Raphael's soul shoots through the earth at such speeds that he feels as if he is being ripped apart by the sheer force of his flight. He screams the entire way, scared for his dead life.
Suddenly, the earth disappears and Raphael's soul reforms with his body. His head and upper body launch up into the air as he still keeps screaming, but he then falls back down to his infirmary bed.
His entire body is in pain, his blood still being pumped back into existence. He has a fuzzy feeling on every square inch of his body and it hurts whenever he attempts to move.
He grunts as he tries to move his jaw to speak, but he is thwarted by pain. Still wanting to let anyone in the immediate vicinity know that he has come back to life, he uses every bit of endurance and strength he has to part his lips.
Through gritted teeth, he says “Anyady, I ack!” but nobody is around to hear him.
He sighs through his teeth as he realizes that there is nobody around to help him. He has felt this kind of pain before when he crosses his legs for too long. He has been told by his parents that this kind of pain is caused by the fact he has lost blood pressure in his leg. Using that information, he predicts that he has lost massive amounts of blood pressure across his entire body and now he just has to wait for his blood pressure to go back up.
So he waits. He waits for about ten minutes without a single person coming in to greet him. “Where the hell did everybody go to? Am I the only person here?” he thinks while remaining completely motionless in his bed.
Slowly, his limbs start waking up. Moving an inch at a time, he is able to pull his left leg off of his infirmary bed, with his right leg following soon after.
Using what little strength he has regained, Raphael rolls to his left and uses his left arm to push himself into a sitting position.
With pain still coursing through his body, Raphael pulls his right arm over his chest and examines his shirt. There are still five holes in his shirt from where Sherah had stabbed him earlier. “Damn,” he thinks “I wonder if Sherah made it out alright....”
Raphael attempts to lift himself out of his bed, but his legs are barely able to support him in his current state. He wobbles as he gets up, but is able to catch himself on the corner of his bed.
Still down on one knee, Raphael looks around the area for something he can use to support himself with. He knows that he needs to get up and get moving, he needs to let his friends know that he is alive. He sees an IV stand to his side of the bed and grabs a hold of it.
Inch by inch, he works his weak hands up the IV stand's pole until he is standing at full length. He coughs weakly, his lungs still getting used to breathing air once more. As he wearily walks out of his infirmary stall with his IV stand support rolling alongside him, he starts thinking to himself about what had happened the day before with his fight with Sherah.
“That's right, I exorcised her as she dug her claws into my chest. At least, I think I exorcised her.... I know that I should be letting the rest of the team know I'm okay first, but Sherah's current state is bugging me too much. If I remember correctly, after Sherah had been exorcised, she fell unconscious. If I haven't been dead for too long, she should still be in the bunker's infirmary, if that's where I'm at, that is....”
Raphael exits his stall and finds the area in front of him to be incredibly familiar. It is exactly the same infirmary Raphael was in a few days ago when him and Miyra got attacked. He lets out a sigh of relief as realizes this. “Alright, I'm in the right place. Next stop, need to find Sherah and tell her that I forgive her for everything that had happened earlier.” he thinks as he drags his IV stand along with him down the line of infirmary stalls.
Raphael checks the stall next to his first. He pulls back the sheet and sees no one within the room. “Behind door number one, nothing. Next up, door number two....” he thinks in a gleeful tune.
Apparently, death really didn't effect his sense of humor too much, and that he notices. He continues down to the next infirmary stall and opens it to find a wounded soldier laying on the infirmary bed. He sees that the man is conscious. He has a thought that maybe the man might know where Sherah is, so he proceeds into the stall to ask the soldier just that.
“My God... Commander... is that you?” the injured soldier says before coughing in a fit.
“Yes, it's me, and it ain't no dream. Soldier, what injured you, may I ask?” Raphael says, his voice still a little scraggly from his recent revival.
“But... how can you be here?... I saw them reeling in your lifeless corpse last night... and now you're here in front of me, alive and well?... How is this possible!?”
“I'll explain everything later today once I make everyone aware of my revival. Now please, can you tell me what put you in this predicament?”
The soldier tilts his head and thinks for a few seconds, trying to piece together a good response. “Commander, I don't know how to tell you this, but there was a little predicament while you and the rest of the soldiers and generals were out trying to stop Sherah. The best way I can explain it is that the Demu attacked the bunker when they figured out that you and the rest of the JB were tailing Sherah. Luckily, Lendlock and his soldiers were at the bunker when they attacked and were able to hold them off. After which, Lendlock gave the bunker a portal disruptor that is specially made to block Demu portal generators in it's general vicinity.”
“I was one of the few soldiers that remained at the bunker when you and the other general's went off after Sherah, and I was injured by an anti-nano Demu bullet to my chest. The medic's have already gotten the bullet out of my chest cavity and patched me up the best they could while also giving my nanobots a special charge to heal the bullet's lasting effect, but it's going to take at least a few days to fully heal. Anti-nano healing technology is still in it's infancy, but it will probably be fully matured in a year or two with how the technology is going.”
“Wait...” Raphael says, coughing mid-sentence “Marinth called me after Lendlock had delivered the new portal disruptor, but he never said anything about this attack you had just mentioned.... Do you have any idea why?”
“Lendlock's soldier's and tech's were here for quite a while, and if I remember correctly, they were about to leave when the attack occurred. The only reason why Marinth didn't mention it to you is probably because Lendlock was still in the building and it hadn't happened yet.”
Raphael kneels his head and thinks for a second before speaking. “Alright, that answers my first question, but I still have a few more. Can you tell me what happened with the rest of the JB while I was gone?”
“Luckily, I was still conscious when you were being rolled in and I can remember roughly where everyone went. June went to sleep in her room, but Miyra went with her to keep her company in her time of grief.Yen went back to the C&I room to report to Lendlock, and I guess your UHG contact too, about your condition. The rest of your UHG squad left to get some sleep, and Chiot was keeping watch in the infirmary for when Sherah would wake up so that he could give her a briefing on what has happened so far, but I heard him leaving about an hour ago for some reason....”
“Ah, good, that leads straight to my next question. “ Raphael says with a smile. “Since you have basically already told me that Sherah is still in the infirmary, do you have any idea which stall she was put into?”
“I've been here before both you and Sherah we're brought into the infirmary, so I have only a vague recollection of where she could be. Thinking back, I can only guess that she is somewhere to the left of my stall from my direction. The only reason I think that is because I saw you being rolled in, but I only heard Sherah being rolled in and put into one of the stalls.”
Raphael nods his head weakly before saying “Thank you, soldier, I will use the information you have given me wisely. Now I at least have a direction to look towards when it comes to finding Sherah.” Raphael turns around and let's go of his IV stand, his body now having enough blood pumping that he can stand without support. As he leaves through the stall sheets, he says “Good luck in your recovery, soldier.” while waving his hand back to him.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
After leaving the infirmary stall, Raphael continues down each of the stalls, checking one after another for Sherah's stall.
After looking through two more stalls, Raphael looks through a third, and luckily enough, he finds Sherah inside of it. She is still unconscious, breathing slightly through her mouth with an IV patch in her left arm. Since her clothes were torn to shreds during her original possession, the medics have now dressed her in a simple hospital gown to keep her covered up.
While still feeling a little weak, Raphael wanders over to Sherah's bedside and smiles as he looks at her face. “Thank goodness, I did exorcise her....” Raphael thinks to himself as he looks at her in her weakened state.
As Raphael watches her, her eyes suddenly flicker open. She grunts as she attempts to take in the current situation. “Oh God, my head feels like it got hit by the hove of a Ulimaz. Ugh, what the hell happened to me....”
Sherah shakes her head as she rises herself to a sitting position on her bed and rubs her hand over her forehead. “Hey, anybody there? Why am I in this hospital gown and why am I in the infirma-” Sherah cuts herself off as she glances over at Raphael.
Her eye's twitch and tear as she suddenly recalls every single thing that had happened since the beginning to the end of her possession. She remembers everything, how she treated Raphael, how she kidnapped June, how she killed the Guardian, everything....
She attempts to pull her tears back, but it is of no use, her sadness and regret over everything that has happened this week is all coming out at once. She puts her hands to her face and begins rocking back and forth on her bed as her guilt and sorrow reel through every bone in her body.
Raphael looks down at her and feels a little bit of sorrow for Sherah's pain. He knows that half of Sherah's pain is due to him. If he had just been someone that she could respect, or at least if he had made a few better decisions, Sherah's possession may have never happened. He places his hand on her shoulder as she weeps, giving out an attempt at trying to comfort her.
“Oh God, what in all the heavens have I done! It's all my damn fault!” Sherah yells in pain, her emotions too much for her to bear.
“Sherah, it's okay. That person that was taking you over wasn't you, and me and the entire JB understand that. Now please, stop crying, I feel uneasy when a woman weeps....” Raphael says with a weak smile on his face.
“Raphael, Guardian... I'm so sorry, for every-little-thing I've done to you this past week... I don't deserve to be June's protector! I don't even deserve to be in her adoptive family! I've hurt her so much, I've done her such wrong that I can never go back!” Sherah screams out in horror over the week's problems.
Raphael shakes his head in disagreement. He believes that there is still hope. To him, hope exists, no matter what. “No Sherah, you can come back. You have been exorcised, and you're fine from what I can see. If you can just learn to forgive yourself for something that isn't your fault, then you can still stay with the JB. Besides, I think that is what June would want....”
Sherah looks at Raphael with tears dripping down her face. She raises her hand up and touches Raphael's shirt. She feels the holes in his shirt where her claws dug through his chest the night before. “I did this, didn't I? I don't think I can ever come back from injuring you so grievously while also kidnapping June. Even if the lore is true about people that you exorcise can't be possessed again, it still doesn't matter. I don't think I can ever show my face around June ever again....”
Raphael takes Sherah's hand and holds it loosely in his own. “Sherah, you can't be this hard on yourself. You've been June's protector for seven-some years, your Possessor was probably trying to possess you since the Demu had found out about June. That person who kidnapped June and caused the JB such strife wasn't you, it was the Demu who possessed you. And besides, you have to think about what June wants. I may not know much about June, but I know that something happened to her family and that you and me are the only two people that she can really call family. Are you really prepared to leave June alone because of your pride?”
Sherah looks between Raphael's face and her hand two times and then pulls her hand away from his grasp. She wipes her tears away with left hand while saying “I... I'm sorry. You're completely right, Guardian. June needs me as much as she needs you and her family back.... I need to stay strong for the Key, for June. She needs her family back, but if they are already gone, then she needs us even more. I'll stay with the JB, but only if June wants me to.”
“By the way, Sherah, I never got a large amount of info on exactly who you and June are. All I know about June is her ancestor's history and that she was on some kind of far-off world and apparently something happened to her family and she got orphaned. Do you mind giving out some information?” Raphael asks Sherah while bracing back his hair.
Sherah thinks for a second about whether she should divulge information about June to Raphael or if she should leave June's personal history up to June herself. With a sigh, she says “I think that you should ask June herself about her history, since I think she would phrase it the best.”
“As for me, I'll tell you everything. I'm a human from a world called Terrasion. On that world are humans, Muls, and Packas. Well, they're the intelligent, large empire-like races. I come from a group of special humans that live on Terrasion's moon, Terax. That group of people are called Hummers by the UMA. We're known for having the best humming tone out of anyone in our galaxy. Prodigy Hummers are given a special tattoo on their cheek to express their social standing, which is what I have.” Sherah points to the tattoo of a tribal phoenix on her left cheek.
“Ah, that does clear up why I thought your humming was so good a few days ago. Why did you decide to join the UMA and how did you become June's protector?” Raphael asks.
“I enlisted in the UMA when I was nineteen-years-old and served in active duty field combat against the Demu for about four years. Apparently I was really adaptive to the combat situations and I already knew that I was a quick learner, so when June showed up, the UMA gathered together a relatively large group of fighters for June to pick out of as her protector. I guess she took a liking to me and I've been her bodyguard and only family for seven of your planet's years. Most Hummers are usually signed up by the UMA to be motivational supporters off-field for the soldiers. I, on the other hand, was allowed to pick a more active military career out on the field. I still don't know why June chose me over all of the other candidates. They were all a lot more suited to protecting her then I am.”
Sherah sighs and let's her expression sink before she continues to speak. “Raphael, I need you to promise me something.”
Raphael gives Sherah a happy smile and says “Please Sherah, by all means, what do you need?”
“If I am ever to fall on the battlefield, please, I'm begging you with all my heart, please defend June with everything you have. You would be the only family that she has left if I die....”
Although the thought of Sherah losing her life does weigh heavily on Raphael's heart after the events that had happened during the last few days, Raphael smiles weakly and nods his head.
“Hey... Hey! Who's in Sherah's stall?” says a voice further down towards the entrance of the infirmary. Both Raphael and Sherah recognize the voice immediately as that of Chiot's.
Raphael puts his index finger to his lips and makes a shushing sound before saying “Don't say a word, I think I'm going ta surprise him.” before walking over to a chair next to Sherah's bed and sitting down on it with one of his leg's on top of the other.
Chiot opens the stall shades in a rush. “Who's in-” Chiot says, stopping only when he sees Raphael sitting on a chair across from him. “K-Kid, is that you...? But your supposed to be....”
Raphael chuckles under his breath for a second before responding to Chiot's skepticism. “Don't worry about that Chiot, June's magic brought me back to the world of the living. Besides, I have a lot more work to do, no damn time for me to be dead. Other than that, Sherah has told me that she is willing to continue working in the organization as long as June agrees that she can stay. Now please, Chiot, do you mind making everyone aware that I'm alive again and have them meet me in the C&I room. I think I'm going to have a speech to get everyone's spirit back up after the last few day's events.”
Although Chiot is still a little dumbfounded over the fact that Raphael is alive again, he nods his head and proceeds out of the infirmary stall. Raphael snickers and looks over to Sherah. “Do you think you can stand?” he asks her.
“Yeah, my legs seem workable enough. What do you need me to do?” Sherah asks while giving her leg's a small shake.
“I'm going to need you to go and get Miyra and June and tell them to meet me at the cafeteria. I still have a few questions I need to ask them before the meeting. After which, I need you to go to the C&I room and await my arrival for the meeting. Oh, and you should get changed first too. A hospital gown doesn't exactly suite you well.”
Sherah gives Raphael a firm nod before getting up from her bed. Raphael stops her before she leaves her stall and says “By the way, Sherah, It's great to have you back to normal.” Sherah smiles back at him and then leaves the infirmary stall.
With a smile on his face, Raphael lifts himself out of his seat and walks out of the stall after Sherah. “Heh, this is the start of something really big, I can just feel it. This won't end with just Sentient Society, it's going to go way further than that.”
“Now that I think about it, the people from Chronicles of the Sky-brim Sword could probably use some help, I suppose I can jump in and help them out as well.” Raphael thinks as he exits the stall.
He snickers to himself about actually meeting the members of Sentient Society and Sky-brim Sword. The fact that they may all be in need of his help makes him feel like even more of a hero. Combine that with that mysterious girl that he saw appear out of thin air during the UHG registration that he wants to figure out about at some point, and his life really has become something out of a video game.
With pride in his heart over what awaits him next, Raphael exits the infirmary, making his way to the cafeteria