Hey! bestknight32 here! I hope everyone is having a good day today! I'd like to thank dahliingg for making the base of the story and Tim Baril for making the this chapter you two are the best! " and so once again the fic is saved thanks to the next chapter!"

The sterile medical room was full to bursting. A raised bed with yellow rails and white sheets took up a quarter of the space. The water-filled tank holding Closure, freezing equipment hanging over the sides, took up another quarter. The rest of the space was cluttered with monitors and life support apparatus, as well as the many people here to help.

Medics Hibiscus and newcomer Myrrh stood on opposite sides of the tank, anxiously waiting for their turn to help. At one end of the tank, Ansel fretted between monitors as he tracked Closure's vitals, which were rapidly bouncing all over the place and entirely unhealthy. Lancet, the medical robot, stood next to Myrrh, ready to render assistance while also monitoring the patient. Aurora slumped in a chair next to Hibiscus, one arm dangling in the water, slushy chunks of ice on her skin.

At the other end of the tank was Sussurro, her head barely able to see over the top of the tank. She was sweating with nerves. She gulped as she looked down into the water at Closure. A faint orange glow came from the body. There was no ice left. Aurora was almost out of energy, and the freezing equipment couldn't keep up with the heating generated by the virus.

Time was fast running out.

Hibiscus gave Sussurro a nervous look. "You ok?"

Sussuro didn't look at the other woman and pretended she was much calmer than she felt. "Sure. Yeah. Never better."

The look on Hibiscus's face said she highly doubted that. "You can do this, right? We're going to save her?"

Susurro pointed up at Hibiscus (she was so short she would have had to point up to anybody). "Hey. You know better than that. Never ask a doctor to guarantee outcomes before a surgery."

Hibiscus immediately looked abashed, running a hand over one of her sharp, thin horns as she was prone to do when embarrassed. "Sorry."

Lancet, the custom Rathean-S62 model six-wheeled robot spoke in a quiet voice. "I hope we can save her. I like Ms Closure. Why? I'm not sure. But it's been that way ever since Ms Closure first initialized me."

The entire room held their breath. Silence descended.

Hibiscus's twin, Lava, and Amiya stood in the doorway, ready to pull people out of the room if things started going wrong and an explosion was imminent. Both had worried looks on their faces. The rest of the infirmary had been cleared out as a precaution in case the worst happened.

Sussurro was hesitant about attempting the impossible. The never done before. The crazy notion that she could reach into someone's body and extract potentially millions of virus particles from someone's body. It was nuts. She slowly nodded to herself with increasing conviction. "Yep."

Hibiscus brightened. "You're sure you can save her?"

"Nope. Just positive this is absolutely insane."

"Wha-?"

"Ok. Let's do this." Sussurro refused to give herself any more time to think about the situation. She was only delaying the need to begin. Every second they waited, more and more damage was being done to the woman in the tank as her body tried to explode.

The thing was, Sussurro had never, ever attempted anything like this with her Arts abilities before. It was like someone who'd learned to construct houses was being asked to build a skyscraper. Or someone flying paper planes was being asked to go to a moon. Sure, the principles involved were similar, but the task was exponentially more difficult and complex.

Without any preparation or practice, Sussurro was fighting off a strong sense of worry that she wouldn't be able to do this. Only, she had to. She was the only potential solution they had. The looming sense of doom and impending failure gnawing at her brain was only making the process even more challenging. She had to try to ignore it and just do the job. The difference between success and failure, between heroes and those who never rise to the challenge, is often the decision to plunge ahead and get the job done, even if it isn't perfect, rather than allow our worries to stop us.

Plunging her small hands into the barely cold water, Sussurro willed every bit of Arts ability she had into the task. Focusing everything she had, fox-like ears pressed low to her head, the vulpo dove her surgical Arts into the other woman's body.

Ansel poured a sterilization agent into the water as Sussurro worked. The agent caused the water to bubble and churn, but it would also — hopefully — kill the virus as Sussurro extracted it. Assuming a virus created by Arts worked and died the same way a regular virus did. Or they were all screwed.

Sussurro tried not to show it on her face, but she grew increasingly anxious as she worked. There was so much virus in the body. It felt like every cell was infected. She could feel her ability puncture each infected cell to tear the viruses out, and she could feel how much damage she was doing to Closure on a cellular scale. It might not have been so bad if the surgery had been limited to a foot or a hand, maybe a limb. But the whole body was riddled, including many organs.

Worse, the brain and nervous system were notoriously difficult to heal, no matter how powerful the Arts or how good the doctor.

The monitors analyzing Closure's condition beeped in warning as Closure's already high and irregular heartbeat spiked again due to the internal trauma she was suffering from the healing process.

Lancet thrust an arm into the water, a needle in her hand. She was at no risk of becoming infected, being non-organic. "Painkillers deployed." They'd had to wait until the healing process had been initiated, or the heat being generated in the body would have either overwhelmed the pain meds or destroyed them.

Sussurro heard the monitors sending out regular alarms and felt herself becoming overwhelmed.

Perhaps sensing Susurro's distress, Hibiscus gently placed a hand on Susurro's shoulder. She calmly spoke, "You can do this. You're an amazing healer. Trust yourself." Her hand squeezed just once, a vote of confidence.

Sussurro took a deep breath and tried to refocus.

Next to them, Aurora's eyes rolled back and then closed. Utterly used up, she passed out and slid down her chair to the floor. Hibiscus rushed to grab her and gently laid her down while not daring to move from the side of the tank, waiting for the moment her healing would be needed.

Ansel stood next to the tank with a hydrology kit with a wand dipping into the water. He burst out with good news, "The agent is neutralizing it! It's killing off the virus!" He grinned, though he still looked nervous and on the edge of panic.

The mood in the room immediately lifted as spirits rose with hope.

But the often negative Lancet followed up with more distressing news, "Brain activity increasingly erratic and falling. Neurological damage likely. Potential for stroke."

Like Sussurro, Myrrh was another vulpo. But where Sussurro had the lightest brown fur and hair, Myrrh had pumpkin-orange hair hanging in long bangs over her eyes and similarly coloured fur on her fox-like ears and bushy tail. The normally super kind and sweet young woman currently had an edge to her voice, "Sussurro? You ok, hun? You almost done?"

Sussuro, her teeth clenched and only half aware of answering, growled, "I'm going as fast as I can. But I can't afford to miss even a single virus. I have to check every cell."

"Can we start healing while you work?"

"I can't…I can't do only one body part at a time. I'm everywhere all at once. The virus is in her blood."

Under her breath, Myrrh grunted, "Darn." She was such a sweet person that, even in this situation, she couldn't bring herself to curse more than that.

A minute passed. Then five. Then twenty. Sussurro grew shaky. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her underarms and back became soaked. The others could only watch in silence, occasionally cheering her on. Even Lancet seemed to develop an awareness that frequent warnings about the decline of Closure's condition weren't helping, and she lapsed into silence.

At long last, Sussurro croaked in a despairing voice, "Running one last pass. Almost finished. Get ready." She was pushing herself as fast as she dared despite knowing she couldn't miss a single viral particle or the whole effort would be for nothing. As a medical practitioner, she was all-too-aware of just how badly Closure had been harmed both by the initial internal superheating caused by the virus as well as by the surgery used to help her. Any hope she had for the patient's survival had fallen very low. But she didn't give up.

The other medics had all been on edge throughout the entire procedure. Now they readied themselves to act. Faces grew intent; wills focused. Myrrh took a deep breath. Hibiscus closed her eyes for a few seconds to center herself.

The second Sussurro finished her skill, minimally invasive surgery, she shouted, "Now!" and triggered deep healing.

Hibiscus and Ansel both brought forth their own Arts abilities, healing up and additional healing, respectively. Ansel was not yet proficient at using his originium gifts, and his efforts stuttered and stalled. But every little bit would be needed.

Tense seconds passed.

Hayden ran up to the door and stopped just behind Lava and Amiya, doubling over with his hands on his knees and panting from the exertion of hurrying here. "How is she?"

Amiya barely glanced at him, keeping her eyes on Closure. "We're about to find out."

He nodded, his face set but intense. He breathed hard. "I really need to start exercising."

Lava rolled her eyes. "For all the advice they give patients about living healthier lives, you'd think doctors would be the healthiest and fittest among us. What's that about the hypocritical oath?"

Hayden guiltily mumbled, "It's hypocratic." But he couldn't help feeling like her term was also applicable. Time to start working some exercise into his daily regime. And…maybe eat fewer deliciously sweet baked goods from the cafeteria, especially late at night when he was working too late instead of getting a proper rest. Ok, yes, he was definitely failing to model proper behaviour for others, something he should be doing as a doctor, even as a researcher.

Then Lancet perked up. "Heart rate and brain activity stabilizing."

Sussurro swooned and barely managed to stay on her feet from the long effort.

Ansel, whose healing abilities were the weakest on the team, continued to check the hydrology sensor. "Viral particle concentration falling fast. We're almost clear!"

Hibiscus ended her effort with a gasp. "I'm done. But she seems ok."

Myrrh put a hand on the leather pouch on her hip. It was full of herbs that everyone complained were way too bitter. Her wide belt held a dozen vials of premixed concoctions for healing and dealing with allergies and poisons. She couldn't apply her talents while Closure was in the water, but she would be needed as soon as they pulled the injured woman out.

Lancet's voice was encouraging and positive, "Patient is comatose but stable. No sign of previous symptoms. The virus seems to have been completely cleared from the patient's body."

Sussurro stumbled away from the tank and collapsed onto the smooth floor. "We did it. She's alive." For now. ""Phew. I need a drink after that. Someone mind handing me a juice? Guava or mango would be great. Thanks!" Then she lay down on the floor and closed her eyes.

From the door, Hayden, Lava, and Amiya cheered. Amiya jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

Lava pumped her fist and pushed her way into the crowded room, grabbing her sister and giving her a hug. "Great job, sis. Proud of you."

Hibiscus protested, "It was all Sussurro. She's a hero."

"You're all heroes." Saying that, Lava turned to Sussurro next and reached down to squeeze the tiny woman's shoulder. "Great job, Suss."

Suss mumbled something incoherent back but didn't bother opening her eyes.

Ansel pulled the hydrology sensor out of the tank with alacrity. "Virus eliminated. The water's clean!"

Lancet reached into the water. "Retrieving the patient."

Ansel readied himself. "Let's get her into a bed. I'll insert the feeding tube."

Sussurro was too exhausted to feel happy at the moment. She also wasn't sure what condition Closure would be in when she woke. Probably brain dead, a vegetable. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, though.

Lancet lifted Closure out of the tank and placed her onto the bed, soaking the bedsheets. Then one hand transformed into scissors, and she swiftly cut the clothing free of the body.

Ansel gently pushed a feeding tube into Closure's throat. He grinned and gushed, "I was very impressed by everyone's performance. It was fantastic!"

Myrrh filled the attached feeding bag with a complex mixture of herbal extracts. "Here's the medicine!" She seemed to have regained much of her normal good cheer.

Even as they were working, Lancet began applying support spray to Closure's nude body, a chemical application designed to boost natural healing abilities, much like Myrrh's medicine would do. Between healing Arts, as well as both chemical and herbal means, they were tackling Closure's treatment from every angle.

While Arts was great for emergency burst healing, Lancet and Myrrh's talents would be essential for long-term care.

A smile brightened Hayden's face. "Thank goodness."

Amiya nodded, then frowned. "I wish we could stay." She showed her communicator to Hayden. "Kal'tsit needs our help. Lungmen is still resisting our plea to help."

He shook his head in disbelief. "They're being invaded. Why wouldn't they take all the help they can get?"

She shrugged. "Pride, probably. And, like I mentioned before, they don't entirely trust us. Or at least our competence."

He began removing the hazmat suit. "Well, maybe the fact that we just saved the world will help change their minds."

Amiya didn't seem so sure.

The nomadic special economic zone of Lungmen, one of Yan's most important economic centres, was being invaded — twice. The second, slower but main force, the City of Chernobog led by Reunion, was still days away. But the flood of refugees it had driven before it was already at Lungmen's gates and screaming for entry.

The Rhodes Island team left immediately after Closure's tentative recovery, wasting no time in getting to Lungmen. As they approached the mobile city, sitting high on the massive wheels and tracks that normally carried it but which were now stopped, they saw the refugees massing at the city gate.

From inside the chopper, Hayden had to shout to Amiya to be heard over the heavy rotors and whine of the fast-moving airship, "There are thousands! Looks like trouble, too!"

The huge crowd milled about outside the mobile city's entrance, most carrying only a few precious belongings or nothing at all. Some were likely starving. While those in the back seemed relatively peaceful, those in the front of the crowd were more agitated. There was definite shouting and friction because about half the crowd appeared to be slowly going through some kind of processing as they were being allowed entry. But the other half of the crowd was separated and surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.

Amiya craned her neck to see out the chopper window. She looked sad. "Infected. The ones not being allowed in. Lungmen has never treated infected very well."

Hayden's brows rose. "They'd leave them outside the city to die?"

Amiya looked reluctant to answer. "This is one of the reasons why we're fighting so hard to be a part of what's happening here. The leadership in Lungmen doesn't see much difference between a violent military group like Reunion and those fighting for a better world, like Rhodes Island. We're all infected, we're threats, and they don't want anything to do with us. Those people down there, any infected, are like monsters to some people. Or disease carriers."

"So there aren't any infected in Lungmen?"

She shook her head, bunny ears flopping. "There are. From what I've read, the infected have been relegated to the slums, walled off from the rest of the city. Treated like trash. I'm sure one of the problems Kal'tsit is having is trying to convince Lungmen to let the infected refugees in. And to give them food and water."

He picked up on her negative tone. "Sounds like that won't be easy."

"No. Even with Reunion on their doorstep. And inside their city. A whole other city has been mobilized to attack them. Reunion has managed to convince the rest of the world that Lungmen is the aggressor and started this fight, and even the Yan Empire isn't rushing to help. Yet the people of Lungmen still think they're better off without us."

Hayden was thoughtful for a few moments. "I'm still learning about the situation, but from what I've skimmed so far," he'd been studying non-stop during the flight, "it doesn't look like Lungmen stands a chance at holding Chernobog off. They need us. And other allies. Especially if Reunion agents manage to cripple defences or systems from within."

The pilot broke in over the radio, "Heads up, guys. Lungmen air control is refusing to allow us entry to the city. They're demanding we land outside and go through the gates like everyone else."

Amiya frowned. "They're trying to delay us? Or stop us from getting in entirely? Great." She sighed with frustration.

They landed a short way from the crowd of refugees, where Amiya and Hayden disembarked.

A figure disengaged from the crowd and jogged over to them as the chopper powered down. It was Doberman. She waved as she drew near. "Welcome."

Amiya wasted no time on niceties. "What's the situation?"

Doberman looked serious. "They very reluctantly allowed us into the city when we arrived, but only under guard and at Wei Yenwu's word. Doctor Kal'tsit has had meetings with Wei and others, but she's not the most politically adept. And the hate for infected here is strong. I'm not sure we've made any headway."

Amiya looked worried. "Will they let us in, too?"

Doberman half shrugged. "Won't know until we try. They let me in once. I'm hoping that means they'll let me in a second time, and you with me. Although," she nodded at Hayden, "he's not infected, so he should have no issue."

They headed into the crowd and had to push their way forward through a lot of distraught, scared people who had obviously been waiting there for many hours or even days. Tensions were high.

A droning male voice could be heard giving announcements over loudspeakers, "Attention, please! Due to the recent catastrophe and limited resources during this emergency, entry to Lungmen has been restricted. Please be patient. Oripathy inspections are mandatory for all those applying for entry. If you discover any unregistered infected, please contact the nearest peace officer immediately. The LGD will detain them in accordance with the Emergency Handling Act."

Amiya paused in horror, looking up at the air as if she could see who had been speaking. "Emergency Handling Act? Detention?"

Doberman growled. "They just enacted it. Damned political tool they're going to use to openly persecute infected. Worse than they already do."

Amiya slumped, visibly worried. "Oh, that's terrible. I hate it when conservative governments abuse emergencies for their own agendas. They just use it as an excuse to hurt others." With renewed determination, she pushed more forcefully through the crowd.

Hayden tried to squeeze past a large man standing with who was likely his family and loudly arguing with them.

The lung man was angry. "We're not infected. What's their bloody problem? Just let us through already!" When Hayden jostled him, he looked over his shoulder. His frown deepened, and he watched Hayden move closer to the front of the crowd. "Hey. Where do you think you're going?"

Hayden bowed his head as he went by. "Sorry." He figured that would be the end of it.

But the man saw someone to fight against, and it was a fight he was spoiling for. Since the gate was a ways away, he chose Hayden and the others of Rhodes Island as his target. "Stop pushing! And get back in line. What do you think you're doing trying to push your way to the front? Can't you see others are ahead of you? Selfish b***."

Amiya replied before Hayden could get a chance. "Sorry. We're a diplomatic convoy. We're here to help. We need to get into the city immediately."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Getting himself riled up and seeing people who were smaller than him and probably weaker, he fully turned around and puffed up his chest. "Get the f*** to the back of the line. Before I make you."

Doberman noticed the delay, turned, and pulled out a very large knife. Her pointed black ears lay down on her head, and she bared her teeth, making her canines prominent. "You'll make us what?" She raised the knife so it pointed up under the man's chin.

The big man's eyes widened, and he tried to lean back away from the blade, though he couldn't move far while pressed up against others in the crowd. He held up his hands. "Whoa. Just a figure of speech. Back off, you crazy b***."

Doberman stared. The knife didn't waver.

The big man tried to return her gaze but seemed to struggle. He snorted with forced contempt and turned his back to the group, pretending to ignore them.

Hayden took the opportunity to pull Amiya forward while Doberman let them slide past before following.

At the front of the crowd, they came up against a row of barriers with armed soldiers behind them, intimidating the crowd from trying to push forward. A row of temporary processing stations had been set up on the ground with agents to peruse documentation and test for oripathy. Beyond that was the city. A large elevator was currently ascending, lifting people up into the city proper.

The only ones going through processing were from the non-infected group. The infected were being herded together at gun and crossbow point while soldiers erected tall temporary black fencing around them. The infected begged and pleaded but were ignored.

"Please, let us in!"

"We're starving!"

"At least give us water. Some of us have been out here for days!"

Hayden saw the way the city was treating those people and felt the urge to punch someone very hard. This was the type of people they were here to negotiate with? To help? Part of him wanted to turn around and leave these jerks to their fate; let Reunion run right over them and destroy Lungmen. Only knowing that plenty of non-haters and innocents were inside kept him from leaving.

Amiya struggled to find her voice, unable to look away from the way the infected were being corralled.

Doberman leaned over the barricade. "Hey! Rhodes Island. I've picked up our members. We need to re-enter."

The soldier she'd shouted at ignored her.

She raised her voice and barked, "Rhodes Island. Diplomatic convoy. We have permission to enter from Wei Yenwu." She held up the lanyard that they'd ordered her to wear earlier. "See?" She shoved it in the soldier's face.

At last, the soldier moved. He slowly turned his head to look at her. With a suffering sigh, he half turned toward what looked like an admin tent at the end of the row of processing stations. He waved someone over.

She walked halfway to the barricade, studying Rhodes Island before nodding and waving them through, waiting for them to join her.

Of course, seeing others get a free pass, there were plenty of loud protests.

"Hey! What's going on there!"

"Why do they get special treatment?"

"That's not fair!"

Soldiers shouted back in harsh, cold tones.

"Back up!"

"Stand down and shut the f*** up!"

"Wait your turn! We will have order!"

Hayden felt a bit guilty leaving the crowd behind but knew they had an important job to do if they were going to help all of these people stay alive. As they approached the woman in charge, who was waiting for them with an air of authority, Hayden felt his mind go very blank.

She looked, for lack of a better term, badass. She was nearly as tall as he was, obviously fit and wore her military armour well. A lung, red dragon horns rose from her head like bolts of lightning, and a long, thin black tail trailed behind her. She had blueberry-coloured hair that was pulled back in one large ponytail but with a few braids trailing in front of her cute ears. Her red eyes were piercing and confident, and she surveyed the newcomers with a no-nonsense glare. A pair of long katanas hung from her hips, and she looked like the type of person who could wield them well together.

Also, she was probably the most beautiful person Hayden had seen since losing his memories.

"Uh, Doctor Hayden? Hayden!"

He snapped out of the trance he hadn't realized he'd been in and became aware that he and the others were already standing in front of the woman and that he'd been staring open-mouthed at her. Only Doberman's loud voice and an elbow into his side had brought him back to awareness. He felt a flush of embarrassment.

Doberman gestured to the woman. "This is the Special Inspection Unit's Chief Ch'en of the LGD."

Amiya looked like she was fighting a smile despite the overall tenseness of the situation. She cleared her throat and spoke to the woman in charge, "We're with Rhodes Island. I'm Amiya, one of the directors of Rhodes Island. This is Doctor Hayden, another director. We're here to join our team and offer assistance to Lungmen during the upcoming crisis."

Doberman raised her lanyard again. "Wei Yenwu already approved us."

If Chief Ch'en was offended by Hayden's staring, she didn't show it. If fact, she ignored him and spoke to Amiya. "You were expected at 10 am. It's currently," she checked her wristwatch, "10:14 am."

Amiya was apologetic. Unlike Kal'tsit, who was about as emotionally intelligent as Hayden and known for being icy and blunt, Amiya was good at dealing with others. "I'm so sorry, Chief Ch'en. You're right; we're late. We got here as fast as we could after dealing with an emergency of our own." Of course, if they'd been allowed to land their helicopter in the city, they wouldn't have been late at all. The delay was Lungmen's fault. But she tactfully didn't say that out loud, something both Kal'tsit and Hayden would likely have done and thereby made their situation more difficult.

For a moment, it seemed like the tough woman was going to refuse them entry. But after a couple of moments of thought, she turned toward the processing stations. "Follow me. I'll take you into the city."

Hayden raised a hand. "Actually, before we go, you should speak to the infected. Calm them down. Or in about three minutes, there's going to be trouble. I'd reinforce that area over there as a precaution." He pointed to a section of the infected crowd where soldiers were still fighting to erect fencing.

Chief Ch'en frowned and halted, looking once at him, then at the infected crowd. "How do you know that? Is that a threat?" She placed her hands on her sword hilts, ready to draw them. Her mouth firmed into a grim line.

He hastily raised his hands in alarm. "No!"

"Then how do you know there will be trouble?"

Amiya interjected in a calm voice, "Doctor Hayden is one of our best strategists. If he says trouble is coming, you should listen."

Ch'en refused to look at Hayden. "I'm not interested in anyone telling me how to do my job. My soldiers are on the situation. Everything will be fine." She turned back toward the elevator and resumed walking.

Amiya, Doberman, and Hayden exchanged glances and moved quickly to keep up.

Hayden couldn't hold himself back. "Please, just reassure them. A moment of kindness might stop them. There's no need for anyone to get hurt."

Ch'en spun on her heel, hands still on her sword hilts. "Are you questioning my command?"

"I'm trying to help!"

"It wasn't asked for!"

"We can prevent violence—"

He didn't get any further. Time ran out early.

A small group of infected near the new fencing were quite angry about being rounded up like cattle. Someone shoved a soldier. Other soldiers instantly raised weapons. But more infected stepped forward, shouting and demanding fair treatment, demanding compassion, demanding food and water for their children.

"You can't do this to us!"

"We're victims, not criminals!"

"For goodness sake, think of our children!"

The soldiers, heavily outnumbered, could easily be overwhelmed by a mob despite being armed. Visibly nervous, they took shooting stances and shouted back, threatening the agitators.

"Back the f*** down!"

"On the ground, hands behind your head!"

"I said back! Back!"

Hayden pleaded with the woman in charge, "Please! Quickly! Say something to them. Stop the fencing. Promise food and water. They'll calm down."

Chief Ch'en had no time to answer. The infected boiled forward.

One of the soldiers fired, gun rapidly popping.

Three adults went down.

The mob rose in anger.

Chief Ch'en snapped into action.

Fanfic site can automatically censor swear words? huh neat. some people might be turned off at the end but it was always in the plan I can only hope we can execute it well! Thanks for reading!