"Hello, Vesta. I've been waiting to meet you." Father said, smiling.

"M-me too," Vesta stuttered out, "You have no idea how much this means to me-" Oh, Father, was she tearing up? No, anything but this. Trying to reign in her emotions, she swallowed thickly, "I've been waiting to meet you for so long, and you're finally here-"

"Where are the others?" The Other one asked, drawing her attention. She reluctantly looked away from Father to take the other one in. She was pretty in an ethereal way, and also had a Halo of Divinity.

"Um, I'm sorry," She asked, trying to be polite, "Who are you?"

The Other one looked surprised, before letting out a giggle, "Oh, right, I haven't been mentioned in any Oracles yet."

"We might as well put a pause on introductions until everyone gets here," Father said gently.

Vesta was still stuck on this. Who was this woman? Why was she with Father, and what was this feeling in her stomach?

As they waited, Vesta watched Father take in the surrounding island. She smiled as he nodded in approval. This was her work, most of the islands were volcanic, so she'd had some fun shaping them in interesting and creative patterns. Right now, to really get a volcano going, it took both her and Titan, so she would get his help with the initial raising and do the rest herself. Titan didn't seem to mind, he probably thought that it would have gotten in the way of his research.

"West." The Other said, looking in that direction. Vesta turned to look and saw a speck on the horizon, which soon resolved itself to be Titan, flying at breakneck speed. For a moment it looked like he was going to crash land, but he stopped himself at the last second, hovering for a moment before landing on his feet with a thump.

"Father!" He shouted, before lowering his voice apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck, "It's good to finally see you in person."

"Yes, it's good to see you too." Father nodded regally to him, “We are currently waiting on the others to arrive.”

"We won't have to wait long," The Other said, "They're coming from the north."

"Both of them?" Titan asked, "I would have thought Boreas would have come from the East."

"We can ask them when they get here," Vesta said, irritated. Why weren't they here yet? They were making her look bad in front of Father!

“I can see them now,” Father said, smiling. He gestured north. In the distance were two shapes, approaching quickly. One hovering just above the waterline, and the other higher above. They soon arrived, The first being Nimue and the second being Boreas.

“Father!” Nimue greeted, curtsying deeply, “It is wonderful to finally meet you in person.” Father, why didn’t she curtsy? It was like Nimue was trying to make her look bad! It was too late to do it now…

“You as well, Nimue,” Father smiled warmly at her, “But we should begin introductions now. I’ll go first. I am the God of Creation, Atlas.”

Father’s name. This was unprecedented. She’d long wondered if Father even had one, or if he was so old that such things didn’t matter. She was glad she was created because of this moment!

The moment ended when the Other opened her mouth. “I am the Goddess of Time, Aurora,”

Goddess!? She’d been unintentionally very rude! Vesta apologized in her mind. A small part of her was still roiling, however. Why did this ‘Aurora’ get to spend so much time with her Father, they even arrived together!

Why not her?

Was it because Father was disappointed in her? Had she done something wrong?

Brought out of her thoughts, she realized everyone was looking at her. What was it? Was there something on her face?

“Your introduction, Vesta,” Titan whispered, gently nudging her.

“Oh! I am The Spirit King of Fire, Vesta.” She said confidently, but inside she was upset with herself. Was she such a disappointment she couldn’t even get that right?

“With that out of the way,” Nimue said, “My children are preparing a celebration back at my underwater castle, so I was hoping I could have everybody’s attendance?”

“My,” Aurora said, clapping her hands together, “That sounds wonderful.”

“We’d be happy to attend,” Father smiled.

Boreas, Titan, and Vesta agreed, but the feeling inside her grew stronger. Nimue was showing her up again! But it wasn’t intentional, was it. She must just be that incompetent. Why hadn’t she been more on top of things?

Father had pulled Aurora to the side for a moment, speaking softly together. Vesta attempted to drift subtly closer, hoping to hear what they were saying, but Nimue grabbed her arm, stopping her.

“Hey, are you alright?” She asked quietly, “You seem a little off, this isn’t like you.” She was right earlier, Nimue wasn’t trying to show her up, Vesta was just that unimpressive.

She forced a smile on her face, “Yep, I’m fine! No problems here!” Nimue gave her a side look.

“When you want to talk about it, I’m here.” Nimue whispered, then moved away.

Father, Nimue was just too perfect, and Vesta couldn’t even hate her for it. 

Titan approached her next, a worried expression on his face, “What’s going on, I haven’t seen you like this before.” He said. Since she and Titan had worked so much together, they'd gotten pretty close. She couldn’t really lie to him.

“I’m just a little nervous,” Vesta sighed, “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, and I feel like I’m screwing it up.”

Titan showed a little smile, something he did very rarely, “You’re doing just fine. Come on, let’s go talk to the others.”

Suddenly, Nimue’s voice caught their attention. “Everyone? The Palanquin is here to take us to the banquet.”

Vesta looked behind her, and a large, extravagantly gilded Palanquin was floating by the water. It was huge, easily able to fit all of them.

“Oh, how lovely,” Aurora said, and Father nodded. Nimue gestured for them all to board as the doors opened, and Father and Aurora did, Boreas right behind them. Nimue was next as Vesta and Titan approached, and they stepped inside, entering last.

Inside, Father, Aurora, and Nimue were on one side, with Boreas on the other. Vesta was disappointed that she couldn’t sit next to Father, but from the other side, she at least got a good view of him.

The Palanquin started to move, and Vesta sighed. She didn’t like being underwater, it made her feel unbalanced. Probably because being surrounded by so much water mana made her powers harder to use. The Palanquin slowly dipped under, the water filling the space inside. She glanced over at Father as the water rose, but he was turned to the side and staring out the window, the golden glow of his halo making it difficult to see his facial expression in his reflection.

The water had filled the cabin by now, and she looked at Titan sitting next to her. He gave her a nod, and she smiled back, turning to look out the window. The water was dark outside, so the Palanquin must be moving considerably fast. They must be almost there by now. Looking out the other side, she could see a distant glowing, as the castle came into view. 

They pulled up right in front of the doors, already open with many Undines waiting for them on either side. As the Palanquin doors opened, all of the Undine bowed or curtsied deeply. Nimue stepped out first, and gestured for Vesta and the other Spirit Kings to follow. They got out and stood to either side, Nimue and Boreas on the left, Vesta and Titan to the right. Nimue nodded to the others and all four of them bowed and curtsied as well.

Father and Aurora stepped out, looking just as impressive as before, and Nimue took the lead, leading them inside. The other Spirit Kings fell in step behind Father, and they were led to an immaculately decorated ballroom. The walls were carved with intricate reliefs, and had torches of blue fire cleverly included into the carvings. Ribbons of magic lights ran from the middle of the ceiling outwards towards the walls, where they elegantly draped downwards towards the floor. In the center of the room were two long tables, decorated with sculptures made from glowing bubbles for centerpieces and beautifully crafted items displayed all along them. 

“How beautiful,” Aurora smiled, “You’ve done an amazing job.”

“I agree,” Father nodded, smiling as well, “I’m quite impressed.”

Nimue looked like she was about to cry from happiness, “Thank you, my children and I have worked very hard on this. They will be overjoyed to hear your compliments.”

She led Father into the room, taking him to one of the tables. Titan and Boreas followed.

Vesta was overwhelmed. Nimue was just so amazing, and nothing was going as she’d imagined it. She’d wanted to get some time to talk to her Father one-on-one, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

“Is everything alright?” a voice asked, surprising Vesta. She looked up to see that Aurora hadn’t followed the others and had been standing near the doorway with her.

What was with this Goddess? How come some woman she’d never even heard of got to spend so much time with Father? She shook her head.

“I’m fine.” Vesta said shortly. “Aren’t you going to go look at all of the wonderful things Nimue created?”

The Goddess hummed thoughtfully, “There’s plenty of time for that, I was hoping to get to know you a bit. You’ve been kind of quiet, which wasn’t really what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting, then?” Vesta asked, a bit more harshly than she meant it to be. “I’m sorry I couldn’t live up to your lofty expectations. I think I need some time alone, so please excuse me.” She gave a quick curtsy and walked out of the room, Aurora’s surprised and slightly hurt expression on her mind.

---

---

Things were going pretty well, all things considered, according to Atlas. When they’d been told that the party was underwater, he’d panicked a bit, but after talking to Aurora he’d calmed down.

“It’s fine, we don’t need to breathe anyway,” She’d said, “If it helps, you could remove your lungs so the instinct isn’t there.”

“What!?” He’d said, slightly horrified, “I was hoping for a spell or something, won’t removing my lungs kill me?”

“You’re thinking like a mortal,” Aurora had said, “Our bodies are made from aether, remember? You could turn yourself into a person-shaped balloon, filled with only cotton candy, and you’d be just fine. Well, you’d probably look funny when moving around, but you get my point. A magic spell is possible, but it’s not necessary. It’s probably better to get used to not needing to breathe, anyway.”

So he’d done as she’d recommended, and removed his lungs. It was surprisingly comfortable, not needing to breathe. Humans would probably find it unsettling, seeing as his chest didn’t rise or fall, so he’d have to add them back in before going back to Earth. But for now, it was fine.

“And these are some of the more interesting materials we’ve discovered over the years. Titan has taken it upon himself to really study them, so if you want to know more about them you can talk to him.” Nimue was saying as he tuned back in. He looked at the table where she was pointing, and saw many different jewels, metals, and ores.

“Interesting,” he said, looking closer at a glowing silver metal, “This looks like Mithril.” Aurora had told him that by adding [Mana] to the world, some more mystical materials would form naturally.

“Is that its name?” Titan jumped in enthusiastically, “What about this one,” He gestured to a golden metal.

“It’s not regular gold, is it?” Atlas asked, smiling.

“No, this one shines when mana is run through it,” Titan said, “It’s also somewhat heavier.”

“It’s probably Orichalcum then,” Atlas nodded sagely, “A more malleable metal, and beautiful, good for making jewelry. It’s still pretty strong, so armor can be made from it as well, but it isn’t as good as Mithril or Adamantine.”

Titan looked like he wanted to take notes, “That’s what I had figured. Is Adamantine this one over here?” He pointed to a darker metal shard on the table.

“It looks to be,” Atlas nodded, but was interrupted by a tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see Aurora, with a worried look on her face. “Is something wrong?” He asked.

“Vesta and I just had a conversation, and she seemed upset. She left rather quickly.” Aurora said.

“She left?” Titan asked, confused, “But she’s been looking forward to this more than anyone!”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Nimue said, shooting Titan a look, “But she has been acting peculiar today.”

“Do you want me to go look for her?” Boreas asked.

“No, I will,” Nimue said, “I’m the host, and she’d probably just curse you if you tried.” Boreas nodded in agreement.

“Actually, it would probably mean the most to her if Father went,” Titan said, “If you don’t mind, that is.” He corrected.

Atlas was a little surprised, but agreed, “I don’t mind. I’ll be right back.” He headed out of the ballroom, and started looking. He didn’t have to look far, he found her on the nearby balcony, looking up towards the surface. The light of the sun was just visible this far down.

“Are you alright, Vesta?” He asked softly.

She spun around, and Atlas was surprised to see tears in her eyes, “Father!” She wiped her face quickly, “What are you doing out here?”

“The others were worried about you, so I came to check on you.” He said, “Is something the matter?”

She grimaced, “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” She asked, “I’m just disappointed.”

Atlas was surprised, “In me?” He asked, He knew he wasn’t the all powerful God they might have been suspecting.

“No!” Vesta shouted, “You’re amazing! I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

“Then what?” He asked softly.

“Myself!” She said, “I’m disappointed in myself! The others are so amazing, I feel like I’m being left behind. I’m just-” She cut herself off.

“Just?” He prodded gently.

“I just don’t want to disappoint you, and that's all I’ve been doing today.” Vesta sighed.

“What?” Atlas asked, “You haven’t disappointed me, Vesta,” He said, “Quite the opposite! Look what you’ve accomplished! You completed the shield from the sun’s rays! All by yourself! That’s amazing!”

“But I haven’t even come close to completing any of the other missions you’ve given me!” She cried, tears starting to fall again, “I haven’t fully regulated the planet’s temperature, or completed the cycle of seasons!”

“It would have been nearly impossible for you to create winter by yourself,” Atlas pointed out, “And regulating the planet’s temperature is pointless if there aren't seasons to affect it.”

“I just wanted to prove that I was doing everything perfectly, so you wouldn’t worry about me anymore.” She sighed.

“Worry about you?” Atlas asked.

“When you created us, you said you were worried about me doing well,” She said, “You didn’t say that to any of the others.”

Oh. Atlas had completely forgotten about that. Was she worrying about that all this time? He’d unintentionally put a lot of pressure on her, hadn’t he. 

“I’ve been going about this the wrong way,” He muttered. Vesta looked at him, confused. He looked at her again, “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m not a perfect being, and I make mistakes like anybody else. I said something that put a lot of pressure on you, and for that I’m truly sorry. You’ve done a wonderful job, and I’m proud of you.”

Vesta looked shocked and was staring at him, mouth open with the tears still on her face. She took a moment to collect herself, wiping her face again. “You know, I’ve always wanted to hear you say that to me. I’m just kind of surprised that it happened the way it did.” She chuckled. Atlas joined her, and soon they were laughing together. After a moment, the laughter died down, and Vesta sighed. “I just wish I had made something to show you my work, like Titan’s research, Boreas’ maps, or Nimue’s tables of items.”

Atlas laughed, surprising Vesta, “You weren’t listening to the others in there were you.” He said, “Boreas talked all about the volcanic islands you made, he included them in his maps. Titan talked about how you went down to the planet’s core looking for materials. He said you were the one who discovered those magic gemstones, the Magic Crystals? And Nimue had a whole section on her tables for your creations. Aurora was going crazy over the jewelry you made.”

“Oh,” Vesta said, looking surprised.

“Come on,” Atlas said, “Let’s get back in there.” He put out his hand, and Vesta took it. 

As they walked back to the ballroom, Vesta sighed, “I’m going to have to apologize to Aurora.”

“Why?” Atlas asked.

“I was rude to her.” Vesta said, “I was jealous. I’d waited so long just to see you in person, and there was this Goddess I’d never heard of spending all this time with you.”

Atlas was quiet for a moment, then said, “She was there.”

“What?” Vesta asked.

“She might not have had a hand in your creation, but she was there when it happened.” Atlas explained.

“Oh,” Vesta said, “I really owe her an apology then.”

“I’m sure she’ll forgive you,” Atlas said. As they rounded a corner, the ballroom doors came into view. They stepped inside, and everyone was waiting for them.

“Good, you’re back!” Nimue said, smiling. The others were standing between the tables.

“Sorry to worry you all,” Vesta said sheepishly, “Father helped me get my head back on straight.”

“Good,” Titan nodded, “Come help me show Father and Aurora the samples you found at the planet’s core.”

Atlas smiled as he led Vesta back over to the others.

---

---

The party was winding down. After Nimue and the others had showed them and talked about each item on the tables, Aurora introduced the Spirit Kings to the concept of Music and Dancing, and they had some fun playing different genres of music and showing them different dances.  Titan was partial to classical music and didn't really enjoy dancing, but would do it if Vesta asked him to. Vesta, on the other hand, was a wild dancer and loved Rock and Roll music. Aurora apparently had some knowledge of Musical Theater and Opera, which surprised Atlas though it shouldn't have, his mother had forcibly taken him to see a musical while he'd had the game. She had taught some to Nimue, who took to it like a duck to water, she apparently had a beautiful singing voice. Boreas liked a little bit of everything and was a terrible dancer, but really enjoyed doing it. They'd all begged him to bring them back more examples of music the next time he and Aurora came.

Now, it was time for the Gifts. Aurora had taught Atlas how to carry items with his Divinity, by absorbing them inside and then conjuring them back out when needed, so he had carried the second tier Spirit King Cores this way. He had figured he could make a big show of pulling them out and really wow everybody, but after everything that had happened that didn't really feel appropriate anymore. These weren't his loyal subjects that revered him and worshiped him, these people were family.

He cleared his throat. Nimue and Aurora stopped to look at him from where they'd been swing dancing to a jazzy upbeat song, and Titan, Vesta, and Boreas stopped going over whatever material they'd been talking about over by the tables. As they gathered around him, Atlas pulled the carton carrying the cores out with a flash of light. Aurora gasped, like she'd forgotten why they were here and just remembered.

"I figure now is about the right time to give you all the Gifts I mentioned, and talk about what's going to happen going forward." Atlas said, smiling a little sadly. He didn't really want this to end! Aurora walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. She could probably guess how he was feeling.

She took over, "These Gifts probably won't be exactly what you're expecting, so try not to be too surprised." She said, gesturing to the carton.

Atlas opened the carton, showing the four Spirit Kings the cores inside, "Do you all recognize these?" None of the Kings answered, and Nimue shook her head thoughtfully, "You all were like this once."

The response was sort of surprising. Boreas seemed to do a spit take, which was weird seeing as they were underwater. Nimue put a finger to her chin, thinking. Titan looked sort of stunned.

Vesta smiled, "I thought it might be something like that," She said, "When I was created, I remember feeling really small and confused, and then I felt the warmth of Father's hands around me. It makes sense now, seeing as they're small enough to fit in your hands."

"Who are they?" Nimue asked, "More of your children?"

"Yes," Atlas nodded, "They're also Spirit Kings, and Aurora and I are charging the four of you to watch over their growth." He gestured to the cores, "These are the Spirit Kings of Life, Ice, Storm, and Magma. Soon, after they've spent some time absorbing the necessary mana, they'll awaken just as you all did."

Aurora nodded, "Life is named Cybele, and she was created by combining the elements of Earth and Water. Ice is Khione, and she was created by combining Water and Air. Storm is Jupiter, and he was created by combining Air and Fire, and Magma is Vulcan, he was created by combining Fire and Earth."

"They have their own missions," Atlas said, "And some of them will overlap a bit with yours. This isn't because you've been replaced, they are just here to help." He paused, smiling sadly, "I'm glad you all can be there for them. I wish someone could have been there for all of you like that, but someone has to be first. I want each of you to look after one of the cores until they awaken, alright? After that you can look after them together."

He stepped up to Titan, "Titan, Aurora and I want you to look after Cybele. She has a big mission ahead of her, so when she awakens make sure to give her assistance when she needs it." He lifted the glowing green orb out of the carton and placed it in Titan's hands.

Titan looked emotional, gazing down at the small core in his large hands, "I will, I swear it." He nodded. Atlas smiled at him before moving on. He walked to Aurora, who was standing off to one side, and offered her the carton. She looked questioningly at him, and he tilted his head towards the Kings. He wanted Aurora to feel included in this, this was her world too.

Aurora's eyes lit up with understanding and she took the carton from him. Stepping up to Nimue, she lifted the light blue core out of the carton, "Nimue, we want you to look after Khione. Ice and Water are interrelated, so you'll be working together a lot in the future." She said, setting the orb in Nimue's hands.

Nimue looked awed, and she nodded, cradling the core, "Yes, I swear it." Aurora smiled and stepped back, handing the carton back to Atlas.

Atlas took the carton and stepped up to Vesta, who looked like she was going to cry again, "Vesta, we want you to look after Vulcan. He's going to be a bit of a handful, so keep your eye on him, okay? I'm sure you can handle it." He said, smiling at her. That got a smile out of her. He set the orange core in her outstretched hands.

Vesta said back, still smiling, "Of course, I swear it." Atlas nodded and stepped back, handing the carton to Aurora again.

Aurora stepped up to Boreas, who looked uncharacteristically nervous, "Boreas, we want you to look after Jupiter. The two of you can work together on his missions, since Wind and Storm are both needed for weather. Take care of him, okay?" She said, handing him the purple core.

Boreas took the core carefully, as if he feared it would break. Was he one of those who were uncomfortable around kids? Hmm, that doesn't really apply here does it?

"Sure, I mean yes, I swear it," Boreas nodded, seeming overwhelmed.

Aurora nodded and stepped back, handing the empty carton to Atlas, who put it back into his Divinity. He looked at all of them, all holding small glowing orbs like they were the most important things on the planet. And they kind of were, at the moment. "I'm sure you'll all do a great job." He said smiling, "But now comes the hard part. It's time for us to leave, and once we do, we won't be able to come back for a long time."

Aurora nodded, "We'll be gone for about another millennia, I'm afraid."

"What?" Nimue said, shocked, "But you just got here!" She seemed sad, and Atlas understood why. He was sad too!

"We're needed elsewhere, I'm afraid," Aurora said, "But next time, we'll be able to stay longer." She and he had talked it over earlier, after this they were going to activate another Time Skip. After a Millennia of everyone working to finish the ecosystem, they'll be able to start adding the races of people! That was going to take some work, so it would take a while. Hmm, maybe he should make some more Gods to help?

Atlas looked around again, seeing their dismayed faces. Oh, he hoped they didn't feel like they were abandoning them! Well, they probably did, but he just hoped they didn't hold it against them.

"I understand," Titan said, "I'm sure you have other responsibilities, I'm just glad we got to meet you. I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for creating us, and this world." He bowed low, and the others joined him.

"Thank you, Father, for everything." They said, in unison. Had they planned this? Atlas felt his eyes watering.

"Okay!" Aurora said, clapping, "That's enough of the sad stuff, let's get everything we need to go."

"Need?" Boreas asked.

"Yes," Aurora said, "You said you wanted us to bring some examples of music for you, but is there anything else?"

Everyone got thoughtful looks on their faces. Well, Boreas' was more mischievous than thoughtful, but you get the idea.

They ended up with a list. Forms of entertainment, mostly. Music or course, but Aurora had explained musical theater to them, so movies were an option, too. And they already had created some simple games over the millennia, so party games were good too. Stories were another, so Books too, and they hadn't needed to eat before, nor had the planet had anything edible, so food would be a novelty.

Vesta especially wanted new clothing types to try. They were still wearing the clothes that they'd awoken in, but altered to be more fancy and appealing over the millennia. Titan was wearing his yellow tunic and dark pants, but someone had added some shoulder-pads and a shoulder-belt to it. He was also wearing some sort of crown, a thin band that circled his head.

Vesta was still wearing the short red dress, but she'd added a thick gold chain around her middle and some golden jewelry around her wrists and neck.

Nimue was wearing the long blue dress, but she'd removed the sleeves and added a black shawl made from some sort of woven material. Looking closer, it was actually a sort of metal mesh with black stones woven into it. He would have said it must be heavy, but magic.

Boreas was wearing the billowy white tunic and tan pants, but he'd had the shirt cut to show off more of his chest. Huh. There was a cord added to the tunic so it could be laced up, or reveal as much as he wanted. Atlas guessed Boreas must be some kind of flirt.

Anyway, It was now time for them to leave. They'd prepared for this. Aurora teaching him how to lock on to the Realm Navigator's signal and teleport back to it from wherever he was. It would make traveling to and from his God's Realm much easier. He'd use the Realm Navigator if he was going somewhere he'd never been, it was safer that way, but to places he'd been before it wouldn't be too difficult to teleport on his own. Teleporting between realms was still very difficult, though, so the Realm Navigator was necessary for that.

Atlas gave Vesta and Nimue a hug, and shook Boreas and Titan's hands. After many goodbyes, and some crying, Atlas smiled one last time. He took in everyone's Nimue's wet eyed smile while waving, Boreas wide smile and wave, Titan's nod, with his arm around Vesta as he supported her, and Vesta's full blown sobbing. She was smiling though, and Atlas took some comfort in that. He looked at Aurora, and she nodded, her eyes wet as well. He closed his eyes, and searched for the Realm Navigator's signal. Once he found it, he gave it a pull.

---

---

Reappearing in the Realm Navigator, Atlas sighed. Thankfully the Realm Transporter came with a system that was able to handle multiple people using it at once, going and arriving, so he and Aurora were able to use it at the same time. It would have been awkward if one of them had to wait while the other person used it.

"Do you want me to bake you some cookies?" Aurora asked.

"No, I think I'm good this time," Atlas said, smiling a bit sadly. He shook his head. "Well, we'd better get started."

"What kinds of things do you want to bring them?" Aurora asked, "Should we go shopping back on Earth?"

Earth, huh. Earth. Earth? Wait. "How long has it been? How many days ago was it that I came here?" they didn't need to sleep, right? A week could have gone by an he'd have had no clue. Have he missed College classes? Was his family worried about him? Did they file a Police report!? Had he been declared dead!? Wait, they'd skipped a millennia, right? Had a Millennia passed back home too? Was everybody he'd known and loved dead and buried without ever having known what had happened to him!? What if-

"Okay, calm down." Aurora said, breaking him out of his funk, "It's been about a day. You left on Friday evening, and it's Saturday evening now. Even if a Millennia had passed there too, I'm the Goddess of Time, remember? I can have you back home at any year, month, day, minute, second you choose."

"Oh," Atlas said, "Sorry about that." All of this stuff happening was affecting him more than he'd thought. "Wait, how did you know what I was-"

"You were speaking out loud, silly," Aurora laughed, "Anyway, why don't we go to Earth and arrive on Sunday morning, huh? That way we can do some shopping, and then have some fun hanging around at that mall near your apartment. I've been kind of hoping to get to go to Earth, please say we can go. I don't want to have to stay here while you go alone!"

"Whoa, Whoa!" Atlas laughed, "Of course you can come!" He was kind of looking forward to spending time on Earth with Aurora as well, now that he thought about it.

"Yes!" Aurora fist pumped, "I'll activate the Time skip and hit pause, you change out of those robes." She pulled up a screen and began navigating the menu.

"Cool, I'll do that." Atlas said. He turned away from her, and willed his clothes to go back the way they were. He pulled up a mirror again. Oops, gotta get rid of the halo. He banished it with a thought. Looking over himself, he made sure he was still recognizable as himself. As far as he could tell he was, but that would have to be put to the test, huh.

"Okay, all done!" Aurora said, and Atlas turned to look. She'd gotten rid of her fancy robe and halo, and even her regular toga. She was wearing a light purple blouse that would have showed her shoulders, if a large black button up sweater wasn't covering them. The sweater was open in the front and showed the blouse, the wrinkles of fabric at the bottom covering the tops of a pair of tight looking jeans. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she'd changed her elven ears into human ones.

"How do I look?" She asked.

It was kind of strange to be so affected by her looking so normal, but Atlas had only seen her in such extravagant clothes. To see her looking like the girl in your chemistry class that all of the guys had a crush on was doing funny things to his insides.

"Yeah, you look good, I guess," He choked out, blushing.

"Thanks, then I'm glad, I guess," She smiled, her cheeks dusted pink. "Shall we go?"

"Lets," Atlas said, offering her his arm. They turned back to the Realm Navigator, and stepped onto it. Atlas pulled up a screen and set the Navigator to transport them to his apartment. In a flash of light, they were there.

The first thing he noticed, was a loud pounding on his front door. He and Aurora looked at each other, and Atlas went to answer the door.

Looking through the peephole, he saw the top of a head of brown hair. Oh, he knew who this was. There's only one person it could be. He pulled the door open suddenly.

A high pitched shriek was heard, and the person on the door nearly toppled inside. Atlas caught her, stopping her fall.

"What are you doing, Annie?" He asked, sighing. His sister grinned sheepishly up at him. She pushed off of him, grabbed something on the floor in the hall and walked back in, closing the door behind her.

"Sorry, I was just beginning to worry. I've been pounding on the door for nearly ten minutes. I was worried something had happened to you."

Atlas sighed again, "Why are you pounding on my door for so long at," He looked at the clock on the stand near the door, "Nine-Thirty in the morning?"

"I know sometimes it takes a while for you to get out of bed, so..." She shrugged.

"No, I mean what are you doing here?" He corrected.

"Did you not check your phone? I texted that I was coming over." She said, "Mom and Dad, well, mostly Mom, sent me over with some food." She showed the Tupperware in her hands.

"Ah." He hadn't had his phone on him when he'd been Transport-napped, and even if he did who knows if it would have worked across Realms.

"What took you so long to answer the door anyways?" She asked.

He thought quickly, "Needed to get dressed." She nodded, pushing past him and into the apartment. She stopped, looking into the kitchen.

"Oh!" She grinned, looking at him. He looked past her. He'd kind of hoped that Aurora would have ducked into his room, but apparently, she'd gone into the kitchen. She had the stove on and was cooking some eggs and bacon.

"She's-" He thought wildly, "A friend." Damn it, Atlas!

"A friend, huh?" His sister, smirked, "She sure knows where everything is. Has your friend been over a lot?"

"We're just friends right now!" He whisper-shouted, "And you might ruin it if you keep talking like that!"

Annie nodded, miming zipping her lips, "So what's her name?"

"Aurora," Aurora said, holding a tray of breakfast foods. Apparently she'd found the time to make eggs, bacon, coffee and pancakes while he was answering the door. Time Magic, probably. She'd also done the dishes, which was really thoughtful of her.

"I'm Annie." His sister said, smiling at her.

"Atlas' sister, right?" Aurora said, setting the tray down on the table and extending her hand to shake Annie's, "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." Aurora had to know what this looked like, right? Was she just oblivious?

"It's nice to meet you too." Annie took her hand and shook it, "Good things I hope?"

"The best." Aurora answered, "He talks about his family a lot, I've been excited to meet you." Oh my god, she did know! She was intentionally making it look like that! Atlas thought he might explode. Aurora smiled at him, and all of the blood rushed to his face.

Annie was looking between them, smiling behind a cup of coffee she'd grabbed from the tray. She sipped it, then looked down at the cup, surprised, "this is really good coffee, what brand is it?"

"Folgers," Aurora said.

"Huh," Annie said, "You must just make a really good cup. I usually hate Folgers."

"Aw, that's sweet of you to say," Aurora smiled. What did she do the coffee? Magic? Magic.

Well, he might as well do this. He took the Tupperware off of the table where Annie had set them and put them in the fridge. Helping himself to some eggs and bacon, he sat at the table. This was either going really well, or was a disaster in the making. Only time would tell.

"So, how did you two meet?" Annie asked.

"We met in one of his college classes," Aurora replied, lying effortlessly, "we sat next to each other one day and just kind of hit it off."

"Oh, that's neat." Annie said, "What are you majoring in?"

"Literature currently, but I'm looking to go into teaching."

"That's great! I'm looking to go to into Law myself."

"Like your mother, right?" Aurora asked. She was doing everything right. Atlas couldn't even believe it.

"Yeah, exactly!" Annie said, "I want to attend the same college as her, it's where she met our dad, you know."

"Really?" Aurora said, "How did they meet?"

"It's the funniest story actually," Annie started, "You see-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Atlas interjected, "She doesn't need to know our entire family history the second you meet her."

Annie sighed, "Okay, fine. What were you planning to do today, anyway? I've got some more errands to run, so I'll be getting out of your hair, but let me know if there's anything you need, I'll be over in a flash. Here's my phone number, so call me, even if it's just to talk."

"Sure," Aurora said, and pulled out a cellphone of her own, "Here's my number as well, I'll text you really quick so you'll get it." She looked at the newspaper where his sister had written her phone number and typed something quickly into her phone.

Annie's pocket buzzed, and she took out her phone and looked at the message, "Got it." She nodded, then stood up, "It was so nice to meet you, Aurora. Text me anytime!"

"Will do," Aurora said as they walked Annie to the door.

"See you, Annie," Atlas said, "And thanks for the food."

"No problem," Annie said, "And text mom, she's been complaining that she doesn't hear from you enough!"

"Okay will do! Bye!" Atlas said, and shut the door in Annie's face. They waited for a moment, and they could hear Annie laughing up a storm on her way down the hall.

"Well, that could have gone worse!" Aurora said brightly.

Atlas was fried emotionally, so said the first thing that came to mind, "How do you have a phone?"

"Oh, that was easy," She said, "Well, not easy, but not too difficult as well. I knew I'd need one from your memories, and it's possible for Gods to use certain powers in other God's worlds, as long as it doesn't change any rules or step on any toes. The God of your World hasn't been seen in millennia anyways, so it's probably safe to say nobody is looking out for that sort of thing anyway. I retroactively made myself a life here before we left.. My parents are dead, unfortunately, and I attend the same college you do. I also didn't make any friends there, so we fell in together as outcasts."

Cool, but also ouch. Way to rub his no friends in.

"Anyway, as soon as we finished eating we can go shopping!" Aurora said, "I've never done it before, but girls are supposed to love it, right? I'm sure I will too."

---

---

"Okay, I don't like shopping," Aurora said, sighing. They'd finally made it back to Atlas' apartment, laden with their purchases.

They'd gone to a bookstore first, but Aurora had realized that all they needed to do was read a bunch of books and they'd be able to recreate them whenever they wanted. So she'd explained to him a way to use their Divinity to read super fast, and within a few hours they'd read every book in the store, working between them.

The same goes for movies. They'd gone to a DVD store, Atlas was surprised there were still any of those open, and done the same thing, albeit with a different spell. They'd be able to use the Domain's screens to show any movie they wanted.

Clothing and games too, but Aurora was going to spend some time on the internet looking for more outfit options. There weren't a lot of robes and armor at your average department store.

And food as well. As long as they knew what it tasted like, smelled like and felt like in their hands and mouths, they could create it in the God's realm. This did mean that they went out and bought a bunch of food Atlas had never tried before, because they had to touch the object they were scanning in order for it to work, and no restaurant or was going to let them stick their hands in the food and not buy it. So that was what they were carrying.

"What's the point of shopping if you can make it better yourself, and don't have to pay for it that way." Aurora complained, "And apparently workers don't like it when you come into their store, touch all their stuff, and then leave without buying anything."

"At least it served as a good reference?" Atlas said, "And we won't have to do it again."

"Yeah, I guess," She said, "I'm just disappointed."

"Well, we might as well head back to the God's Realm," Atlas said.

"Yeah," Aurora nodded.

They both concentrated and disappeared.

---

---

Elsewhere, a conversation was happening.

"Sir, there's been a report of some sort of Anomaly. It seemed to be magical in nature and only registered very briefly."

"What sort of Anomaly?"

"A very powerful one. It affected everything. The Elders think that somebody... rewrote time."

"Who would have the power to do something like that?"

"We don't know. Nobody on record has the ability to do something like this."

A pause. "So there's somebody new, huh?"