"At least we are mostly prepared." Polina sighed, the obvious nervousness she felt warring with the hint of amusement at her mother's antics- she knew her mom only meant well, and genuinely missed them while they were gone. "You said everything came in already, right?"

"Yeah." Oliver chuckled. "We had planned to give you the night to get comfortable before we threw some more curve balls at you, but, with mom heading this way, we probably only have ten minutes."

Panning his gaze across the pair- Jal looking equal parts excited and nervous, while Lily put on a calm exterior even as she nervously smoothed her dress over her hips- he smiled gently at them and started pulling things from the Warehouse.

"Ok, first thing... there's really no need to be worried. Poli's mom really is one of the nicest and most wonderful people you will ever meet. Second." He paused, squatting down to be eye level with his daughter as he held up a simple onyx pendant on a plain looking gold chain. "I've told you a little about this world, and how people would react to seeing someone as different as you two are, so I made a few preparations while we were sailing..."

"This necklace is enchanted to make you look human." Reaching out, he gently ruffled Jal's hair and smiled warmly at the girl. "I want you to understand, though, that just because other people may react badly to you, that doesn't mean anything is wrong with you. You're perfect just the way you are, ok?"

"I only got this to protect you from people being stupid; if you don't want to wear it, we will figure out a way to make things work regardless- all I really care about is you being happy and safe."

Jal's sudden hug nearly knocked him over backwards, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he hugged her back. After a few seconds, she pulled back, eyes going to the necklace in his hand.

"It will just make me look like you?"

"I'm... not sure, exactly." Oliver hesitated. "I know it will make you look human, but I don't know exactly what will change. There is a lot of variety among humans. Remember the picture I showed you of my friend Tyrone?" A glimmer of understanding arose in her eyes as she nodded. "Yeah, human skin color has a pretty broad range; While most aren't as dark as you, some do come close."

"How much the necklace will change exactly, I can't be sure."

As Jal reached for the necklace, he pulled it back slightly and raised a finger. "A couple rules, Jal. First, you'll have to wear it any time you leave the house or other people are around- and definitely don't lose it! Second, no one is allowed to take it from you- if anyone tries, tell me or your mom and we will deal with them. And third... you can't tell anyone that you're from another world- I know we talked about that already, but it's a big one and bears repeating."

"I understand, dad." She said in a hushed voice as she took the necklace. "I promise, I'll be super careful."

"I know you will, sweetheart."

Oliver watched as she slowly slipped the necklace over her head. As the gold chain settled into place, an almost imperceptible shimmer swept across her skin. The change itself was subtle- her curly black hair and dark eyes stayed the same, though her ebony skin lightened to something closer to dark chocolate, and the small nubs of horns at her temples simply vanished as if they were never there...

Though, if he squinted and focused, Oliver thought he could still see them.

"That's a damn good illusion." He muttered softly, glancing at Poli. "I don't think any regular human on Earth could see through it."

"I... don't even know what to say." Poli huffed, though she smiled brightly. "The second she put the necklace on, she just looked different- not much different, but enough I could tell. It was kinda cool, honestly."

After quickly checking herself over, Jal smiled brightly at her parents. "That was awesome! It kind of tingled for a second, then it stopped..." Pausing for a second, she leaned in to hug Oliver again and huffed. "I still kinda wish I looked more like you..."

"Why would you want to be less cute?" He asked, playfully nudging her shoulder.

"You're right." Jal sighed, eyes glinting with mischief. "I should have wished to look more like mom!"

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While Oliver just stared, stunned at the response, a giggling Jal quickly fled to hide behind Polina. Peeking out from behind her mom, the girl stuck her tongue out teasingly.

"She's got you there, hon." Poli said, voice filled with laughter.

"Yeah, she's definitely your daughter." He mock glared at his fiance- even as he fought not to smile. Shaking his head slowly, he stood up and turned to Lily. "Anyway... Since I already had a Bounty out for the illusion necklace for Jal, I just kept it open to try for a second for you."

"Thankfully, one came in yesterday."

"I swear that I shall treat it with the care it deserves." Lily said softly, bowing her head to him. "And thank you for thinking of me, husband."

"Er... Yeah..." Oliver coughed, unsure how to respond for a moment. "Poli did talk to you, right? About marriage and... stuff... and how it works here?"

"Of course." She answered, taking the necklace from his hands as he stood there awkwardly. "Your people's traditions are... different... But, in the eyes of my people, you and Polina would already be considered married."

"And, once you accepted my hand from my brother, I became your second wife. Much more straightforward- and better- than a some ceremony and a piece of paper that holds no real meaning. Wouldn't you agree?"

Before he could answer, she slipped the golden chain over her head- though, for her, the change was much more pronounced.

While her hair stayed the same strawberry blonde, and her eyes were still deep pools of inky darkness, the tiara like horns that rose just above her head simply vanished from sight and her originally blood red skin became a warm amber, giving her an exotic look he had never seen before...

Though, her nearly seven foot height remained completely unchanged, as did her lush curves and incredible beauty- she would certainly draw a lot of attention, just perhaps less than she would looking like a demon...

"Oh my! This is certainly different." Lily turned her arms over slowly as she marveled at her new appearance. "I quite like it, though. Does this appearance please you, husband?"

Shifting in place, Oliver glanced at Polina uncertainly. Seeing only amusement in her gaze, he struggled for words for a second before blurting out the first thing that came to his mind. "I mean, yeah, you're beautiful, but your natural red skin is better."

"Really?" Lily smiled brightly, clearly pleased by his answer. "Thank you, husband; that means a lot to me."

"You don't have to call me husband all the time; just Oli or Oliver is fine." He coughed, a blush creeping up his face. Eager to change the subject, he quickly pulled out a a plain looking woven bracelet- a Universal translator traded to him by a particular Mad Scientist a couple weeks ago... "Ok, so... This is a translator. While you're wearing it, you'll be able to understand and speak basically any language."

"Is that necessary? Poli said I was doing well learning your language..." Lily pouted slightly as she eyed the bracelet.

"And you are." Poli said soothingly. "But this is to help you fit in a little better- people usually won't comment on a child like Jal that has trouble with the language, but for an adult... Well, some people will be jerks about it."

"And we will still make time for you to learn English; this is just a temporary solution."

"Exactly." Oliver nodded encouragingly. "This is just to ease the transition; I have no doubt you'll be speaking the language in no time- probably better than most people that were born into it!"

Lily hesitated for a moment before taking the bracelet. "Very well. I must concede that it is a wise precaution; given your descriptions of people of this world, my height alone will make me stand out. It is likely best that I not add other... peculiarities... to my presentation- my lack of familiarity with your customs and behaviors will already pose some issues..."

"You mentioned that your laptop is able to connect to a vast repository of knowledge called 'the internet', yes? Does this 'internet' also possess information on your history and typical human behavior?"

Seeing the intense focus in her eyes, Oliver knew that Lily would be putting her all into adapting to her new world- to the point it was almost intimidating.

Any doubts he had about her desire to come with them were quickly being wiped away.

"Yeah, you can find almost anything on the internet." He said quickly to placate the eager princess. "I would be willing to bet that the guys have some recommendations for documentaries and stuff that would help, and I'm sure you'll learn a lot just from meeting our friends..."

"Excellent." Lily smiled excitedly at the prospect of learning about this world. "I will look forward to it."

'Saved by the bell', Oliver thought as the doorbell suddenly rang.

"My mom is here." Poli said, suddenly nervous as the meeting loomed in front of her. "Ok, we can do this... Right Oli?"

"Right." He answered- though a part of him worried; Poli's mom,Rosalita, was the most excitable person he had ever met...

Until he met Jal.

And now he was going to introduce the two of them.

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