"Hello," Tom began, trying to figure out where exactly to start this speech. "My name is Tom. Many of you may remember me from when we came through on our way to the Grand Canyon to take on the monster that was affecting the vending machines. Well, I am happy to say that we were able to defeat that monster and set the System right again!"

There was applause at this and a few yells of "Thank you" and "Great job" thrown out.

"None of this would have been possible without a team of people all pulling together to make each other stronger. Every person has a role to play in what we do to become better. No one can do this on their own. You have heard people come up here and say those exact things, but I felt it truly sink in today." Tom continued, people now listening with their eyes focused on him alone.

"Seth came with us because he felt he needed to be a part of something bigger than himself. Little did he know that going with us was going to mean saving the world not just from a wrong order at a vending machine, but from stopping the destruction of the world."

There were audible gasps at this from the crowd as people who weren't there had no idea how close they had come to being wiped off the map.

"It's not something that was put in the warning messages or the quest invites. It was something we found out being there. But we were able to stop the threat. Seth gave his life so that so many others would live. He was a true hero, not only in defending you here, but out there as well. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for sharing him with us. He was one of a kind, truly genuine, and always there for friends. We will always remember him fondly and we live each of our days trying to live up to the example he set for us." Tom finished and turned to leave the stage.

Applause rang out from the crowd as people stood to their feet, some with tears in their eyes at his words.

"That was perfect Tom. Thank you for sharing with us. There will be some people sharing things like songs and poems from here on out so feel free to take a seat out there or at the tables or wherever you would like to be. We will find you for lunch if you are not out here still." John said as he then moved past Tom to take the stage to announce the next person.

Deciding to go and sit at the tables where some of his party were, Tom moved over to where he had been eating breakfast and took a seat at a table with James, Derek, Kiera, Jay, and Kevin. Kirsten was also sitting with them next to Kevin. It appeared their relationship was blossoming into something more as they fed each other food off of a plate.

"I see love is in the air even in these times," Tom commented nodding at Kevin and Kirsten.

"Oh, yeah, it seems that way. It's a little disgusting though." Kiera said.

"Don't mind her, she's just jealous," Jay added.

"I am not!" Kiera tried to deny it.

"Oh come on, it's okay to be jealous. I wish I had someone to make goo-goo eyes at like that too." Jay admitted.

"Well, it won't be me," Kiera quickly said.

"Damn right, it won't be. I've got no time for someone like that even if I wish it could happen. Too much fighting to do." Jay said twirling two knives in his hands that he equipped from his inventory.

"Stop it you two. We get it, you are afraid people will see you as a couple and you aren't No one thinks of you that way. It's like siblings. We would think it's gross if you two did anything." Tom said, a little annoyed at the spats continually happening, but still finding it amusing to tease them about it from time to time.

"Besides, I think I have a better shot with Jay than Kiera does," James interjected wagging his eyebrows at Jay.

"I will fucking cut you," Jay said menacingly leaning over the table.

"Don't threaten me with a good time!" James replied laughing at how red Jay's face was getting.

"Both of you stop it. This isn't what this time is for." Derek jumped in to break up the two.

"Let them keep going, Derek. It helps them relax to get back into the jabbing and the joking. Today is supposed to be a day of healing. What heals more than normalcy?" Tom said, putting a hand on Derek's shoulder to calm him.

"You're right. My bad. Jay, you may continue. Stab him if you want, I can heal him." Derek relented, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair crossing one leg over the other.

"Wait, no I didn't actually want him to...OW!" James began, then screamed as Jay stabbed a knife through his hand on the table.

"I didn't actually think he'd do it," Derek mused as he healed James' hand after Jay pulled the knife out. "Okay, new rule. Don't actually stab anyone. Just keep poking fun at them."

"That really fucking hurt dude!" James cried indignantly.

"Sorry, man. Just making a point. I will cut someone." Jay said with an evil grin on his face. "I'm crazy!"

"We can't hurt each other on purpose. That will lead to mistrust in the team. Or moments of revenge in a bad situation. Jay apologize, and I don't want to see it happen again." Tom ordered with finality in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. Just feeling a lot of things today." Jay said solemnly.

"Yeah, well...I guess I forgive you." James replied. "Just don't do it again!"

"You got it. I know we give you crap, because you're weird and shit, but we do like having you on the team." Jay admitted.

"Still, no excuse for just stabbing me," James replied.

"You're right. There is no excuse for it. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Jay admitted. "Here, to show there's no hard feelings, here's a few monster cores as well. Go get something from the vending machine."

"Alright. I'll take them, but don't think this makes us even." James practically growled as he begrudgingly took the monster cores and left to visit the vending machine.

"So, what's bothering you?" Derek asked Jay once James left the table.

"What do you mean? I'm fine." Jay dismissed his attempts immediately.

"Oh come on, you aren't fooling anyone. You may be a bit of a crusty sailor, but you never just stabbed someone like that." Derek prodded further, leaning on the table with his elbows in an attempt to seem more interested in Jay.

"Truth be told, I don't know why I did that. You gave me a bit of a green light with the healing idea, so I just figured I would go ahead and get it out of my system. Nothing to it." Jay continued, deciding being dismissive was the way to go still.

"Fine, don't tell me. But it will fester in you until you get it out." Derek replied, leaning back in the chair now acting as if he didn't care at all.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Jay paused for a long moment, trying to look like he couldn't care less. But as the moment stretched out even further, he began to feel more and more uncomfortable as Derek just continued to stare at him with an unblinking gaze.

"Alright fine, I'll talk...man that's creepy as hell." Jay finally burst out.

"So, what is it?" Derek asked again.

"It's just...life man. Everything is different, people are depending on us, Seth is gone, we have no idea what to do about these space pirates coming, and things are just taking a toll after being on the road and fighting for so long." Jay explained.

"I see. That does explain it. We need to find some time to just rest and let others handle things for a bit. I'll talk with Tom and see what we can figure out. It sounds like burnout. And the best cure for that is a vacation." Derek replied.

"You want us to vacation in the apocalypse? That sounds like some cheesy new anime show, 'That time I vacationed in the Apocalypse'." Jay joked.

"Laugh all you want. But it's the best way to solve the issue." Derek replied as nonchalantly as he could.

"So how do you propose we do that?" Jay asked, genuinely interested to hear what Derek might propose.

"We have to get back to Dallas before we can figure that out. Once we are there and assess the situation, we can look at some kind of rotational hiatus or something similar." Derek explained. "We can make it work. Provided the world isn't ending."

"You just had to jinx it," Jay groaned, putting a hand over his face.

"So you really think we have a chance at some time off?" Kiera said, returning to the table with a small plate of food.

"I think anything is possible if the circumstances are right," Derek replied.

"What a cop-out of an answer," Kiera said flatly shaking her head. "At least try to give us something believable and slightly less vague."

"He's right, Kiera. We can make it happen. Provided we aren't right in the middle of a turf war when we get back. We deserve a break after what we have done." Tom added, staring at a screen the others couldn't see.

"Whatcha working on there, Tom?" Jay asked, deciding the better idea was to change the subject.

"Hmm? Oh, just looking at some of the admin screens for the guild. Brian has been busy while we have been gone. It's nice to see him taking care of so much while we are out." Tom commented, still not fully engaged in the conversation.

Tom had been staring at the guild tabs and looking at what he could control remotely. The vast majority of the screens required he be much closer to the guild building to have much of an effect. But in searching through the pages, Tom did notice that the guild was continuing to grow in size despite their being gone. They were nearing seven hundred people in the Vanguard now, and with the ones they were bringing back, they would soon be over the one-thousand-member mark.

"I'm not sure how we are supposed to feed this many people?" Tom suddenly blurted out, interrupting the conversation at the table.

"What?" Derek asked.

"When we get back there will be over a thousand people in the guild. Are we sure we can feed that many people?" Tom asked.

"I would think if there was a major issue, that we would have heard about it in the brief radio call. Could be they didn't want to worry us, but I'm guessing they have something figured out." Derek replied.

"Yeah, Brian is a pretty smart cookie. He will have this under control and have found a solution for it. If not he has a temporary fix and we can figure it out when we get there." Jay added.

"You're probably right. I'm just feeling pulled in two directions. We need to help people, but helping people is a bit of a weakness for us in that it spreads us thin." Tom gave words to his concerns hoping his friends would understand.

"At the end of the day, I'd rather die defending someone who couldn't fight for themselves, than on a hoard of supplies for myself." Kevin finally added to the conversation.

Everyone was silent for a moment as they pondered this thought.

"That was really deep, Kevin," James said, walking back to the table after having perused the vending machine.

"Thanks, man. I have those moments sometimes. Then again most of the other times I just want to smash now!" Kevin added, then promptly stood up and began posing as though he was in the Mr. Universe show.

"Really? Your brain is a muscle too, try flexing it sometimes." Jay said flatly.

"But these are way more fun! I never had muscles like this before!" Kevin said excitedly.

"Those sure are impressive. Here I'll squeeze them." Kirsten said standing next to him and fawning over his posing.

"Alright, I've had enough. Let's go see what the rest of the plans for today are." Derek said standing up and moving away from the table at the new love puppy display.

Following his lead, the rest of the team left Kevin and Kirsten to continue their posing and muscle worship. Tom moved to talk with John at the back of the stage.

"Hey, John. What all is planned for the rest of the day again? I know we have more meals to eat, but what activities?" Tom asked.

Up next on the agenda is a break, then lunch, and that is followed by the life celebration where everyone tells stories about Seth and other loved ones. I think everyone would really like to hear the tales of your adventures with Seth." John looked at Tom expectantly as he mentioned this.

"Fine. But it doesn't end well." Tom replied.

"Gallows humor. Not the best coping mechanism, but I like it." John said sarcastically with a huge smile plastered on his face. "Now, if you'd like to come with me, there is a green room for people who will be making speeches that has some privacy."

Tom nodded and the team followed him to a room back in the hotel where they were staying. He was surprised to find it was a conference room they had set up with a full bar.

"Where did you get all this?" Tom asked.

"What? Your first thought in an apocalypse wasn't to raid the liquor store? We need to teach you about what becomes most valuable in a panic, Tom." John joked with him. "Booze is better than gold in an apocalypse."

"Honestly, in all the chaos, I didn't even think about it. But I really want a drink now!" Tom said excitedly, moving toward the bar.

"Cindy, this is Tom and his friends. They are the ones who helped save us and were Seth's traveling companions." John introduced them. "So take good care of them. I need to get back to the stage area to ensure everything is ready for the next phase. I'll send someone to get you when it's time for lunch."

With that, John left them and Tom and his team began ordering drinks. After about an hour John returned to the bar to find almost all of Tom's team completely smashed.

"How many drinks could you all have had in that short a period of time?!" John exclaimed looking over at the bartender who was leaning back against the bar with sweat dripping down his face, panting slightly from exertion.

"Oh, we only had a couple two three seven maybe twelve drinks each? Sh-sh-sh...don't tell anyone. Hehehehehe. We might be a tany but fershnickered." Tom slurred out as he put one finger to John's lips in a shushing motion.

"Hey! Hey. Have I ever told you, I love you, man?" James slurred even worse as he put an arm around Tom's shoulders.

"Awww, I love you too man!" Tom replied holding a drink over his head in a terrible attempt not to spill it.

"You all know the apocalypse is a government ploy to get us into fighting shape for the draft that's coming?!" Clay exclaimed from the other end of the bar.

"Sorry about them," Derek said, walking over to John. "I'll get them cleaned up in a minute. Just letting them all let off a little steam first."

"You mean you can fix this?" John asked.

"Sure. It's easy. Just use a cleric cleansing spell. Alcohol is considered a poison so it will purify it from your system." Derek replied turning to look at his teammates with a chuckle. "I was nearly that drunk just a moment ago and casting it on myself sobered me right up."

"Okay, good," John sighed with relief. "I was worried that this would mean we would have to keep them away from the next part of the day. "And god only knows what would have happened if there had been a monster attack and we couldn't sober them up."

"MONSTER?! WHERE?! POINT ME AT THEM!!!" Bobby suddenly screamed from the middle of the bar and in a flash his weapon was equipped and he was spinning around looking for danger.

This had the added effect of causing every other drunk member of the party to begin equipping things from their inventory as well in a frenzied panic. Tom equipped his greatsword, Kedron and Graham their axes, Kevin his greataxe, Kiera her rifle, and James pulled out a pink umbrella that he opened menacingly.

"No, no! There is no monster! We are safe in Decatur at a bar!" Derek yelled, trying to calm the scene.

Everyone slowly lowered their weapons as they looked at Derek. He cast his cleansing spell on Tom first. Nothing happened.

"What the hell?" Derek said in confusion. "Oh, shit. He's dark-aligned."

"What does that mean?" John asked looking at Tom as though this was what he expected to happen from a spell.

"He can't be affected by light-aligned healing spells because as a Warlock he's considered dark-aligned. I can help most of the others though." Derek explained, letting out a sigh.

He went around healing almost all of the other party members. Jay also couldn't be cleansed as he was a Rogue.

"This will have to do. We can keep Tom and Jay here for now." John said. "Its time to move out to the next part of the ceremony."