My rest was fitful. Nothing I did seemed to let my get comfortable enough to sleep.

Hours went by with me just starting into the dark, my mind trying to chase itself into a cycle of blame and ridicule.

I did my best to ignore it.

Eventually, I simply passed out.

I woke up feeling if not good, then better.

I'd been running myself hard for a while now. I barely napped while we were in the city and only for brief moments at that. Who even could begin to guess what the events in the tower had done to me. A quick check of my BTC showed no difference from the last time I looked at it.

Trying to revive Lumi had been a mistake. Not because it didn't have a chance to work, but because death isn't something I should be fighting. As hard as it was to accept, bringing someone back from death didn't seem very natural. I don't think that was my intended path. Then again I couldn't help but think that healing was kind of not very natural either, at least not the way we did it. Well no one said life itself was hypocritical.

I kept trying to pick everything up and be a part of everything I thought was important. Maybe that wasn't the best idea. In fact, not one person, had ever said I was suppose to be a hero. I had thought it before but I was having a hard time internalizing it.

But there were folks called Heroes around me.

Raynor fit the term to a tee. There was something dark in his past that he had pushed through. At least on a small scale he was a natural leader, able to guide his people through all kind of trouble. He just needed to know he and his people were valued and that his leaders were worthy.

John didn't really fit my ideas of a Hero, but he was heroic. He had all the skill, and all the will needed to achieve anything. If had lacked anything it was motivation. And he was no people person.

Jaina may have been an Adjutant, but the system had said she was also a Hero. Brilliant and driven. She only lacked self confidence, which recent events had probably screwed with tremendously.

Amanda didn't have a system granted title of Hero, but I couldn't help but see her as one. Her ability to face the shit that had just poured down on us, was nothing less than impressive. She was a leader and a fighter, plus she had knowledge and experience I desperately lacked.

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I had to rely on them more, I had to help them more. I had to get the fuck out of the way so they could get their jobs done. I was here to fix the world, they were here to do everything else.

I was the glue.

I repeated that thought from earlier. I was here to bring the strong and competent folks together. Both the ones from other worlds and the ones already here.

Support. I was support. The majority of my abilities were there to help others or improve utility. Maybe I should figure out how to be supportive. I wasn't very good at it.

I was the medic, and I knew nothing about being a good medic.

Only the Voice of the Emperor seemed different. But that whole event seemed to be an anomaly. Some outside hand playing with the system. I couldn't begin to guess why.

Even now that class seemed muted, I figured it had something to do with whatever smacked me when I tried to bring back Lumi. For all I knew, it was Lumi's soul.

For that matter what game was Lumi playing? He was obviously up to something. I guess there was no way to find out now.

I got up and went to the bathroom. A quick shower helped rinse the last of my brain fog away. I could have just use Purify but this was more relaxing.

After getting dressed I went downstairs to my kitchen. Most of the appliances in here were of the more industrial kind. I open what I thought was a fridge to find it was a walk-in model. There were veggies, eggs, cheese, butter and milk in here. There was even some sandwich sliced bread in the back.

We had cheese! Damn that was fast. Were the farms' cycles getting faster?

I checked the next door and it was a walk-in freezer. Various meats were vacuumed sealed in there.

Who was stocking all of this? Probably the Probes. Just how many Probes where there?

I let my mind touch the Psifield and took count. I blanched.

Hundreds almost to the point of a thousand. 976 Probes to be exact.

About two dozen Sentries and almost twice that amount of Observers.

Alina had build massive underground Pylon clusters to power and spark everything.

What a good job, no wonder everything was operating so smoothly around here.

Which reminded me I hadn't told Meadran the coast was clear.

I felt for Meadran's connection to the tree network and informed him that the danger seemed to have past for now.

"You need more rest Young One. I can feel your anguish clear as day."

Huh? What anguish?

Over being duped and betrayed, why should I be in pain over that?

Because for a moment I thought my luck with women had changed, nah, I should have known.

I shook it off.

I think some scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon were in order.

It took a while to find everything. But when I did, cooking my own breakfast, for a change, felt good.

"May I have some?" Came a voice from right behind me.

I jumped about three feet. Spinning around thankfully nothing was in my hands at that moment.

"Damn it, John! Got me good." I chuckled.

"Yeah."

"No worries I'll whip you up some too."

"How about us?" Jim and Amanda walked in to the kitchen.

"Sure, it may take a while, but I don't mind." I really didn't.

As I started to expect at that point Jaina soon followed.

In short order, (heh) we were sitting around eating and chatting.

Not a bad way to start the day.