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"Attention, code red. I repeat code red. All medical staff to the MD level immediately"
Quistis was up and out of bed in a flash. Tossing her dirty, sodden clothes back on she headed out of her room. The clothes reeked of blood, as it was still caked onto the fabric. She took only a moment to damn herself for leaving all of her clothes in Shumi, along with all of her possessions.
Running at top speed through the garden, she shoved anyone in her way. Her bare feet pounded loudly on the marble floor. Students were looking out their doors, eyes watching her. All of it seemed to blur as she pushed herself to her limit. Her heart was pounding, her lungs burning as she ached for every breath.
Skidding to a stop before the elevator, she looked down the walkway carefully. Seeing Xu entering the elevator she opted for the stairs instead. Running down the metal stairs reminded her of her days as a cadet. She would take the stairs everyday, to keep herself in tip top condition. Even Quistis could admit she had started to slack a little when she became an instructor.
She sighed skipping the last few steps to the MD level. Quistis stood before the metal door, with its tiny square window. Fearing what was on the other side she shoved it open. There was no way Xu was going to leave her out of this.
Quistis needed to know why Seifer wanted to kill her.
The medical team was all ready there prepping a long white stretcher. The massive cage was raising slowly, Seifer's prone form lying on the ground in the center of it. Quistis stared in disbelief. His left arm was torn open, flaps of skin hanging rigidly to the floor. His right hand was covered in his own blood and skin under his fingernails.
The most amazing thing was the tiny silver wires that gleamed under the chunks of blood and gristle on his left arm. They were of a strange metal bristling up with barbs to scratch and cut on any of the medical personal that dared to touch him.
"One, two, three, up" on of the orderlies called as they hoisted him up on to the stretcher. Quistis took a few steps closer watching as they wheeled him away. His face ashen, eyes blankly staring at her. Her breath caught in her throat, as she still panted from her run.
A pool of his blood spread across the cement floor. Where had the guards gone, why wasn't someone watching him? What were those wires?
Why did he do this to himself?
"Miss Trepe!" Xu's vice cracked through her like a whip. Quistis eyes fluttered shut and she took a deep breath. Then she turned with a smile to a woman she had once called a friend. Life as commander had really turned Xu into a bitch.
"Hey Xu" Quistis said kindly. She hoped that Xu wasn't in one of her moods. Quistis knew that Xu held a long time grudge against her, and probably always would. Sometimes Quistis wished she had never been the perfect little SeeD prodigy. She was surprised Cid had never set up a photo shoot to make her the SeeD poster child.
"What am I going to do with you Quistis?" Xu said softly sighing. Quistis arched an blond eyebrow and looked Xu up and down.
"All I wanted to do was to get you back to what you used to be, you were one of the best Seed we had" Xu continued glancing down at the floor. Xu sighed and tossed her shoulders back, raising her head to meet Quistis' gaze.
"SeeD Trepe, salute your commanding officer" Xu snapped. Quistis blinked the change was so sudden, but she quickly fell in line. Snapping her hand up to her forehead she straightened her back, feet together. Years of military training were ingrained into her being and her habits. Standing at attention was one thing you never forgot.
Xu slowly walked around her sizing her up and down. Then the commander stood in front of her frowning.
"Is it true there you came here to visit one prisoner Seifer Almasy, after you expressly told by a commanding officer to leave him alone?" Xu asked standing ram rod straight hands behind her back.
"Xu, he was hurt..." Quistis was quickly interrupted by Xu.
"Answer the question, Trepe" Xu snapped.
"Yes" Quistis said through gritted teeth. Xu nodded curtly, acknowledging her answer.
"There by you are susceptible to punishment since you were all ready on suspension, and did not follow orders?" Xu said with a no nonsense tone in her voice. Quistis fought the urge to cry and sigh. What could Xu possibly do to her now.
"Yes, ma'am" Quistis answered.
"Quistis Trepe, you are hereby being temporarily demoted to Cadet" Xu said. Quistis opened her mouth to protest but Xu quieted her with a sharp look.
"You are to report to the laundry room to collect some Cadet garments in the proper size" Xu said her eyes traveling over the trampled bloody clothes that Quistis wore.
"Yes Ma'am!" Quistis snapped trying to control the rage in her voice. She was so angry all her hard work and accomplishments, being sent right back to scrubbing the toilets with the other cadets. Quistis saluted and then went to move past Xu.
"Cadet Trepe" Xu snapped turning to look at her. Quistis slowly turned around raising her hand to salute.
"Yes ma'am" Quistis spat.
"You have been chosen as one of the cadets to watch over prisoner Almasy, you will report to the conference hall at 0800 hours listen to the report of his condition" Xu said moving passed her quickly. Quistis watched the commander leave, her eyes wide with shock.
Maybe Xu wasn't such a bitch after all.
Quistis shrugged and walked through the door to the stairwell. Looking up it she grinned before she started to move. If she was going to be a cadet, she needed to get back into the hang of things.
Quistis stood with the other cadets at the back of the room. All of them dressed the same, all of them in a prim row. At least the incredibly itchy uniform was clean, and Quistis was thankful for that. She had confiscated three uniforms from the closet in the laundry room, and threw her old clothes away.
She hadn't gone back to sleep; her body was too tired and too sore after the beating she had taken just recently. There were too many things going on to keep her thoughts straight.
All of her friends sat around the table, not one of them glancing back at her. Irvine looked the most relaxed with his feet propped up on the table, and hat tilted down over his eyes.
Dr. Kadowaki stood at the head of the room a bunch of x-ray slides in her hands. A large light hung on the wall behind her, and she was taping the x-ray slides one at a time to it. Quistis recognized Seifer's body immediately, but there was something definitely strange about the slides.
"Make your report" Xu said to the doctor.
"This as you can tell, is Seifer Almasy" Dr Kadowaki said motioning to the X-rays.
"But these," the doctor said running her fingers over the brilliant white " are the wires that run along Seifer's bones"
"What are they used for?" Xu asked frowning a bit. Quistis frowned as well remembering the barbed wires that had been protruding from Seifer's flesh.
"They are used to increase his physical level ratings and attributes; it basically puts his stats off all known charts" Dr. Kadowaki responded taping a graph up beside the x-rays. Quistis stared in disbelief, Seifer's strength and stamina were amazing now. His body was a perfect working machine, it baffled her.
"Any idea who did this to him?" Xu asked staring at the chart, and the x-rays.
"We have no leads, the metal comes from an unknown source. It's unlike anything we have ever seen before" Dr. Kadowaki answer was soft and quiet. It must have been hard for to admit the puzzle was driving her mad. Xu hesitated for a long moment before speaking again.
"Can they be removed?" Xu asked.
"If we don't remove them, he may die. But the surgery to remove them is a higher risk then leaving them alone" the doctor said. Quistis looked to Xu realizing the life of her student was in the commander's hands.
"You are all dismissed, except Cadet Trepe" Xu said standing up and brushing off her skirt. The other filed out of the room, Selphie slowing to flash her a smile.
"The autopsy reports on those men that attacked you was finished this morning" Xu said turning to look at Quistis who hadn't moved.
"They have no names, and no finger prints. There are no visible markings or tattoos. They don't exist in our database. Quistis it's almost like they were made up" Dr. Kadowaki said softly. Quistis' eyes widened in shock.
"Their bodies too were laced with the same metal as Seifer's" Xu said to Quistis. Her heart leapt in response. What the hell did all of this mean?
"I - I don't understand" Quistis stammered out.
"None of us do" Dr. Kadowaki said starting to pull the x-rays down.
"You can join the others on the MD level to clean the floor before Seifer is moved back to his cell" Xu snapped.
"Yes ma'am" Quistis said saluting before fleeing the room. She headed for the MD level, her thoughts swimming more then ever before.
"Did you see Irvine in meeting today, he looked so hot" one of the cadets said to another with a giggle. Quistis rolled her eyes and dragged her brush harder against the cement. It was so strange and surreal to be cleaning up Seifer's blood.
It didn't help much that two of the Cadets were total morons.
"I would so go out with him" the other cadet responded with a giggle. Those men that attacked her, they didn't even have fingerprints. Their fists had felt real enough, the bullet they had put in her leg was the most pain she had ever felt. She winced now just thinking about it.
"And Zell? His hair is sooooooo cute" The other girl squealed in response with a giggle. Quistis finally had enough. She stood up tossing her brush hard on the ground with a clatter. She was going to give these girls a piece of her mind.
Just as she opened her mouth Zell, the sooooo cute one himself, came running down the stairs.
"Quistis you gotta come quick, Seifer's flipping out and he's asking for you" Zell said in a rush before heading back up the stairs. With a single glance at Seifer's blood on the floor, Quistis shot after Zell heading for the infirmary.
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A/N: Thank you everyone for all your wonderful reviews, they really mean alot to me.