"Who's this?" Fate asked, twisting the black ring on his right ring finger with his thumb.
His Manifest Miao Dao appeared in his hand, which he brandished in front of him. The ring was a gift from Master Geifong, a special ring with a small pocket dimension capable of holding his sword and scabbard, but no room for anyone else. Geifong called it a 'Sword Ring.'
Everyone else followed suit. Autumn raised her fists, Maya pulled her laser pistol out of its holster, and Nikolas slid a knife out of his sleeve. Only Cait didn't act.
"Calm down, everyone," Tom said calmly, placing the tray of muffins on a table. "This is my wife."
Everyone lowered their weapons with dubious expressions, none putting them away.
"Tom landed a girl? How the hell am I supposed to believe that?" Nikolas demanded.
"If you would all stop being so damn rude, I can tell you," Tom retorted, taking his oven mitts off and placing them on the table.
As he did so, Fate took a moment to study the new arrival. She had black hair that caught the light, ruby-red eyes and lips, and fairly wide hips. Her bust was about average, and she was pretty, but not outstandingly so. She wore tight-fitting black leather armor that covered her from the neck down, with glossy knee-high boots.
Her shoulders, knees, elbows, and chest were covered in leather that was noticeably thicker than the rest of her armor, to better protect her vulnerable spots. She returned the roaming gazes of her husband's five friends with a calm look, scanning them as they scanned her.
"I apologize for the rudeness of my friends, Vennasina," Tom said, shooting a reprimanding look at the five.
"It's fine," the woman said, her voice slightly deeper than a typical woman's, with a slight rasp that maybe was a result of the scarred line across her throat.
"Now all of you, put those away, and I'll tell you how we met," Tom said, throwing an arm around Vennasina. The four begrudgingly obliged, knowing Tom was the one least likely out of the six of them to fall for a honey trap.
"I sense no ill intent from her," Cait told the others reassuringly. That explained why she didn't react.
"Alright then, Tom," Fate said. "How'd you meet this… Ven-asina?"
"Vennasina," Tom corrected. "And it was on a planet called Hidrogon, a few universes away from here. A wormhole sucked my ship in and spat me out there.
"Time works differently there, and I ended up spending forty-five years or so helping this kingdom fight back against a planet-devouring horde of space bug things called Integrens. Vennasina here was one of the kingdom's princesses, determined to win the right to the throne by saving the world."
Tom smiled, tightening his grip on Vennasina, who pat the man's hand with her own, smiling in turn. "Being one of the only seven Avatars left on the planet, her father the king had us work together to drive back the bugs.
"We went on hundreds of missions together throughout the years, and we ended up falling in love after dozens of near-death experiences together. We were the only one the other could rely on in there."
"That explains why you look older," Maya said. "Anyway, does she know what we are? Or at least, what we were?" She said carefully, trying not to anger him.
"Of course," Tom said. "That's why the king put me in the army in the first place."
"My father never would've approved of our marriage if Tom wasn't capable of protecting me," Vennasina said, her smile wilting somewhat. "His last words before he passed were to give us his blessing."
"Sorry to hear that," Fate replied. He stuck out his hand, shaking Vennasina's when she grabbed it. "Welcome to the family. The only rules we have are that there are no secrets between us, and we all protect each other. Follow those, and I doubt anyone here will have a problem with you."
The others agreed with Fate, welcoming Vennasina as a sister and congratulating Tom on his marriage.
"Thank you. It is lovely to meet you all," she rasped.
"Is your throat okay?" Fate asked.
"Old knife wound," she said. "My brother tried to kill me when I was twelve, to take out potential threats to his succession. He gave me this," she gestured to the scar on her neck, "and I gave him a swift death."
"Rude that you didn't invite us to the wedding," Autumn complained to Tom, as unfazed by Vennasina's story as everyone else.
"We would've had to wait several years for you to even get the message, then another dozen or so years for you to get there. Time dilation screwed me over there," Tom replied regretfully. "I wish you all could've been there. It was a wonderful wedding. We had a cake so big I could've stuffed five Autumns inside."
"I'm not that big!" Autumn protested. "All of you are just short!"
Fate didn't notice it earlier, but Autumn had grown a few inches, standing at about six-foot-five. That made her four inches taller than Fate, the second-tallest of the group. She was tall enough now to look over the heads of everyone else.
"Please, you're almost as tall as the house," Nikolas said with a grin on his face.
"You little—" Autumn lunged at him, Nikolas skillfully ducking under the swing and rushing behind Maya, holding her between him and Autumn.
The other four laughed as Autumn tried and failed to catch Nikolas, who continued to weave around the others. Fate smiled at Autumn as she glared at him. It was his turn to be Nikolas' shield. She grabbed Fate by the shoulder and tossed him onto the couch, throwing her arms at Nikolas and just barely missing him.
Fate shifted on the couch, making himself comfortable as he watched the show. 'It's good to be back,' he thought. He felt like nothing could stop them when they were all together.