Sora scoffed at the two guards, eyes narrowing slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it as Yukito beat her to it. "She is being detained," he said in a firm voice.

The two guards exchanged glances, then turned back to Yukito with brows raised. "You sure?" the pink-pelted one queried.

Yukito nodded. "Yes, but her circumstances are… odd. She is in our custody nonetheless, so let us pass…" He lifted a front hoof and gestured to Sora with it. "Or I shall have to involve our Hawk." The guards flinched and lifted their wings out of his way immediately, enabling him to trot inside. Sora went after him, and as she went the two guards shuddered as if she crammed them both into a freezer.

The two ponies—three, counting Starbreaker—found themselves in an expansive, light grey hallway that had glowing blue lines running through the floor, walls and ceiling. At the end was an elevator, which they wasted no time heading towards. Yukito's horn was already glowing when they reached it a little under a minute later, his aura wasting no time in taking hold of a keypad with a built-in screen to one side of the contraption. He hit a quick combination of buttons, seemingly random and yet flawlessly at the same time.

"Hoofprint required," a mechanical voice echoed from the device. He lifted a front hoof up and gently pressed it to the screen, causing green lines to appear onto it and then around the raised limb. "Hoofprint recognized. Access granted," the voice from the device spoke as soon as the green lines dimmed entirely.

The elevator doors opened to reveal what was basically a giant white box with a railing within, and Yukito and Sora stepped inside. It shook before the doors closed behind them, and it slowly descended down thereafter. Yukito turned to Sora with a small frown on his face, silent for a few seconds as they turned to the doors whilst the elevator continued to descend unimpeded. "Perhaps we shouldn't have her tried as a war criminal," he murmured in a tight voice.

Sora turned to him with widening eyes. "Wh-what?" she stammered.

Starbreaker also turned to Yukito, both brows raised to the point they threatened to brush up against the base of her forelock. "You're weird in the head," she stated.

Yukito nodded to Starbreaker, then sighed as he turned back to Sora. "You mentioned cloaked ponies last night, Sora?" he queried.

Sora immediately nodded. "There were a dozen of them when I initially arrived, and only four remained. Those four were… dealt with, to put it lightly," she replied. "The others either ran for the hills, or teleported away. I'm guessing they were all unicorns."

Yukito's face hardened as he turned to Starbreaker. "Were any of those cloaked ponies past acquaintances of yours?" he pressed.

Starbreaker shook her head. "Didn't recognize them at all," she answered.

"They were covered head to hoof in black garments. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of me seeing their features, either," Sora added with a small frown forming on her face. "Let alone Starbreaker, for that matter."

Yukito nodded and his ears folded back. "Listen, Sora… I have a bad feeling about those ponies. And considering they tried to take Starbreaker out of the picture before you arrived, I have reason to believe that they might be part of why she's…" He lifted a hoof and held it next to his head before spinning it in circles.

"Loopy?" Sora guessed, a brow raised.

Yukito nodded again and dropped his hoof. "Ergo, she may not have tried to destroy the world of her own volition. If anything, she seems just a smidgen more sane, now that she's with us," he stated.

Starbreaker lifted a hoof and gestured to Sora with it. "Still burning her one of these days." That comment caused Sora to sigh and roll her eyes before lifting a hoof and spinning it in circles.

"I thought you said you needed fuel," Sora retorted, closing her eyes as she felt her charge flinch.

Yukito's frown deepened as he heard Starbreaker groan in what he could only guess was resignation. "Regardless, we may have a third party—one that may have not only influenced Starbreaker greatly, but may have had a hoof in the Clash of the Sky," he interjected, causing the two mares to look at him with brows still raised.

"... the same Clash I was deployed in two years ago? The same Clash that made me into an ultimate weapon?" Sora questioned in a quiet voice, her eyes widening as she quickly caught on to what Yukito meant.

Yukito nodded again. "Yes. What's even worse is Starbreaker may have been their ultimate weapon; a last resort if you will. They may attempt to kill her again, if only to erase the sole memento of their defeat; a memento that survived when odds weren't in their favor," he stated, his still-pinned ears quivering as he spoke. "And considering she's in our custody as of now, we may have just painted a target right on our cutie marks. I'm not even sure how she survived this long, let alone how she got out of the Clash with all four legs intact."

"... so, you want to protect Starbreaker, because she can't do it herself now…" Sora murmured before trailing off, her own ears folding back at the mere notion. "But we may have signed our own death certificates…"

Yukito nodded for the upteempth time, and glumly at that. "Yes. Which is why I don't want to try Starbreaker as a war criminal. It's a risky proposition, of that I am aware. Instead, we need to guard her—at least until the third party that I suspect to be after her either gives up or is wiped off the face of the planet."

Sora nodded, her frown easing a little. "So... "

Yukito cut her off, "As of now, you have a new operation. And I think you know what it is."

Sora's face hardened a little. "I see."

The elevator stopped with a shake that all three of them felt, and they turned to its doors as they started to slide open with ease. Starbreaker lifted her head up, her lone ear perking to attention as Sora and Yukito began to trot side-by-side. They found themselves in a hallway similar to the last one, except laden with automatically-opening doors on either side that had more ponies in white coats coming and going like bees in a honey-making frenzy. All of these ponies had red crosses on their suits, in addition to hats and a few with masks on their muzzles. Some dragged gurneys behind them, often with a bedraggled patient.

One of the mask-wearing ponies who sported a white pelt with an equally-blanched mane and tail, with grey eyes gleaming in curiosity, took notice of the trio and waved a hoof at them before heading into a room on the left that was about four doors ahead. Not even a few seconds passed before he re-emerged from that same room and gestured them over with a hoof. Sora and Yukito shared glances before trotting over to him, one with a smile budding on his face and the other with a brow raising as they got closer.

He went back into the room, and they briskly followed to find a quaint space with a dresser, a queen-sized bed in place of a gurney, a miniature fridge, a stovetop, a microwave, a waste bin, and a bookshelf in various places. In addition to that, a squat toilet sat in corner of the room, closed off by added walls that had the addition of a showerhead, faucet knobs, and soap bars on smaller alcoves. The door closed behind them, cutting them off from the ongoing bustle outside. The ceiling, walls, and floor glistened with a metallic polish, as did most of the furniture.

Starbreaker glanced around the room, eyes widening as she took in all it had to offer. "Is this…" Words died in her throat as her thoughts halted, and she continued to look about like a foal would to being given a brand new toy which they had no idea on how to operate, albeit one that did not get off her foe's backside. "Is this a patient's room, or a house?"

"Both," a masculine voice she hadn't heard before answered. That utterance caused her to turn to the mask-wearing stallion presently with them. She was certain he grinned under his mask, but if that were the case, then the mask not only hid it well but almost blended in seamlessly with his natural coat. "Yours, specifically," he added nonchalantly, causing Starbreaker's pupils to shrink by a considerable margin.

Sora also turned to the mask-wearing stallion, her eyes likewise widening in addition to a choked squeak coming out of her throat. "B-but isn't s-she—"

The white stallion rose a hoof and waved it dismissively, cutting Sora off with that act alone. As soon as her mouth shut, he replied in a smooth voice, "Yes, being detained, I know. But she's a bit of a special case. This will also be her… cell of sorts." Sora produced another choking sound, as if the oxygen of the very room started trying to strangle her.

Yukito turned to the masked pony, wearing nothing more than a tight-lipped expression as his fellow stallion went on as if oblivious to Sora's croaking, "As such, we need to rehabilitate her, not enact retribution. Influence her to… a more stable set of mind, if you will."

Then, Sora took a glance around the room before her gaze settled back onto the masked pony, eyes still wide as her mind registered the full meaning of his words, and any implications thereof. "And I'll be her bodyguard, right?" she asked in a tight, low voice. "For, at the very least, during the duration of her rehabilitation?"

Yukito turned to Sora and nodded, his lips spreading and curling up into a smile. "Yes. Of course, we need to address—" His grin widened as Starbreaker's stomach gurgled again, loud enough for all three of them to hear. "—another pressing concern first, before the program officially starts," he finished.

Sora's ears twitched. "Food and examination?" she guessed, garnering two nods from Yukito and the masked stallion.

"E-e-examination?" Starbreaker repeated in a voice that all but sounded more like a strangled squeak, her eyes widening to the size of saucers on the spot. When she got a set of three nods, she began to shake and fidget, with her front hooves twiddling across Sora's barrel in a manner that suggested she was debating whether or not to stay or make a run for it.

Sora's wings drooped so low and so fast the blades attached to them clanged on the floor like a collection of wind chimes. It didn't help that her charge was trembling yet again, this time to the point it gave the impression that she wanted out. "It begins," she muttered grudgingly, low enough that Starbreaker could not hear her.

Yukito took in Starbreaker's squirming and sighed. "The examination will be brief; we'll check for broken bones along your ribs and legs and be done with it," he said, yet the utterance only made the sorry bitch release a whine of protest. "We'll have Sora check your legs and ribs, then?" he asked, which immediately got her to stop wriggling on the spot.

"J-just her? W-without watching?" Starbreaker whimpered, her lone ear folding back.

Yukito nodded, and turned to the masked stallion. "Mayhaps we should leave them be, at least for a few minutes," he suggested. "Sora is now Starbreaker's bodyguard, after all. She knows her better than we do." With that, the two stallions trotted out of the room, and the door opened just long enough for them to make their exit. As soon as it closed behind them, the two mares sighed in unison.

"Get off my back so I can get the examination over with," Sora stated, her tone betraying a slight note of annoyance. When Starbreaker hesitated, she added, "I won't prod too much." She felt weight shift upon her back before retracting altogether, accompanied by the sound of four hooves landing on the floor in short order. This was followed by shuffling hooves as her charge half-dragged herself into Sora's immediate line of sight.

The instant Starbreaker stopped moving was the same instant Sora got in very close, lifting a hoof to prod at her charge's legs and ribcage with the scrutiny of a medic and the respecting-of-personal-space of a kitten that wanted to be petted. As she prodded the front left leg, she noticed nothing felt out of place or fractured so she moved on to the ribs on the corresponding side. Yielding the same result, she then moved to the rear left leg and poked it in the pastern to garner a wince.

She stopped when she saw that the pastern in question had lacerations, which had by this point scabbed over. So she moved up that leg and felt for any breaks in bones, of which she found none. "Gonna have to clean the pastern of this one," Sora noted.

Starbreaker craned her neck and nodded. "Want me to turn around, or what?" she queried.

"Not yet. Gotta look under your tail to see if there's bruising or any other damage," Sora answered, her ears folding back as a blush spread on her face. Starbreaker turned away and lifted her tail, shivering as Sora brushed it aside with the probing hoof. A lump formed in her throat and she shuddered as she could have sworn she felt soft exhales of breath back there. Her eyes shut tightly and she grit her teeth before the bizarre feeling of breath assaulting her stopped, made even stranger by the absence of a hoof touching her.

"A slight bruise, but it's nothing major. It should heal in a few days," Sora reported in a low, almost embarrassed tone of voice. Starbreaker let an eye crack open before craning her neck to give Sora an uncertain look.

"Just a bruise?" Starbreaker queried, her voice soft. Sora nodded. She relaxed and let her tail settle back into its proper place before spinning around to allow her adversary to look at her right legs and ribs. Before the prodding hoof could touch her, though, Starbreaker stared Sora dead in the eye with a frown forming on her muzzle. "Can we not speak of what's under my tail ever, ever again?" she groused, the words coming out as more of a growl when her voice briefly rose.

Sora nodded. "Let's not speak of it again," she agreed in a level tone. With that, she set to work checking the remaining limbs with a sort of practiced ease, making sure never to prod too much nor too hard. She did not get to the ribs, however, as she detected a strange bump that jutted out of Starbreaker's right shoulder like something was wedged firmly under her skin. "Did you break your shoulder blade at some point?"

Starbreaker shook her head. "If I did, I'd have felt it by now," she replied sincerely.

Sora frowned. She poked at the odd bump, feeling that it was indeed hard and yet had just enough flexibility to squish like puddy as she pressed against it. Retracting her hoof let the thing reform into a lump. "Did that hurt?"

"Nope. I think it felt… liquidy, tough?" Starbreaker replied, turning to Sora with a slanted brow.

Sora's brow furrowed. "May or may not be a cyst, then. Nothing much I really can do about it—I don't have the tools or medical skills to fix it." She sighed. "Oh well, it seems benign at the moment." With that, she moved onto the ribs and poked them with caution and utmost scrutiny. Her face eased when she found a lack of broken ribs, and she took a few seconds to look at the door.

It was still closed. Sora relaxed a little more and moved on to Starbreaker's rear right leg, turning all of her attention onto it as she began prodding for what would hopefully be the last time that day. Her hoof trailed up and down and sideways upon the limb and she felt another odd bump that jutted out just enough she had to do a double-take simply to confirm it was there. It rested on Starbreaker’s stifle, almost squarely beneath her cutie mark.

Sora applied pressure to the troublesome spot, garnering a yelp and a wince as she felt a tell-tale break. She momentarily retracted and turned left to find Starbreaker sending her a glare. "That hurt!" her foe complained.

"I know," Sora stated flatly. She moved her hoof down the leg, feeling along the gaskin and cannon and hock before finally stopping at the pastern and pulling away. "Got a break in one leg, and to be honest, I am not sure how you're still standing on it. Aside from that, the cuts on your rear left pastern, and the possible cyst, you're good to go," she reported.

Starbreaker slumped a bit, her lone ear folding back. Sora quickly realized that she missed a certain something that would otherwise be presently on Starbreaker's head and cantered over before she stopped when they were neck-to-neck. "Let me see where your left ear was." Starbreaker didn't argue with the command, and lowered her neck before craning it at just the right angle for Sora to start probing again.

What Sora found made her brow furrow once more. What little remained of the once-present ear in question was nothing more than an exposed canal that crusted over with a sickly green, flaky substance. Upon prodding, she got another wince as it almost instantly gushed with fresh fluid as soon as her hoof touched the anomaly. "Well, shit. You got an infection," Sora cursed.

"Meaning…?" Starbreaker trailed off, her frown unseen thanks to the angle at which she let her head hover.

"You're going to be hearing only out of your right ear from here on out, if the medics decide to operate on it. Which is going to be very likely, given how this wound has evidently festered," Sora replied in a grim tone of voice, pulling her hoof away to let Starbreaker retract her head and straighten her neck.

"Do they have artificial things for ears?" Starbreaker asked, turning her head to look at Sora.

Sora returned the look and shook her head. "Aside from hearing aids and metal ears, no," she answered.

"That bad?" Starbreaker pressed, a brow raising.

"That bad," Sora replied with a frown. "Can you hear out of that canal good?"

Starbreaker shook her head. "Haven't been able to in a while. It feels like it's completely filled in."

"Fucking horseapples, now the medics are gonna remove it entirely if they catch wind of this," Sora mentally cursed, but forced herself to do nothing more than outwardly sigh and nod in resignation.