Not long after the cake found its short-lived existence at an end, its final moments spent in existential terror as it slid down the gullets of trio of weirdos, Shara mysteriously needed to leave. She quoted something about justice not being able to take a night off, which made no sense to anyone but her.

Left alone once more, the duo began to chat about the world in general. Something Scott mentioned in passing previously caught the Valkyrie's attention.

Sonja gazed upon her master in bewildered surprise. “Are you serious?”

Scott nodded at her. “Yep. It's true.”

She shook her head. “I know you mentioned it before, but it must have slipped my mind. How does this world even work? No one wears armor, and few people carry weapons?”

“Well, in this country you are allowed to carry weapons if you’re not a criminal, but most people don’t see a need. In some other countries everyone carries something,” said Scott. He neglected to point out that most of those countries were considered to be corrupt or war torn shit-holes, depending on the media outlet of choice that someone chose to spoon feed them their daily dose of propaganda. Shit-hole or suffering people in need of salvation. More at eleven!

The Valkyrie nodded at him. “I see. This will take a little getting used to. I don’t feel right without my sword and armor.”

“We don’t really use swords here, or did not until the dream started. Things might change in the new feature,” said Scott.

“What sort of weapons do you use?” she asked, curious about his world and its warfare.

“Well, firearms mostly. Though, there are smaller knives and blunt weapons. Hunters might use bows,” said Scott.

“What’s a firearm?” asked Sonja. She had never heard of that sort of weapon.

Scott blinked at her. “Oh, you’ve never seen one have you?”

Sonja shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Have you ever seen a crossbow?” asked Scott.

“Ah, yes. I have seen those,” she said.

“Good, well remove the bow part and attach a metal tube atop the stock. The result is sort of like some types of fire arms,” replied Scott.

“Really? How do they even work?” she asked, a little confused by the design concept.

“Controlled explosions, does your world have cannons?” asked Scott.

“Ah, yes. We do have those, but only in some countries. They are hard to make, I think,” said Sonja.

“Well, a firearm is basically a cannon except that it is small enough to carry it around. Modern ones can fire many times in the space of a single breath,” said Scott.

“Wow, no wonder swords aren’t used as often,” said Sonja. That certainly put things into perspective for her. If people ran regularly used rapid-fire cannons it would make it difficult to hit someone with a sword, before the sword-wielder was torn apart.

“Yeah, they are still used to a small extent. Knives are more common since they can be wielded easier in tight quarters,” said Scott.

Sonja reached out and gently ran her fingers along the top of Scott’s skull. “Thank you for bringing me here. I have always wanted to see what some of those other worlds looked like.”

“You’re welcome. I'm glad that the transference works,” said Scott. "It will open a lot more opportunities for us in the future."

She smiled at him and he smiled at her. They continued to do nothing but smile at each other for a short time. Neither of them knew where to take the conversation after that point.

Sonja, eventually decided to ask a pertinent question. "So. When do I get a cannon?"

He laughed at her a little. The light sparkling in her eyes as she asked for such a thing was almost too adorable to bear. Unfortunately, cold reality set in and he was forced to make an admission. "I'm not legally allowed to purchase one, and neither are you."

"What? Why?" she asked him incredulously.

"It's because of what I did when I was a kid," said Scott. "Even though I was so young, I had certain rights restricted due to what I did. Can't let a violent mentally defective child have a firearm, even when he grows up, right?"

"Ah..." she said slowly, "I see."

He nodded to her then patted her on the shoulder. "You can't get one legally because you are an undocumented illegal alien crossing interdimensional borders and ruining our American way of life. Sorry."

"What?" she asked him, her eyes wide due to the efforts it took to process his words. What did any of those words mean?

"We could probably get one without bothering with paperwork and pesky legal issues, but I don't really know people who sell stuff like that. We'll just have to figure it out later," said Scott.

She pouted slightly then released a sigh. "I really wanted to try one. Firearms sound wonderful."

"Be careful who you talk to about that," said Scott. "People differ in opinion when it comes to guns. Some act like you would never possibly need one, or listen to propaganda that says they are the best or worst things ever to exist."

"So, no talking about guns..." she said, her pout returning full force.

"Anyway, want to go see some more of the town?" he asked. "You could see some of the low-budget wonders of my world."

"Yes. I would love that," she agreed readily.

A short time later they were out the door and down the street. Sonja looked around with great excitement once they entered the outskirts of the city. Her excitement turned to confusion briefly when she realized that the city had no wall to protect it from invaders. However, that confusion soon lifted as she saw a few cars zip by along the black stone road.

She had never seen so much urban sprawl before. The largest city she had ever visited was Einhert, and it was nothing compared to the one that she now saw spread out before her. “Wow, this place is so big. We’ve walked for over an hour and still have not reached the city center!”

Scott, in human form, nodded at Sonja. “Yeah, it is a fairly small town by Earth standards.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really? What would you call a big town?”

He smiled at her. “Well, the biggest cities I can think of off-hand are Tokyo and New York City. I think New York has more than twenty million people living there. Tokyo is close to forty million. I’d have to look them up to be certain.”

Scott quickly raised his hand and waved it a little. "That's the entire area around those cities though. I think the actual cities half that many people or less living in them."

“Forty million people! I don’t think there are that many people in the Highlands and the three kingdoms surrounding it,” said Sonja. She was surprised by the sheer population numbers.

“Well, it helps when you have something like seven or eight billion people on the planet,” said Scott.

Sonja stared at him flatly then shook her head. “Where do you put them all?”

“In big ass cities," said Scott with a chuckle. Though, I think there are still slightly more people living a rural lifestyle than in urban areas. It is close to half and half, though.”

“You know a lot about the population of your world. I don’t even know how many people live in the Highlands.” said Sonja.

Scott shrugged then explained further. “I get curious and look things up. The Internet allows us to search out information.”

“The Internet? Do you mean that little black box thing that had the words and pictures?” asked Sonja.

“Well, yes and no. That is a computer. It connects to the Internet. Think of it as millions of those little boxes connected together, and each of them allows people to share information.” Scott lightly pulled her closer to him to avoid the possibility that she would walk into the street. The sidewalk was slightly crowed with pedestrians, not to mention various signs.

“That is amazing. We have nothing like that unless you count the crystal communicators,” said Sonja with a hint of awe in her voice.

“Crystal communicators?” asked Scott. He wanted to ask more in that moment, but he caught sight of a sign in a shop window. His eyes widened slightly. They accept Jerin and Bitcoin? How would they even get the Jerin? People were scattered all over the place in the dream.

Briefly, he looked around and began to notice things for the first time. There were other signs, mostly flyers plastered on walls or nailed to the occasional light pole. One caught his eyes readily, 'Party looking for an Assassin. Bring your own beer...' He asked himself silently. Was it a joke? When did all of this start to happen?

One other thing that barely registered in his mind was the inordinate number of missing pet flyers. There were usually a small number of them scattered around town, but there were dozens of them on this street alone.

“Yes! You can use them to talk to someone else who is near one. They are made of crystal and shaped into a ball,” replied Sonja.

"Wha—?" asked Scott intelligently. He quickly realized that she was talking about the communicators. His brain switched gears. “How do they work?”

Sonja brushed hair over her shoulder then adjusted her cat ears slightly before she continued. “Well, I don’t know that specifically. But you place your hand on one and think of the person who you wish to speak to. If they are near a crystal they hear a whisper that tells them that someone is calling to them. They go to the crystal, and then an image of the caller pops up and they can talk to each other.”

“Ah, so it’s like Skype but with crystals,” said Scott. He stopped and considered his life-choices for a moment. "I wonder if I'm dating myself? I should really look into what the cool kids are using nowadays."

“Skype?” asked Sonja. Before Scott could reply, they walked past a restaurant. Sonja’s stomach began to rumble. “This place smells amazing.”

Scott looked over then grinned. “Funky Chicken, huh?”

“Hmm?” asked Sonja.

“That’s the name of the restaurant, The Funky Chicken,” said Scott.

“Ah...” she replied. It was clear that she did not know the reference that both Scott and the restaurant were currently referencing.

Scott pointed to the door. “Let’s get a bucket of chicken to go; I should get back to the house before too much more time passes.”

Sonja blinked at him then her eyes widened. “Oh, right! We don’t have too much time left, do we? At some point your corporate overlord, will call upon you to perform services.”

"Did I say that right? Corporate overlord?" she asked him curiously.

"Yes. That is exactly right," he told her in a light tone.

“You're right, though. I don't have too much more free time,” said Scott. "We can explore later, though."

Seemingly, his sense of time was thrown off during his recent spate of injuries. A few days passed in the dream world and he missed a shift at work. Whether or not he even had a job to go to would depend on who worked the management shift tonight. Honestly, with the ability to convert cash to Jerin, and back again, his need for full-time employment was not a concern. If anything, it would rob him of money.

The only good thing about the job now would be the fact that it showed the government that he had a legal method to earn money. Given his history, people often checked into the things that he did. He needed to continue on for now and pretend to be normal. There was also the employee discount to consider. It was small, but he could use it to purchase a few fairly useful items for transference to the dream world as well.

The Funky Chicken was a popular fast food restaurant. People sat in open booths and ate their quickly made meals with great satisfaction. There was a short line in front of them, but thankfully it seemed that people were able to order and move along at a decent speed.

Sonja fidgeted in her clothes, the hoodie and shorts that Scott had pulled out of his closet. She would have brought too much attention if she wandered through town wearing the outfit that Shara chose for her.

She did insist on the cat ears, however. Though, her reason to keep them had caused the little hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Why she would want to see him bleed was beyond him, but there was no malice in her eyes when she said it. So, he let it go.

Several sets of eyes turned their way when they entered, and those eyes had lingered on Sonja for a considerable amount of time while the duo waited in line. Overtime the onlookers reluctantly looked away, but many of them would occasionally sneak a glance. In the case of one older man, his wife lightly punched him in the arm and whispered something that made him throw up his hands and wave them around a bit.

After they made it through the line and ordered their food, the Super Funky Clucktacular Twelve Piece Combo, they left the restaurant and headed home. Sonja carried the food and fought down the urge to tear into the chicken while they walked. Cake was nice, and in the previous case quite endearing, but this was food.

She glanced over at Scott then casually said, “Well, now we just need the booze and those condom things...”

Scott coughed a little then shook his head. They discussed many things after Shara left, one of which centered on the idea of Earth courtship rites. Scott had playfully mentioned, fried chicken, booze, and condoms. Of course, he was forced to explain what a condom was as well. Unsurprisingly, she did not see the need for such a thing.

He ran his hand up and down his body for a moment then said, “Sorry, the candy shop is closed. The owner needs time to create.”

She pouted at him then grinned. “Fine. But you just wait...”

Scott nodded to her then changed the subject before he aroused the ire of the idiot voices in his head. “So, what do you think of the tiny chunk of my planet that you’ve seen?”

“There are a lot of people, and those car things are really interesting,” said Sonja. She held the bucket of chicken tightly to her bosom. The smell of it was practically intoxicating to her.

“Yeah, maybe someday I will bother to buy one,” said Scott. He glanced across the street and squinted at a strange sight. A man decked out in medieval armor strolled out of a pawnshop. Someone came running out of the shop a moment later, a large axe in his hand. Scott could not hear what they were saying to each other, but the armored man took the axe and offered a salute to the other man.

“Are they expensive?” she asked curiously.

“Huh?" asked Scott. He searched her eyes for a minute then nodded. He remembered the conversation now. "Well, it depends. If I am lucky I might be able to find an ancient, barely working, vehicle for a few hundred dollars. That would be a few thousand Jerin I think.”

“Wow, that cheap?” she asked him in surprise.

“Yes, but what you save in buying it you pay in having it repaired. A brand new vehicle can cost a few thousand dollars to several million dollars or so,” said Scott. His attention was soon torn from her again for a brief moment, as a truck full of people wearing martial arts uniforms drove past. A bunch of them were sitting in the open back-end of the truck just wearing martial arts uniforms like it was normal for such a thing to happen in their town.

“Still, not so bad. You can earn enough Jerin to buy an inexpensive one in a week or two,” said Sonja.

Scott did not lose track of the conversation this time and immediately followed up with her, “Yeah, true. Things aren’t so easy here, though."

He acquired a thoughtful expression. "I don’t know how things will change in the future, but right now money is hard to come by unless you can land a really nice job or your family already has money. We can’t just go murder wildlife for fun and profit.”

“Ah, I see. Is that why you do not have a car?” asked Sonja.

Scott nodded. “Yep, there are also other expenses such as maintenance, fuel, insurance, and taxes. You never stop paying for a car once you own it. There is always some sort of continuing cost associated with operating it as long as it is usable.”

“I see.” she said.

Scott glanced at her. She seemed slightly depressed. Did she want to ride in a car that badly? “I could probably have one financed, but I have never had a reason to get one.”

“Financed?” she asked in an interested tone.

Scott smiled at her. “Yes, most people buy cars by paying for them over time. They end up costing a lot more in the long run, but you don’t need to have all of the money up front.”

“That seems quite useful!” she said.

“I may look into that in the future, but if you want to ride in a car now, I suppose I can give you a chance to do so,” said Scott.

“Really? I would love that.” said Sonja.

Scott chuckled softly then pulled out his cell. He did not care for the buses in the area, their schedule was horrible. However, the taxi services were decent enough.

He called up the taxi company that he used whenever he needed to get a large amount of groceries home. Usually, he would take his backpack and buy a little at a time, but sometimes he was out of almost everything and a taxi proved invaluable.

Sonja listened as her master spoke into his strange device. She could hear a woman’s voice speaking back to him. Her eyebrows rose in interest.

Scott ended the call then looked over to her. “We’ll have a ride in a few minutes.”

“A ride?” she asked.

“Yep, a car is coming to pick us up and take us home. They charge for it, but you’ll be able to ride in a car, and I won't be late for work,” said Scott.

Sonja smiled brightly at him then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “That was so nice of you, master. Thank you.”

“Ewww, I got girl on me.” Scott offered Sonja a petulant boyish pout then wiped at his face.

She laughed at him then twisted side-to-side while she clutched at her bucket of fried chicken, “Oh, I do hope the driver hurries.”

Scott shook his head. “Such a hungry little thing.”

“Well, you can’t maintain a body like this without eating.” Sonja raised up one arm then made a muscle.

Scott was a little embarrassed that her arm was bigger than his arm. She was a warrior maiden, sleek and toned. Everything about her screamed physical dominance, yet she did not look overly muscular.

Of course, if she went out of her way to actually flex, her muscles were quite prominent. Otherwise, she looked like a supremely fit and healthy girl. Most people would not be able to tell that she had super human power underneath her beautiful exterior.

They chatted while they waited for the cab to arrive. Scott could not help but try to compare her to various people who he knew, fictional or real. In the end, her sweetness but overall warrior lifestyle reminded him of a certain DC comics super heroine. Of course, Sonja was a Valkyrie and not an amazon.