Hey there! Here's one of those lost chapters I couldn't fit in the main story. Terminal State has been edited up to 100 but until I go through the new content I'm putting it on halt so that I can adjust accordingly with new information. There's also a new number called Twisted by Design which will entail the first 25 years of Athenacia's life and how it was for Cor to raise her. Give it a read if you like. Thanks so much for all your support!

...

Athenacia opened her eyes slowly, feeling more tired now than she did the night previous. Or day, whatever it happened to be in this endless night of the last six years. The only reason she even had a mind to keep track of the dates was simply because it made things easier for patient care. The last week, however, she had taken time off to spend with Gladiolus. As it turned out, there was a spawn of daemons that needed some special attention and she was a little sick of being stuck inside the city. She came back to work after a "sabbatical" and knew that he didn't want her devoting all of her time into it. So she tried to compromise by taking time off here and there. It was easy to tell when she needed a break. Gladiolus would become more agitated with her and then she would have to try and remember the last time she actually saw him. The routine she managed seemed to be working, they were fighting with each other about her job far less than they used to. Ignis was also thankful for the extra peace even though he was hardly home to begin with.

The doctor winced when she moved onto her back, still stiff from the hunting. A smile spread across her lips then, remembering the strenuous activities she and her boyfriend had gotten up to when they finally returned home before she fell asleep. Biting her lip, she turned her head to face Gladiolus's sleeping form. Soft snores still erupted from him, long brown hair covering some of his face while one of his arms was under his head. Some days she had no idea how she got so lucky, so enamoured with him she barely took notice of her own small hand reaching out to brush the stray hairs away. She flinched when he suddenly snatched her wrist, a reflex. Turning to look at her, she was met with his amber orbs.

"You just can't get enough of me, can you?" Gladiolus smirked down at her.

"Is that a problem?" she raised a brow.

He shrugged, "My other girlfriends might get jealous."

"Oh well, how rude of me to take time away from your alone time hands. Do they have names?"

"Listen you, keep talking like that and you won't get any of this."

"Suit yourself," she sighed, turning away from him.

Keeping the smirk on his face, he pulled at the blankets so that they were no longer covering her. Turns out that wasn't going to work this time, ignoring him completely as if nothing had ever happened. His eyes rolled over her naked form, the smile disappearing from his face once he came across the large cut across her back. It looked worse today than it did yesterday, given to her by the Tonberry that managed to sneak up on them once they cleared a daemon spawn point. The Shield should have been paying attention, remembering the scream that erupted from her lips once she was struck. Those little bastards were fierce but the two of them managed to slay it and he dressed the wound as best he could before coming back to Lestallum. Athenacia refused to go to the hospital, insisting that she could take care of it herself. Gladiolus was quick to remind her that she didn't have her magic, to which she pointedly told him she had been without it for years on her own. He was smart enough to know when to push her, especially when it came to medical decisions like this. Last night he was careful with her but right now the cut didn't look any better than before. If anything, it looked worse.

Gladiolus brought his hand to her skin, carefully running his finger along the edge of the wound. Purplish black colours tainted the fair skin around it, with the blood still looking fresh in the middle. It was deep, causing her more pain then she was letting on. Her body went rigid at his touch being so close to it, a dead give away she was being far too stubborn about the seriousness of it. The laceration travelled from beneath her left shoulder blade and all the way up diagonally to her right shoulder. Truth be told, she was lucky they brought so many curatives to keep them going. Things could have gone much worse.

"It's getting worse, Doc," his voice was soft, trying to mask his displeasure.

"They always look worse a couple days later. It's normal, it'll start to get better soon," she replied.

"You haven't even seen it."

"I can feel it."

"At least get it stitched up."

"It's fine," she insisted.

The large man grunted, deciding to drop it this time. Heaving a small sigh, Athenacia rolled over so that she was on her back and hiding the cut from him. A small hand came to his wrist, guiding his fingers so that they were resting on the unblemished skin on her left hip. The frown on his face met her eyes and she slowly moved her body so that it was against his beneath the sheets. Amber eyes didn't miss a single movement, completely trapped in her calm hazel stare. Those teeth sank right into her bottom lip and he instantly forgot all about daemon hunting with her. Running his hand his hand up that soft, creamy skin, his eyes drooped while her hot breath reached his face. Just as he was about to make contact with her, he stopped and pulled away so that he could look at her, a grin spreading across his lips.

"I already told you, Doc, you ain't gettin' any of this," he said.

She raised a brow at him and then smiled. It was a warning sign Gladiolus completely missed.

"Fine," she shrugged.

Athenacia began to untangle herself from him and the sheets, rolling so that she was out of bed and on her feet. The Shield kept his gaze on her the entire time, watching as she turned her back to him. This time he wasn't looking at her wound, but that mesmerizing sway in her hips as she slowly walked to the bathroom. Giving one last hair flip, she winked at him before disappearing inside and closing the door behind her. Gladiolus found he was still staring in the same direction with that crooked grin on his face. He was moving before he knew it, practically sprinting after her just as the water was being turned on. Catching himself, he chuckled lightly at how easily she was able to get whatever she wanted from him. No one in the world had more power over him than she did and he was perfectly content with that.

...

A few days later and Athenacia was back to her normal work schedule. The hallways of the hospital still managed to hold the ghosting presence of the late April Hunter and the young doctor sighed. While it had been a few months since she integrated herself into the Head of Emergency Medicine, the lingering doubts of whether or not April would approve still filled her with worry. There was no one else for the job, Dr. Hunter made that perfectly clear but some days were easier than others. Whenever Athenacia took a small leave of absence it always made it harder to come back and work with her staff. The position was still somewhat new and things ran differently under her care. At least Frankie and Gin were there to help her organize things. In fact, they were a little annoyed at the extra work given to them since Athenacia had gotten her promotion.

"Would you just hire an assistant?" asked Gin, dropping a large stack of files on the desk.

"Who needs assistants when I have fantastic charge nurses?" Athenacia smiled sweetly at the girl.

The ginger-haired woman groaned, "Seriously girl, we have enough work as it is."

"You think I don't? This isn't exactly a cushy desk job."

Gin was about to respond when a nurse knocked on the open door, coming in without waiting.

"Dr. Virum, there's a patient you need to see," she said, nearly out of breath.

"I'll be there shortly," replied the doctor, standing up.

"Aren't you even going to look at those files?" asked Gin incredulously.

"Later, I've got to get to pathology after I'm done with a few patients."

The resident nurse grumbled something but her boss simply ignored her as she rushed by. Dr. Virum wasn't kidding when she said that she wasn't doing a cushy desk job. Since taking the position it meant more patient care, managing other doctors on top of playing office politics. April must have really wanted to punish her for something if only Dr. Virum was qualified for the job. Sighing at the thought, she continued her work and scarcely noticed the time pass as she did so.

Rubbing her eyes when she finally got back to her office, she filtered through piles of files that she had Gin organize and double check. The nurse was right, she really did need an assistant but finding someone to trust was not easy. Dr. Virum had just let these people close to her, having more enter the small circle was stressful just at the thought. She flinched when she felt her back collide with the chair behind her, the leftover wound from her daemon hunting flaring up suddenly. Frowning, she knew that this shouldn't be acting up like that so far into the healing process. Perhaps getting some help with it would be in order by now. Heaving a sigh, she pushed herself to her feet, exiting the room and down the hall.

Once she entered the locker rooms she noted that it was completely devoid of human activity. Just how long had she been here? Shaking her head, she removed the lab coat and scrubs, twisting awkwardly around to look at her injury in the mirror. It looked far worse than when she first got it. Infection was beginning to run its course, the discolouration of her skin making that obvious. Pulling her shirt back on, she left to go storage room in order to get some intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics. Her steps stumbled, the exhaustion of her work finally catching up with her at the worst possible time like usual. Punching in the code for the door, she walked in and tried to focus on the bag she needed, only the words were jumbling together and dancing all around. A shape pain shot down her left arm and she let out a small cry, frantically grabbing onto anything she could in a poor attempt to stop herself from falling to the ground. She only succeeded in bringing the shelving down with her, issuing a loud crash that she prayed someone else heard while she was trapped beneath the structure. Those were her last thoughts before she succumbed to the darkness that took over.

...

Gladiolus finished up his work and returned to Lestallum as quickly as he could. Lately, he and Athenacia hadn't seen much of each other, her being busy back at work and him finishing tasks of his own put on hold after she had taken some time off. Coming up to his room, he wasn't shocked to find that she wasn't there. Without a second thought, he stripped his clothes and collapsed on the bed with a grunt. Bringing one arm behind his head, the other hand held his phone up, looking through for any messages that might indicate when his girlfriend would be home. There was nothing, so he fired one off quickly before placing the phone on his chest and turning his gaze to the window. It wasn't long after that he was passed out.

A buzzing in his ears and motion on his chest caused him to wake up far sooner than he would have liked. Rubbing his eyes and sighing, he swatted at his phone and then turned over. He frowned when he saw the bed was still empty beside him, running a hand over the cool sheets. Glancing at the time on the alarm clock that rested on the bedside table made his frown deepen. Whether she was busy or not he was sure that she would have checked in by now. The screen on his phone lit up, gaining his attention. The Shield picked it up, unlocking it and saw that there was a missed call from Iris but nothing from Athenacia. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes again before pushing himself off the bed and gathering clothes off the floor and leaving the room. It had been a long time since he had to go and get her away from work and he thought that this sort of behaviour would have stopped. A back lapse isn't terrible he supposed but the exhaustion he felt at his own work made this more of an annoyance.

Once the Shield entered the building he saw that things were relatively quieter than usual. The path to the office he needed was well ingrained into his memory, having walked it plenty of times to do the exact thing he planned on doing now. The door was open, light still on but once he got into the room he was a little surprised to see that no one was in there. Files were piled all over the place, pens thrown around, it was obvious that Athenacia was not finished here yet. While she was a slob in her home life, Gladiolus was impressed with how particularly organized she was in the workplace. It was almost as if she were a different person here and in some ways that was true. Dr. Virum didn't hesitate when it came to patient care, much the same as the person she was before her first detonation - or so he was told. Leaving the room, he decided the best thing to do would be to have a nurse track her down.

"Frankie!" he called out to the charge nurse at the station.

"Gladio?" the young girl frowned behind her thick-rimmed glasses.

"Where's Cia?"

"I haven't seen her all shift."

"She's not answering her phone."

"That's pretty normal for her," she reached out, grabbing the arm of a passing nurse, "Page Dr. Virum."

The girl nodded, going to the phone. Gladiolus heard the voice over the speakers and then did the only thing he could, waited. Frankie went back to her work and that left the large man to keep looking around for Athenacia. Something just didn't sit right about this, checking his phone and seeing no response there from her. While scarcely responding to him was normal while she was at work, not being seen by a nurse in hours was definitely out of the ordinary. Deciding to place the call, he let out another sigh when it went to voicemail. There was no sense in leaving a message if she wasn't answering in the first place. Grumbling to himself, about an hour went by and still no sign of the doctor anywhere.

"Frankie," Gladiolus levelled her a glare once she returned to her post.

"She's still not here?" the nurse frowned.

"No."

"That's weird."

Biting her lip in thought, she issued another nurse to consistently page Dr. Virum. She then motioned her head for the large man to follow, starting with the office. Everything was the same as when Gladiolus was in there earlier. As they came out to the hallway there was someone else there they weren't expecting.

"Vi, have you seen Cia?" asked Frankie.

"Not since..." the older woman frowned, "You're telling me she hasn't left yet?"

"She never signed out and no one has seen her, she's obviously not at home," replied the nurse, gesturing to the angry man towering behind her.

"I'm assuming she hasn't answered her pages. I'll get people on it."

Frankie nodded and led Gladiolus away from the office. Just as they were passing through to the security office, a loud scream was heard echoing off the walls of the corridor.

"Someone help!"

Gladiolus moved on instinct, running to where the frantic nurse cried. Vi was in the room before him but that didn't stop the growl that erupted from his throat. Frankie gasped and the Shield lifted the shelving units that had fallen over in the storage room. Beneath them was an unconscious Athenacia, and the large man wasted no time getting to her.

"Doc!"

He pulled away the medicine that surrounded here but couldn't do much with the nurses coming in to block the way. Vi took charge with Frankie at her side. Gladiolus allowed himself to be pushed aside in order to make room for a gurney. It was as if time had stopped, amber eyes watching Athenacia's limp body get lifted off the ground and put onto the bed. Frankie was performing CPR and a doctor walked in, demanding answers that he wasn't getting. Athenacia was not breathing, her pulse dangerously low, she was crashing. And no one knew how long she had been in here by herself, buried and unconscious.

The sounds of her monitors were far away despite being right beside him. Gladiolus could only see her face, her unconscious face that was obscured by the nurses trying desperately to get air into her lungs. The scrub shirt she was wearing was cut in order to gain better access and the damage done to her by the falling shelves was obvious. Something caught his eyes as he observed her, something he should have mentioned as soon as he saw her. Athenacia's right shoulder was a very dark purple, looking almost black. So much for it healing on its own.

"Wait!" he stopped them from leaving the room, "She's got a cut on her back from fighting daemons."

"I'll keep that in mind," said her doctor, "Intubate her now."

Once the tube was placed in her throat she was wheeled out of sight. Gladiolus followed behind, all the way up to the intensive care unit. That made him uneasy, being kept out of the room and forced to watch three nurses and a doctor work on his girlfriend. A familiar tightness in his chest formed as he observed, hating that there was nothing he could do to help her. These were the types of situations where the only doctor he could trust was the one lying on the bed in need of care. Gripping his arms tight while they were crossed, a scowl occupied his features while his focus was solely on Athenacia. After what felt like an eternity, the attending nodded at Frankie and the extra nurse left the room. Vi came out as well and came to stand next to him.

"What happened?" asked Gladiolus, his eyes still glued to the patient.

"She had a stroke," replied Vi calmly, "She was on her way down and managed to pull the storage shelves with her."

He grunted, not liking the sounds of things. What could possibly cause her to have a stroke? He could only assume it was the festering wound on her back. Stupid, he knew he should have pushed her to get it looked at as soon as they got back to the city. Why was she so stubborn?

"You can go in now, she's stable," the nurse interrupted his thoughts.

"You're not going to do anything?" asked Gladiolus, watching the doctor leave only Frankie in the room.

"We can't move forward until Cor gets here. Frankie is calling him now."

"What does Cor have to do with anything?"

"He's her medical proxy. Since she's unconscious he's going to have to make the decisions for her-"

"Why can't I do it?" he cut her off.

"Because you're not listed."

"I'm her boyfriend-"

"But not her husband. Cor is the closest to next of kin we have for her."

"Who even knows where he is?! Or how long it'll take him to get here! In the meantime, you're sitting on your asses while she gets worse!"

"I'm sorry, Gladio, but there's nothing else we can do. I'm not even supposed to be discussing her condition with you but I am out of respect. We have to wait until Cor gets here."

Vi put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small, sad smile. The Shield pulled away in disgust, marching into her room and ignoring the other charge nurse that also looked at him sympathetically. It wasn't the women he had a quarrel with, just the inability to do anything about Athenacia's condition. His heart broke while he looked at her. A tube was down her throat, breathing for her while she remained unconscious. Three bags of clear liquid hung and drained into her veins while a monitor beeped steadily. The screens meant nothing to him but there was something beside it was humming as well and he recognized it to be an EKG machine. Her body was covered in a hospital gown beneath the blankets, skin paler than usual. That abnormally warm temperature wasn't there like usual and he remembered the last time she felt so cold.

It was back in Illume when she had unleashed a power within herself no one knew about. Ardyn was there, provoking her by whispering in her ear. Once she realized what was going on that was when the bastard had stabbed her. Athenacia detonated after that and the combination of major blood loss caused her nearly to die in his arms. The look on her face when she closed her eyes for what he thought was the last time and the way her body felt like ice didn't sit well with him then and it certainly didn't now. Squeezing her hand, he pushed the images away and kept his focus on her face. That was how he stayed until resting his head and dozing.

...

The noises of other bodies in the room is initially what roused him. Lifting his head, he noted Frankie still in the room and Gin as well. Athenacia was still unconscious and the two women seemed to be discussing something quietly among themselves. They became silent as soon as they noticed he was awake.

"Don't stop on my account," grumbled Gladiolus, looking over at the patient.

"Actually it's good that you're awake," said Gin, "We needed some help cleaning up that laceration to her back."

The Shield nodded, rising from his seat and allowing the two women to take over. They lifted the blanket up and that's when he realized how exposed Athenacia really was in here, immediately closing the blinds in the room. As soon as the woman was carefully rolled to her side, Frankie gasped and Gin looked uneasy. Gladiolus moved so that he could see the cut and nearly cringed himself. Nearly her entire back was so deep purple that it appeared black, the wound itself still looking as fresh as the day she received it despite the blood inside coagulating and was dark as the night sky itself. He had never seen anything like this before but it was obvious that the nurses had some idea of what was going on right now.

"You don't think..." Frankie left it hanging.

"The results aren't back yet but it definitely looks like it," replied Gin gravely.

"What?" asked Gladiolus, looking between the two women.

Frankie bit her lip but Gin was the one to speak, "I'm sorry Gladio but we can't-"

"Just tell me," his voice was dangerously low.

"I would if I could trust me. But without Cor-"

"Screw Cor! Tell me what's going on with her!"

"She caught the daemon virus."

All three of them snapped their heads to the new voice that entered the room. The Immortal himself was standing there with an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes glued to the woman on the bed. Cor stepped into the room, the attending right behind him.

"Take her to the fifth floor," he instructed the nurses.

They complied, wasting no time in covering the patient back up and then carefully wheeling her out. The doctor followed and that just left Cor and Gladiolus in the room. The Shield was fuming at the very idea of Athenacia being forced into quarantine. His scowl turned to the other man, taking a defensive stance while his body shook with his own rage.

"What took you so long?" demanded Gladiolus.

"That is not your concern," replied Cor, fixing him a calm stare.

"It is when she's stuck without treatment because no one can get a hold of you!"

"You really want to pin this on me? Who took her out daemon hunting in the first place?" Cor's voice was still calm, even as the other man growled, "That wound should have been treated the second she got back to Lestallum. If you're looking to pick a fight, you're in the wrong place."

He turned his back and left, Gladiolus still angry at what was happening here and left with no choice but to follow Cor out of the room. Once they reached the fifth floor they were directed into the woman's room and left alone while she was still hooked up to monitors and unconscious. Gladiolus took his place at her bedside, hating how cold her skin was when he took her hand. These weren't the types of situations he was good with, needing to do more than just sit around and wait. Cor remained by the glass sliding doors, pulling the curtain closed.

"She was unconscious for four hours after she had a stroke," said Cor. There was a scowl on his face when he turned around, a fist clenched at his side, "The infection caused it, and in her weakened state spread further while she was trapped. She's in stage two of progression. They're going to apply the solvent that she helped develop in order to slow down the progress, but... It's unlikely that she'll get off the machines before..." he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Before she turns into a daemon," Gladiolus finished, keeping his gaze on her.

Cor nodded, unable to look at his daughter at the moment.

"Even if I was here, there's nothing that could have been done. Without her healing magic, her fate is sealed."

...

thanks guys! I'll have the next chapter up soon!