Raphael is sitting with Henry in the war room, with the lighting being at the standard setting for a non-briefing. Raphael sits with his head in his hands, the stress from the previous day still clear in his mind.
“Henry, I need to be able to tell them something to give them hope. Something to make them feel like things can get better. I need all the details you have about the Reapers.” Raphael says, looking back up at him.
Lighting an electric cigarette, Henry takes a puff and exhales as he recalls all the details he knows. “The Reapers are essentially the nuclear option when the Demu need to take out a planet instead of enslaving it. From everything we've gathered over years of capturing and interrogating Demu, along with breaking the code in some of their ships, there was a total of ten of them in our universe-”
“Wait, was a total? Like, past-tense?” Raphael asks.
“Yes, commander. Despite the massive amount of advanced stealth technology on all of these worlds, some of them have been found before, and destroyed. Three of them have been obliterated throughout their inception three hundred years ago.” Henry states.
“Three over the course of three hundred years... those aren't good margins, Henry....”
“Indeed they are not, but there is some reports that I think you will like to hear. That might give hope to those that have just lost their home.”
“... You could have started with that. Continue.”
“There was one world that was taken near the beginning of the Reaper's entrance into our universe. A former UHG main hub for their heroes and a stopping point for UMA military resupply ships bringing armaments to the frontline. Upon the second Reaper world being destroyed, something... strange happened. Many of the heroes that were from that world and/or stationed there began appearing in other star systems, people that were long thought dead. Along with that, the UMA began to receive calls from them, asking why they hadn't seen any UMA ships for the past three weeks, and it had been exactly three weeks since the Reaper world was destroyed.”
“So... you're saying that when a Reaper world is destroyed-”
“The world's taken by it are returned. Yes, Commander, that is what it seems like.” Henry says, taking another puff of his cigarette afterwards.
“And the people from the world? Did it seem like they remembered anything?” Raphael asks, now seeing a small beam of hope form out of the situation.
“From all accounts, they didn't remember a single thing. It was like their memory had been set back to the day before the Reaper's arrived.” Henry says, getting to his feet.
Raphael gets to his feet, and nods his head in Henry's direction “That's exactly what I needed, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some refugees to talk to.”
After saying those words, Raphael walks out of the war room, and makes his way to C&I.
Situated all around the C&I room is the refugees of Sentient Society's world. They are confused, terrified and exhausted in equal measures. Multiple tables have been set up in the area, with a large amount of chairs for the considerable amount of refugees.
The former members of the Investigation Group are situated around their own table, all of them in a relatively depressed state. Despite this, Jian is the worst of all, as he is still in the same catatonic state he has been in for the last few weeks.
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They are all in a relative quiet, none of them saying anything. Lera and Konichi have been crying since a few minutes after their world was taken, but the others have been silent nearly since they arrived.
However, that silence is cut short when June's voice appears from the entrance of the General's Quarters “Jian, there's someone who wants to see you.”
The entire group's heads move towards the voice, and see a familiar plume of spiked light purple hair standing above the other refugees. Jian knows who it is immediately.
“Quib!” Jian yells before shooting out of his seat and throwing everyone out of the way to return to the woman he loves.
When he gets to her, it is plainly visible that she has multiple hospital-grade bandages across most of her body, and her left arm is in a cast. That does not stop Jian however, as he throws his arms around her upon getting within reach. The force of his body hitting hers nearly knocks her over, but June is right behind her to keep her steady.
“I... I thought I would never see you again! Thank God you're alive!” Jian yells, his grip getting tighter as he holds onto her like he will never see her again.
Quib's teeth clench shut from the force Jian's grip is exerting on her, but she is able to say to him “Don't worry Jian, I'm not going anywhere. Now please lighten up, I can't breath... and it kind of hurts....”
Jian, after hearing Quib, lightens his grip on her, and soon lets her go. He motions away from her and holds her shoulders, looking into her eyes as she looks into his “Please don't get hurt like that again! I nearly had a heart attack when I heard what happened to you!”
Looking down for a moment, Quib looks back up at Jian “Yeah, I heard. That heart condition of yours really is no joke, huh? You've had a heart attack twice since I first met you. Please don't have a third one....”
With a smile on his face, Jian says “I promise.”
Meanwhile, Raphael has taken up a position on the catwalk of the C&I room. With a sigh, he raises his voice and says “Excuse me, everyone! There's something I need to say!”
The crowd goes quiet after a few seconds, as all eyes turn towards Raphael. He looks across the room, seeing the concern on the faces of every refugee. He then continues. “I'm sure there are some rumors going around about what happened back at home, and before I continue I must exclaim that until all of this is resolved, you may all stay here as long as needed. I will tell you that... despite trying to save your world from the eldritch-rune cult, I failed to see the other threat, and by the time I saw it, it was too late. Your world is... gone. It was absorbed by a weapon of destruction known as a Reaper world. However, there is hope. From what I have been able to uncover, if we are able to track it down and destroy it, your world will return like it was never taken. I give you my word, that as long as my organization exists, we will do everything in our power to bring your world back. You can join our fight, but that choice is yours, not mine. I will tell you this, however. You might want to buckle down, because it could take a while. If you need any more details, please talk to any soldiers within the base... that is all....”
Raphael steps away from the catwalk, and exits through the doorway behind him, leaving the refugees to themselves.
Sherah stands with her back against the wall opposite the doorway. She looks up as Raphael walks into the hallway, asking him “Do you think any of them will take it?”
Not noticing Sherah for a moment, Raphael looks up at her and lets out a depressed sigh “I don't know, but I'm not concerned if they do. In the end, it's up to them....”
Sherah stares at Raphael for a few moments before stating “... What's really bothering you?”
Eyes pointed downward, Raphael stutters for a few moments before saying “... Is it that obvious...?”
Pushing back a chuckle, Sherah states “Kinda, yeah.”
Taking a few moments to figure out the best way to say it, Raphael says “I've... I messed up a lot during this mission. Boz and Lera, how I handled the cult, not making the Demu's second plan a priority to uncover.... I can't help but feel like I should've been better, smarter.... I feel like I wasn't acting like the hero I want to be....”
Thinking on Raphael's words for a moment, Sherah goes over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, kid, no hero starts out perfect. We all make mistakes, and it's no surprise that someone your age who just learned about the universe outside his world and got superpowers all in the same week only a couple of months ago wouldn't know how to be the perfect hero on their first mission. You might have gotten your intelligence boosted, but intelligence is not experience, and do you know what leads from experience? Wisdom. So don't feel like you're the biggest failure in the universe, because you'll figure it all out along the way, alright?”
Nodding his head, Raphael turns his head towards her and says “Alright.”