"Breaking news as we come on the air this evening, after 9 long years of silence, the structures once thought as impossible, known simply by the name Tower of Trials, have begun showing activity all over the world."
"This is coming off the heels of a worldwide broadcast by the Partaevian Leader Draven Faircloth, who predicted the first wave of what he calls "Players" would be emerging from mountains that once swallowed them whole."
"We go live to the Undead Tower in Colorado, where our reporters are standing by. Rusty, can you hear me?"
"Yes, David, and as you said, the first signs of something strange began approximately 2 hours ago in the form of a magnitude seven earthquake, followed by bright beams of light shooting up from the lowest peak."
"That isn’t all either; it appears on all four sides of the Mountain; several expansive structures have been erected, each one resembling the entrance platforms observed from the sky, our expert analyst, a hero by the name HydroLift, has informed us that these are the new Entrances for each Gate, which would allow all Players not only to exit, but also re-enter if they so wish."
"HMPH," sitting in the living room with Xilia and my father, the three of us were watching a sitcom on TV when the breaking news logo interrupted the show, and the scenes of light erupting from the Alpha Peak began appearing on screen, however, the abrupt Harump, from the stairs leading to the second floor caused the three of us to look down the hall leading to the front door, where Brenden had made an appearance.
"That fucker HydroLift sure does love being in the spotlight," Brenden stated while leaping over the handrail, landing on the tile floor, and padding in our direction.
"Ew, are you allergic to putting on a shirt or some kind of exhibitionist? I swear, I have seen you without a top more than people who frequent beaches and pools. Your abs aren’t even that defined; why bother showing them off.’ Scrunching up her face in disgust, Xilia snorted and crossed her arms.
"The hell crawled up your ass this evening, Renni; OH, I GET IT, you are playing that whole, hard-to-get girl act, lemmie guess, you got a thing for abs, but you’re too embarrassed to admit it, that’s fine, you can touch them if you want, I’m sure Emilia wouldn’t mind since she loves them too!" Wearing a cheeky smile, Brenden grabbed a gallon of milk from the fridge, spun the cap off, and began drinking directly from the jug.
Then, he walked over and offered up his six-pack abs to Xilia, who delivered a palm strike to my brother’s stomach, causing him to spit a mouthful of milk and slide backward a few feet.
What followed next were several screeches as a certain princess was showered with spit and milk and Brenden’s laughter as he dodged the enraged princess’s attacks.
"No fighting in the house…" The response that came from my father was automatic and had been for as long as I could remember, only this time around, instead of Brenden and me fighting like cats and dogs, it was Xilia and Brenden.
A lot has changed in the last ten years; for starters, Dad has basically adopted Xilia and now treats her like his own daughter, something which caused a slight hindrance to me, as I had to go through all my family members and "Convince" them she had been part of the family the whole time.
The next big change was the house we were living in. One of the biggest regrets of not only Brenden and I but also our father was the fact that we moved every year growing up in the Origin Timeline, so while we got to live in over a dozen different houses, there was definitely one that my brother and I liked the most, and that was this one.
It is a four-bedroom, two-story home with a massive backyard. This was the first house Brenden and I ever truly felt like was our home, even though we were only here for a year, so when I finally found out it had been built, I didn’t hesitate to have my father purchase it.
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Brenden and I took the same rooms we had back when we were in middle school, and Xilia took the leftovers, the one that had originally been our computer room.
When you walked into the front door, the first thing you saw was the staircase hugging the left wall, followed by a small sitting room and hallway that led to the back of the house, where the kitchen and living room were.
Upstairs, it was like our own apartment; the rooms were set up in a reverse F-shape, with Brenden’s room overlooking the driveway, attached to a family room that then led to the bathroom and then my room on the left attached to Xilia’s room on the right.
Watching my brother and slave play an aggressive game of tag while running around the kitchen table, my attention shifted to the front door as some keys entered the lock and the third major change entered the house.
"Renni, Brenden, how many times has your father told you not to roughhouse in the kitchen? What happens if one of you falls and gets hurt!" The voice of a woman whom I previously hadn’t seen in decades appeared carrying two large paper bags filled with items from the store.
She was a young, petite woman with tanned skin, long dark brown hair, and green eyes. Standing at all of 5 foot four inches, this young lady was in her late 20s and of Columbian descent.
"Taylor, be a dear and help Abuella with the groceries, shes being stubborn and tried taking everything in herself again." She said while leaving the door open and giving a view of an elderly woman fussing around the back of our family SUV.
"I’m on it, Paola," I said without any hassle or argument, not that I particularly cared, if anything having an Abuela (Spanish Grandmother) was frankly pretty damn awesome; she cooked better than any master chef, she kept the house tidy, and most importantly, she technically didn’t live with us in our already crowded home.