A salty breeze replaces the hot stillness that can be felt around the desert. This is what welcomes Kayde, Lunette, Fore, and Maximus as they arrive at the resort in the northwestern part of the desert, the one they agreed to meet their old friends at one year ago.

They enter the large building at the front of the premises, the lobby headlined by a large fountain in the center, blocking their path to the men working the front desk. They admire the lavishly decorated walls as they walk around the fountain.

“Hey, have a couple with a really attractive blonde woman shown up or a couple of like... really buff people?” Lunette inquires, checking to see if the others have arrived first.

The two men look down confused at Lunette, not sure how they could determine anything based on those descriptions. “Has anyone named Xander, Drakthar, Gwendolyn, or Kali shown up yet?” Kayde clarifies for them, noticing their valid looks of confusion.

“Oh… let me check... No, we don’t have anyone under those names that have checked in,” the somewhat older man of the two responds.

“Cool, anyway, we’ll take four rooms, let the others in our party know that we paid for everything when they get here and that we’ll be waiting for them at the bar you guys have here. You guys have a bar here right?” Kayde inquires, assuming an establishment such as this would at least have that accommodation.

“Yes... we do. The resort boasts a bar that is a part of the finest restaurant in the desert. We also have the cleanest beaches in the entire world and our natural hot springs are renowned all across the desert. Frankly sir, how are you sure that you have enough gold to afford not just one but four rooms?” The older man asks, getting uppity before the group he perceives as ruffians.

“What? Are you guys charging like five million gold a room or something? I know you guys are fancy but I didn’t think you would be so fancy even the richest people in the world would regret paying you,” Kayde chuckles, knowing exactly where he stands in terms of wealth.

“No sir, it is nowhere near that expensive. It will be ten thousand gold a night for each room, you can pay it all now or each night depending on the duration of your stay,” he informs them, furrowing his brow. How could people who look like this have so much gold, he questions.

“Hmm… I don’t think we know how long we are staying... You know what? I’ll just give you the gold for the first night now,” Kayde decides as he hands him a pouch with forty thousand gold in it.

“Very good sir, I will have my associate here show you up to your rooms,” the man tells them as he hands them four keys, eager to get the eclectic group out of the lobby.

“Here Maximus, you get your own room,” Kayde comments as he hands Maximus one of the ornate keys to the rooms.

“Thank you mister Kayde and thank you for paying for all of this. I wouldn’t be able to afford staying in a place like this. It means a lot to me,” Maximus thanks them profusely, touched a group this famous would let him stay around.

“It’s not a problem. I just hope this place has nice rooms, Xander and Gwendolyn were going to honeymoon here so I would guess they must be good,” Kayde hopes, prompting an interjection from the man walking along with them, “The rooms here are the finest you’ll find in all the desert. They will certainly live up to your expectations”.

“That’s good to hear,” Kayde responds as they make it to their four rooms. The large entry doors are all lined up along the same purple carpeted hallway on the highest floor of the resort.

“Why don’t we wash off the sand and we’ll meet you down at the bar,” Kayde suggests to Maximus as they enter their different rooms.

As they open the large door, they find that the man who brought them up was correct, the rooms are finely decorated, a giant bed in the middle adorned with silken linens, a large kitchen attached not lacking in any appliances even the finest chef would want at their disposal and an amazing view of the beach at the end of the room. The three of them go to the window directly and look down at the many people already enjoying the water.

“Kayde! Check out how big this shower is!” Lunette exclaims after running into the other room. Kayde heads inside to see that half of the already large room is one shower, water shoots out from the top as well as both sides of the walls as Lunette turns it on.

“Why don’t we wash the sand off you first?” Kayde asks Fore, having seen the wolf at his feet tracking sand throughout the room.

“Yeah, it’s irritating, I hate sand,” Fore agrees, running into the shower. The three of them wash off before changing into the soft black robes the hotel provides and heading down to the bar as comfortable as ever.

The dimly lit room is filled with round tables leading up to a stage at the back. They find that Maximus has already charmed his way onto the stage and has been performing for all of those enjoying their evening at this restaurant. They find an empty table near the stage and sit down, waiting for their friend’s arrival.

“This place looks more troublesome than its worth,” Drakthar comments as he, Kali, and his new trainee, Valdemar, approach the resort.

“What do you mean Drakthar? The beaches look beautiful,” Kali notes as she looks out over the crystal waters that many are frolicking in.

“Plus we could all use a few days of relaxation, we’re always training and working ourselves so hard it would be nice to kick back and relax,” she adds, trying to get Drakthar to loosen up a little.

The three of them enter the main building, see the large fountain and walk around it, up to the front desk. “Uh, hello. We’re meeting some of our friends here,” Kali greets the two men behind the desk. They peer at the two figures that are tall enough to be visible above the desk and come to the same conclusion.

“Ah... the buff ones have arrived, your friends came here earlier and bought your room for you. They are waiting at the bar for you,” the older of the two men informs them as he hands Kali the large ornate key to their room.

After giving their spiel about the different amenities available to them at the resort, they are led to their room on the top floor. When they get inside and have a look at the luxurious accommodations, Valdemar takes one glance at the giant bed and starts running over to it, prepared to jump on it.

Kali sees the look in his eyes and stops him, not wishing for him to get sand all over the bed she plans to share with Drakthar. “Shower first, then you can lie on it. But you’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight,” Kali informs him, letting him know the sleeping arrangement.

“That’s dumb! You’re dumb! Why do I have to sleep on the floor? You should be the one on the floor!” Valdemar pouts, starting to argue with her.

“Enough of that, get in the shower,” Kali grabs him by the arm and pulls him into the bathroom, making sure he actually showers so her bed doesn’t end up covered in sand.

After washing off the sand and grime, the three of them head down to the bar to finally reunite with the others. As they get to the entrance of the restaurant area, before they can go inside, the door shoots open, a blur of grey fur darting through it as Fore leaps directly onto Kali.

Kali stumbles a little bit, unable to stop the wolf as he starts licking her face. “Hey... Fore, good to see you too,” she tells him as she starts petting his back as she leans away to avoid getting more saliva all over her freshly showered face.

Kali gets up and they head inside, quickly noticing Kayde and Lunette sitting at a table and deciding to join them. As they walk over Drakthar gets this eerie feeling, a chill runs up his spine as he soon realizes the familiar tune being played from the stage within the restaurant. To his complete dismay, Maximus has changed the song to one focused specifically on Drakthar.

“His mighty axe, tearing through the great dragon!” Maximus sings as they settle in.

“Why did you have to bring him along?” Drakthar grumbles after sitting down.

“What? No hi, just why is Maximus here? Come on man, it’s good to see you again,” Kayde greets him, getting up for a hug.

“Yeah,” Drakthar agrees, trying to position himself so Maximus cannot see him. The four of them exchange hugs before sitting back down.

“I’m glad you guys remembered. It’s nice to see the two of you still together. Although... I have to admit I didn’t think you’d have a kid this fast,” Lunette chuckles as she points to Valdemar.

“That is not my kid,” Kali quickly protests, making it very clear with her tone.

“And you’re not my mom!” Valdemar yells, this being the one thing he and Kali can agree on.

“I’m training him, his name is Valdemar,” Drakthar explains who the boy accompanying them is.

“It’s nice to meet you, Valdemar, I’m Kayde,” Kayde extends a hand down to him. Valdemar is hesitant to take it but Drakthar shoots him a look that makes him accept it.

“You are weird-looking,” Valdemar tells Kayde as he shakes his hand.

“Yes I am, that is very perceptive of you,” Kayde jokes, knowing the kid won’t be able to sense his sarcasm.

“And I’m Lunette,” Lunette waves at him. Valdemar waves back, this woman is slightly less intimidating to him because despite her being an adult they are similar in height.

“I have to admit when I first saw him I thought you guys went to the future and stole your own kid or something,” Lunette quips, getting a bit tipsy from the drinks she has been ordering.

“No, we didn’t do that,” Drakthar responds plainly, not finding it nearly as funny as Lunette.

“He does look like Drakthar now that you mention it. They both always look like someone just kicked their cat or something,” Kayde points out the perpetual glower on Drakthar and Valdemar’s faces.

“Why are your friends all so old?” Valdemar asks them, expecting to see people closer to his age for some reason.

“Who are you calling old, kid?” Kali asks him, not letting him get away with a comment like that. When she’s only twenty-one. Valdemar sneers back at Kali, insinuating she is the one who’s old.

“Stop, I’m tired of you two always fighting,” Drakthar intervenes, not wanting them to get into one of their famous spats.

“This wouldn’t happen if you taught him common decency every once and a while instead of only teaching him to fight,” Kali retorts, finding it unfair that she is being lumped in with Valdemar. Valdemar sticks his tongue out at Kali while Drakthar isn’t looking.

“I like this kid,” Kayde laughs as he watches the bickering before him.

“I don’t care if he has common decency as long as he is strong,” Drakthar responds as Valdemar continues to taunt Kali from behind his back.

Having had enough of this, Kali gets up and grabs Valdemar by the shoulder, “Enough, you are done here. You can spend the rest of the night by yourself”.

“Good, I don’t want to hang out with you old people anyway!” Vlademar shoots back, getting Kali even angrier

“You’re lucky Drakthar, I think Kali’s going to be a good mom,” Lunette chuckles as she watches the two of them walk out of the restaurant.

“I wouldn’t call that good parenting. And it doesn’t matter, Valdemar isn’t our kid,” Drakthar disagrees with her.

Ten or so minutes later Kali returns, having handed Valdemar off to the people at the front desk to look after to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. “I hate that kid,” Kali mutters as she sits back down.

“No, you don’t,” Kayde disagrees with her, noticing how much of an effort she puts in.

“Yes, I really do, I want the little pest to just fly off. I’m tired of dealing with him,” Kali angrily challenges Kayde’s statement.

“You do a good job of tolerating him,” Drakthar tells her as he lightly grabs her arm before slightly rubbing it to reassure her.

“Ooooo, you’re rubbing her arm… you would have never done that before. Has the cold-hearted Drakthar finally changed?” Lunette exclaims, much to Drakthar’s dismay, causing him to pull his hand back.

Kayde notices the glare coming Lunette’s way and comments, “Don’t tease him about it, he’s sensitive now”. This has the immediate effect of redirecting Drakthar’s irritation onto Kayde instead of Lunette. Drakthar looks to Kali to help him out but he finds that she is only giggling at their jokes.

“I am not soft,” Drakthar declares, not wanting to be viewed as such. This just causes the other three to break out further into laughter.

Meanwhile, Xander and Gwendolyn approach the resort after having sailed here from the Sacrosanct Empire, all of their belongings in tow.

“Do you need a break? We've been walking along the beach for a while. If it makes you uncomfortable we can…” “It’s okay Xander, I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me every time we’re near the water,” Gwendolyn interrupts him.

“Alright, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Xander notes as they continue to walk along the coast.

The sun begins to set over the horizon, turning the sky a beautiful orange color that reflects onto the clear ocean. Xander stops down to take in this picturesque sight but sees Gwendolyn looking away from it so the water isn’t in her view. He starts walking again knowing Gwendolyn probably wants to get inside so she doesn’t have to be near water.

“It’s going to be good to see everyone, they’ll be happy to see you like this again,” Xander comments, trying to get her mind off the sounds of the waves lightly crashing upon the beach nearby.

“I’m excited as well, it feels like a lifetime since I’ve seen them,” Gwendolyn agrees, a hint of sadness in her voice as she doesn’t remember what happened on the island. Only up to the part where God captured her initially and the torture he put her through.

They walk into the front building and see a young boy arguing with one of the two men behind the desk at the other end of the large lobby.

“I want my own room, they aren’t going to let me sleep on the bed,” they hear the child complain.

“I already told you, if you have the gold I can get you an additional room but since you have none you are going to have to stay with your parents,” the man calmly responds, assuming Drakthar and Kali are his parents.

“They aren’t my parents!” The kid screeches much to everyone in the vicinity's dismay.

“Hello, we are here to check-in. Our friends might have already arrived, my name is Gwendolyn and this is my husband Xander,” Gwendolyn addresses the man not preoccupied with handling Valdemar.

“Ah yes, your friends have already paid for your room, I can take you to it. Also, they told me to give you the message to meet them at the bar in the restaurant within our resort,” the man informs them, giving them the entire rundown of the activities here as he walks them to their room.

“Thank you so much for showing us around,” Gwendolyn thanks the man before he leaves.

“It is merely my job, may the two of you enjoy your stay,” the man nods before heading back down to the front desk.

“This place is kind of fancy… maybe too fancy,” Xander observes as the two of them enter the room with the opulent layout.

“Of course it is, I wouldn’t have picked some cheap place for our honeymoon,” Gwendolyn points out as the two of them put down their belongings near the front door.

“I know it’s about a year and a half later but this could be like our honeymoon… except everyone else is also here,” Xander trails off, realizing maybe that isn’t what Gwendolyn would want out of a honeymoon.

“Alright, if that’s what you want. We can treat it like one when we’re all alone,” Gwendolyn agrees, sauntering over to Xander and seductively laying her hand upon his chest.

“You know what couples do on their honeymoons right?” Gwendolyn asks as she starts undoing his shirt.

“Gwendolyn, I… The others are waiting for us at the bar downstairs,” Xander stutters, reminding her what the man at the front desk told them.

“They can wait, I want to enjoy some time alone with my husband,” Gwendolyn declares as she pulls his shirt off, throwing it to the side.

“Besides, we still have to make up for all the time you neglected me over the past year,” Gwendolyn adds as she pushes him back onto the large bed.

“I didn’t… or at least…” Xander tries to explain himself amidst the silken sheets as he watches her slowly pull her own shirt over her head.

“I’m only messing with you, now relax. It is our honeymoon after all,” Gwendolyn purrs as strips off the rest and climbs on top of him.

A few hours later, as the two of them lay exhausted in bed, Gwendolyn asks, “Should we head down now?”

“I mean… we are covered in sweat and your hair is messed up, maybe we should get cleaned up first or else they’re going to know what we were doing,” Xander suggests, seeing the state the two of them are in.

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want the others to know that we had sex, that would be so embarrassing for us,” Gwendolyn giggles as she teases him.

“What? So you just want to head down there now? Like this? I guess… if that’s what you want I’m fine with it,” Xander gives in, ready to head down if she is.

“Calm down Xander, let’s try out this giant shower they have here, go get it started I’ll meet you in there,” she orders, making sure to watch intently as he leaves the room.

After getting straightened up the two of them head downstairs. They open the door of the restaurant and hear loud laughing from inside. On the other side, they find Kali, Drakthar, Kayde, Lunette, Maximus, and Fore around a table, the only occupied table at the entire restaurant because it had gotten so late.

“Aye! They’re finally here,” Kayde calls out as he sees the two of them enter.

“Sorry, it took a while to get here,” Xander replies, covering up the real reason they were so late. Those around the table stand to greet their newly arrived friends.

“Gwendolyn… how are you feeling?” Kali asks tentatively, afraid she might be in the same unresponsive state as when they left the Sacrosanct Empire.

“A little tired, like Xander said our journey was really long,” she responds, causing everyone in the room’s conversations to stop and look at her.

Kali is the first to hug her, wrapping her arms around her friend as she tries to suppress tears, “I’m so glad you’re back”.

“It’s good to be back. I’ve missed having you around,” Gwendolyn responds lightly, her soothing voice music to Kali’s ears.

As Kali continues to embrace Gwendolyn for an uncomfortable amount of time, Drakthar pulls Xander aside. “I really need you to fight me, it’s been too long since I’ve fought someone strong,” Drakthar begs, in an uncharacteristically desperate way.

“What? No, I thought I told you already my days of fighting are done,” Xander refuses, having no intention of clashing with Drakthar again.

“That’s damn right, absolutely no more fighting, especially between the two of you,” Gwendolyn calls out as she is still hugging Kali, having overheard the two of them.

“Well that removes all doubt, she really is back to normal. It’s good to see you talking again,” Kayde comments as he hugs Gwendolyn, this hug being much briefer than the one with Kali.

“So how did she do it? How did she get back to normal?” Lunette asks Xander curiously.

“It’s like the specialist said, she just had to continue a set routine,” Xander explains, leaving out some parts of it intentionally.

“That’s not how I remember it,” Gwendolyn interjects, knowing for her the first thing she remembers clearly.

Xander’s face turns red and he becomes rather nervous as he explains, “Let’s just say I said something stupid and she got mad at me for it”.

“And if you ever say something like that again, I’ll have to punish you worse than the first time,” Gwendolyn adds, it seems like a joke to the others but Xander knows she is deadly serious.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, who is this guy?” Gwendolyn asks, pointing towards Maximus.

“I am Maximus Miss Gwendolyn, a famous songwriter who has performed all over the world. We have met before on the island,” Maximus reintroduces himself with a bow and a flourish of his arm.

“Wait… so you don’t remember anything from when you were… messed up?” Lunette asks, finding this subject intriguing.

“No, some memories are fuzzy like this time Alwin tried to kiss Xander but for the most part I can’t remember anything,” Gwendolyn explains, prompting the others to ask about that story.

After a flustered explanation by Xander, Maximus has a suggestion, “If you do not remember me, maybe it is best to reintroduce myself through song. This is something I wrote about you and mister Xander”.

Drakthar starts to cringe as the others listen to a familiar love ballad Maximus has sung for them many times. After he has finished Gwendolyn asks him about something she found odd about the song, “Why did you write two parts to it if you just sing it all yourself?”

“Usually I perform it with another vocalist but I do not have one here so I thought I would sing it all myself,” Maximus explains, seeing as how they are the only ones in the room.

“Well, do you have the lyrics handy?” Gwendolyn asks, standing up to join him on the stage.

“Yes, miss Gwendolyn I do,” Maximus hurriedly pulls out the parchment he wrote the song on. He watches in excitement as Gwendolyn scans over it, quickly looking at how the words match the melody she just heard.

“Okay, let’s do this,” she tells him, cueing Maximus to begin playing. The others watch in shock as Gwendolyn goes note for note with Maximus, perhaps even outshining him at some points.

“Wow Gwendolyn, I didn’t know you could sing like that,” Kali exclaims once they finish.

“I used to sing for my father when I was younger, he always liked my voice but I stopped when I started taking on more within the Brotherhood. I’m kind of rusty so I hope I didn’t hurt your ears too much,” Gwendolyn responds, finding her performance less than stellar.

“It was beautiful, I mean just look at Xander’s he’s stunned,” Kali laughs as she points towards Xander who has been staring at Gwendolyn in shock for a few minutes.

“Oh… did you really like it?” Gwendolyn asks Xander shyly.

“Yeah,” he snaps out of it.

“I didn’t know you could sing… and you’re incredible at it,” he adds, impressed, learning of a skill he didn’t know his wife had.

“I honestly didn’t think to mention it. I don’t know, I guess there wasn’t ever really a time to sing before now,” Gwendolyn notes, thinking about why it hasn’t come up before.

“Come on, let’s all sit back down and share some drinks, we can tell each other all about what’s happened over the past year,” Kayde suggests, ushering them all back to the table.

Each of them recounts their stories one at a time, laughing and asking questions about their experiences apart over the past year.

“I really missed this, thanks Kayde for suggesting it,” Xander notes after he is a few drinks deep.

“We can all start traveling together again,” Kali interjects hopefully, that being what she was wishing for.

“I don’t know about that anymore. I would have agreed with you in the past but we have things we need to deal with now,” Kayde disagrees, thinking about his war against the Desert Trade Union.

“Kayde’s right, Xander and I are heading back to the Brotherhood after this. It’s time for us to settle down,” Gwendolyn adds with a slight smile, eager to start the life together they had always wanted.

“And I have to train Valdemar,” Drakthar points out, also having something to do that doesn’t involve the others.

“Oh come on, that is not something you have to do. It’s not like you couldn’t do that while traveling anyway,” Kali objects with his statement but grows quiet after he shoots her a disapproving look.

Throughout the entire conversation, Gwendolyn has noticed Kayde has been giving her weird looks. Instead of ignoring them she asks him about it, “Kayde, why do you keep looking at me? It’s like me being like this again is unnerving to you”.

“No... it’s not that. I just noticed something but I don’t know if I should say it,” Kayde notes hesitantly, thinking this isn’t something he should bring up if she or Xander hasn’t.

“What are you talking about?” Gwendolyn questions, wondering what is going through Kayde’s mind.

“Alright, I did warn you. I noticed you have only been drinking water the entire night. Usually, you have a few drinks at least when the rest of us are drinking. So, I was wondering if you were pregnant,” Kayde blurts out, causing Xander to cough a few times.

“Well, because you brought it up, yes I am. We found out a few months ago. I was going to tell you all about it but I thought I would wait until tomorrow since it’s so late,” Gwendolyn admits Kayde’s assumption is dead on and she is, in fact, pregnant.

“I knew your boobs looked bigger!” Lunette exclaims, having been thinking about it since she saw Gwendolyn.

The others ignore her as Kali congratulates the two of them, “You guys are starting a real family now. Congratulations! Or... is this something you’re unhappy about?”

“No, we’re excited, a little worried but also excited,” Xander responds for both of them.

“Well Kali, you should really give her pointers since you know, you already have a kid,” Kayde jokes, immediately getting the desired reaction out of Kali.

“Shut up, that pain in the ass is not my kid! He’s just some kid Drakthar decided to train,” Kali reiterates for the hundredth time, her over-the-top reaction causing the others to laugh.

“It’s getting kind of late, maybe we should meet back up tomorrow? Is there anything we should do, it looks like they have a bunch of stuff to check out here,” Xander suggests before asking.

“Hot springs!” Lunette calls out excitedly, looking to relax within them.

“I’d like to try them out too, also the beach looks really nice,” Kali chimes in, looking to check that out herself.

“Okay, cool, want to meet back up here in the morning and we can go to the beach or something?” Kayde states the plan just like he always used to.

The others agree, heading back to their respective rooms for the night, looking forward to the time they will spend with their friends tomorrow. Some sleep sounder than others, Xander finds himself wide awake like most nights, not able to get much sleep anymore over the past year.

He stares up at the ceiling, trying to find ways to help himself get to sleep. Just as he is finally about to drift off, a shrieking comes from the one in bed with him. Xander sits up leaning over to assure Gwendolyn as she flails around amidst her screams.

“Gwendolyn, it’s okay. Wake up, it’s only a dream,” he tells her as he tries to shake her awake. Gwendolyn’s eyes shoot open, the panic she is feeling starting to fade once she sees Xander.

“It’s okay, you’re safe. It was just a dream,” Xander repeats in a softer tone now that he knows she is awake.

Gwendolyn grabs a hold of Xander, bringing him in close as she apologizes, “I’m sorry, I woke you up again. These stupid nightmares”.

“No, don’t be. I haven’t gotten any sleep anyway, you didn’t wake me up,” he admits, feeling her trembling and not wanting her to feel bad about it.

“Even if I was asleep I wouldn’t mind,” he adds, wanting to be there for her over getting restful sleep.

“Xander, why do you have to be so caring? What did I do to deserve you?” Gwendolyn asks lovingly as she snuggles her head close to Xander’s chest.

“Don’t keep acting like you wouldn’t do the same for me. And we’ve been over this, you did way more for me than I could ever repay so let me at least do this for you,” Xander shrugs off her compliments and turns them back onto her.

“Xander, stop acting like last year didn’t exist. It did and after all you’ve done for me how can you even think that?” Gwendolyn counters, getting livelier as the conversation is starting to wake her up.

“Because I know you only became that way because of me. If I wasn’t in the picture you wouldn’t have ended up that way… so taking care of you was nothing compared to what you suffered through for me,” Xander argues, the stubborn fool not backing down even after the tenth time they’ve had this conversation.

“Stop, please, you don’t owe me anything. All of that’s in the past, let’s just move on from it. I don’t want either of us to feel indebted to the other, it’s not about that. I love you, I just want to settle down with my caring husband,” Gwendolyn urges him, trying to end this small disagreement.

“Okay, yeah. You’re right. I love you too,” he agrees as he kisses her on the forehead before relaxing and trying to finally get to sleep within Gwendolyn’s comfortable embrace.

The hot desert sun barely peeks out over the ocean as Kali wakes up. She doesn’t try to go back to sleep as most would at this time of day, instead she stays still, staring intently at Drakthar as he sleeps. A grin starts to appear on her face as she looks at him, this being the only time he doesn’t have that serious look on his face. This peaceful Drakthar was only something she got to see… that is until now.

“What are you doing?” She hears Valdemar ask from the side of the bed.

“Shh, be quiet, he’s still sleeping,” Kali shushes him.

“Why are you looking at him like a creep?” Valdemar asks, his voice getting quieter but still at a volume well above a whisper.

“I’m not a creep. I’m his… special friend. I get to see him like this. Why are you even up? Go back to sleep,” Kali orders, trying to get him to go away so she can go back to enjoying the moment.

“I can’t sleep on the ground, It’s too hard!” Valdemar complains loudly, having gotten used to sleeping in a bed since he met the two of them.

“You two argue before I’m even up,” Drakthar notes as he sits up, his scarred muscly chest appears as the silk sheet slides down his torso.

Kali is saddened by not being able to gaze upon his peaceful face for any longer, the serious expression having immediately returned upon waking up.

“Sorry, Drakthar. He hasn’t slept any cause he’s a baby who can’t handle the floor,” Kali informs him while also mocking Valdemar.

Drakthar sighs, getting up out of the bed before telling Valdemar, “Here, you can have the bed now”. Valdemar jumps onto the bed, causing the entire thing to shake.

“Don’t jump on the bed like that. There might be people below us that are trying to sleep,” Kali scolds him as she quickly gets out of bed herself. Valdemar doesn’t respond, too comfortable to argue with Kali now that he is snuggled up within the bed.

“Come on, let’s go for a run,” Drakthar tells her, trying to get her away from Valdemar so he won’t have to listen to their fighting. The two of them run around the outskirts of the resort, taking in the surrounding area as the sky turns a beautiful shade of orange from the sun.

“This place really is breathtaking,” Kali comments as she gazes upon the pretty sight before them. Drakthar just grunts in response, not caring in the slightest about the view.

“Sorry we woke you up,” Kali takes the time to apologize, wishing he could have been able to sleep longer so she could keep looking at his calm face.

“I don’t care. It was about time to get up anyway. It is better to run before the sun is fully up,” Drakthar notes, not caring at all that the two of them woke him.

They return to the room, finding Valdemar still sleeping, even after they’ve cleaned themselves off from their run.

“Should we wake him or just go down to breakfast?” Kali asks, unsure if Valdemar needs food or sleep more right now.

“Let’s just go down,” Drakthar decides, letting the kid rest a little while longer. The two of them find Kayde, Lunette, Maximus, and Fore already within the restaurant, eating around the same table as yesterday.

They make their way through the crowded room as Kayde waves them over, “Oh hey guys, come join us. This place’s breakfast is great!”

“Wait, Kali, where is your kid?” Kayde jokingly points out as the two of them sit down.

“He’s still sleeping, he couldn’t sleep on the floor so he’s in our bed right now,” Kali explains, holding in the reaction Kayde wanted when he insinuated he was her child.

A few moments later, Xander and Gwendolyn arrive and join the others around the table. Now that everyone has arrived Kayde starts to suggest what they should do first, “So, did we want to check out the beach after this?”

“I’m down. It’s already really hot so the water would feel nice,” Lunette points out, eager to get in the water. As the others agree, Xander looks to Gwendolyn to see how she feels about this, knowing her fear of bodies of water hasn’t gone away. God’s torture still leaving its marks on even though she is responsive again. Gwendolyn returns Xander’s glance with a slight nod, trying to indicate this is fine.

“Alright, then it’s settled, let's go to the beach,” Kayde decides, causing some to eat breakfast faster so they can get to the warm sand and clear water.

Before heading out, Kali and Drakthar go back up to their room to find Valdemar awake. “Hey kid, we’re going to the beach. Did you want to come along?” Kali offers, preferring not to leave him alone in the room to cause trouble all day.

Valdemar nods, getting up to follow them. The entire group walks out towards the sands on the coast, finding that not many people are there yet, it being still earlier in the morning for the large traffic of people that are usually there. The crystal waters seem undisturbed as they drift rhythmically onto the sand.

“Are you going to go in? I don’t know if that would be a…” “No, I’m going to just lay in the sand. Maybe I’ll put my toes in if I feel brave enough,” Gwendolyn interrupts Xander’s concerned statements, not wanting it mentioned in front of the others.

“You should go in though,” she urges him, not wanting his concern for her to hold him back from having fun with the others.

“I’m fine, I’d rather be with you,” he tells her, more than content to just sit out on the beach with her.

They pick an area about thirty meters from the water and put their stuff down claiming their spot upon the beach. They take off their outer layer of clothing, getting into more appropriate beach attire.

“Hey Kali, why is this kid clinging to my leg?” Gwendolyn inquires, pointing down at Valdemar who has wrapped himself around Gwendolyn’s left leg, nuzzling his face against her waist now that he has gotten a better look at her in less clothing.

“Stop that! Don’t harass Gwendolyn! Have some self-control!” Kali immediately shifts into irritated parent mode.

“No, she’s my new mommy. Not you,” Valdemar retorts, not planning on moving away from Gwendolyn at all. Gwendolyn feels something against her right side now, noticing Lunette wraps herself around her in a similar manner Valdemar did.

“The kid has the right idea, be my mommy too,” Lunette requests as her curly hair brushes up against the side of Gwendolyn’s chest. Lunette closes her eyes as she gets comfortable with her new pillow.

“What are you talking about? You’re older than me,” Gwendolyn is confused as to why this is happening. Valdemar and Lunette enjoy the feeling of their skin pressed up against Gwendolyn’s soft skin until, suddenly, she disappears.

They drop the parasol they are now hugging to turn to find Gwendolyn being carried by Xander, the one who switched her out of there. As Valdemar and Lunette try to walk back over to her, Kali grabs each of them by the shoulder, “I don’t think so you little pervs”.

“I’m sorry kid but she is already Xander’s mommy,” Kayde jokes as he musses Valdemar’s hair, causing everyone to start laughing, even getting a faint chuckle out of Drakthar.

“Why are you laughing with them?” Xander mutters to Gwendolyn, not finding it funny at all.

Gwendolyn is able to stem her laughter for a second, telling him, “It’s okay, mommy thinks you’re a good boy,” before breaking out into harder laughter. Xander abruptly puts her down and starts to walk off to get away from all of them.

“Honey, wait, it was just a joke,” Gwendolyn walks after him, trying to get him to come back even though she hasn’t been able to stop giggling.

“Let go of me, I want to go back to my new mommy,” Valdemar struggles to get free of Kali’s grasp.

“Nope, you’re coming to the water with us. Leave the two of them alone,” Kali declares as she drags him and Lunette towards the water.

“Kali, as much as I enjoy you manhandling me, you can let me go I’ll stop feeling up Gwendolyn now,” Lunette asks in a voice slightly more serious than her usual one. Kali listens, making it easier for her to pull the kicking and screaming Valdemar towards the ocean.

“Stop struggling, the ocean is good to train in. The water restricts your movements, the resistance means the work you put in is doubled,” Drakthar informs him, thinking it will excite the young warrior.

Valdemar stops trying to get free, causing Kali to let him go. She follows behind as the two of them head as they head to the water to train. She frowns in spite of herself, realizing that, of course, Drakthar would use this time that was supposed to be for relaxing to train.

Everyone else heads off to the clear blue water to relax, floating among the waves as Drakthar puts Valdemar through intensive training. They enjoy their time there, remaining until the sun falls and the beautiful orange sunset returns, signaling it is time to finally leave.

They return to the restaurant for dinner, Maximus finding himself performing for the group and the other guests that decided to enjoy dinner at this time. The resort, impressed that a musician outside of the resort can have his level of skill, offers Maximus gold to continue for the rest of the night which he obliges. Singing for everyone is his form of relaxation.

“So… hot springs after this?” Kayde proposes amidst everyone enjoying their food, knowing that was the other activity that was suggested the previous day.

“Sure, but let me put Valdemar to sleep first,” Kali agrees, looking at the kid who has already fallen asleep at the table, tired from the workout Drakthar just put him through.

“I think Gwendolyn and I will sit this one out,” Xander decides, knowing it will be difficult for Gwendolyn given her trauma.

“Oh come on, you guys didn’t even do anything at the beach, at least enjoy the vacation a little bit,” Lunette complains, thinking that they were going to do more stuff as a group.

“She’s right Xander, we’ll go,” Gwendolyn agrees, shocking Xander who thinks this is a really bad idea.

“Yay, alright, we’ll see you guys there then,” Lunette declares in glee, getting up just as she finishes her food.

“Are you sure? I mean…” “It’s okay, if it gets too bad I’ll just get out,” Gwendolyn assures him, not wanting to let down the others.

“If you say so,” Xander notes dejectedly, afraid of what might happen.

The group drops their things, or in Kali and Drakthar’s case, kid, off at their rooms before heading down to the hot springs within the resort.

They enter through a small hallway where there are baskets to have their clothes removed with soft towels inside for them to use. They take some time to switch into the towels, leaving their things in these baskets, putting them back up on the wooden shelves they were provided on.

Drakthar’s towel is too small to fit around his waist so he just gives up and puts it over his shoulders causing Kali to keep glancing down.

They open the sliding door to find a steamy spring of water, elaborate rock features surrounding the spring. One such feature has water pouring into the larger pool as a sort of mini waterfall.

The steam obscures those already in the hot springs but not enough to stop Lunette from noticing, “Wow, it looks like there are only couples here”.

The others look at the pairs of two sitting around the hot springs and realize she is right.

“Lunette, I hate to burst your bubble but this resort is for couples. We’re the weird ones by coming here in a group,” Gwendolyn points out to her, this being the place she was going to take Xander for a romantic honeymoon.

“What do you mean? Look at us, we’re a bunch of couples, Lunette and I, you and Kali, and Drakthar and Xander,” Kayde points out, slipping a joke in there.

“Yeah, really funny Kayde,” Xander fake laughs at his quip, not amused by his overused jest.

“Let’s stop wasting time, come on guys let’s get in,” Lunette urges, dropping her towel at the edge of the water before climbing in, the hot water stinging for a second before her body adjusts.

Xander helps Gwendolyn into the warm water, watching to make sure she is okay. He’s relieved as she sits down and seems fine. Just as he relaxes, finding the water soothing against his skin, Lunette scoots over to the other side of Gwendolyn and leans towards her.

“So how are you doing? The water feels good doesn’t it?” Lunette asks her, curious as to how she is dealing with this in a more scientific than concerned way.

Gwendolyn feels Lunette start to grab onto her in interesting places, as she calmly responds, “I feel fine. And shouldn’t you be touching Kayde, not me?”

The others look over at the two of them as Lunette reacts, “Don’t look at it that way, I’m just examining you”.

“Come on Lunette, you’re going to make me jealous,” Kayde quips, not actually minding at all but speaking out because he sees Gwendolyn seems uncomfortable with this unexpected touching.

Gwendolyn is getting very uncomfortable but it isn’t because of Lunette’s touching. Gwendolyn starts to sweat even more than someone in a hot spring would as her breathing starts to get faster. She tries closing her eyes to center herself but it doesn’t help. The only thing she sees is the bottom of that tub she was drowned in many times before.

“Gwendolyn? Gwendolyn, let’s get you out of the water,” Xander suggests calmly, getting out of the hot springs as he and Drakthar gently lift her up. They carry her as far from the water as they can before setting her down.

“You’re okay. Just breathe a little slower, everything is going to be fine,” Xander suggests, softening his voice. It takes a moment but Gwendolyn’s breathing starts to slow before returning to normal.

Gwendolyn looks around at the others who have gotten out with her to make sure she is okay along with the prying eyes of the other guests who are watching from within the water.

“I’m sorry Xander, we shouldn’t have come here. I’m so embarrassed,” Gwendolyn apologizes, just wanting to get all of the attention off of her.

“It’s okay, they understand. They know what happened, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Xander assures her, thinking she was embarrassed because their friends saw.

“No Xander, everyone is staring at us,” Gwendolyn tells him, her breathing starting to pick back up again as she is filled with anxiety.

“Oh, well then let’s get out of here. I don’t like everyone looking at my wife like this. I’ve had enough of it already today,” Xander remarks, trying to add levity to the situation.

“Okay,” Gwendolyn timidly agrees, grabbing onto Xander’s hand as they recollect their towels.

“We’re going to head back guys, enjoy the hot springs,” Xander tells the others as the two of them leave.

“We don’t have to stay here, we can do something back in one of our rooms,” Kayde mentions, not wanting to isolate the two of them.

“No, it’s okay. You all were excited about this so enjoy it. We’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow,” Xander insists, Gwendolyn nodding in agreement as well.

“Looks like she’s still not over the whole water thing, you molesting her probably didn’t help,” Kayde notes as he watches the other two leave.

“Sorry, look she’s irresistible I’m sorry,” Lunette apologizes, feeling terrible that she might have helped cause this.

“She’ll be fine,” Drakthar notes, knowing Xander has it under control.

“I feel so bad for them. We chose the one place where everything there is to do involves water,” Kali points out dejectedly, realizing this vacation must suck for Gwendolyn.

“Yeah, Drakthar’s right, Gwendolyn will be fine. She’s tough, she's made it through so much,” Kayde points out, knowing all that Gwendolyn’s been through.

The four of them get back in the hot springs spending around a half-hour there before saying their goodbyes for the night.

The group sends a couple more days together, reminiscing about the old days and how things used to be. They make promises to visit and stay in touch, not wanting their friendships to grow distant. Drakthar tries to convince Xander to fight him a few more times before giving up, realizing that too will have to stay in the past. Everyone goes their separate ways: Drakthar, Kali, and Valdemar returning to their home in the desert and resuming Valdemar’s training, Kayde, Lunette, Fore, and Maximus going back to roaming the large cities in the desert to learn more about the Desert Trade Union, Xander and Gwendolyn heading back to the Silent Brotherhood where Gwendolyn will take back over as their leader and they can finally settle down together. Despite all these different paths they’ve found themselves on, they know this won’t be the last time they all come together.