving me time to just observe the city while they turned the TV on and laid out on the couch.

I fell into a chair, watching the sun set on earth. As the world went dark, the city roared to life, even more lively. The streets were full of people of all sizes and shapes. Some of them even glowed. Traffic never stopped as neon signs advertising shops below burned in the dark.

I breathed in deep, turning to the TV.

“What is this, anyway?” I asked.

“This is my favorite soap opera.” Willow said, stretching her arms. She was laying against Rose, who had an ebook reader open and her feet stretched out to an ottoman. She had taken off her jacket at some point, and her outfit was pitch black from top to bottom, though the lighting in the room had dimmed. She looked like a shadow in it, contrasting entirely with Willow.

Wait, that wasn’t an ottoman— it was Hooty, curled up in a pile of fur by her feet.

“It’s not a soap opera, its a c-drama.”

“Its a soap opera! The main characters are Awoken!” Willow argued.

“Its cute.” Rose said, smiling.

I stared at it. The characters looked more like cultivators than Awoken, and the longer I look at it the more I frowned.

“You ready for bed?” Willow asked, leaning up. “House! Lights on!”

Light flooded the room, and I rubbed my eyes.

“The guest bedroom is over here, bathroom is there, fresh sheets inside…” Willow led me away from the exit and upwards. The apartment she occupied was a suite that covered the entire floor of a skyscraper. No, it was two floors, an entire second floor dedicated just to bedrooms and offices. “And the alarm will go off in the morning!! For the spoiled surprise Safari.”

“You were just going to let the alarm wake me up by surprise?”

“I mean… yeah…” Willow said. I rolled my eyes, sliding the door towards shut.

“See you tomorrow.”

The car stopped outside of a building, of all places, pulled into the parking lane between the curb and the street. “Okay Rose, I’ll see you for lunch, yeah?” Willow asked, hugging her… assistant? Partner? I hadn’t asked about their status. Maybe I’d do that today.

The doors slid open, and I stepped onto the curb.

There were a dozen other people, who looked at me and looked away. They were dressed in all kinds of tactical gear— kevlar or strange metals, strapped and loaded with a dozen little gadgets and toys. Several of their sets of clothing were plastered with brands— colleges and businesses, imprinted on puffy jackets.

One of them pointed, and several started whispering. I turned to see what they were looking at.

My sister stepped out of the car, adorned in that black plate armor, shaking her head. Her hair followed like a golden mane, dancing in the sun, and she pushed her armored fingers through her hair, tying it back. No small feat in metal bracers, I’d imagine.

The crowd spread out around her, facial expressions ranging from wariness, to respect, to outright fear. Who was my sister? I gave her a reevaluating look.

“Eeeee! I’m so excited. I haven’t been to the Jelly Forest in more than a year! They’re so cute. I wish they could be domesticated.” Willow spoke, leading the way through the crowd, which parted like water. No one even approached her.

“The Jelly Forest?” I asked. “Like food?”

“Its full of, uh, slimes. They’re like, trash mobs— you know, low rank enemies. There’s, like, nothing above iron rank there. Except for the Slime Knights. Hmmm.” She tapped a finger to her lips. “And the Slime Rogues. And the World Boss. But you have me here, so you’re totally safe.”

The door we stepped through was just wide enough for two people, and we approached a circular desk in the center. People from the group outside were slowly trailing in, approaching the desk staffed with multiple receptionists.

“Two?” She asked without looking up. Instead of a workstation, lights and holograms hovered in front of her eyes, looking like she had a scouter from DBZ or a HUD.

“Yeah—“ I started to say, before Willow interrupted.

“Just one. I’ve got my own kit.” She smiled. The receptionist looked up, a condescending look in her eyes that vaporized on contact with the sight of Willow. She moved so fast it looked like she jumped out of her chair, standing.

“Ms. Gold, a pleasure! You didn’t let us know you would be visiting such a low ranked gate today—“

Willow waved her hand. “Just treat me like I’m not even here.”

The receptionist choked at that, but quickly composed herself. “Of course Ms. Gold, right away. If you’ll follow me, Mr…?”

“Gold. Rain Gold.” I offered a cupped salute and a bow, which earned a bewildered look. Ah, force of habit. I quickly corrected, reaching out a hand for a shake, and the receptionist lead us away from the desk.

“I’ll meet you back here!” Willow said, walking a different direction.

The receptionist talked into a head set, talking quietly and quickly as she led me away, before addressing me.

“So you’re Ms. Gold’s…” The receptionist led.

“Brother.” I said, arms behind my back as we walked into a side room. Advanced looking armor was stacked on mannequins.

She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, you must have just Awoken, then?”

I pursed my lips. “You could say that, yes.” I offered a smile as she removed the suit from the dock. A second assistant rushed in, looking winded. The receptionist nodded, seeming content to dash out of the room at the first opportunity.

“I have it from here.” He said, taking the suit from her and bringing to me. “Top of the line armor. Automatic magic barrier generation, XP gain enchantment… this is the works.”

I reached my arm through the hole for it, and he brought the armor down around my chest, clamping it down.

“How is that? Tight?”

“Good.” I said, waiting calmly as he tightened the straps, locking it in place.

“Typically, armor of this tier is reserved for a more premium package, but we gave you a last minute upgrade in consideration for your sisters… status.”

“Its always better to give too much face than too little.” I said, earning another puzzled look. It seemed I was going to get a lot of those. He passed greaves to me, and I strapped the armor to my legs. Next were bracers, overboots, a sort of psuedo helmet that wrapped around the back of my neck, and an overjacket to top it all off.

I flexed my arms in it. “Weathers a little warm for it, no?”

“It will be colder inside. Alright, if you’ll follow me, your sister is waiting ahead.”

I found myself in an underground garage, filled with cars and no ramp access to outside. They were huge, monstrous, double wide trucks.

“I’m sorry, what… where do the cars…”

“We assembled them in place.” The assistant said, still walking with me. As we walked into the room, I saw a stream of people— the group from outside— across from us. They stared. All of them were in a mix of some level of armor as the assistant lead me to one of the trucks. There was no way they were street legal— they were all double wide, the back fitted with seats without seat belts.

Willow sat inside, arms crossed, a frown on her face.

The back started to open hydraulically, lowering a ramp, and I jumped up to sit next to her.