Daily Check-Ups [Cadet Morning Event]

Cecilia's nerves calmed somewhat as Julius smiled at her and she noticed the familiar faces of the newly rehabilitated Cadets. A half-hearted smile of her own formed on her face, although it'd waver once Shin began introducing himself and demonstrated a rather blunt and reclusive demeanor, not at all what she had been expecting from him post-rehabilitation. It seemed that his rudeness wasn't a symptom of his Psyche Terrorism. Still, she couldn't particularly blame him; it was likely difficult to get enthusiastic about the job when people like her were sitting around sulking about details he didn't even know yet. She'd have to try harder to put up a more amicable front this morning.

Once the other Cadets finished speaking, Cecilia would offer her own short report regarding the events of the broadcast (though unlike the others she wouldn't stand up from her seat as she did so). "The situation in Vista Square was coordinated by a group known as the Platinum Playhouse. I assume that we've all heard their message by now, but if not I have it on my phone and can play it so we're all up to speed." She'd offer as she raised the device into the air and pressed her index finger idly against the volume button on the side. If the others signaled her then she'd (reluctantly) follow through on her word and unplug her headphones, playing it aloud for everyone to hear upon request, although otherwise she wouldn't bother addressing the contents of the speech -- after all, it was all absurdity, every last word being nothing more than nonsense. Instead she'd continue and move onto the information that Superbia had relayed through their mental connection. "It's likely that Infinite Jest was buying time for this 'Platinum Playhouse' and that the two groups are one in the same. While they chose to flee before we could engage them, Superbia did manage to inform us about their abilities and weaknesses to an extent, presumably having witnessed their powers in action before we arrived. While I can't quote it word-for-word..." The pink-haired Cadet would continue and detail the data received from the District Leader. Afterwards she'd abruptly and suddenly stop without any addendum or closing statement to accompany the raw facts.

OOC Notes:

To no surprise, Julius knew there were misgivings. It wasn't anything new. Maria was always the first to adopt an expression of disapproval, but she seemed more composed and lacking in any kind of emotion, blank. The other Cadets, it would be too much to ask to get along right away after last night, but he had enough trust that they eventually will. He quietly listened to what each Cadet had to say. Though at the turnip comment, he only raised a questioning eyebrow. But his lips spoke of no words as he silently allowed them to continue. When Cecilia finished, Julius mulled over the information for a moment as well as giving the rest of the Cadets some time to reflect on it before finally speaking. "It seems that we've finally met, not just one, but two truly troublesome foes in such challenging times. Infinite Jest and Platinum Playhouse, they're names that we must keep in mind from here on forth. The amount of organization put into their operations are more devious than I previously imagined. They both wish to upset the Order and yet their abilities and motives seem to differ...  The fanaticism as Susan put it and the freedom the Playhouse espouses. It begs the question if they truly are one in the same. What is their purpose for dividing into two separate groups when they could claim it all under their Queen in one? I suppose time can only tell once we finally grasp at the truth of the matter."


"Does it even matter? Psyche-Terrorists or not, if they mess with the city, they gotta go through us. Sure, last night was a mess, but they were only lucky. Because in the end, we'll win like always. Like how we managed to nab that T dude, right?" Alex huffed at it all while looking up from the LCD screen of his mobile phone. Of course, he was barely trying to hide it under his desk as if he were listening the whole time. Though he was fairly confident that they would be able to nab these losers. Sure there were set-backs and not totally because of all these newcomer losers, but it was only a matter of time until they got the cuffs on them. Julius grinned grimly at Alex. "Indeed we will. But that is only possible if you put your phone away, Alex. It's the seventieth time this year already. Will you kindly head downstairs to the infirmary with Miss Wilson and Shin and tell Doctor Naomi we will be there soon?"

The Cadet groaned and rolled his eyes at him. Why all three of them when just one of these newcomers would suffice? When Julius gave that signature pointed look in his direction, Alex had no choice, but to relent. He began to trudge out towards the entrance. Obviously Shin didn't want to walk out and just lay there in his comfortable seat. But at Serah's insistent prodding, even he was unable to remain while being dragged by the arm by the girl towards the entrance. When the group's footsteps began to recede in the distance, Julius re-positioned his attention back to the rest of the class. At first he seemed to hesitate, as if there were a lack of words. There truly was no easy way of going about this, especially when they were visibly affected by T. Indeed, it seemed as if he wished to truly demoralize the Cadets. Perhaps he truly succeeded in that. "Now with their departure, it's about time for me to address the proverbial elephant in the room. Maria was kind enough to fill in the details for me when you've finally met T. What he showed all of you that night, it's true. Mankind was its own worst enemy when the Divide began as insanity and mayhem was rife. Now you understand why this Order is so important and why this must be kept a secret. This is the burden we must bear as Cadets."

Cecilia stifled a scoff into her sleeve at the line Julius drew between the two organizations. If it'd been anyone else making that case she would've displayed her doubts loud and clear (especially in the midst of her current mood), but she knew well that she had no right to do that when it was the prince that was speaking, that his judgement and experience reigned far above her own. Even putting his heritage and status aside, he had done so much for her last night, showing profound and touching concern in spite of her unworthiness and even ultimately saving her life. Perhaps she didn't see anything in the Playhouse's speech beyond propaganda and lies, perhaps she was unable to think of it as anything other than a move to divide the populace and set them against one another, but that didn't give her a right to mock Julius's more open-minded assessment. Thus she relented and listened in silence... at least until Alex decided to interject. She wouldn't express her opinion verbally, but she would nod in approval at the sentiment he shared. For once she agreed with the little brat. There was something else that caught her attention however.


The word had an uncharacteristically worrying aura to it, but Cecilia chose to ignore the feeling, instead watching in confused reticence as Alex and the recruits left the room. Once her eyes returned to Julius though she'd feel her stomach begin to sink; the complete lack of any further conversation was (needless to say) uncomfortable and she couldn't stop herself from squirming in her seat at the grim expression resting on his face. Still, it was the emerging dread that proved to be the source of her strife, fears brewing in her heart at the sight of a usually calm and unflinching commander mulling over what was unknown to them. The anticipation was killing her; it was like a dagger digging into her back, a sword scraping at her and threatening to slowly but surely shave away the skin of bravado she had forced her way into. When he finally began to speak though, the feeling didn't fade away, only intensifying further and further as he progressed through his speech and revealed a truth she had been ready to forsake. It was a truth no one had asked to hear, a truth he had avoided addressing back at the ballroom... but now? Now they were forced to confront it all over again. What bullshit was this? What kind of nightmare was she having where Julius of all people would spew such nonsense? She hadn't forgotten that night, she hadn't forgotten what'd happened! That was the reason she was here in the first place -- the fucking Demons that did all this! She saw it with her own eyes, so how could she be wrong? How could she've mistaken humans for those monsters?!

That was when it dawned on her: she hadn't actually seen the monsters. She had certainly heard them, heard the tearful cries of her friends as they were torn apart and devoured by beasts, heard the frightful roars and guffaws from the creatures that hunted her and the other children down... but she hadn't seen them. Every time one of her "subjects" got captured she kept running; she never looked back to see them or their killer, never gazed directly at their fates for more than a moment, always abandoning them and escaping without a second thought. So how could she be sure that it was a Demon that'd done all that, that had slaughtered the people whose screams haunted her to this day? What was stopping a human from... from tearing them apart, from snapping the sinew and grinding the marrow into dust, from... from killing them? And that was when she realized what this truly meant, the fact she had been fleeing from all this time.


Now she understood. Now she got the joke, knew what it was, knew the Infinite Jest. It was... It was actually funny! Even as the tears spilled down her face and she dug her nails into the desk, she couldn't stop laughing at it, couldn't stop laughing at how stupid she was! Trying to repent for abandoning her friends by saving the people who slaughtered them... It was rich; so rich she wanted to tear out her tongue so she'd never laugh again, so rich she wanted to cut off her ears so she'd never have to hear another joke! But obviously, she couldn't do that, so instead her overwhelmed mind jumped immediately to the next best thing. The sudden sound of a chair slamming harshly against the ground would cut off whatever else was being said as she leaped up onto her feet and knocked it to the floor. Falling into a familiar habit, Cecilia dashed through the classroom toward the open exit and with a swift shadowy burst made a bid for the hallway, flying forward in a mindless state of panic. Just like old times, she didn't stop for a second to think about what she was leaving behind, fleeing without regard for the bag or phone she left on the desk as she did her best to get out of the building as quickly as possible.

Cecilia Hunt:

Action:

Passives:

Relevant(?) Strengths/Weaknesses:

OOC Notes:

"Know your enemy, as they say. Humans are a diverse species, so it is only natural people would rebel for different reasons. Some might think democracy is the way or they simply want their own 'nobility' to rule." While in the end they all deserved punishment and damnation, knowing what you are up against is of great importance. What is their weakness, how to prevent their methods of corruption and seduction, among others. Though that wasn't his job, his blade was to deliver judgement. Not study those who he smites. Yet again the knight fell silent, listening to what his liege had to say and the revelation was truly something.

The Knight had always knew in his heart humanity could be just as bad as the demons he sought to purge. The difference is that to humanity there's salvation, the spawn of satan are all irredeemable creatures. However this new information made him doubt if salvation was indeed a possibility at all, to surpass even the hellish beasts in the capability for destruction and corruption. He could feel that same dark presence from last night, with its cold presence caressing his soul, whispering promises of release and the purification of this world, all he had to do was spill rivers of blood. With a grunt he shrugged off it for now, he was never inclined to protect civilians but attacking them wouldn't solve anything. This is why people like Isla or the Pope existed, to guide humanity towards the light of righteous and law, without God or society they would fall into the same chaos again. This was why the government of the previous world had failed, they were weak and lazy, an iron fist is required, to squash people like jest... Of course, Cecilia had a completely reaction. She showed promise at first but each day that passes Albrecht starts to see her lack of righteous anger.

"Affirmative, my liege." Julius speech had aided him in reaffirming his purpose in the face of doubt, though he saw himself as knight first and a cadet second.
"Should someone follow after Cecilia?"

The businesswoman sighed a deep shaky sigh as the talking points went onward, removing a single hand from her face to touch the board in order to update it.  Shiina's first observation surprisingly irritated her, though she wasn't frustrated at anyone in particular. It echoed her own comment, that the inside of the studio had shifted. Domain. It had a term. It was a phenomenon, and well documented at that. And Susan did not know of this because no one told her. Why should she be surprised? She was never given firearms training, combat training of any sort, or the barest knowledge of her supernatural abilities that others showed prowess in already. They were never even taught any laws, though she was familiar already with her background. The complete and total disregard for keeping fellow Cadets up to speed in all areas of knowledge had become prevalent and, Susan thought, disgraceful. This was a failure to train. She did not expect hand-holding nor did she expect to have all the answers right away, but at no point was she ever given any information with which to perform as a Cadet and quite frankly that was unsatisfactory. Save for Maria, of course, who had gone out of her way to do so. The weary woman would promise to herself that she would enact a training plan and come Hell or high water it would be followed, even if adjustments had to be made, something needed to be done. But this was not a public discussion to have nor relevant, so she would simply seethe and sulk and continue to contain herself in an attempt to hold her prickly composure.

The conversation would move forward and Susan would continue to busy herself with her distracting task of updating the board with both information and theories, though more information than theories. Each one of them would focus on something different however most were focused on the capabilities of the enemy, what they could do. This mattered little to the short woman, at least at first. She did not care what her enemy could do, she cared how it could be used and in what way. She cared about their goals and motives so that they could be predicted in their actions and ultimately stopped... however as more would speak she could gather a clearer picture.

Officer Jackie had confirmed that this organization definitely had power over demons, which would beg questions and affect future operations with their involvement. Sarah, for instance. Had she really been possessed by the demon they had fought? Did she accept it for power instead? These were later things to glance over but Susan suspected some form of malice and that she wasn't purely a victim. She lifted her head from her hand long enough to answer Jackie, being the only one to witness an unbiased recollection of events through her sigil of knowledge.
"You all became disoriented and confused, and your perceptions of the world were distorted until the mirror representing the non-distorted perception could be broken." After speaking she would sink her head into her hands again to think and wish herself somewhere else. Her only reaction to Officer Frost's praise was to huddle deeper into herself and lightly claw her forehead. She had not performed to standards as he had said, she had made several mistakes all of which cost the team dearly. Had she taken more command in certain situations, informed her team of certain observations she had kept to herself such as T's motive, and considered things more they would have suffered less casualties. First and foremost she should have established contact with the rear, and placed a mark on Prince Julius or Alex and that was her biggest mistake of all. But she busied her mind to distract her from the encroaching shame, piecing together what he had spoken of combined with Officer Tsurinai's rote recounting of events to form a more important theory. Susan touched her hand to the board once more to make a web of stick figures, interconnected with a single figure at the point yet they would not get far enough to discuss that theory before moving on to the next topic.

It was an entirely new topic and Susan completely gave up on updating the board with all this new information and sunk deeper into herself. It was pointless. This entire meeting was pointless and she was frustrated and in pain and exhausted. All the theories and details in this moment would be lost to speculation with no exploration. Nothing concrete would get done. She would do all the leg work herself and neatly tie the facts together on her own instead, where she could fully explore these concepts uninterrupted and at a pace that would be meaningful to each subject of discussion. There was much to go over, and a wealth of information had been brought forward already but she knew very well that she would get no time to discuss any of it at all, everyone would make their own wild theories on what they believed to be true and they were already moving onward to the physical examination. What joy.






...........Susan did not expect Prince Julius to discuss this matter so openly. She had intended to approach him on it privately at a later time, it was crucial to know the truth for her investigation. To see how deep the leak went, who knew, who could have told or defected. It was... relieving... at first. To know the truth, that is. The businesswoman no longer had to second-guess which memories were true, which were false. She felt... numbness. A deep sense of resignation as she slid her hands from her face and gazed emptily into the ground. She had been a murderer, outside of her mind or not. She had performed unspeakable acts, unforgiveable acts. No matter what she would do from here on out she could not reconcile what the worst of her was capable of. And in the depths of her heart she was afraid. This was no longer a fight for order, protection of the people, a battle for justice. This had become a fight to prevent the end of the world a second time. Susan understood the gravity of the situation, the Prince was not giving hyperbole in his reassuring statement. Nothing would absolve her of what she'd done, there would be no making up for it but the fact of the matter is that if this could not be allowed to happen again. She could not bear the weight of being that breed of monster... n-not twice... she would kill herself first.

Susan did not cry, did not cloister, did not react save for the life visibly leaving her body as the weight of the situation crushed her. Not even as Cecilia lashed out as it affected her much the same. Susan stood in shock gazing into the abyss, outside herself, within herself... it was unclear where the emptiness lay. And she would remain this way until she heard her fellow Cadet speak up.

"Should someone follow after Cecilia?"
Then what is she doing here? Shouldn't she be out stopping them?

...the businesswoman slowly pushed herself off the desk, walking with a slow, weary gait toward where Cecilia had left her things. Her empty gaze did not meet anyone else's, looking past her peers instead.
"....I will do so..." Susan spoke in defeated tones as she lazily grabbed Cecilia's bag and phone as to return them when she was found. Even as melancholy as she was, Susan approached this as she naturally did: logically and with a plan in mind.

Jackie, like Cecilia, was having a...reaction to this news. An internal one. The statement Julius just gave...well, had created a bit of an error in Jackie's systems. Part of him had wanted to get in Cecilia's way as she ran, but...he was a bit preoccupied. What did Julius mean, Mankind was it's own enemy in the Divide. Eventually, he just decided to raise his hand. Maybe he'd missed something. It must have been stressful, in the situation of needing to survive, stress could get to anyone, and make them do something...terrible. He'd seen that in his favorite Zombie show...he didn't want to speak out of turn but... "Um...Your Highness? I-I'm sorry but...I didn't see anything last night. I DID notice a few of the others going through...um...emotional distress but I was unaffected. I don't mean to upset anyone but...I genuinely d-don't know what you're talking about."

It had to just mean survival, right? If it meant what he truly thought it did then who the hell was he supposed to save? If Endymion's citizens were just monsters under their skin...then did that mean Boss was too? When was he created...? Why was he created? Was...was he created as a weapon against humanit-

Jackie promptly blue-screened, slumping against the back wall. His rebooting process would start on it's own.

And this too wouldn't be so. As Susan slid Cecilia's phone into the bag she left behind she would find a hand resting upon her, preventing her from performing her function. And she was ordered not to go. Despite the flimsy pleading it was an order, she had been aware, and there would be nothing to mask that. Shiina had a point and not the one she had directly made. Susan would not be the best for this situation. She was not adept at comforting others and her methods would not be as efficient in locating Cecilia, not to mention she did not know her best.


The businesswoman handed Shiina the discarded things without a word, a blankness in her expression. She could understand that her choice was not the optimal one, though she volunteered when no one else would. Something would need to be done and if there were no others then so be it, but there were others now. She no longer had relevance. This was not her responsibility to undertake in any regard. To be truthful her head wound was nothing to be worried of. She had not been concussed, it was a superficial wound that would leave an ugly scar, nothing more. Her vocal bruising had been much worse than that, the difference being that her head had bled at one point and her throat did not.

Susan would walk to sit in Cecilia's desk, it being the closest as she bored her gaze into the oak of its top. This was another circumstance she was not required to engage in, which was okay. She would focus on obeying her commanding officer and getting through the rest of this frustrating and pointless endeavor.

Susan would make a point to no longer volunteer for such things.

When Cecilia darted towards the direction of the exit, what she wouldn't be able to realize until it was too late was the fact that someone was there. The Cadet collided with the newcomer, but only the suddenly escaping girl found herself hitting the floor. When she looked up, a dark silent glare radiated towards her direction. It looked upon her with a palpable disdain as if they were looking down on Cecilia like an insect. The entire room went silent as everyone realized who finally arrived to the class. There was nothing mistakable from the white uniform with the rapier at the hip and the azure blue hair that seemed to adorn the person who stood in front of Cecilia. Not only has Cecilia caused an issue with this person once, but now twice.



"Of course not, my fellow Cadets were simply very eager for the examination as you can see. I apologize for their carelessness. What brought you to grace us with your presence at this time?" Julius chuckled on their behalf as he began to walk towards their direction. Despite his attempt to bring the Cadets together, the truth was certainly too much for some. Not that he could ever blame them for this reaction. Even he could scarcely believe what he was hearing and seeing during the Divide. The Nameless Guard gave what could be interpreted a look of askance towards Julius and the Cadets. "Likewise, I am eager for the results to come out. This City can't afford to tolerate insubordination. I wish to see for myself the growing roots of disobedience and take notes to expel it accordingly. But I can see you're preoccupied as of this moment. I will see you downstairs then."

Without any air or fanfare, she finally left the entrance and made her departure. When the sound of her clacking footsteps finally left in the distance, Julius heaved a small sigh. What a great start to an otherwise good morning weather. He grasped Cecilia's shoulder. "Are you alright, Cadet Cecilia? Can someone else also please check on Cadet Jackie?"

The speedy collision unsurprisingly hit Cecilia hard as her ass slammed against the ground and her hood flew behind her, the rabbit ears whipping her back as her tear-stained reddening face was exposed to the world, the girl ending up proverbially unmasked in the presence of both the guard and her peers. But in spite of the sudden setback and the short burst of pain that accompanied it, the Cadet's first instinct was to press her hands against the floor and prepare to push herself up to her feet; she only stopped when her vision began to clear and her eyes noticed the familiarity of the figure before her. When the voice reached her ears it became immediately evident who had blocked her way... and when memories of the night before flashed through her mind, it became immediately evident why they'd done it, or at least so it seemed to Cecilia. Her previously shaky body went eerily limp and her dimming gaze drifted over to the sheathed rapier with little ado or fear. Water continued to rush down her eyes, but the previous flood settled down to a steady stream and trickled down in total silence.


Empty, foolish words. They easily forced their way through her throat in the wake of the ensuing chaos, yet she didn't regret saying them, delivering the question in a cold and unfeeling monotone unbefitting of someone who seconds earlier had been overflowing with emotion. If Nameless wanted to kill her then that'd be that; she didn't display any fear or even contempt in response to the terrifying presence and the assumptions it conjured up. Perhaps in a better state of mind she might've been worried about how the sight would affect the other Cadets, or how her demise would impact those close to her, or how it'd mean the end of her journey as a protector of the people. Right now though? Right now none of that came to mind. The entire world around her was empty until Julius finally interceded; Endymion had become devoid of anything but a failure and one believed to be set on correcting it.

When the dust finally settled and the murderer left the room, Cecilia continued to sit and stare at the vacant spot the woman had once occupied. The initial shock and horror of the revelation were over and after the business with Nameless was concluded there was nothing to feel but shame. In the end, it'd been a pointless display, a kneejerk reaction that only served to draw attention to her and fill the hearts of her comrades with additional concern and strife. Jackie had even ended up shutting down in the midst of the stressful situation -- a fact which, coupled with Julius's immediate focus on her, illuminated just how selfish the outburst truly was. "I'm... I'm fine, I just... I'm sorry." She sputtered out as she stumbled to her feet, burying her face into her sleeve and wiping the remaining tears from it, all while heading back in silence to her overturned seat. She'd correct the chair's position and after sitting down would simply stare down at her desk doing her best to disappear from prevalence while the others tended to Jackie and recuperated.

Retcon:

The sudden THWAP of colliding bodies snapped the melancholic woman out of her nonexistence, sending her spiraling into combat mode. With her back to the door, no less. She slammed her hand powerfully to the desk and onto her briefcase with her submachinegun inside, making a half-turn to face the possible threat as she tensed to take cover behind the makeshift wooden barricade.


Sh-she's on the ground, I-I can see the blood already. This... sh-she can't be dead it's not... wh-where's the gun I shot myself with...? Did she... which... n... n-no that never happened, that's wrong. She's bleeding and I shot... n-no... I-I don't know...

The timid woman froze like a deer in the headlights as she surveyed, white-knuckling her gun without realizing it and breathing heavy, erratic breaths. She did not recognize this woman, she...! Sh-she was not a threat. This was a safe place, yes, it was safe. Susan placed a hand over her heart to calm it and closed her eyes.
"Hiii-...! Hi-hiii...! *gulp* H-haaaa-aaa.... Y-y-you surprised me..." she relented in half apology. She half-listened as she calmed down, even so it was clear that this woman was possibly a higher-ranking Cadet and held some grief against Officer Hunt. But her words themselves made little sense. A medical exam had nothing to do with insubordination, nor did a psychological one. The topics were completely unrelated. She assumed they were pointed words toward someone, of whom she could only make the most rational guess. This did not concern her. What concerned her was her failing memory.

None of what she had imagined just happened, it was a panic reaction. Nothing more. The lack of sleep was getting to her, her mind felt as weary as her body did. Susan was aware that this could interfere with the forming of memories, th-that must be it. She looked on with a pale face and shallow breaths as the imposing woman left on her way to wherever that was and Cecilia sat back up. Which was good...! None... none of this had actually happened. It was... reassuring to know she hadn't still lost her grip on reality. But she needed rest, that much was abundantly clear, and so Susan would ensure that she would get it as soon as possible. The businesswoman breathlessly replied to Prince Julius's request, still shivering from her scare.

"...I...I-I will do so..." The businesswoman tentatively shuffled toward Cadet Jackie, who appeared to be unconscious. W-with his eyes open. Susan tilted her head around him to check for wounds, finding none she gently shook his shoulder and snapped her fingers before his face.
"I-I believe he has fainted, sir."

No, she was not. It was clear that the young Cadet was barely keeping herself together like most of the others. It was truly damning that even Susan was reaching her limits as well. It really was an awful situation to behold. Why did it have to be like this when they won last night? It was as if they truly lost instead. Sooner or later these Cadets had to face reality at one point, but that was the toughest hurdle. Getting over it and just continuing to work like normal? That was the challenge. He silently watched Cecilia return to her seat before addressing Susan. "Leave him be and allow him to recover. We'll bring him to the infirmary."

He knew Cadet Jackie wasn't quite human himself. While not knowing much about machines, the Prince knew there wasn't much he could do unless someone like his Sister came by. Until then, Julius would have to leave him as is. He began to walk back towards the podium and took a quiet moment to collect himself. Where to go from here? While he was contemplating, the sound of footsteps returned until a familiar boy popped back into the room. "Hey. The doc's ready and that creepy guard is hanging around for some reason. Are we good? Did something happen here?"

Julius was almost glad Alex finally arrived. It was already a difficult moment to break the ice and this was as best as he was going to get.  He shook his head towards the boy and said no. While the child was pouting and unconvinced, it didn't stop the Prince from subsequently addressing the class. "We will be heading downstairs for the examination as I do not wish to keep them waiting. Afterwards, I wish to have a few more words before I dismiss you for the day."

He gave a nod towards Alex who in turn rolled his eyes while swiveling on one foot to spin back out to the exit. The rest of the Cadets would begin to follow him, especially Maria with Jackie in her arms through Julius' request. The Cadet's captain would also file after them. With Alex as their guide, they marched through the hallways and down the stairs. Eventually they ended up in another set of hallways before reaching a door that led to a rather spacious room complete with what seemed to be necessary equipment you would see in an infirmary and with curtain stalls as well. In the room, Serah and Shin were waiting to the side still bantering and chattering between them and the volume of their discourse fell as the group finally arrived. Of course, Nameless was downstairs too. Though she waited outside of the room with a careful eye. A disdainful one towards a few choice Cadets.


"We're all present. I'm sorry to trouble you further, Doctor, may I have Cadet Jackie here occupy one of the beds?" It seemed rather odd that someone was unconscious and didn't seem to be a very good sign of anything at all. Of course, he got consent as the doctor pulled one of the curtains aside to show a vacant bed before gesturing Maria over. "When did she--?"

"He's an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. I don't believe he has the same issues humans do. It does seem he is shut off at the time being. Until I bring Serenity over, can we leave him here?" Julius interrupted as smoothly and calmly as he could. There was confusion as the Prince addressed the doctor and the nurse. He knew of the overt shown of concern on the doctor's face, but it didn't seem much of an issue right now as she began to relax. "Certainly, as long as she--he doesn't malfunction and explode! Ha ha! Well, if you don't mind, I suppose I can take it from here. I'm Doctor Naomi Wright. Assisting me today is La--"

"Laura Blackwell. I'm the nurse who babysits you when you skin a knee," the short woman interjected with a bored expression. She grasped at what looked like to be a cart near by and drew it near towards the Cadets before pulling off the cloth. She gestured at what seemed to be a machine complete with a LCD screen, keyboards, knobs, switches, and an adjustable headset connected to the rest of the machine through wires. "We'll take your measurements and a blood sample for the physical portion for this test. We got a machine to test your brain waves and some questionnaires for the psychological half. We'll be doing all of this in the stalls. Any questions?"

As the nurse and doctor began to introduce themselves, Julius would approach Nameless to talk. As they conversed, they slowly began to file out away from the room for what seemed to be a private conversation well out of earshot.

The businesswoman would do as instructed and allow Officer Jackie to lie there. Unmoving. With his eyes open, like... l-like a corpse. She could feel her heartbeat quicken again and swallowed hard. The night wasn't over. It would never be over and it would haunt her for the rest of her days. She was beginning to... accept that fact and sought strategies against it, though her fatigued mind found itself distracted and worn down. The adrenaline charging through her system without pause would give her no rest and take its toll on her well-being.
"Y...y-yes sir."
Susan could feel the weight draw down on her like an anchor when Prince Julius announced he had yet more items for them to go over at the finality of the exam. She rubbed her tired face and slumped toward her briefcase. It would be irresponsible to leave her weapon unattended in a classroom. She snapped the lid closed and began to file after the others, close to if not last in line with her sluggishness and needing to go back for her things.

The skittish woman trudged in silence, eyes unfocused and turned straight as they shifted in their sockets, darting to inspect every sudden sound and scrape of feet. Things became easier for her to manage as she could wind down with the structure and her comrades around her as well as the knowledge that this reaction was an automatic one brought forth by a sustained threat response. In time she could tune it out to a degree... although she remained alert and could enter Fight or Flight at any time. She shuffled tensely past the unknown, intimidating woman, keeping her eyes forward and to herself though observing her through her periphery and the scowl she gave. Her temperament was obvious, she did not need to ponder too much on what she was thinking. As the Cadets began to enter the room Susan would find it familiar, much like the hospital she had been in the night before except less robust. She took care to place her briefcase with her weapon down against the far wall and clicked it open to retrieve some documentation she had stored along with her gun and her reports: her medical records from the night before and as far back as recent history would allow. She had made certain to obtain them on her visit and kept the more historical records on her personal computer so they would be readily available.

The businesswoman was both relieved and annoyed at her findings on the conduct of examination. The rudimentary assessments were there along with questions for psychological assessment, however much of this was rote and unnecessary. Bloodwork and measurements had nothing to do with a trauma assessment, you could not determine the extent of someone's injuries by taking a blood sample... though the exposure to the gas was another subject altogether, she would agree. Taking standard measurements was still superfluous and would not be able to diagnose something such as a sprained joint or other forms of damage. Range of motion exercises such as stretching and light physical therapy would be best. And brain waves did not work that way. They would be able to tell her what she already knew: she was awake and conscious and able to speak to them. Perhaps it would find a brain tumor, that would be a good use of her time over this blatant waste of it. Given the evidence Susan was led to believe that this was not a response to the night's events and rather a routine medical check-up. Something that could have been scheduled after the Cadets were treated for more serious problems and traumas. Quite frankly Susan was furious at this absolute lack of ability to schedule but did not outwardly show it. At least not as powerfully as she was feeling it. She instead took a deep, quavering breath and stood against the wall as she awaited instruction, trying to smother her anger while she had much less control over it and avoid becoming testy with anyone.

Cecilia would pull her hood back up when it came time to go. She'd grab her possessions and shuffle down the stairs while being careful to avoid looking at the other Cadets. She'd notice the Nameless guard of course, but the woman's glare would receive no response, the girl meekly diverting her eyes to a nearby wall as she moved to set the bag in her hand down on a nearby unoccupied chair. While this occurred she'd listen to the jokes and instructions of the doctors, but unsurprisingly she'd find little comfort in either, using the hood to obscure her growing scowl as she dug her nails into her palm. She knew they were trying to help, that they were just doing their job like her but... it made her angry still, made her fearful more than anything else, terrified of how they'd look at her and what they'd try to do. What would happen if they decided she wasn't mentally capable? Were they going to demand she resign? Were they going to contact her parents? Just... just casually tell them their daughter was some kind of ticking time bomb, fill their heads with worries that they didn't need over someone like her?

Her stomach twisted itself into knots as she waited in anticipation. The Cadet would do her best to remember her lessons with Ms. Cherri, keeping as blank of an expression as she could muster on her face in the event that one of the doctors moved closer to see her, breathing slowly in-and-out to calm her nerves and thinking back to the victories that'd been secured over the Demon Painter and Serah. Her eyes would drift to the two recruits briefly for a split second and a thin smile would even return to her face for a moment, but it was short-lived and forced, not to mention obscured by her own tactics of appearing "normal". For once she wished that Svalinn would intervene, but it seemed she was on her own here. No ideal of hers could save her from the true shackles of red tape and required procedures.

There didn't seem to be any questions from the team as far as the doctor and nurse could tell. This seemed to be your average procedure. Explain, get no questions, and carry on as before. But out of the two, the younger woman couldn't help, but notice the discontent on an older Cadet's face. Laura darted her same bored look towards Susan. "What's that you got there? Records? You're quite punctual. Hand 'em over, it'll save you some time. The rest of you, if you got records hand 'em over too. We can make this faster and you all can tarry on with whatever Cadet shenanigans you usually do."

A hand thrust out towards Susan's direction for the papers and eventually anyone else who had the information on hand. Both woman quickly glanced through the details printed on each sheet. They were conversing each other in a low voice. Neither seemed pleased or disappointed. But the blonde brusquely blurted out. "Better start dieting, Groves. You're burs--AHH!?!"

"Shush!" Naomi hissed after flicking a small tap on the forehead to interrupt her. As much as they were both given the privilege to work here, their status wasn't as high as the Cadets working here. It bode ill to make any enemies here, even with how rude Laura tended to be. "W-well! That really helps to cut down the time for some of you. U-um, we'll begin with the measurements and then the blood work! We'll need it to help see if there are any distinct notable changes from your recent missions. Then we can finally  finish it off with the machine and questions to help gauge your current mental state and your synchro-rates with your powers. Miss Susan, please come to the stall to the right. Everyone else who didn't submit records can start on the left in a single file line before moving to the right."

Laura was still gently nursing her throbbing forehead as she bluntly added, "Everything taken here will be kept confidential, even with your family if need be. But if the results need attention, Julius will have to know and probably will talk with you privately. Knowing him, he'll make us help you find the nearest clinic for any additional help. You guys are Cadets, so it'll be all paid for. Not bad for a perk, right?"

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