A DAY LATER

Nothing much has changed since Javik woke up and Samael revealed the Reapers. Of course, you could see tension on the faces of everyone in the crew, but they knew their capabilities and knew that there was nothing they could do at the moment.

After all, the Reapers weren't an immediate threat. According to the data they had and what Javik said, they had at least a decade or so.

But the atmosphere was different from before. It was normal to react like that, but they were also calm, given the situation. For what's worth, the crew was reacting quite normally to the news that a species made of killing machines, which had already decimated countless cycles before, was coming for them.

They believed Samael because of what he had accomplished so far in life, and they also trusted him enough to know he had some kind of plan. He was always one step ahead of everyone, and they maintained hope that this was the case now too.

So, with nothing but time to prepare for what was coming, they decided to leave things up to fate.

--

' This is better than in other cycles.'

Samael has just woken up and is going around greeting everyone. He was referring to the fact that they were acting 'normal' after revealing the Reapers.

More often than not, in other cycles, no one believed him first, only after Sovereign arrived. Then they suddenly trusted him. But, by then, it was too late to prepare for the full scale of the Reapers invasion, and the galaxy lost a few times thanks to that.

'Well, I'm glad this is the case for my final cycle.'

In the majority of the cycles they believe him, things happened in a way they had a better fighting chance and they won.

Samael hoped this was the case in this last cycle of his.

He was now making his way to Miranda, as he knew the prideful girl must have been shocked by the first encounter she had with Javik yesterday.

' They were 3 vs. 1 against a fossil and still lost. She must be quite down.'

Just in time, Samael arrived at the sleeping quarters and made his way to Miranda's room.

He knocked on her door, '' Miranda? It's me, Samael. Can we talk?''

And a few seconds later, someone needed it.

Samael was surprised to see John and Veronica inside. He joked, ''Did I miss a party or something?''

''Haha, not funny. Enter.'' Miranda let Samael enter her room, closed the door, and sat on her bed with a pensive look on her face.

Samael noted the mood in the room was bad and knew he was right on his assumption. Miranda, along with Veronica and John, weren't taking their defeat that well.

So, like the good therapist that he wasn't, Samael sat on the floor and sighed, '' OK, I'll act like a wise old man now. Tell me what's on your mind.''

Miranda looked at Jonh and Veronica, who nodded. Sighing, she started talking. '' We thought we were good enough to face everything and everyone in the galaxy throw at us. Yesterday, we woke up from our delusion.''

The trio in the room sighed in unison.

Samael thought for a while and knew their 'arrogance' was just overconfidence. Think about it, the majority of them have been trained since childhood, except for John, who started late. They could and should be proud of what they've accomplished so far in life, it's just that there's always a bigger fish out there.

Miranda was raised to be one of the best of the best, but she still lost. Veronica was personally trained by Samael, who was one of the best fighters across the galaxy. Both together were quite deadly, and adding John, who could help here and there, they were a force to be reckoned with.

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And they still lost.

It was normal that they were a little depressed, even more so because they were literally lost to a fossil that had just woken up.

Looking at the gloomy trio, Samael saw in them him in his past cycles.

He was desperate for things to not be true while wanting to work hard to not let that happen again, only to not know how to do that.

Samael knew he had to give them a pep talk, as he wanted others to do for him in the past, but no one did.

So, he started talking.

'' What do you think being strong means?''

The trio looked up at him, puzzled by the question. But Miranda answered nonetheless, '' Capable of winning against any kind of person.''

Samael said nothing and looked at the other two.

'' Having strength.''

'' Experience.''

Samael nodded. ''So, are you strong?''

That made the trio pause. They began to think about what they had accomplished so far in life, their powers, and their experiences. In the end, they were sure that they were strong, even if little.

When the trio nodded, Samael asked, ''Then, why did you lose?''

Before they could say anything or interrupt him, Samael continued, '' Everyone is convinced they are strong, until someone above their level shows them reality. That was what happened to the trio of you.''

'' Javik is a special case. He was made to be the last hope of an entire race, to fight against impossible odds. While they had hope, he was also their weapon for revenge in case they lost. Say, do you really think he would be stronger than any of you?''

They thought about it for a while and hesitantly nodded their heads. They didn't know much about Prothean culture, but they knew they were battle-oriented. If a Prothean was made just for one reason and that reason only being war or fighting... he was really strong.

The trio started to have a realization based on Samael's words.

Samael saw that and continued talking, hoping it could help them.

''I could also defeat the 3 of you at any moment now, as even though you have the potential to become the best, you aren't there yet. Now, if you train for a few years, do you think I could defeat you easily in the future?'

They shook their heads. While they still didn't think they could defeat him that easily, they knew they would be stronger tomorrow than they were today.

'' So, don't let things get to your head. You are strong—stronger than most. But there are also stronger people than you and me scattered across the galaxy.''

Samael smiled a little, thinking about how a handful of people were his match.

'' Train hard, live well. This is not the last time yo-we will experience defeat. We are lucky Javik was normal, but our future opponents might not be. If you live and fight with everything you have and survive, then you will have the qualification to be called strong.''

It was a pep talk to the trio, but it also reaffirmed Samael's conviction.

He was weak, extremely so, in the face of the reapers. But, so what?

He, a weak person, defeated them more times than they defeated him. So, that made him strong in his own right.

Samael wanted the trio to have an easy mind about losing.

It seems to have worked, as their faces lit up. Samael also said,'' Do you want to get stronger than you are now?''

The trio did not hesitate and nodded.

'' Good. I'll ramp up Veronica's training while also training John personally.''

Samael then looked at Miranda. ''I don't have biotic powers, but don't we just meet a good teacher from you?''

Miranda hesitated and said, ''Javik?''

She knew it was him, but she still asked.

Samael nodded. '' He will teach you. He knows what the Reapers are capable of, and training people to face them is normal.''

It was true, as the Prothean did train him in past cycles.

Samuel knew the talk was over and got up. He would leave them to absorb what he said.

'' The personal training will start today. I'll just say hi to Javik, then meet you both at the gym. I'll also talk to him about you. Oh, if you want to train with me too, feel free to come.''

He said that last part to Miranda.

The trio looked at him with gratitude, as he really didn't need to go out of his way to lift up their spirits, but still did.

'' Thank you for everything. ''

The trio thanked him, as the pep talk worked and they recovered, even if little, from their defeat yesterday. It wasn't that surprising, as he really was wise for his age.

'' Don't mention it.''

Samael exited the room and went to the hospital to talk to Javik.

--

Arriving at the infirmary soon after, Samael noted Javik was already up, and Claire was doing some exams on him. He waited until she stooped to announce his presence.

'' Good day to you both. How's everything? ''

The Prothean and the doctor looked at him, but Claire spoke first, '' His exams are ok if you consider he was in cryosleep for 50.000 years. Other than that, there are no unknown bacteria or diseases. He only needs to rest a little bit more and should be back to full strength.''

While Claire was talking, Javik was staring at Samael intensely.

After thanking the doctor, Samael said, '' Can you leave us alone for a moment? I want to talk to him privately.''

'' Sure. Just let me know if something happens to him.''

Claire then left the infirmary, leaving only the Prothean and Samael inside.

In other cycles, Samael let Shepard do the talking and only watched from afar, hearing the content of the talk later. But now he was going to speak with the alien first and a lot sooner.

He was excited to see how things would change across the galaxy thanks to his decision.