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Kai

Kai stared dispassionately into space as one of the healers wrapped a bandage around his arm. He had a gunshot wound there, among others. The infirmary was more packed than Kai had ever seen it. This was possibly the greatest influx of patients they've ever had. It was amazing really, how many wounded they had stuffed in here. They'd even had to set up a temporary second infirmary to deal with them all. As he studied the patients lying, groaning in pain as they lay on sheets grotesquely coloured with their own blood, Kai didn't really know why he was so surprised.

He saw the battle. He was in the middle of it. He'd seen his comrades, people he'd known for years, falling to the ground all around him, their eyes glassy and lifeless. These were people he'd trained with, argued with and laughed with. And now they wouldn't see the light of another day. And if the number of prodigies stuffed into the infirmary was shocking… well. It had nothing on the number of people due for burial. Practically every soldier in the Lunar army was a highly trained killing machine. Great skies, most of them were specifically made to be killing machines! As absurd as it was, all of the prodigies stuck in the infirmary were actually the lucky ones, the relatively small portion that Levana's soldiers didn't take out with one hit.

Kai glanced down at the fresh bandage on his arm, already beginning to soak through with red, and snorted. He sure didn't feel lucky.

He looked around the infirmary. He could spot a few of his friends around. Iko was in the corner, studying the stitches running up her side with disgust. Thorne was only a few beds away from Kai, with his hand wrapped in a thick layer of bandages. He hadn't made a single joke since he'd arrived and kept glancing nervously at the door to the ER. Kai wasn't sure why and was honestly afraid to ask. Scarlet was near the entrance, arms crossed and glaring at everyone that came near her. Kai looked at these people, his teammates, and couldn't help but notice the absences of a few.

Jacin and Winter weren't here. He thought he heard that Winter was being kept in solitary confinement or something, and knowing Jacin, he was probably sticking to her side like glue. Cress wasn't here. He could only hope that she was recovering in the other infirmary but, well, Cress wasn't a warrior. Wolf was also absent, though Kai was seriously starting to question whether or not he even counted anymore. The last time he saw Wolf, he was trying to tear Iko and Cinder to shreds!

Cinder… why did his thoughts always circle back to Cinder? Always wondering where she was at the moment, hoping she was okay, thinking about what he would say to her next time he saw her…

Thinking about who she really was.

Kai would never forget the sensation of someone grabbing a hold of his mind, pulling at his thoughts and feelings like a master puppeteer. And he would never forget the feeling of those strings being seized and tugged in a very disorienting game of tug-of-war, two forces both vying for control of his brain. And then, all of a sudden, the game stopped. His head was his again, all his. He could think his own thoughts, without having to worry about anyone pulling the metaphorical strings.

Unfortunately, thinking his own thoughts meant he could fully comprehend what was happening. He could see and understand Cinder and Levana's conversation. He could figure out what they were talking about, what had just happened to his brain. Cinder had mentioned once to him that she was developing a new power. He never thought it was that kind of power. He never stopped to consider, even for a moment, what Cinder, what his teammate, what his friend, might really be. If he had, maybe it would've hurt less.

"If any of you are overplaying your injuries for sympathy, I will personally ensure your wounds are addressed with a salve that will cause a very, very nasty sting." A familiar voice grumbled from the entrance.

Kai's head snapped up, and his lips quirked into an involuntary smile at the familiar sight of Dr Erland, glaring at the patients resting on their cots.

"You all know how short-handed we are." he continued, "By the powers, the only reason I'm treating you lot instead of working down in the labs is because so many of you are taking up so much space. So, let's get you all patched up already and start sending you out of here so some of us can get back to our regularly scheduled work, alright?"

No-one replied, and Kai had to bite back a chuckle. Dr Erland had never been too fussed about his bedside manner.

The old scientist was completely unsympathetic. His definition of "okay" was someone who could go about daily activities without risking their lives. He would go over to the patient's bed, give them a once over, ask them a few questions, and then chances are would send them out of the infirmary, pretending he didn't notice their slight limp or the way they kept rubbing the back of their hand. By the time he got to Kai, five Rampions, including Scarlet, had been discharged. Scarlet had been rather loudly relieved about that.

Dr Erland scowled as he looked Kai up and down. "Alright, what are you in for?"

"I have a gunshot wound in my arm, a bite on my shoulder, a sprained ankle and a couple broken toes."

"Someone got off easy."

"We all got off easy." Kai said bitterly, "We didn't die."

Dr Erland rolled his eyes. "Spare me the dramatics. Alright, let's see how bad it all is." He removed the dressing on Kai's shoulder to look at the bite marks. Every time Kai saw them, he thanked his lucky stars that the wolf soldier missed his neck.

"Do you know how the rest of my team is?" Kai asked tentatively, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Dr Erland sighed. "Well, Red Comet only had a couple of bruised ribs and a few broken bones, so I let her out. Captain went and got two of his fingers blown off. Android, according to her report, got torn up pretty badly, but she'll survive. 1-0..." he swallowed, "1-0 received a major stab-wound to the stomach. She's currently being held in the ER."

So that's why Thorne keeps looking at the ER. Kai thought, glancing at the former thief. He'd always been protective of Cress and must have heard about what happened to her. Probably blamed himself too for not being around to protect her. Kai would definitely have to have a talk with him later.

"Soul Blood has retained some serious mental trauma through unknown circumstances," Dr Erland continued, "and Guard refuses to leave her side. His injuries are comparatively minor. Mechanic has a couple of stab wounds, but nothing too serious. She's in a meeting now with The Council if I'm not mistaken."

"Can't imagine why." Kai muttered bitterly.

Dr Erland paused in his inspection of the bite wound to give Kai a confused look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh, she's a Lunar!" Kai snapped, "She's literally related to Levana! They have the same powers and everything!"

It was almost impressive how quickly Dr Erland switched from looking confused to exasperated. "Oh for all the powers, you don't seriously believe that?"

Kai threw his hands up in the air. "What else am I supposed to believe?"

Dr Erland shook his head, sighing in frustration. "Honestly, what was The Council thinking, hiring teenagers. I have better things to do than dealing with all your ridiculous angst."

"It's not angst!"
"You just found out that your teammate has the power to control minds. A power, I might add, that she used to keep you safe from The Queen's mind control. And you're acting like she's suddenly a complete villain despite the fact that she fought on your side during the battle and was actually the one to kill The Queen. Yet you're still branding her as the enemy. How is that not angst?"

"The Blackburns' mind control power is able to manipulate thoughts and feelings themselves." Kai reminded him, "Sorry that I'm finding it a little hard to trust someone who can change the way I think-"

"She didn't manipulate you into having a crush on her Diplomat." The scientist said suddenly (and a little irritably).

Kai tried his best to look confused, even as he felt his cheeks warming up. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dr Erland snorted. "Oh please, it's glaring obvious, even to me. And she didn't make you feel that way. She didn't even know she could manipulate people when you began to feel that way, and she only began training with her new power about a month after she joined up. I know, I was the one who oversaw her training sessions."

"You did what?" Kai shouted, drawing more than a few weird looks from the other patients.

Dr Erland rolled his eyes. "Oh don't get so worked up, would you rather she completely neglected her power and was slowly driven insane?"
Kai stared at him, wide-eyed with shock, struck speechless by the simple statement.

Dr Erland grunted with satisfaction. "I thought so. And let me tell you, as her overseer, she greatly dislikes her ability. She won't be using it to brain-wash people into doing her bidding anytime soon. She just wants to keep living her life the way she always has; as that one strange prodigy with the mechanical limbs and the computer in her brain. She has no intention of harming anyone. She's exactly the same person you've fought beside as teammates, the only difference being she's now even more powerful than she was before. So how about you abandon these prejudiced ideas right this instant, and start thinking about this from a much more rational standpoint, okay?"

Kai nodded, resolving himself to commit to the doctor's suggestion. "Okay."

A/N: Feel's like forever since I've written Kai's POV.

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