(A/N): at the end.

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Chapter Twenty-Two

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"What do you mean I can't..."

"I-I'm terribly s-s-sorry miss but-"

A young medic intern was seen stuttering in front of the medic's tent. The makeshift building had been ordered up by Joni, making Alex their first priority and top patient. Rachel and the Guardian remained inside, isolated from the other larger tents healing other battle wounds.

In front of the poor cleric was a livid Jackie, still bleeding from her own wounds and too worried to go seek medic attention herself. She quietly pulled her dagger and dashed forward, holding it up to the trembling youth's neck. His eyes widened in astonishment before his world turned black, Jackie using a simple hand-to-hand knockout maneuver while his attention was occupied by the stained steel blade.

" Jordan what did I tell you about letting people in during surgery?" An irritated voice snapped, not looking up from the irridescent glow of her own hands.

"Jordan." She called out again sharply, looking up with dismay to see another battered soul watching her with fierce eyes.

"I don't know who you are, but this is a restricted area. Your ignorant presence here is a health risk factor its self."

"How is she?"

Sparing another quick glance, the head cleric noticed that the girl's glance had never once been on her own ragged form.

"Get out."

"How is she."

"Get out of my operating room," Rachel growled out, eyes shooting daggers at the stubborn girl. Her hands felt back to her side defiantly, refusing to continue until her new distraction was contained. Distraction and fatigue meant mistakes- mistakes cost lives.

"What is going on here?" Jorge stormed into the tent with his wand at the ready. Seeing Jackie in a defensive stance and a guilty gleam in her chocolate brown eyes, he sighed in exasperation, dragging her out of the room.

"I'm sorry," the floppy-banged boy whispered sheepishly.

Rachel's glance dropped back to her patient as Rick entered the tent.

"No sir, I'm sorry."

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Jackie paced back and forth, brushing off the healer trying to fix the wound on her arm.

Is she okay? Why am I not allowed to know anything? What the hell is going on?

"Sempai, you have to stop moving or we can't help you."

A growl met his ears. This time he didn't back off.

A faint buzzing hit Jackie's ears as she was taken down with a basic grapple hold, compliments of Jordan. He restrained her with a simple spell before his hands lit in a light green glow, sweat already beading around his squinted brow.

"Jackie," Jorge's soft voice caused the Hybrid to glance over at his still form.

"Is she-"

"She has a concussion. The wounds on her head were deeper then originally thought. Her leg was only bruised, not broken, and the wound missed several arteries which could have been fatal. Her shoulder reopened, ruining the process and disturbing the scar tissue which has begun forming. Her stomach wound was also relatively light, given the situation, and she should be fixed up within a few hours. The main problem right now is blood loss and dehydration which should be-"

A flash of light caused Jorge to pause his reiteration, blinking rapidly for a few seconds before seeing the change in scenery.

Jackie had broken the binding spell, knocking Jordan off balance while slamming him face first into the ground. She was halfway to Alex's tent by the time he had recuperated enough to move. A hearty chuckle escaped the magician's parted lips.

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"Why didn't you-" Rick's harsh voice cut through the silent air.

"I tried."

" You tried? This is unacc-"

"Rick." Jackie glared at her teammate, noticing the clenched hands and pained look on Rachel's face.

"Jackie?"

"Get the fuck out."

Rick looked shocked at Jackie, taking in her glare and angry expression.

"Wha-"

A fist slammed into the side of his face, forcing his body out of the tent with the momentum.

Rachel looked up with question in her eyes.

"She doesn't like to repeat herself," A weak voice spoke up, sending the two girls to twist their heads in rapid succession.

"Alex you baka."

"Sempai, you shouldn't even be conscious right now."

"AB."

Alex's strained form slumped back against the bed, eyes rolling into the back of her head. Rachel rushed out of the room, purpose in her step, leaving a confused Jackie standing in the middle of the silent tent.

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"She won't take it," Rachel slumped against the seat, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips.

"Why not?"

Despite Rachel's protests, Jackie had remained in the medic tent, silent and a complete antithesis to the one who had slugged Rick in the jaw.

"It's the strangest thing. Her body reacts in a similar precautionary system to seasoned war veterans. Enemies in the First War would torture and poison their P.O.W.s, so the soldiers had trained themselves to resist any form of force against their body. No matter how hard you try, her teeth will not budge open. The only damage you could do on her right now would be superficial. I've never seen this on someone so young, a newly appointed apprentice, nonetheless," Rachel shook her head in disbelief, "This is a case for the medical books, and I have no idea how to treat it."

"What is that, anyway?"

"A blood transfusion pill. The clerics up in Ellinia developed it recently for the portability and easy use."

"So you have none of the old ones?"

"No."

"And without more blood, she dies?" Jackie's lip started quivering slightly at the notion.

A thick silence cut through the air, the hesitation a clearer answer then words could provide.

"Let me try."

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Jorge rose, unlinking his feet from the aged chair he was perched on. Rick blinked up at him, nursing his nose with a tender hand.

The floppy-haired boy's eyes cut to the side, where Rachel was exited the tent. The two boys met her halfway to the lounge, A nervous Joni and Tyler following behind.

"Are you done?" "How is she?" "What's her condition?" "Can you fix my nose?"

"Woah, one at a time."

All of the boys turned to glare at Rick, who rubbed his temple in nervousness.

"What? It hurts," he whined.

Rachel let a low chuckle escape her lips.

"There's been a complication. Alex-sempai's body seized up when I tried to give her a blood pill. I can't pry her lips open."

"So what can we do?"

"Nothing, but hope Jackie can get through."

Rick looked up at her in disbelief.

"You left that monster in there with her?"

An eerie silent filled the sectioned area of the lounge, drowning out the clattering and distant shouts coming from the other side of the makeshift clinic. Rachel glared with distaste up at Rick, along with Joni. Tyler looked like he was caught up in his own thoughts, and Jorge seemed to ponder something before speaking.

"She knows Alex better then anyone else. Sure, her temper does get the better of her most of the times, Jackie is no monster. If anything she has too many emotional attachments that could hinder her field performance. It's slightly reassuring she received a medic job, it suits her well. She doesn't have the temperament of a cold blooded assassin."

Jorge's gaze shifted over to Rick.

"You have been awfully foolish today, it is very out of character. I will take it as a reaction to taking your first life. What you did earlier was foolish Rick,"

The last line was muttered, almost too low for Rick to hear. His head tilted in shame.

"Just have faith in her."

The wail of a fallen trainee soaked through the air, his piercing scream doing little to raise the spirits of the waiting. Staring at one another listlessly, the small group took in their surroundings for what felt like the first time. A nasueating odor of fresh corpses filled the air, a lack of dead bodies doing nothing but further stack the questions in nearly everyones' mind. What had happened? Something obviously didn't go as planned, and someone severely fucked up. The end of their battle had caused more questions then it had answered, and now without any distractions, the confusion was a heavy headache on the minds of most.

A muffled moan escaped the entrance of the tent, sending nearly a dozen eyes in the dirrection of Alex's tent.

Rachel and Jorge rushed forward.

The scene they witnessed was unexpected.

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"You should go take a break, Rach."

"What are you going to-"

"Whatever I have to. Don't worry about it."

Throughout the entire conversation Jackie's gaze had not been averted.

"Don't hurt her."

"I don't plan to."

Rachel shook her head, walking towards her well deserved break.

Jackie stared at her seemingly catatonic friend. Alex was probably passed out with exhausted, she tried to soothe herself, and blood loss.

Blood loss....

Her eyes widened in panic as she remembered the dire state her teammate really was in.

"Alex," She growled, trying to fruitlessly pry her clenched teeth apart. Even hitting precise pressure points was no help to her battle-ready friend. Jackie tried to pull her jaw down from outside her mouth, putting a well-sized amount of effort into the action before stopping abruptly. The last thing Alex needed was a broken jaw to top her list of injuries.

Jackie pulled back, grinding her lower lip within her upper and lower teeth. What could she possibly do that a more experienced medic wouldn't have tried already? She shook her head in frustration trying to erase the hours of reading through her text book that kept flashing through her eyes. Nothing in there would be of a help now. She needed something more personal, something the textbook wouldn't know to do.

That was it.

Jackie opened her eyes, a slight tint on her face as she remembered the last time she was able to catch the cautious Guardian off her game enough to gasp. The only problem would be working up the courage to do it.

Slowly, Jackie walked over to Alex's still form. She carefully placed her arm on Alex's prone arm, shaking it slightly,

"Alex."

No response.

Pushing down the sudden lump in her throat, Jackie braced her weight, carefully sliding over Alex's battle-torn body. Straddling her hips lightly, Jackie bent over, in a reverse position to the awkward situation in her bedroom. She took a second to really study Alex who, besides the caked on dirt and various cuts, looked so much more peaceful in her sleep. Eyes flittering up, Jackie once again silent mused on whether or not her friend's sweat dampened hair was as soft as it looked. The blushing Asian girl leaned over, pushing her body closer to Alex's still unconscious form before whispering in her ear.

"Alex, wake up."

No response. She tried again a little louder.

"Wake up."

Nothing.

"Wake up baka!"

In a swift movement, Alex's muscles flexed and Jackie prepared herself for the inevitable pain.

Alex's unconscious form had flipped her over and off the hastily made cot, onto the hard cement floor where the back of Jackie's head smacked into. Alex remained unconscious, the threat to her normal breathing gone, as she let a gasp escape her breathe with the intake of breathe on impact. As Jackie's vision blurred momentarily, she pushed her arm forward, shoving the blood pill into Alex's open mouth. In a haze, she tried to pull her arm back, accidentally knocking against her re-injured shoulder again.

Alex let out a moan of protest, swallowing the pill in the process, as she remained entirely on top of her red-tinted friend.

Rachel and Jorge entered the tent.

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The smirk on Jorge's face made Jackie scowl at him, the blush deepening on her face.

"What happened?" Rachel watched on, half shocked and half amused.

"I got her to take the stupid pill," she grumbled, oddly comfortable with Alex's body weight on top of her.

A grim rivaling the Cheshire Cat spread under Jorge's black, flopping bangs, causing the red staining Jackie's cheeks to spread across the bridge of her nose.

"We can leave you two alone, Jacks," Jorge smirked, emphasizing the pet name Alex had given her earlier that week.

This earned him a long string of expletives from Jackie, who then tried to stand up, balancing Alex's larger body against her own. Rachel rushed over to help, shooting Jackie a thankful look.

"We can proceed with the rest of the healing now, she should make it out just fine."

"I'll stay here while-"

"We'll go Rachel, heal her up as best as you can."

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Jorge and Jackie silently made their way to the other occupied tents, intent on helping the injured as much as possible. Jorge being a battle mage only knew basic first-aid training and a begginer healing spell for nicks and scratches. Jackie had already started reading up on medical theory, and was eager to put her new knowledge into the field where it could be of help.

The duo approached a flustered Tyler, weilding a clipboard which he glanced down at every couple of seconds.

"Need some help?" Jorge asked kindly, trying to keep the smirk out of his voice. Eyes filled with begging glanced over at the short boy, who had decided to spare some mercy on the young warrior and help sort. Jackie approached a concentrated medic, seeking out where she would be most useful.

A narrowing expression on her face, Jackie crossed the distant to the nearest occupied cot. Brad lay down, nursing a broken arm and minor cuts on the side of his face.

"Jackie?"

"Sit still Brad."

Spreading her hands over her teammate's covered lungs, Jackie squinted her closed eyes in thought. The ancient healing words quivered off of her lips as an extremely faint glow flashed over Brad's silent form.

"Your radius is bruised, not broken and the cuts are thankfully shallow. I can heal up the scrapes on your head," She explained, moving her steady hands over Brad's temples, "But you're just gonna have to deal with the aching for now. I don't know the proper spell to heal it."

Brad smiled up thankfully, causing Jackie to blink twice, stunnned.

"Thanks Jackie. I know you guys may not like me very much but, you're my team, my friends, and well," He looked away with a scowl on his features, "You know."

"Yeah Brad, I know," was the whispered answer, as the shifting girl walked over to another patient.

Brad closed his eyes and fell into a deep, exhaustive sleep.

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"You are completely transparent you know," A familiar voice called over to her.

Jackie did not look up, intending to finish mending up the gash in the injured bandit's arm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jorge chuckled and shook his head.

"Rick may be too blind to see it, and you may be competent at lying to yourself, but I see it. Rachel probably does too."

"You're wrong Jorge," Jackie ground out, switching her attention to a young spearman with a nasty bruise forming above his right eyebrow, "You're reading too far into what isn't there."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself."

A sharp gaze was sent his way.

"Don't act so objective Jorge, you aren't as opaque as you wish you were," was the snarled reply, as another patient took the angry girl's full attention.

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Uncharacteristically soft, light blue eyes opened, blinking harshly against the painfully bright lights. A floating globe of magic floated above her head, properly lighting her laying figure for the medic looking down at her.

"Rachel?"

"Good morning, well, afternoon now isn't it?"

"Is everything-?"

"Thanks to your pushy friend. We had a minor complication administering your blood pill but after that it was smooth sailing. We should talk about your condition."

Alex silently stared up, unnerving Rachel slightly.

"Your shoulder healed up relatively nicely, considering the prior wounds. In the scar tissue we found traces of what looked to be a poison, already embedded deep into your muscles. I'm sorry Alex, I couldn't risk your arm movement to fully heal that, but the shoulder pulled back together together without complication. All wounds on your head, leg and other spots have healed up just fine aswell. It seems as though your body is used to the healing process and did not resist me on that effort. But Alex, why did you show symptoms-"

"Thank you, Rachel."

The softness which had woken Alex was replaced by her guarded, hardened exterior. Rachel noticed the subconscious change with a peaked interest.

Just what else was strange around this girl?

She would have to find out.

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Rachel had left the tent, leaving Alex to her own musings. She stared down at her aching shoulder, reminiscing in what Rachel had said. It would explain the violent pains she still got at random times. She roughly flexed and stretched out most of her body, pulling her weakened body up to a sitting position.

Unconsciously Alex ran a hand through her gritty locks, frowning in distate.

How long would the poison remain in her system, hindering her process?

As much as Alex wanted a sensible answer, there was no time to mope over injuries.

What had happened, happened, and this was just another obstacle to push through.

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The group lay spread out on the floor, next to the gaping hole which the enemy had filtered through just hours before. Jackie looked worn, having spent up most of her magic to keep the brave graduates healed and in a safe zone, far from death. Jorge was panting opposite to her in the circle, just having sank to the ground after his medic shift. Tyler and Joni took up the remaining sides of the circle, silently resting and recooperating from the battle before. Brad lay between Jackie and Tyler, looking over at the non-moving girl when he thought no one was looking. A looming shadow caused the group to look up.

"Hey Rachel," Jorge smiled tiredly up at her. She took a seat next to him.

"Is everything okay?"

Rachel grinned at the question. The girl just didn't let up.

"She's awake. Everything went fine, and she knows of the complications."

"Complications?" Jackie's brow furrowed.

"Always worrying 'bout me, aren't you?"

Rick and Jorge stood, walking to meet her halfway and exchange hugs and pats on the back. They returned to their places in the makeshift circle, sinking once more to the ground.

Jackie looked up into Alex's lopsided grin, scowling as she stood on shaky legs.

"You are a baka," she growled, lashing out and hitting Alex on the back of the head. Alex made no move to block, letting the fist strike her.

She grabbed the shorter girl up in a fierce, brief hug.

"I was worried about you too."

It had been a long day.

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Early the next morning, a booming voice woke up the resting graduates.

"Can I have your attention, can I have your attention please?"

A familiar ancient, drawn out voice flowed from the stage. Grendal the Old was staring back at them.

"Congratulations to all of our graduates for passing the last part of the exam," a murmur went out through the crowd.

"Please come out to the open field for the final words of the day, your parents should be waiting there."

(A/N): Sorry for the long wait. I could give you all a decently large list of excuses but it wouldn't make up for lost time, so I see no point. I do plan on finishing this, eventually, but there are so many plot lines I need to introduce, fix, and complete. Bare with me through this guys, I'll try to update ASAP. As always, any questions or comments would love to be heard, drop me a review or PM.

As I stated before, I'll write up the next chapter for the most reviewed story, and this one is tied with another for first.

Thanks for waiting guys, hope this chapter was to your liking.