Summary: An infection has spread and killed across Fiore. Those who have contracted the illness are sealed off and left to die on their own. Now Gray is sick, first of all, the mages. No one knows what to do. Some people want him killed and burned, others want to research him and the virus, and Fairy Tail just wants to protect what's theirs.

Word Count: 2543

A/N: Oh my God this was a little difficult. I didn't expect to write something like this was going to be so difficult, but oddly enough, every time I went through writing the first chapter it always came out wrong and I just didn't like what I had put down. In my first 3 times trying to create something I always wrote the mission that Team Natsu was on – but this time, THIS TIME, I decided nope, not going to do it, and just wrote before and after the every important part in which Gray contracts the illness. But I am finally happy with my creation and hopefully y'all like it as well.

Warning: I am not a doctor and I don't have plans to become one, so if I get any medical information wrong, please forgive me and just let me know through a PM!

Warning 2: I checked over this twice, however, there may be some accidental errors, spelling or grammar. Also some cussing.

Thank you: ONE BIG SHOUTOUT TO POKETAIL! Thanks to you I have created something that I wouldn't have and it's already been a ride. I'm super sorry PokeTail for publishing this so late, but hopefully, I won't take so long for the next chapter! Again thank you so much! Check out PokeTail (she is super freakin' amazing)

Chapter 1: The First

A sickness had spread and infected many people throughout Earthland. The virus seemed to enjoy most humans that lived in Fiore. It was one that infected almost every non-mage, selecting the weakest and most venerable. The infected had been sealed off, the healthy ones in mind. No healing mages were able to help those in need, no medicine helped. Those who were infected just died. Left alone in a room sealed off, withering away alone.

It was undetectable when one was infected. However, cases would report one moment the victim being fine, the next, they would be a convulsing mess on the floor. Chills, extreme fatigue, easily bruised, coughing, shortness of breath, seizures. Those were just the start of the illness. Doctors gave a victim 2 weeks to live, at most. Some just died 2 days into the sickness if they weren't strong enough. There had been a case where a man couldn't take being sick and shot himself. Earthland started to panic. Doctors didn't know what to do. They hadn't found anything because the virus was spreading fast and changing rapidly.

The only thing they had concluded was that mages were safe.

Gray looked up, the paper in his hand folding as he stopped halfway through the article. He placed the paper on the table and ignored the fact that his clothes were thrown everywhere. Next to him, Cana chugged on a barrel of alcohol and Juvia quickly sat next to him. She grabbed the paper gently from his hands and looked up with concern. "Juvia thinks the mages should be worried as well."

Gray glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and scoffed. "No one has reported anything," Gray muttered and watched as the water mage placed the paper on the table and tapped her two index fingers together, puffing her cheeks.

"Doesn't mean anything," Cana said and let her barrel fall to the floor. The container echoed from within, signaling that it was empty of its contents. "It could still change."

"Doctors say we're safe," Gray replied and placed his chin in his palm. The whole town was panicking. The disease had shown up almost two months ago, taking the lives of almost 150 lives. Sure there were a lot of people living there, but everyone that had shown signs of the disease was now dead. That was scary enough for many to take their things and leave. No one from Fairy Tail left, they all had stayed. Gray was sure that everyone at the guild was too stubborn for his or her own good.

"That doesn't matter," Cana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She faced Gray, her legs laying over each other and she raised an eyebrow. "They say it's changing and that's not good."

Juvia perked up, "Juvia agrees." She said as she suddenly had a hold on Gray's strewn clothing and was now folding them.

Gray rolled his eyes and rubbed the side of his head gently. "Well I still say it's a load of bullshit," he suddenly found that a small headache was forming. Maybe it was because the Guild Hall was louder than usual. "I think we are all fine."

Cana stared at him blankly before shaking her head, "A few members want to leave…" She swung her legs around and stood, clapping her hand upon his back. She turned, one hand on her hip the other waving to him as she walked off towards the bar.

"Ya right," Gray muttered as he shook his head. He turned back to Juvia who looked upon him with distress. "We'll be fine," Gray assured her and grabbed for the paper again. She placed it in his hands and lingered there before he pulled away.

"Right," Juvia whispered. She placed Gray's folded shirt in her lap and rubbed the fabric between her fingers.

Gray sighed, "Look, Juvia." He watched her sit up slightly, her expression softening as their eyes met. "When I get back–"

"Alright brats," Makarov beat the end of his cane against the wooden floor, "listen up." Gray shifted his gaze and the attention that was focused on Juvia now moved to the old man who sat calmly on the balcony. Everyone in the hall paused, and the noise went from a loud roar to a dull whisper. Gray was silently thankful for the unnatural peace. "Because of this virus that is traveling around, I am closing the Guild early tonight." A loud displeased 'boo' echoed throughout the room. Makarov looked unfazed by the outrage and crossed his arms. "Unless you can help heal those in need, I want you all to go home and sleep well. The best way to help those in need is not getting sick as well. So please," Makarov stood and hammered his staff again, "stay healthy. Goodnight."

"'Night," Gray muttered along with many others. The happy vibe that was present moments ago dissipated into a board atmosphere and Gray stood walking out of the Guild as he slipped on his pants. Juvia followed him out the guild, "See ya later, Juvia." Gray placed one hand in his coat pocket and the other waved the water mage goodbye. They turned their separate ways, Juvia smiling as she faced the direction of her home. Gray paused, watching as her form slowly disappeared and he frowned. He turned but instead of going home, he faced the bar. A few drinks wouldn't hurt before his mission tomorrow.

3 Days Later

He remembers people shouting his name, shaking him, but all he wanted to do was drift back into the unknown. It was quiet there, it wasn't warm or cold, it wasn't bright or dark – it felt like nothing but an endless void that gave nothing and accepted nothing.

Gray felt someone shout at him, heat suddenly bursting into the void. So he got angry, he thought he lifted his hand and pushed the man away, but the one that was probably Natsu stood his ground. "Don't fall back asleep," Natsu cried above the darkness. Gray growled, who did the flame brain think he was, plus he wanted to go back to sleep, that's where the pain wasn't evident. But Natsu shook him again, Gray could feel the hot hands wrap around his forearms and shake him. "C'mon, Gray," and somewhere behind the loud demanding voice was fear.

"Natsu, stop," a girl said, but Gray was already blinking his eyes open wanting to see if Natsu was really in distress. Lucy shared a long stare with Natsu, her eyes filled with worry. Gray noticed that it was nighttime; next to him a small fire blazed casting a hue of orange and red upon the three mages. Lucy knelt next to the two, her hand reaching out and holding the back of her palm on Gray's forehead. "He's burning up, maybe you should step away."

Gray turned his head slightly, noticing that he was between Natsu's legs with the Fire Mage's arms wrapped around his chest. He blinked lazily, not processing how humiliating the situation was.

Natsu shifted, his arms unclamping around the sweaty Ice Mage and slowly (which for Gray, seemed very unnatural) laid Gray up against the tree. Gray began to shiver the moment Natsu removed his hands. "Wait," Gray mumbled, making Natsu stop. Lucy and Natsu frowned as Gray tried to reach out for the Fire Mage. Gray's muscles shook as if he finished a week of strenuous work and his fingers wouldn't clamp around his rivals pants. He frowned, only able to pinch his two fingers around Natsu's pants and then openly shivered. "I'm," he tried to form a sentence, tried to form words – but his tongue was heavy in his mouth, feeling too big for what he had grown accustomed to. "Cold," he spat out, but it came out slurred and overly sensitive.

"What do we do," Natsu looked at Lucy. To Gray's surprise, the asshole looked more than anxious. "Erza and Happy are supposed to be back by now, it's been a day."

"We have to stay calm," Lucy placed a gentle hand on Natsu's hand, "he can't move him, can he?"

"Last time he did that he threw up," Natsu crossed his arms and shut his eyes. "Every time he moves he's in pain."

Gray frowned, trying to understand what he was talking about. He doesn't remember anything up until the night at the bar. Had he really lost 3 or more days of his life? He shivered, his hands wrapping around him, but as he looked down his fingers only twitched at the wanted action.

Lucy looked towards Natsu then back at Gray, "We need to bring his temperature down, it's too high – especially for him."

"What do we do?" Natsu scratched the back of his head as he walked next to Lucy, the two standing side by side.

"There was a river about a mile away," Lucy answered, "maybe you can walk him over there and dip him in?"

Natsu's face contorted into a grimace and Gray was tempted to punch the Dragon Slayer. "I don't know if he'll make it that far. He threw up last time he tried to move."

"No," Lucy shook her head, "you'll have to carry him."

Natsu shifted the unconscious Ice Mage in his arms, quickly covering him with a blanket. He was dripping wet from the river but at least his temperature was down. Natsu wasn't one to take care of others, especially Gray, but during their fight with those bandits Gray just went from his annoying boisterous self to someone who couldn't even mold an ice cube without withering in pain. He didn't want to think about it, but Erza had been right, he was sick…really, really sick.

Gray's head rolled unconsciously from Natsu's shoulder and onto his chest. He hated seeing Gray like this, it was depressing and more than that, it was terrifying.

When he had taken Gray to go wash up, he noticed that bruises littered his whole frame. The bruises were in the oddest of places, some on his chest, arm, and legs, others had been on the bottom of his feet, around his neck and back. Gray hadn't been one to bruise, hell he even had a hard time getting scars. Take away the two that he got from Lyon and Ultear.

Natsu pushed past a branch and found Lucy sitting close to the fire, her legs pulled up to her chest and eyes glistening. Natsu slowly moved into their makeshift camping ground. It hadn't been much, just a fire pit, Natsu's sleeping bag he took everywhere and the three bags that were filled with personal items. When they took this job, no one thought that it would take two days to hike to where the bandits hid, or that Gray would become sick. Erza left a day ago, Happy flying her as fast as he could back to Fairy Tail, the two of them going to get help.

Lucy looked up and upon seeing Natsu carrying a drenched Gray; she stood and brought over clothes. "Did he wake up?" She asked and reached out, cupping Gray's cheek and rubbing it with her thumb. This was bad, his friend was sick and Lucy was crying.

Natsu looked up, he knew she was crying. "No," he mumbled.

Lucy kept her eyes trained on Gray. The night air gave off a slight breeze, crickets sang in the dark and the fire snapped behind her. She looked sad and Gray, who slept in his arms stayed silent. "I…" she bit her lip, "I don't know what to do." She looked up, her large brown eyes meeting his, "If he's sick – with what's been killing everyone…"

Natsu automatically gripped Gray tighter and frowned, "Maybe it's a different disease."

Lucy dropped her hand, "I know. I want to believe its something different – maybe something we can fix, but Natsu, what if it isn't. Everything is lining up perfectly. Those who have been sick, they were fine then they started getting high temperatures, going unconscious, vomiting, fatigue. The last thing before they pass is seizures. I just…I'm so scared for him," she shook her head, tears growing in her eyes as the thought of Gray suffering began to sink in.

Natsu didn't reply, if Gray was really sick with the illness that had killed many, then what if it was contagious. He and Lucy could already be infected and not know it. When would they know? If they get sick, who would take care of them if Erza and Happy didn't get back in time? Shit, they should have gone back with Erza or done something else.

Lucy blinked the tears from her eyes, "We don't need to think like that." She reached out and placed her hands on top of Natsu's that held Gray. "He's our friend, more importantly, a member of Fairy Tail, so we need to take care of him."

Natsu couldn't help but stare into her eyes and smile.

The night had gone and with that, the sun slowly rose, its rays shining through the trees. The fire had died down; smoke slowly rising from the branches that were now nothing but ash. Lucy had fallen asleep, her back pressed up against Natsu's bag and a blanket covering her shivering form. It had been quiet, as Lucy woke up. Birds chirped in the distance and the smell of blooming flowers drifted into their camping ground. It was peaceful.

Lucy heard Gray shout before she watched him tip over, his body convulsing. He collapsed on his side, his whole body straining before shaking uncontrollably with deadly force. She wasn't the one to react first, Natsu had jumped forward, his hands fastening around Gray's arms like a vice, pinning him to the floor. She took a step back, her hands molding together and pressed up against her chest as she watched Gray have a twitch on the floor, his eyes rolled to the back of head exposing only white. His head rocked from back and forth, one time hitting a root that was stuck out of the ground. "Damn it, Gray," Natsu shouted, his eyes lit up with fear and his voice cracked. "Stop," he held him down, but Lucy jumped forward pulling him back. On his back, with Natsu holding him down, Gray suddenly started to choke. His face turning red with spit building up in his mouth. Natsu's eyes widened, his hands releasing Gray and quickly grabbing onto the side of his face. Lucy saw panic in the Dragon Slayers eyes as he fumbled around. Suddenly he turned Gray over on his side, even past the rapid convulsions. Then he held him down once more, but between the jolts, Gray cried out in pain.

Lucy panicked and grabbed Natsu pulling him back. "Natsu, stop!" Natsu pulled against her hands that held him back. She dug her heals into the ground as Natsu moved forward, but he suddenly stopped and she looked past the pink haired mage to the one twitching on the floor.

He had foam dripping from the side of his mouth and he had stopped seizing. She stood back with Natsu, both unsure of what to do.

A/N: All right, next chapter will be the important one. It's going to show what happened in those 3 days that Gray forgot and we'll also see what Erza is going through. I only plan to have 4 to 5 chapters in this story.

Once again, thank youPokeTail! Until next update!

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