The thin walls did little more than slightly muffle the sounds of the horrible, hacking cough coming from Gourry's room. She felt her heart contract with each barking convulsion as anxiety built within her. Over and over again she kept telling herself that this could not be happening, that the horrible nightmare she and Gourry had found themselves living in for the last month would end and the world would be right again, but every time she tried to reign in her fears, the sounds of his coughing would bring them back into stark focus.

The sounds of coughing quieted momentarily. Lina closed her eyes, hoping against hope that he would go to sleep and wake up healthy and whole. But when the sounds of another round of coughing erupted from his room she decided she could not sit quietly anymore. She threw her bedclothes off and grabbed her mantle and left her room, making it to his in seconds. She knocked, called out, "It's me," and then opened the door without being invited in.

The door was unlocked. These days, there was no need to lock the door. Gourry looked up at her, his hand to his mouth as he continued to cough. "Lina." He said, his voice raspy, "What are you doing here?"

"Your cough is getting worse." She stated as she walked over to his bed and felt his forehead, "Dammit, Gourry, you should have told me you're running a fever."

"It's just a cold, isn't it?" he said, pausing to cough again as she shook her head and started rummaging through her mantle, "Go back to bed."

"'Just a cold?'" Lina repeated, wondering how he could be so dismissive when every town they walked through now was deserted thanks to the plague. "What if it's not 'just a cold?'"

He held her gaze but gave no reply. The horrifying thought that he might be manifesting the earliest symptoms of the plague lingered in the air, but both of them were too frightened to speak it. Feeling that she had delivered her point, she grabbed a stone container and a stack of herbs from her mantle.

"You should go back to bed. Before both of us get sick."

"Idiot." She said as she sorted through the herbs and put in a mix of Epsom salt and some other, more magical concoctions meant to ease open the airways and poured them into the container. "I'm not the one coughing. Besides, we'll make it to Seyruun tomorrow, provided that you stay in good shape that is."

Yet Lina was worried that Seyruun might not be the panacea they had hoped it was when they first decided to go there. When they started to note the widespread devastation that the plague had wrought they reasoned that Seyruun was the best place to go to get help. Coldly they had to turn their backs on afflicted townspeople wherever they went, rationalizing that they could do little for them. Both of them were fighters, not healers. But surely Seyruun, the White Magic Capital, had whipped out a cure, and if they got there then they could dispense the medication on their travels.

So they made to Seyruun with all due haste, their travels made easier when they no longer had to pay for lodgings because the inns were empty, but more time consuming due to the fact that restaurants everywhere were closed and they had to hunt and prepare their own food.

Lina was hoping that the devastation they saw would lessen as they reached the outskirts of Seyruun. That would mean that a cure had been found and spread through the outlaying cities. But instead it was worse. Bodies lay in the streets, the ill left to die outside alone because their families were too scared of catching the plague. Not a soul stirred in the towns they passed. Town after town was empty, save the vultures and other scavengers who were happy to feed on the bodies. The smell of death and decay choked the air that was once filled with the sounds of life.

Lina was shocked by how much devastation the plague had wrought in a mere month. At first they would pass a few houses with a red flag hanging from the window, a signal not to enter because someone was ill. But the flags became more numerous. People holed up in their homes rather than risk socializing, leaving restaurants empty and their owners wary of strangers. The ill were gathered in makeshift hospitals, but soon there were more sick people than people to care for them. And now, town after town seemed to house only the dead.

Now, Lina was nervous about what she would find when she reached the palace. Her hopes were growing dimmer that it was a magical cure. If there was one, they would have heard something about it by now.

Which made the development of Gourry's cough all the more frightening. How many times in their travels had they heard that it started with a cough?

Lina cast a spell over the concoction in the container to activate its full potential, and then another one to fill the container with water, and a third to boil it. She then put the lid on and set it on the nightstand. "This will keep the air healthy and your lungs clear." She explained as she dug into her mantle again as steam started to issue from the container. She pulled out a book and some more herbs and a pestle, and quickly found the index before flipping back to find the recipe she needed.

She looked through the herbs she had and thanked her lucky stars that she had everything she needed, though she wasn't sure if she had enough camphor. Gourry's continued coughing heightened her anxiety as she put the ingredients into the pestle and ground them into a thick, sharp smelling paste. She took another moment to murmur another spell over the paste and then set it on the table.

"Here," she said, "Let me arrange those pillows."

He sat up a bit as she arranged the pillows so he was propped up slightly, and then helped ease him back down. She thought nothing of unbuttoning his shirt and applying the paste until he asked, "Lina?"

She blushed, realizing that she was doing what she had dreamt of doing so often when he was healthy and whole. How often had she quietly admired his fine build? How often had she yearned to run her fingers across his broad chest? So focused was she on getting the paste applied correctly that she hadn't thought about the potential sexual nature of what she was doing until he drew attention to it, and she wished he hadn't.

"S-sorry." She stammered, "There's a pattern I need to apply it in to heighten its effectiveness. It's easier for me to do it then to teach you how to."

"Okay." He said, and she wondered if the reddish tint to his face was from the fever or something else.

Now that her mind was on carnal matters, there was no turning back. It didn't help that the lack of people they had encountered over the past few days had left her feeling desolate, lonely, and desperate for the touch of another. And what a marvel he was to touch! His muscles were firm and warm and so smooth under her fingers that she had to resist the temptation to explore him at her leisure. She felt as though she could stroke him all night, and not for the first time she wondered why she was never able to get it together. Still, there was a job to do, and Gourry's life was hanging in the balance, so she ignored her desires and applied the paste in the pattern of one of the many healing symbols, designed to clear the air ways, strengthen the immune system, and diminish body aches.

When she finished she closed her eyes and chanted another spell. Then she smiled tiredly and grabbed a rag from her cape and started to wipe her fingers. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.

"Better, actually." He said, "The cough is gone."

"Good. I'm going to brew some tea now."

He watched her quietly as she pulled the ingredients from her mantle and set about to brewing a pot. "Here you are, this should help as well." She said when she had finished as she handed him a cup. Once he had finished and set it on the table she ordered, "Go on and get some rest." And without another word she grabbed a book and opened it.

"What about you? Aren't you going to rest?" he said.

Lina smiled, "I'm not the one coughing. I'll watch over you, make sure you stay stable. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Lina…"

"Sleep, Gourry." She commanded, "We need to get to Seyruun tomorrow, so you'll need all of the rest you can get now."

He stared at her for a moment, before saying quietly, "I don't want you to get this."

Lina closed her book, looking at him in shock as fear exploded within her. Was he admitting that he had the plague? "And I'm not going to leave you alone in the middle of the street to die!" she shot back, "Besides, we're so joined at the hip that if you have it then it's only a matter of time before I get ill. Which is why we need to get to Seyruun, and fast! So go to sleep!"

He stared at her in alarm for a few second as, to her horror, tears started to flow down her face. "It's that damn camphor." She said as she swiped at her eyes, "It's worse than onions for getting me to tear up."

He leaned back on the pillows, "I'm always telling people that beneath the surface, you're someone who really cares." He said quietly. "Night, Lina."

She struggled against her tears as he closed his eyes as she wondered why Gourry? Gourry, perhaps the sweetest person she had ever met, and without a doubt the most loyal. That he was sick didn't feel right at all.

Because if it had to have been one of them, it should have been her.

Lina had never seen Seyruun so desolate. Not a soul wandered the streets, aside from Gourry and herself. No vendors hawked their wares, the soft serve kiosks were boarded shut. The foul stench of decay rose from the streets, thankfully free from bodies. Occasionally Lina thought she glimpsed a sign of life gazing at them from behind a fluttering curtain, but no one stepped out to greet them. Lina couldn't blame them.

She stole a glance at Gourry, who was pale with a sheen of sweat upon his brow as he surveyed the streets between rounds of coughing. She looked ahead to the approaching palace, the flags lowered to half-mast. Fearfully Lina wondered if Amelia or any of the royal family was still alive.

Desolate images of the palace, covered in a veneer of dust shifted through her mind. The once majestic corridors so bustling with life empty, save for the corpses of the royal family. Learning that her friends were dead, watching helplessly as the same fate fell upon Gourry. Morbidly she wondered if everyone would fall ill and die but her, leaving her the sole human left in the world.

She smiled grimly, marveling at her newfound pessimism. Still, she realized when the only good thing she could immediately see about coming to Seyruun was that if Gourry died it would be in the comforts of a palace and not an inn, it was hard to see any sort of bright side. Dead was dead.

Lina approached the gates with a great sense of trepidation. What would they find? Through them she saw a lone figure in blue, and she relaxed a bit. A sole sentry. So there was life at the palace! She opened the gates, and the man turned to regard her. "Miss Lina Inverse?" he asked, a hint of awe in his voice.

Lina did not recognize him. One sentry in Seyruun looked just like another. Suddenly she felt horror over her previous callousness. If the past month had taught her anything, it was that every life was important. She was seized with desire to know his name. "That's me. I seem to have forgotten your name."

"Rudy, we've not met really, I just remember seeing you during the incident with the royal sorcerers." His dark eyes shined with hope as he asked, "Have you come to save us again?"

Lina felt her stomach drop. Any hope she had left of them having a cure vanished with his question. "Actually, we need help. Gourry here," she said, reaching to grab his arm but, uncharacteristically, he pulled away just out of reach. "He's sick."

Rudy looked at Gourry and nodded, looking crestfallen. "I see. Princess Amelia turned the east wing into a hospital. Follow me."

Lina felt some relief over the mention of her friend. "So Amelia's okay?"

"Since she's immune to the plague…"

"Immune?" Lina cut in, "Immune how?"

"I guess you wouldn't know. Sorcerers who can perform high level magic, only the most complex of spells like the Ra Tilt and Dragon Slave, seem to be immune. At least, there's no report of someone who can perform those spells also falling ill."

"Really?" Lina asked, "Interesting."

"Hey Lina," Gourry asked, his voice weak. "What does immune mean?"

"It means that people who can cast high level spells can't get the plague." Lina explained.

"So, you can't catch it." He repeated.

Usually Lina would have felt annoyed with him. But facing the prospect of life without his stupid, ridiculous questions had done something funny. It made her appreciate them. "No, I can't."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "Thank goodness."

Lina felt her throat grow tight as, even through the thick, protective barrier of her shoulder guards she could feel just how badly he was shaking. As he leaned against her she realized that, even as sick as he was, his first thought was still to keep her safe. She wondered how long he struggled to walk on his own until hearing that she was immune, how he managed to keep himself going as she wrapped an arm around him to support him, noting just how unsteady he was. Her heart heavy, she asked Rudy to lead the way.

"So, are you a powerful sorcerer, Rudy?" she asked quietly.

"No, I was actually one of the first in Seyruun to become ill."

A beacon of hope flared within her. "And you survived?"

Rudy nodded, "One of the few."

"How?"

Rudy shook his head, "I don't know. Mr. Zelgadis has taken blood samples from the survivors, and he's having all of the healers keep detailed records on vital signs and what is being administered to patients in the hopes of finding a cure, but so far he hasn't found a pattern."

"Zel's here?" Lina asked.

"Yes, he got here right before this broke out."

"What about the rest of the royal family?"

"The King died. He was so old and weak, the plague didn't waste any time with him. King Philionel was hastily crowned. But we couldn't keep him away from the sick, you know how he was. He quickly became ill himself. He fought it valiantly. He and Prince Christopher died on the same day. We received notice from Princess Gracia when this started that she was on her way home, but so far we've not seen her."

Lina nodded mechanically as Rudy led them through the twisting, deserted corridors. Soon the sounds of people coughing could be discerned, along with the fetid smells of sick, dying people. Rudy opened a set of double doors, and the smell grew unbearably pungent. Lina brought her hand to cover her noise as her eyes widened as she took in what once looked to have been a ballroom. Now it was covered wall to wall with cots filled with the ill citizens of Seyruun.

Some of them were coughing violently, their bodies rising from the cots with each wave. Some cried with the agony of pain and fever. Others lay covered in scabs, too lethargic to move. Few to none had family members by their side. They had either been abandoned or there was no one left to care for them but the dozen or so healers moving methodically from cot to cot, checking vitals, administering herbs, pulling blankets over the bodies of the dead.

Lina felt bile rise in her throat as she started to shake, "What is this?" she asked, her voice low.

"This is where we care for the sick…"

"You want me to leave Gourry here?"

"You can stay with him…"

"Not here!" Lina screamed, a note of hysteria in her voice, "He's saved your kingdom, dammit, he deserves better than this!"

"I know it looks horrible, but he'll get the best care here."

"No! Not here!" she screamed.

"It's okay, Lina." Gourry said weakly, "I just want to lie down."

"It's not okay!" Lina shot back, "You can lie down when we find a proper bed! I'll care for you myself!"

"We can arrange that," A fourth, familiar voice said, "Follow me, Lina."

Lina took a deep, shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. "Zel."

Zel went to Gourry's other side to help support him, and together the three of them set off down the hallway. As they left, Lina marveled at her selfishness. Sure, she wasn't stealing a healer to care for Gourry, but if she left him in the hospital then she could help care for all of the sick. And it looked as if they could use the extra hand.

Still, Lina could not bear the thought of leaving him in that sea of death and decay. Selfish. She was always so selfish! Her wants, her needs, and damn anyone else's. She'd even cast a spell that could have destroyed the world because she couldn't bear to live in it without Gourry.

What if this was karma?

She shuddered at the thought as Zel asked, "When did his symptoms start?"

"Yesterday." Lina replied, noting that her voice didn't sound normal.

"What remedies have you tried?"

Mechanically Lina recited the list of herbs and the forms she had administered them in. Zel smiled tiredly. "Looks like he was well cared for from the beginning."

"Will that help?" Lina asked, only to be crestfallen by his answer.

"It doesn't hurt. I've never seen anything like this. It strikes so fast, it is so lethal. Yet for some reason, it spares only the most powerful of sorcerers." He shook his head.

"How fast?" Lina asked.

"Most people die within three days of symptoms starting. Some hang on longer. Phil managed a week."

Three days. The number echoed ominously in her mind. Three days. And they were nearly through the first one.

"How many survive?" Lina asked, her voice tight.

"Barely one percent." Zel said grimly. "If someone develops a rash, then it's only a matter of time until they die. They have two hours, may be four left at the most. No one who has developed a rash has survived. We don't know why."

Zel indicated a door and opened it, chauffeuring them in as he continued. "It's not natural, Lina. Someone manufactured this."

"What?" Lina said dumbly as they sat Gourry on the bed and helped him remove his armor, "Why would someone manufacture something so horrible?"

"No idea." Zel said, "But whoever did must have been a powerful sorcerer. Hence the immunity. Lighting!" Zel cast before turning his attention to Gourry, "I'm going to examine you."

Lina's heart raced as she watched as Zel asked Gourry to stick his tongue out as she started to frantically hope that they were wrong and it was just a cold. Desperately she hoped that Zel would laugh, smile and say after a few days of rest he would be back on his feet. Yet after a few minutes Zel's expression turned grim, and Lina felt the hope trickle out of her. He smiled wryly and clapped Gourry on the shoulder, "Only you would go to the trouble of getting the plague to see Lina get this worked up over you."

Gourry smiled tiredly as he lay back on the bed and kicked his boots off as Lina asked, "So, it's the plague, there's no doubt?"

"None." He said grimly, "You can tell, he's jaundiced and there's a rash on his tongue."

Lina felt as though she'd been hit with a tsunami of emotions. "I-I have to start the humidifier." She stammered as she reached into her mantle. She started to get her supplies ready as Gourry drifted off to sleep while Zel wrote down some notes. "I ran out of camphor last night."

Zel pulled a case from his cape, "We have plenty here. Then there's some egnaro and nimativ, they're powerful immune system boosters that are hard to find outside of Seyruun."

"Let me guess." Lina said caustically as she took what she needed, "They can't hurt."

Zel stared out of the window, his expression morose, even for him. "I wish there was more I could do. Nothing seems to help. Nothing about this blasted disease makes sense!"

Silence descended upon the room as Lina ground the ingredients in her pestle while Zel continued to stare out of the window, as if hoping for a sudden, game changing inspiration. When Lina walked over to the bed and lifted Gourry's shirt to apply the paste Zel asked, "You're from Zeferia."

"So?"

"Two months ago we heard about the first cases of the plague in Zeferia. It seemed to be contained there. Sylphiel left with a relief delegation. We know she got there safely, but haven't heard anything since a month ago, when it exploded everywhere else."

Lina had not thought it possible to feel any worse than she did. She'd tried not to think about what the plague was doing to her hometown, her family. But learning that it was the place that was first hit made it unavoidable. Were her parents still alive? Neither of them could perform such advanced magic. What about her sister? Certainly the Ceipheid Knight would have protection that other mortals would not. What about her friends?

Lina batted her eyes rapidly as she started to apply the paste, wondering why Zel was telling her this, and why now. She didn't say anything. Talking was suddenly too hard. Unbidden, Zel continued, "That's the other things that doesn't make sense. How it was confined to Zeferia for a month and then exploded everywhere else in the Inner World at the same time. Communication between neighboring kingdoms has been disrupted, naturally, given how lethal this plague has been. But we've had calls asking for relief from kingdoms as far away as Galia and Solaria! It wasn't a slow spread from Zeferia to other, neighboring kingdoms. Just an explosion of plague everywhere at the same time."

Lina grabbed a rag and started to wipe her hands with it. "Is this another reason you think it was manufactured?"

"Yes." Zel said. "Lina, did you ever meet anyone at the guild who was powerful and whose line of research included diseases?"

Lina tried to think of her time at the Sorcerer's Guild in Zeferia, but her mind was drawing a blank. Thinking of everyone she had potentially lost was more than she could tolerate at the moment. "Not anyone who I think would do this. But what about Rezo's gang?"

Zel folded his arms across his chest, "Rezo mentioned someone, never by name. A powerful sorcerer. Not a lot else. I wonder sometimes, but it's not a lot to go on. Whoever it is, though, is genius."

Lina shuddered, "'Genius' isn't the word I would use."

"Lina, we don't even know why some people can perform such powerful feats of magic and others can't, despite all of the research put into it. Whoever created this must have found out and used whatever makes us different from other humans to form a natural immunity. If I could find out what it is I could get a cure, but I've been completely stymied. And considering a lot of the best researchers in Seyruun have succumbed themselves to this plague…"

Lina put her hand to her temple. While usually she and Zel bounced ideas off each other well, at the moment it was far more than she could handle. Her family was likely dead. Her hometown must have been decimated, gone. Seyruun was a shell of its former glory. And Gourry had the plague!

Zel sighed and stood up, "I'll have someone send up some food, as well as some lotion should a rash develop."

"I thought if a rash developed there was nothing left to do." Lina said monotonously.

"The lotion helps with the pain."

Lina closed her eyes tightly as Zel moved towards the door. "Amelia will likely stop by on her break. I'll warn you, this month has taken a lot out of her. She's not herself right now." He was quiet for a moment before adding, "I don't think any of us are."

Zel left, closing the door quietly behind him. Lina sat quietly by Gourry's side for a moment before moving her hand to brush his hair from his eyes before moving to grab his hand. He slept soundly as she studied him. She could see no rash, nor any start of a rash. She squeezed his hand and spoke, "You're not allowed to leave me, Gourry. If you even try I swear I'll follow you and drag your ass back here. Just so we understand, you're not allowed to leave, and I'm not going to let you die."