People scurried as fast as they could to get out of our way. They mostly were successful, but there were a few people who were practically run over as Ginger charged forth with us in tow. “Ginger,” Xander growled. “Slow down. The food isn’t going to vanish just because we took an extra second or ten.”

She didn’t say anything but I did see her lip jut out a little as she pouted. Still, she slowed down, which I was grateful for as she had been practically pulling my arm out of its socket. Xander managed to get his hand out of hers and reached over to help extricate mine. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“I am fine,” I said as I rubbed my shoulder. “I think she is just a bit excited.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “That tends to happen when you eat the same rations day in and day out.” I saw him shudder at some memory. “Let's just say that you will want to grab anything different as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”

“Why don’t you bring some ingredients with you and cook whatever you want?” I asked as we passed through a giant arch set into the wall. While I couldn’t see the other side over everyone's heads, I could see the faint outline of the sky between the buildings on the other side. It was a dull orange color. The light almost seemed to blend in with the orange-white glow that bathed the buildings from below.

“Because we don’t want to die,” came a gruff response from someone in the crowd. Apparently people, while not willing to get close to us for some reason, were okay with listening to our conversation.

Xander sighed. “Our situation out here is different than what you have grown used to. Outside the city's walls, it isn’t the monsters and beasts that are the problem. It is the demons and their army. While we do our best to keep them contained, on occasion a few manage to slip through.”

“You mean like the guard…” Xander hissed at me as he clapped his hand over my mouth.

“Yes, like him,” he spoke quickly. “Damn it. We still haven’t gotten you some shoes.” He cursed as we stepped down the stairs and onto hardpacked dirt. “And of course my airhead sister went ahead.” He looked like he was contemplating something. Finally, he nodded and turned around. As he knelt in front of me, he grabbed onto my calves. “Hold onto my neck.”

Everything felt like it was on fire in embarrassment at how the guy was holding me. It took me a moment to jerk my arms into motion and wrap them around him. The moment I did, he stood up and I got my first real look at the area around us.

While I knew the guy was tall, I didn’t realize just how tall he was until that moment. Not until I was a head taller than him and found my view suddenly unobstructed. The buildings around us were made with a mixture of stone, glass, and metal. Well, the buildings that were on the shorter side were made of stone. The taller ones were made of some sort of metal as they towered high above.

When I looked back, I found that the building we had come out of was one of those made with metal. The thing towered high into the sky. It had to be as big as some of the modern skyscrapers back on Earth. It wasn’t alone either. “What is with the skyscrapers?” I asked.

“Due to the mountains, caves, and the crevasse, there is only so much ground that can support a large structure. Add to that the need to keep everything inside the walls, it is easier to build up or down rather than outward. It helps that the builders and architects can take advantage of Earth’s many generations of building improvements. There is no need to waste material we don’t have.”

It was only then that I recognized a few lines going from building to building. “Wait, are those power lines?”

He looked up and smiled. “You didn’t think that we would rely on just magic, did you? While the grid isn’t quite as extensive as back home, it does provide those who cannot use magic with some of the basics.”

“Like what?”

“We can get into that later. Now, see if you can spot that crazy sister of mine.” When I looked down, I found that we had reached some sort of outdoor eatery. Tables and chairs filled a roped-off section of the road. I found Ginger sitting at an empty table large enough for six people to eat at. Xander must have noticed her at the same time because he walked in her direction without my help.

He set me down into the chair as I mumbled a “Thank you.” My eyes met Ginger’s narrowed eyes. While she didn’t say a word, I had a feeling I knew what she wanted to say.

“I am guessing that you already ordered?” Xander said as he took the seat next to mine.

She shot him a grin. “Yep. I got a bit of everything.”

“So when do you head out?” he asked.

“I was actually thinking about sticking around.” Her eyes flicked toward me. “For a little bit anyway.”

“Cool,” Xander smiled. “Do you mind helping Kyren here?”

I looked at him in confusion. Where would he go that he wouldn’t be around to keep an eye on me? Ginger must have been thinking the same thing because she asked “Where will you be?”

“I will probably be sent somewhere soon enough.” He said with a shrug. “You know how the council can be when you break one of their rules.” Ginger groaned. He laughed, “Hell, you probably know better than most people.”

“Don’t remind me. I got lucky when all they wanted last time was for me to run an errand for them. But what did you…” She shot a look at me as something occurred to her. “Ah…”

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“What?” I asked, confused. “Who is the council and what rule of theirs did you break?”

“The council is the group that, well they don’t run the region, but they have a major say in what goes on inside of it.” Xander started. “While most of their rules are akin to suggestions, there are a few that are fairly important and treated as such.”

“One such rule is the one relating to the process of entering the empire.” Ginger helpfully added.

He glared at her but continued. “When I came to save you, I didn’t quite have permission.”

“So you are in trouble because of me?” I asked, horrified that he was going to be punished in some way because of me.

He waved off my concern. “You needed the help and it isn’t like they will demand something too terrible. It will most likely be a fine of some sort.” His confidence soothed my nerves. Which was a good thing because I didn’t think I could eat otherwise. Given the smell coming off the plates someone was carrying toward us, that would have been a damn shame.

Plate after plate was set into the middle of our table. There was a mix of noodle-based dishes, an assortment of meats, and even some rice. I didn’t wait for anyone else. I grabbed a bowl and scooped a rather large helping of rice into a bowl before moving on to piling various other things on top.

They both laughed at me but I didn’t care. I don’t know how I managed to survive since waking up because I was suddenly starving. “And there is the hunger.” I heard Ginger say as I stuffed a folded piece of meat into my mouth.

“I still recall your transformation. The amount of food that you ate at that first meal.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Has the amount dropped since then?” Xander asked as he laughed.

“No.” Ginger grumped. “It's not my fault I like my food.”

We sat in silence as we each ate our food. I devoured three heaping bowls before finally slowing down. While I didn’t stop, I did have enough time to ask a question between bites. “Why am I so hungry?”

“Your transformation,” was Ginger's simple explanation.

Xander rolled his eyes as he spoke. “What my sister means is that your body went through a massive change. A change that took quite a bit of energy. Energy to fuel your change from human to Kitsune as well as male to female. Energy that you have not been able to replenish since your fight with the demon.”

Wait, when was the last time I ate? It was while I waited for the pod to let me re-enter the game after kicking me out for medical reasons. That was…quite a while ago. Speaking of which, “Not to change the subject or anything, but how can a pod pull you out of the game for medical reasons if your body is physically here?”

Ginger’s eyebrows furrowed as she spoke, “What do you mean? It can’t.”

“It can,” Xander corrected her. “But only before you use the SoulStone.”

Ginger’s eyes rolled. “Well, duh. Before you use the SoulStone, your body and soul are not quite linked. Your body stays behind while your soul enters the game…or at least that’s what I was told.”

Xander looked like he was about to say something but a siren filled the air. Tears pricked my eyes as my hands went to my ears in an attempt to save my hearing from the loud noise. When I looked up, I found that Xander and Ginger were standing with their weapons out. They were not the only ones. Every person I could see had some sort of weapon held at the ready as their eyes scanned for any threat.

As soon as the siren cut off, a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. “Breach detected in sector three. Lockdown in effect for sectors one, two, three, four, five, nine, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. Teams dispatched.” While people put their weapons away and looked like they relaxed, I found that the atmosphere still felt a bit tense.

“What is going on?” I asked.

Both ignored me. “What do you think?” Ginger asked Xander.

“I think someone killed another oracle.”

“Again? What is that, the fifth time this week?” She scoffed. “Just what are the guards doing?”

“Um, hello?” I tried to get their attention.

It didn’t work. “Eighth that I know of. Each of which was followed by…” He stopped speaking just in time for another horn to blare.

This one lasted only a moment before the voice returned. “Demon incursion detected. Active units, please report to your designated stations.” I heard a few groans and complaints as people around us stood and made their way down the road at a moderate jog.

“You’re not on duty?” Xander asked.

“Nope. I took a few days off. You?”

“I am on leave until the council decides my fate.”

“Why is it taking so long?”

He smiled. “I pulled a few strings to put it off until Kyren here woke up.” His smile dropped. “I should probably go report to the council today though.”

“Okay.” I was done getting ignored. “What is going on here?!”

They both looked at me in confusion. Ginger was the first to realize the issue. “I forgot you just got here.” Her words nearly had Xander smacking his head. “Welcome to the front lines in the war against the demons.” She started.

“Where fighting can break out without warning and last until one or both sides are killed.” He said.

She continued. “As such, with few exceptions, everyone here is required to be a part of one team or another. Each of which hands out shifts if and as required as they try to keep the place both secure and running.”

“What teams are you both on?” I asked before waving my hands, “Wait, what about me? Will I have to join a team? Do I get a choice in what team I join?”

“I am on the reconnaissance team while my sister is in a reaction force…”

“We mostly provide some relief to the front lines until the heavy hitters can get there.” She interjected.

“As for you,” he looked me in the eyes as he shrugged. “There isn’t much that you can do at the moment. At the moment, you are simply too low of a level to be more than a burden.” Well, that was blunt. “You will probably be given a coach and told to train.”

Ginger sighed, “Most of whom will just drag your ass out of town and tell you to not come back until you reach the minimum threshold for them to hand you off. Lazy fuckers.”

“Well, then why don’t you ask to be her trainer?” Someone growled from a nearby table. We all spun to look at the guy. He didn’t look intimidated as he continued. “It isn’t like we don’t have our hands full training everyone else for this role or that. Hell, I had forty-seven recruits I have to get into fighting shape by the end of the week. Should I ignore all of them so I can focus on one or two?” He waited for us to answer. After a minute of silence, he shook his head and stood up. “That’s what I thought.” He laid a single coin onto the table and walked off.

“You know,” she said, “that isn’t such a bad idea. I have some time saved up. It might be fun to take this one into the wild and train her up.” Something about how she said that caused warning bells to go off in my head.

Before either of us could respond, a couple of official-looking people walked up to our table. “Kai Ravenwood?”

I had no clue who they were talking to until Xander answered. “Yes?”

“You are hereby requested in the council chamber.” Xander didn’t complain or argue. He simply raised a hand to get a staff member's attention.

Within moments one came over and offered a slip of paper to him. He didn’t hesitate to pull out a couple of coins and drop them in the person’s hand. Xander then slid off his chair and turned so his back was between my legs. I was confused as he pulled my thighs against him. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck as he stood up.

“Lead the way,” was all he said. The guy who had spoken looked us over before giving a half-hearted shrug and taking the lead. His two companions flanked us as we followed him.