Gray buildings covered the land almost as far as the eye could see, the glass reflecting the sunlight up and shining like the rarely seen oceans at sunset. In the tallest one, a thin man stared out at the landscape, his eyes landing on the tiny visible strip of the forest that surrounded the large city.

Forbidden as well, except to the tourist that could pay enough and explorers with the necessary clearance. The man stared at it, feeling the expected mistrust yet feeling a pull towards it.

He had never really understood his cousins' fascination with the areas outside the fences, the ones where airplanes never landed and cars rarely traveled. They had always talked about the animals, but all he could imagine living out there were mangy, under fed dogs and cats. Never the beautiful ink engravings from before the regulations and dividing of the land, of exotic animals that they had called "bears", "lynxes" and other odd names he couldn't remember.

He remembered their funeral. They had been in an accident and of the family of six only the two sisters, having been asleep, survived. He had made sure they got the best of medical care and neither of them carried a single physical scar from the experience.

It had reopened wounds in him that had long scarred over and memories of both them and his own family, all but gone now, had flown out, and how hard it was not to cry.

But as owner of Varmitech Enterprises he had to present a calm, composed face.

He turned now from the glass, the sound of his intercom beeping awakening him from his temporary stupor. He quickly pressed the button.

"Yes, Amelia?"

"That obnoxious Hispanic girl is here again."

He thought he could hear the beginning of a protest from the writer whom Amelia was referring to, and he glared at the intercom as though she could see through it.

"I'd think you two would get along, being so much alike."

Laughter filtered through the intercom as the young woman answered, "You're mean, you know that? Can I send her in?"

"Yeah, whatever."

The huge double doors leading to his office slowly seeped open, and a red-faced woman walked through.

"I swear that secretary of yours is one of the most annoying people I have ever met!"

"You say that every time," Zach sat behind his desk, pulling up a stack of papers, "But she's the only one I can find that writes stuff in a language I can understand."

"You mean that types up a summary in kindergarten English." the dark skinned woman walked forward, and Zach admired the way she did, seeming to be full of energy and in such a hurry. That might be due to the four inch yellow heels she was wearing. His eyes slowly moved upwards, and watched as her light blue pencil skirt and matching jacket moved with her graceful movements and highlighted her slender legs, shapely hips and narrow shoulders. Her hair was loose, encasing her wide face and her thin lips pouted slightly as her olive green eyes traveled around the room.

"I don't have all day Miss Corcovado, what do you need?"

"A permit," she sat in the guest chair, adjusting the papers in her hands.

"What for?" he frowned, slightly annoyed with being interrupted, and continued reading through the reports on the oil companies he was investing in.

The woman sighed, looking out the window. A pause filled the room. He looked up, his pastel green eyes locking with her olive ones as she turned back, a new determination solidifying in them.

"To explore the jungles."

The papers in his hands dropped to the floor.

"You know that-"

"Oh, come on! Your company claims to be eco-friendly, that it makes donations to the governments to keep people out of the forests and in the city and funds the parks where we can travel, yet you know nothing of what that stands for."

"I do it for PR! Not to risk my best writer," he glared at her. She groaned.

Aviva was their best on the ground journalist, and had used her esteem from the magazines Varmitech Enterprises produced to publish several of her own books, one of them being fiction about a world where animals and people lived together in harmony instead of separated by fences and laws. He hadn't even lifted the front cover, not really caring about "animals". What good were they? Besides, the law kept them from going out and learning more about them for a reason.

"It will help PR, if I publish an article about it..." she trailed off, looking out the glass that surrounded his office. He looked out as well, seeing the buildings again. The forest far off. He knew he didn't see it the same way Miss Corcovado did, and he knew he never would. Their mindsets were too different. She had been raised to grow and expand outside of what she knew, to have an insatiable curiosity. He had been raised to count, build industries and run the enterprise his great grandfather had started. Nothing else. He didn't have time or space to think outside of his mindset, yet Aviva had an adventurous spirit that wouldn't let anything limit her.

Like his cousins.

He also knew that if he didn't fund her, she'd find another way to get what she wanted. And that would include going to other people.

He didn't want-well, couldn't afford to lose her. She was extremely valuable in her department, and even he knew that it would fall apart without her.

With a grunting sigh, he turned on his laptop.

"What do you need?"

She smiled appreciatively, before laying her papers out on his desk.

"Well..."

Koki stood outside the visitor center for the park outside of the city, spinning a globe in her hands. The land mass on it spread over almost all the globe, only having small scattered spots of blue in most places and a large, deep and dark looking pool on one side. This was the super continent that made up their world. Land connected almost everything and one could almost always travel from one side of the globe to the other without having to fly over an ocean, if they wanted to. Of course, it was always easier to fly, especially since most of the area between the cities was closed to all humans.

Her dark fingers found the spots where cities were. There weren't any rural areas anymore. Just cities scattered across the large world, with people living squished together in compacted areas. In total there were only about twenty thousand cities, housing the world's population of 5 billion, which most government officials were saying needed to go down again.

Koki shuddered, remembering the last time the world was depopulated. All in the name of the environment. Diseases had spread through the cities, easily decimating the populations living so close together. Diseases that left one shaking when they survived, having had to bury nine for each one that survived. The government never admitted to anything and put out vaccines, giving healthcare that mostly didn't work because it was stretched so far. But around their huge world, almost two billion people died. Almost.

She remembered only a little of it, having been around four when it happened, but she knew it left her an orphan, caring for a stranger's baby in a foster home. Jimmy, the baby, had grown with her and they eventually had gone into forestry, a rarely studied field anymore, and had eventually both gotten places in their nearby park, giving tours and leading the few explorers that came through the tough environment.

"Hey, Koki!" She turned to find her blonde companion, Laura, walking towards her. Her friend's blonde ponytail swung, catching the rays of sunlight, reflecting them in golden hues, "What are you doing?"

The black woman shrugged, her khaki ranger uniform shifting slightly as she readjusted it, "Just waiting for the next batch of people."

Laura smiled, and nodded in understanding, tugging her form fitting light blue shirt into place and readjusting the knot of her long sleeved khaki ranger shirt hanging from her waist.

"You seen Misty anywhere?"

"I think she was in the back testing out the new technology that arrived."

"Ooh, those suit things? What were they called?"

"Creature...something or other suits."

Laura snapped her fingers, "Power! Creature Power Suits!"

Koki nodded, her Afro bobbing with her head.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go check them out too."

"Be my guest. I'm not getting into any sort of "experimental technology" thing," Koki placed the globe on the half wall next to her as Laura ran off.

She didn't quite expect the sound of energy powering up, or the flashes of light blue and pink coming from behind the building. Nor the pink and blue human sized peregrine falcons flying haphazardly just above her.

"I'm guessing they worked?" she called up to them.

They circled down, landing in front of her. Misty smiled gently, excitement pouring out of her like her loose waist length brown hair that poked out from behind her suit and flowed gently down her back, contrasting the vibrant pink of the suit while Laura whooped.

"That was so exciting!" her blue eyes practically glowed as she stretched out her wings. Koki hummed slightly in agreement.

"Just don't let the government officials find that stuff here. You know how strict they are," she crossed her arms, mentally admiring whoever invented these things.

They just laughed, Misty's gentle nature coming through her soft laugh, while Laura's playful, out going laugh rang through the center, causing Jimmy to poke his head out of the building.

"What's up girls? Who-hoa! What are those?!"

"Creature Power Suits!"

"Who made them? They're really bad-ass."

"Jimmy!" Koki scolded.

Laura shrugged, "We don't know. The person keeps himself anonymous."

A beeping from the gates warned them of incoming people, and the test subjects of the suits quickly turned the suits off, pulling the respective vests and gloves off as they ran off to the back to quickly hide them as Koki and Jimmy Z greeted the suburban car's drivers.

Aviva knocked gently on the pink door, glaring lightly at the camera above it.

"Not now, I'm extremely busy," a voice sang out, mature yet playful. Aviva opened the door.

"If I waited until you weren't I'd never see you," she shot back, closing the door behind her. A vast room opened in front of her and manikins with half finished dresses and shawls and blouses were scattered across it. Beautiful flowing dresses were drawn on the papers pinned up on the walls, yet many of them were crossed out.

The voice sighed, and it's tanned owner emerged from a large drawing desk, her yellow eyes locking in on the intruder.

"What is it now?" a pencil skirt hugged the sharp, square hips, and a loose white blouse accented the shapely long neck of the middle aged woman, whose thick ruddy brown hair was cut short in the modern fashion for a woman her age.

"I got the permit."

"For what?"

"To explore the forest," Aviva pointed simply to the window, indicating outside the city. The woman stared for a moment.

"Why on Earth would you do that?"

Aviva sighed, "Miss Donata, remember my book? The fiction one?"

Donita sighed and sat elegantly on her desk, her long thin legs crossed straight in front of her.

"The one that came out during my "Aurora: Sun essence" line?"

The Hispanic woman nodded curtly.

"Yes, I do recall that. Chronicles of Animalia, am I right?"

She nodded again.

"So?"

"I want to actually be able to experience something like that, Donita. I don't want it to just be fantasy anymore!"

Donita shook her head, standing up and walking over to the young woman, clicking her tongue.

"Why animals? Why not people?"

"I'm...I'm tired of people. We're too complex...I'd like something simple for once."

Donita kept a steady gaze with her for a moment, then looked away.

"Hm..."

Aviva frowned slightly, "'Hm' what?"

"Maybe...Maybe you and your "animals" might be the inspiration I've been looking for," the fashion designer smirked, "And, use green more."

Donita winked as she walked Aviva out.

"It'll bring out your eyes more."