The sessions to get me back to one hundred percent have been a pain. From being in stuck in that bed for weeks, I already knew they hurt so much from the two treatments I got when I was conscious. The basic setup now was going to be me, strapped in a chair, with tubes and needles hooked up to my person while Doctor Park Jin-young injected me with an experimental concoction. We called him Junior because his dad was also called Park Jin-young and Head of Healing and Science.

Junior was pretty much a genius. Though not a well known ALT, his ability rested in his brain because he is able to figure out any equation thrown at him. He was practically working in the division since the age of eight as a shadow for the adult Healers when they needed help. He actually wanted to go into the Investigation Force but when your dad is the division head, you pretty much end up in the field with the rest of your family. So when he graduated from the rookie program early like I did, he went straight to work; he has created over a hundred different medicines and is currently working on an a way to enhance ALTs abilities.

I remember when I heard that it was Junior's mixture that was attached to the explosion. I was floored because the only reason for it was to deal with the occasional ALT issue when they used their abilities for unethical purposes. The Militia was the one who funded the project and it is used by us and the Investigation Force. But how did someone get their hands on it and how did they set up the bomb because there is no way they would survive it and everyone in the division was accounted for. They even called those who had traveled to other Wards on vacation or work to make sure no one was missing.

Thankfully, Junior is a genius and already had a hybrid created to bring ALT abilities back as well, so my injections consisted of that with a new mixture to enhance my abilities. Since I had a unique healing ability, they were hoping to see if I could expand it to be able to heal others. With years of training, I had developed myself to be able to at least heal a cut on someone else but nothing big. Can I tell you how many paper cuts I have had to heal? It made me realise how dangerous dead tree mush can really be.

Today marked my first session in the Healing Division. I was really hoping to see my best friend, Andy, but she was on vacation to see her parents in the North American Ward and no one knew when she was slotted to come back. Even though she was older, we were like to kindred spirits and totally completed one another. Everyone always thought we were dating, which made us laugh, but they were a lot closer to the truth than we would like to admit.

Adrienne Revelle was transferred to the Mongolian Ward because we had lost a chunk of the department due to an experiment gone wrong by a Healer. Needless to say, that person is no longer in a division. Since anyone who could take over had perished, Andy was brought in to train Doctor Park to become the person in charge. That was about eight years ago. I met her during that ordeal since the Militia was handling the case because it seemed like an act of terrorism. I was one of the few soldiers that spoke perfect English so I tended to be the go-to guy for her to bridge the language barrier. Because of that, we were pretty inseparable and she became my best friend. Johnny took a liking to her because of her connection to the North American Ward and she would always take things back to his cousin, Emma, when she would go back to visit.

Now she splits her time between here and there. It she hasn't been around but her parents confirmed she was with them so I will just wait until she comes back. At least she wasn't in the explosion. I would have been devastated if she was hurt or killed.

After my session, I had an important date with a very important woman in my life. Emma. I quickly pulled my phone out and sent her a text to have a video call in ten minutes. After that, I dashed to the gardens so I could have peace and quiet without anyone disturbing me. No one I knew usually came to the gardens because little kids were always around but because of the lockdown in the sector, no one under the age of eighteen was allowed out here.

I settled on a bench and dialed out. I was anxious to see her. She was the closest person to a little sister that I was able to get and I cherished her so much. As soon as she picked up, I squealed. It was very unbecoming of a grown man but I guess I was channeling my inner "Ten".

"EMMA!!!" I yelled out in excitement.

"OH MY GOD! JAE!! I HAVE MISSED YOU!!" She was just as excited as me. We matched our tones perfectly out of sheer adoration for one another. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Is everyone okay? Is Johnny taking care of you? I need to know EVERYTHING!!"

Pulling myself together and trying to process all her questions at once, I responded as best as I could. "Woah! One at a time. First, I am feeling so much better. I am still processing that I lost weeks out my life but I feel much stronger. Second, Everyone is fine. We did lose a lot of ALTs and we are still doing a body count for those not accounted for but we are pulling together. There is a curfew for most of the citizens of the Sector. Victoria, I mean Mayor Sòng Qiàn, put it into effect while I was out. Ten and Johnny did take care of me while I was recovering, which I appreciate so much. I take care of myself now so I am good." I had to think if I had covered all her questions before moving on. "I think I got everything. I can't tell you all of it right now because it's classified but once I am allowed a little wiggle room, you know I will definitely let you know. Now what is going on with you?"

She went on to tell me everything that was going on with her since I had been so disconnected from the world for close to two months. It's crazy because as she was telling me what was going on, I could grab her memories since we were on a video call and making eye contact. As I watched everything unfold through her dark chocolate eyes, I got a little choked up from the overwhelming emotions felt during that time.

While I was trying not to let me feelings come to head, I felt an arm wrap around me gently.

"Oh my god! Johnny!" Emma was back to being excited as her cousin stepped into the frame.

"Emma." He was so calm as he said her name and bowed his head. He took his arm from around me and dropped to my thigh and rubbed his thumb back and forth on my right knee. I reached for his hand to hold it as I let his aura calm me. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"

"What do you mean how have I been? Why have you not called me? Why do I have to wait from an email from Ten and a video call from Jae? Aren't we the ones related?" After that I had to tune her out as I got a sharp pain in my back. It took me by such a surprise that I squeezed Johnny's hand as Emma droned on. I really have no idea what was said next as I concentrated on the fire within my body spreading across my back and making my flesh tingle.

"Jae. Jae. Jae! Wake up!"

I had slowly come around to see Ten standing over me with a worried look on his face and Junior standing behind them with his dad. I had no idea what was going on but I could tell it was probably not good.

I tried to smile a little as I responded back with "hey, guys."

"Don't give me hey, guys! You need to stop scaring me like this! I am too young to be his wrinkled with worry." Ten was in total mom mode. It was cute but I didn't have the strength to fight his emotions.

Jin-young stepped forward. "Jae, I need to know what happened. Can you tell me so I can pinpoint the issue."

Trying to remember what had happened, I slowly recalled the pain I felt. "All I really remember was a sharp pain in my back and then my flesh felt all tingly. I know I reached out for Major General Seo and then I heard Major Leechaiyakul screeching at me."

Ten scoffed and crossed his arms. "I was not screeching", he said under his breath.

Jin-young look at him for a moment. He smiled and then turned his attention back to me. "I would like to check out your back, please. Major Leechaiyakul. Second Lieutenant Lau. If you please?"

Johnny stepped forward. "I will strip him of his top uniform. Give me a moment." He came towards me and, once again, I felt calm. He first took my finger-less gloves gently off my hands and laid them to the side. He reached in front to undo my harness and belt. The two were connected and wrapped around our bodies to carry our weapons which consisted of two Black OPS 14.45 Semi-Auto Pistols, a taser gun, and some ammunition along with basics like knives, a flashlight, and small accessories. He handed those items to Lieutenant Colonel Liu and moved on.

My upper uniform was various layers due to my level of expertise. We all wore the same black thick netting that was so tightly woven, it was like cloth chain-mail. Next layer was my degree of ranking. Since I was a Colonel, I was a dark purple; many could say it reminded them of Karate belts. Khunnie's was my favourite because his ranking gave him camouflage which was also the same as his ability. When he activated it, he really could disappear. This layer was a slight skin-tight long sleeve turtleneck to help work as a face-mask as well. The last layer of armour was the flesh-tone bulletproof vest that was so skin tight, it looked like it was your body.

After everything was stripped, Henry and Ten came over as Johnny stepped back. They helped me onto my stomach and there was an audible gasp.

I was pretty concerned since my back was now all scar tissue we had been trying to heal with the injections. "What? What happened?"

No one said a thing but Henry was definitely hiding something. I saw out of the corner of my eye a chunk of my flesh be put in a metal tin and taken away. "Seriously, guys. What is going on?" I was getting irritated.

As Jin-young's shadow washed over me, I felt a cold object on my back that made me shiver. "So not cool. That is really cold." I heard the heavy thud but couldn't see it. "Okay. This is the third time I have asked. What is going on?"

Doctor Park spoke this time. "It seems, Colonel, that your scar tissue is pealing away. Henry's hand seem to catch a part of your back and a piece came off but what we weren't anticipating was what was underneath."

"Uh. Okay. Am I bleeding? Is it infected? I don't feel any pain so I don't know what the big deal is."

"The big deal is underneath the scar tissue is clean, untouched flesh. Your back is perfect once again. Doctor Park is removing the upper layer to see if it is all the same. So far, it is."

My mind couldn't believe it. Back to normal? Did I seriously not have anymore scar tissue?

"I want to run some tests, but this might have been the breakthrough we needed to move on with enhancing ALT abilities." You could hear the undertone of excitement in his voice.

I tried it reach around and feel my back. What once felt like burnt chicken skin now was soft and strong. I was so happy. I lifted myself up my elbows, and looked around for Johnny. I caught Ten's gaze, he was smiling his normal toothy grin with his hands in a praying position and then signaled his head towards the direction of the person I was looking for.

"Could I get a moment alone to comprehend what just happened?" I asked those around me.

"Sure. It really is a lot after everything you have been through." Doctor Park turned to everyone and whisked them out of the area. Ten reached for my hand and stepped away, closing the curtains while he did so.

The fabric didn't even move as Johnny stepped into the enclosed space. I was getting up when I felt a pair of rough hands cup over my shoulders and soft lips kissed between my blades. I could feel him choke up as he released from my skin. I got up fully and turned to sit upright. I looked at him for a second and then we embraced as his hands wrapped around my back and I entwined my fingers through his outer netting.

It was then I finally cried. I had lost weeks of my life because of that explosion and he had never left my side. He hadn't left my side for years and I was grateful for it. As an ALT, some of our biggest worries is losing our abilities, and if it wasn't for Johnny, I could have perished into the fire. He was my commander, my best friend, and so much more. What we had, neither anticipated, but I know he was as grateful as I was. Even when he didn't show it as much.

We released our hold on one another and he helped me back into my layers of uniform. With the last piece in place, he rubbed his thumb across my damp check three times and then smiled. I reached out for his upper thigh and signaled back four times before smiling. As he took a step behind him. I got up and we both saluted one another before opening the curtain and exiting the area.

Now I had an even better reason to go about my day, but first, I promised to train with Ten and I was not breaking that vow.