Big Reveal Part 2 - Grief.

[cityship]

The conversation between the bridge crew, Stacy, and the Admiral is broadcasted where the rest of the crew is in the MedBay, and gathered right outside. Even in the bridge itself, the sound echoes over the monitors so that anyone resistant to psionics can hear Elfangor's side of the conversation.

They have now been told why they were brought to the ship.

Their worlds are gone, destroyed by the Ohm. They are refugees in an unforgiving Omniverse.

Transmigration 9 is an ark.

While Stacy is partially restored, including her core personality (which is far more personable), she is still severely damaged, and running on automatic somewhat. Until the ship can be repaired, podpops will keep occuring and they will be forced to go on missions to undo the damage the Ohm have wrought to the Omniverse. The threat of the being in Escherville is still a threat, one with no immediate solutions.

But they have allies out there, they have an AI watching over them, they have the smallest glinting traces of hope. Their loved ones are (hopefully) on board, and even beyond that, there is may be a chance, however small, of restoring their home universes.

Stacy broadcasts to the entire ship when it's all over, when all has been revealed.

||The bodies of the individuals that died today are being prepared for funeral services. A list of their names will be made available, though I can assure you that none are individuals any of you know. The funeral will be on Obs Deck in several days, and will be announced.||

||Those that wish to have their memories of their rescues restored, as proof their worlds are gone, will have a chance to request this after the services, but without grief counselors on board, I strongly recommend against it.||

||In the meantime, all of us must heal and recover from our ordeal. New areas of the ship have been made available, such as the Crew Lounge, and I have opened up the Crew Quarters for use, and cleared out the belongings of--||

Here she falters, sadness creeping into her voice.

||--of my original crew, so that all of you may sleep more comfortably. These quarters fit two people to a room, and have actual beds and sonic showers. Dining will still be provided in the Mess Hall, with periodic days of real food in the Lounge--they must be spaced out until my food stores are replenished with fresh food products.||

After a moment of thought she says: ||And because I think you've suffered enough, fornicative activities are now allowed--however, both parties must stop by the Medbay for a Contraceptive shot or this will not be allowed. These shots will provide protection for six months and do not protect against venereal disease, but all of you, barring several individuals with certain conditions--|| Like those, say, infected with zombie viruses, Steve ||--are currently disease-free.||

||The ship is now open, and the bridge team can relocate back to the Living Areas. The doors will remain open after they leave the bridge. I must now engage in heavy repairs. My AI will not be quite as available as usual. Please, take time to grieve, rest, and have your wounds treated. We will discuss more when everyone has recovered from this ordeal.||

Comments

The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[cityship]

They have a lot to...to react to.

And a body to move.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She out a hand to her mouth, any effort to still the feelings inside tossed aside by the reality that she hadn't been put here because she was on vacation. Suddenly the traces of motherliness that Katara had felt when she first come on the ship was made clear. Stacy was motherly for a reason: they had lost everything, and she had taken them here to try and grasp something of a life they no longer had available to them anymore. The tears came, and Katara wished there was a place to run, to get away from all of this. Instead, she was going to have to deal with her team seeing her close to losing it.

She stood up quickly, and started to walk...where? It wasn't as if there were any place for her, but here, and what was the point of saying anything? All of the things that had been important to her in the past few hours were gone now, and she could only stare at the screen in disbelief.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[hunters-luck.livejournal.com]

There was a long moment where Mara's mind went blank. All of it? The entire galaxy that she had roamed about, all of the faces she had seen? This was far beyond anything that had been unleashed by the Emperor. What was a planet or two compared to entire universes?

It was like a weight on her chest as she thought of comrades that she wasn't going to see again. A pressure that made it hard to breathe as she glanced around the motely group that had stormed the bridge, all practically strangers to her. Almost all, anyway. There was one familiar face in the crowd.

Grief was rising all around her, and she shut her senses down, pulling her presence in as tightly as she could manage. She didn't want to drown in this.

[grayaura.livejournal.com]

For once, Mai's impassive face flickered with emotion as she realized that everything she knew was just... gone. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to imagine that such a thing could be true, but why would they lie about that? Why would anyone lie about the destruction of so many worlds? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force back the stinging sensation and the tightness in her throat. She didn't cry. She wasn't going to cry.

She couldn't help but remember her family - as much as she'd loathed what her parents had made her do, she'd still cared for them. She'd still cared for her brother - the thought of never seeing them again, of never seeing home again struck her like a sledgehammer. She turned away, not wanting to listen, not wanting to hear. She strode after Katara, hands clenched into fists, calling back to the group.

"...Zuko."

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[morphitudinous]

Nothing remained of their worlds.

It took Billy's mind a few moments to work through the ramifications of that knowledge. He'd long believed he and the others were pawns in an alien experiment, and that their lives would return to normal once the ships' controls were theirs.

Now he understood that there was no home to return to. Angel Grove no longer existed. His lab in the garage, the Juice Bar, the park, the high school, and the Command Center were nothing but cosmic dust. Even the stars he'd studied with a telescope as a child and hoped to visit someday had blacked out.

Sure, he'd been assured that the Rangers and their families still lived in podsleep, but the everyday people of his world had perished. Ernie, his teachers, Bulk and Skull---they were in all likelihood gone, but because he'd invented a few gadgets and smacked some putties around he'd been judged worthy of salvation. It's bitterly ironic---the Power Rangers are charged with saving the world, but when the world falls only the Power Rangers are saved.

That was the hardest part of the revelation for Billy to swallow: that he was one of the lucky few. Countless worlds that had not produced great stories were entirely erased from existence by the Ohm.

It was enough to make a person want to cry, but the tears wouldn't come this time. Instead, he remained curled in a ball on the floor.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[staturity]

"No! It's not true! It can't be true!"

Her world, the other worlds, her friends, maybe her family, they couldn't all be dead! Her mother, Blake- had Stacy grabbed them in time? And her aunt and uncle... Oh God, they were dead. They were- worse than dead, did they even exist in whatever afterlife there might be? Might have been?

The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, how many of the others had Stacy grabbed?

And... and all those people... She'd become a hero to protect them. All the people she'd saved since becoming Stature, trying to save lives, it was all for nothing? She'd saved them only for them to be...

Cassie fell to her knees and wept.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[static-shock68.livejournal.com]

Static was empty. He was sad, he'd lost everrything personally. He was stricken with greif, all those innocent people he'd tried to help were gone. He was angry, he'd managed to get saved when other weren't. It was all there, but buried, like it was under a sheet of ice. He was empty and numb.

But he could work with that.

"No home but the one we make, huh?" He said, groaning as he got up off the floor. "Guess that means it's time to get back to work." There were no jokes in his voice; his usual light tone was gone, hollow. He was forcing himself to square his shoulders, to try and be an example.

"Stacy, tell me where you want me to help with your repairs. I may not be the best with the sciences, but I'm pretty good with engineering. I'll help you wherever I can."

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[redeyes_andblue]

Sheik was more stunned than anything else. He held little draw to Hyrule - yes, it had been his home for more than four hundred years, but it was his home only through familiarity. If they had brought heroes, then Link would be here. Zelda already was here. He didn't need anyone else - perhaps the grief would set in later, but now he just felt shocked.

No, the tears that were starting to roll down his cheeks belonged to Zelda.

[I couldn't save them...]

[There was nothing you could do.]

[I should have been able to... I should have at least tried... Sheik, they were my people. It was my duty.]

He sighed minutely, thinking thoughts of quiet and calm and peace - his version of a mental hug. [Simply because it was your duty doesn't mean you had to succeed. You could order me to walk across the surface of Lake Hylia and I would still sink.]

Zelda's grief was raw, though - Sheik's hands, through her doing, were balled in to fists, nails digging in to his palms. There were still tears running down his otherwise blank face - he could try to comfort her, but he couldn't stop her from crying.

[We do not recall being taken,] he continued, trying to reassure her. [I have no doubt that you tried everything possible. And... Link may be on board. We have not yet lost entirely.]

[So might Ganondorf,] she pointed out, subdued.

...He hadn't thought of that. [Then,] he suggested gently, [I suggest we continue to exercise discretion.]

She agreed softly, too worn out to argue.

Then there was just silence.

[What... what now?]

[I don't know.]

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[thehollycopter.livejournal.com]

At first, Holly only felt numb. Then, a surge of anger ran through her. Needing something to take it out on, she punched one of the walls. Everything was... gone. Haven, gone. Ireland, gone. The Earth, gone. Artemis, gone. The People - her people - gone. Even if a few more got picked up by Stacy, she was pretty much the last of her people.

She leaned against the wall and silently cried.

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[worm-dancer.livejournal.com]

Sheeana, as is usual does the unexpected.

Standing and looking at the rent in the hull, she laughs. It is a long, hearty laugh. It is not someone cracking from the strain.

I knew it! There was a reason for all of this! All of it, the death of my village, the Honored Matre invasion, the burning of Rakis, and especially Duncan's decision to steal the no-ship...Oh, Tyrant, did you foresee all this too? Is that why you came with me?

...

We have our Dune revenants in you, Tyrant, and between me and Arha we have the memory-lives of most of our order. This is not a death.

This is a rebirth.

She leans over a busted console with an expression of disturbing triumph.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani...

Dani's grief for Brainiac 5 was not overcome by this new grief. She only really knew three people from her world. And they were amazing people. There was Danny, Vlad, who were arch nemesis and the only two halfas in the world aside from herself. Then there was Valerie, who knew enough about Danny that she was ready to risk her escaping when Vlad ordered her capture to get him. And she was an amazing fighter. So surely they were both probably on board.

Not that she was sure she wanted Vlad to be on board or not. It was...so hard to tell.

So, no, her biggest grief was for Brainy. She felt horrified a race could kill so many, but it was all so...detached from her.

But she didn't think that was the case for Danny. "Danny?" She said, her voice hoarse from her sobbing earlier, looking up at her cousin worriedly.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"No! NO! It can't--! There has to be some way of--" Sokka tried to find the words, couldn't make his brain grasp them. It was gone, all gone. Dad. The village. Suki. The feeling hit him like a charging mooselion, physically rocking him back. Gone. Everything gone. He turned, trailing after Katara, unsure of what to do now, what to say.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[escapednothlit.livejournal.com]

The screen was off and Elfangor turned to Picard. < My apologies, sir, for taking charge like that when it should have been you. It's a habit. > Because his people were perfectly willing to let him step in because he scared a lot of the Yeerks. < I will try not to do so in the future. > His tone was very formal, very professional. Like how he had been talking to the aliens. < Excuse me. >

And now he went to find his brother and son, his posture slumped for an Andalite as he let the shock and horror affect him. Their universe, his worlds...they were all gone. He had most of his family, so it seemed those word were true, but...how much was there?

His parents? Loren's family? All of their friends? Who was deemed close enough to try and save. < Tobias? Aximili? > He called out privately, his tone no longer having that formal, in charge tone. No, they could hear it. He was feeling that crushing despair.

He had done so much to try and save their universe from evil and it all still ended up like this.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[gangstageek.livejournal.com]

Ever seen a ninja fall to his knees? If no, people can say yes now.

Sean had done just that when the news finally hit him completely. There was a delay from the shock, but after that? He was on the ground, staring at the screen that aliens had been in horror. His universe...?

His brother was here. He had been taken. And so had he. Did that...did that mean their parents were too? What about Gordito? The few friends he had made? Were they here?

To think they might not be...it scared him. Especially his parents and Gordito. Gordito, the one who knew the truth about him, the first real friend he had. One he didn't have to hide in front of. And then his parents. He had been trying to get their approval so long, deceiving them so long to get it...

And they might be gone.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[wolf-that-grins.livejournal.com]

Wags had known for years that no matter what happened during the Apocalypse, his world was pretty much screwed. He had made his peace with that at roughly the same time. But this... Earth hadn't even had a fighting chance.

"FUCK!"

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[top-teen-38.livejournal.com]

Slobo was rocked. That's the easiest way to say it. First his life, now his universe. The people he had gone through the hell for.

... Not all of them.

"Aww... frell..." He said as he slunk, head bowed and shoulders sunk, towards Kon and Bart. Heavy with the new knowledge, he couldn't even bear to look them in the eyes.

"Impulse, I'm sorry 'bout yer secret ID..." Then he turned, still looking down, and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Kon... I let it get personal. I was a jerk." He laughed half-heartedly. "Ya should be used ta it by now... I ain't adjustin' ta this well, still workin' through... stuff..." He finally looked up, something looking suspiciously like a tear falling from his face and hitting the ground.

"She... They..." He sniffed loudly, feeling lower than when he had first been "born". He wanted to break down, wanted to say things he usually wouldn't. But the words were choking him until he found a way to get something out.

"My bike's really gone, ain't it?"

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[gogopowersuit.livejournal.com]

When your purpose in life is to protect a galaxy that no longer exists, what do you do? Samus' entire life had been centered around being a warrior, being a protector, for the good of that galaxy. Those closest to her had all sacrificed themselves for that purpose, to aid Samus in keeping the balance in her world.

What were their sacrifices for if that purpose was gone? The galaxy was gone. It was all gone.

Samus was silent. A cold, hard exterior was perfect for masking emotions.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[imperious_lex]

Lex was surrounded by idiots. Between the people who originally kidnapped them and the pirates, he long since figured the pirates were the lesser of two evils. And now they've gone and exposed them to the former.

What was with these people and walking headfirst into traps?

He wasn't sure if the Admiral was lying to them, but he was damn sure that he wasn't telling the whole truth. Someone was running a game on them, and these people were too short-sighted to see it. But he was going to find out.

"Release me." No, he's not asking, he's ordering. He has important things to do.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

Allen is - as usual - thinking.

He stands for a long time, eyes trained on the ground, expression altogether blank - no sadness, no horror, no . . . nothing. Because if he allowed himself an emotional response, it would that much more difficult to think clearly, and that is not a difficulty he needs right now.

For all intents and purposes - if they have the truth - this is home now. And as he suspected, his family is probably on board.

The future they had planned for themselves - that's been altered.

Well. Did he ever really expect to have a normal life? No, he did not.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[forced-unlife.livejournal.com]

"They took me," he said softly, more to himself than anything. "Of all the souls in my world of value, they took the one who sought death. Desired it." It was like a cruel joke to Khel, letting him believe that he had at last found a way to seek out his end, and thus, his atonement. Instead, he was now told that they had stolen him from the end.

He now knew the truth. His prayers had been answered, after all. Tyr had left him. Khel no'Gran would never be allowed to die.

He was now simply The Bone Lord.

[deadpan-shifter.livejournal.com]

Caden watches blankly as everyone around him freezes, bursts into tears, falls completely silent, pulls a blank face on to cover up their shattered hearts. He is trying to define the odd... swelling he felt upon hearing that his entire Universe is gone.

It's... relief.

Relief that he doesn't have to worry about it anymore. That there isn't a family to be concerned about, that there isn't a novel to write or a job to go to, or any other petty concern of daily life. But mostly, he is relieved that Wyn, his Wyn, the Wyn that had gone insane and started weaving plans to take over the world is gone along with the rest of them. He is relieved that he doesn't have to look for her anymore, because he knows exactly where she is - where the only Gwydion Callahan in the entire Omniverse is.

He knows where she is, and as he reaches out to crush her in another too-tight hug, a grin the like of which he hasn't allowed himself in several months stretches his face to breaking point.

"You're alive. Thank God, you're alive," he says, continuing to squeeze the breath out of her, trying his hardest not to laugh with a mixture of shock and ecstasy.

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

Kelly was staying close to Chief. She'd just found out that their entire universe had been destroyed. Planets they'd fought so hard to protect. Planets they'd lost brothers and sisters to protect. It was almost too much to handle at this point, that they could be the last ones left. She didn't want to think about it. Didn't know what to do. In the midst of the battle, she didn't need to think, her body just moved.

But for now, the fight was over. And for all intents and purposes, they'd just found out that the fight they'd spent their lives in had been for nothing. Still standing next to John, she reached up to take her helmet off. The armor was like a second skin, but right now, it seemed stifling. Pulling the helmet off, she ran a hand through her hair, lowering herself slowly to rest against a wall.

"Well !@(#..."

Re: The Bridge Team -- Reactions

[doctor-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Jean stood toward the back fo the group with a lowered head. She didn't want to believe what she'd just heard. She didn't want to believe that everyone from her universe was gone. Just not there any longer. If Scott and the other X-Men weren't in one of the pods... There just... She shook her head, and reached up, wiping a tear from her cheek.

How was this right? How could something like this have been allowed to happen? She had so many questions, and yet... She wasn't even sure if there were any answers for her.

She swallowed, not bothering to lift her head and leaned back against the wall and just allowed the tears she'd been fighting against since she'd awoken to this place to fall freely.

The Medbay -- Reactions

[cityship]

The people in the Medbay have a lot to think about now. There are still injured people to treat and they might want to offer some comfort to each other after what they've just found out.

Re: The Medbay -- Reactions

[venominsilicon.livejournal.com]

Even for Gauron, this takes a few minutes to process. Up until now, this has all been a game to him; he'd play around here for a while, but when he got tired of it, he'd go back to his world, and run the suicide mission he'd been planning - go out in a blaze of glory, and, if all went according to plan, take Kashim down with him. Even if the boy mercenary had never been his in life, Gauron was determined to have him in death.

Now, though, it's a lot more real.

And when the reality sets in - that his world was gone, and he, who was planning to die, is one of very few who survived - it is f***ing hilarious. He laughs - not that loudly, but it's still a harsh, almost psychotic sound. Somehow, he's cheated death again, when he least expected to. This is way more awesome than the time he survived a headshot. And knowing that his girls are probably here, safe somewhere in the pod cavern, makes it that much more hilarious. That they would save someone like him, and bring the Xia twins with him, is a joke; he's irresponsible, capricious, self-serving, amoral, and dangerous; he's the fangs - the venom - and the girls are his claws.

Stragglers -- Reactions

[cityship]

Some people aren't on the bridge or in the Med Bay, but Stacy's everywhere. So is the information.

Stragglers -- Reactions: Rooftop

[imma-frog.livejournal.com]

Everything was… gone? All his friends? All of… all of Earth? How could that be? How could everyone be gone but him and possibly those in the pods? It just didn’t seem right.

Or fair.

Adam’s brows furrowed, tears welling in his eyes as the rest of the conversation was drowning out by the roaring of the blood rushing to his head. He fell to his knees, his suit demorphing so that he remained in his damaged plantsuit. His shoulder was scraped badly, bleeding and raw, and a couple ribs had cracked on his right side. He winced as his breathing accelerated, an arm curling around himself. He fought the tears, he really did. But it was no use, it seemed, they fell down his face and he didn’t even try to stop them.

He was all alone on that rooftop, making sure every last zombie was gone while everyone fled to safety, then the power of Stacy destroyed the rest. Adam was left alone, amidst the ruins of undead bodies and damaged building. But he didn’t even notice it anymore.

Adam felt as though his life had just taken a turn for the worse. Why was it that he, a Power Ranger, was one of the saved and not the citizens of Earth? It was irony. Bad, horrible irony. The saviors were the saved, and that was all she wrote.

A sob painfully wracked his body and he covered his face with his hands, falling deeper into his ball and letting out all the anguish in his heart, all the fear from the battle, and all anger at himself for not being able to do more. He was left exhausted, broken in more ways than one, and mentally blank. For a long while, after the footsteps of below were gone, long gone, and all that was left was the silence of the city, Adam laid there. He didn’t do anything but stay there, blank and emotionless.

Then, he remembered something. Or rather, someone.

Billy.