Chef in the Apocalypse

Soon after everyone had dispersed, Jayce walked over to the main building in search of Dion and Kane. Like always, he easily made it through the the lobby, saying some niceties to the receptionist on his way past.

Unless there was a special event, those two would always be holed up in the main building every day, constantly working on things to benefit their city. Jayce had a lot of respect for these two who had such a work ethic.

As he walked into the room unannounced, he saw the familiar sight of the shining bald head and the short figure of a sharp dressed middle-aged man sitting around the table. They jumped in fright, instantly their heads turned towards him.

He quickly saw Kane try and stealthily hide something behind his back out of view of the intruder. Jayce raised his eyebrow, looking at the two grown men who seemed as if they were caught with their pants down.

It was then that he smelled the sweet aroma of wine which wafted around the room.

Jayce could only let out a sigh, making his way over to the table and taking a seat without another word. Just as he was inwardly praising them for their dedication, he walks into them having a drink way before noon.

The wine was most likely their breakfast.

However, he couldn’t blame them. They had just been attack the night before last and had to organize the clean up while placating the townspeople. This was one of the reasons why Jayce took up post as an adviser rather than a leader.

"I’m not your mom, you don’t need to hide that kind of thing from me." Jayce said, letting out a chuckle.

It was only now that the two realized how childishly they had reacted. While it was frowned upon to drink so early in the morning, they were adults who could make their own decisions.

"Did you want some?" Kane eventually asked, offering the flagon of wine to Jayce.

Jayce hesitated for a moment, deciding whether or not to take a drink. He used to drink frequently in his past life, however he had moved away from that sort of thing since regressing.

However, he didn’t want to ostracize the two so he wordlessly grabbed the flagon and took a few swigs, setting it down on the table. The wine was pleasant, yet sent a fire down his throat in the next moment.

He could tell that this was a decent bottle of rice wine, instantly improving his impression of Kane a few notches.

"What have you come here for today Jayce?" Dion asked, helping himself to another mouthful of the tasty rice wine.

Jayce decided not to beat around the bush, bringing up his plan which would be rolled out over the next 6 months. He wanted to increase the strength of all those in Bastion, selecting only the ones who met his standards to head over to Russia and confront the traitors.

Dion and Kane both looked at each other with similar expressions. When Jayce had arrived into Bastion almost a year ago, the two had discussed something during the feast, which happened to pop into their mind now.

[Our goals are on entirely different scales. We’re aiming to build a small safe haven, yes, but he... he aims to achieve much more."]

["What more is there to achieve than creating a sanctuary for survivors?"]

["The survival of the human race... an end to the Apocalypse"]

["H-He said that? That he wanted to end the Apocalypse?"]

["No, he didn’t explicitly state it. But I could tell..."]

Their eyes glowed with reminiscence as they thought back to that time. At least initially, they had thought of Jayce as someone who was strong enough to increase their chances at survival.

The idea of ending the Apocalypse was something that was too intangible and far reaching. Yet the man in front of them had said more than once, that he would help humanity rise back up and claim what was rightfully theirs.

Of course Dion had soon found out that the Apocalypse was more than meets the eye, it was actually a result of the Earth evolving into a higher plain. Once the World Quest details were announced he was beside himself with fear.

Once again it was the man in front of him that had pulled him from the depths of despair, clearing his mental demons. In fact, Jayce was the crux of all things positive that had happened in Bastion.

The battle of the Beast Tide, Teleportation Arrays, refugees, Hell’s Kitchen, even the Summit before the attack had happened. His list of accolades and contributions to not only Bastion, but all of humanity were inconceivable.

Now that Jayce had come to them both while they were slacking off and drinking away their sorrows, he did not admonish them nor judge them. He merely joined in, speaking of the next steps in his plans towards saving humanity.

It was like Jayce was this Angel who had been sent down to save them all. No matter the setbacks he received, or how many times he failed, he would always put his friends first and work slowly towards his goal.

Dion felt his eyes begin to sting as tears began to form. Kane too seemed to be having a similar realization as the two suddenly burst into tears, wailing like two babies.

"J-Jayce. You’re such a good guy." Dion said, throwing himself across the table and embracing him. His tears and snot dropped down his face, becoming a new accessory on Jayce’s chef jacket.

Kane too decided to join in on the action, however due to his height, his head could not reach Jayce’s shoulder.

’What the f*ck did I just walk into?’ Jayce cursed inwardly. One moment the three of them were talking about his plan and in the next, they were both crying like women and throwing themselves at him.

"Are you guys drunk or what?"