I don't own Star Ocean, this is a fanfiction.

Just as we reached the top we saw that the top had quite a bit of the supposed herb, and just as Millie was about to pick some of it, a light flashed and I had to cover my eyes since it was simply too bright. That is when I heard two voices that caught me by surprise. "Lieutenant, I believe you said that the area was clear. I do believe we got some people here."

I regained my vision and that is when I first saw her, her blonde hair, her eyes, her lips she was the most beautiful woman I saw in my life. Ok, maybe my mother was just as pretty but still she did look very beautiful, "Sorry, Sir. The scanners said that this area was uninhabited. Since they saw us we must at the very least introduce ourselves."

The man had black hair, cut short and they both were wearing some of the strangest clothes I ever was seen. "My name is Ronix J Kenny, and this is my second in command Ilia Silvestri. We don't want to alarm you or cause you to misunderstand. We mean you no harm."

Dorn just looked at him and I could see he didn't believe a word about not meaning us any harm. "Look you want the herb too? There is plenty for both of us. Just let us get some of it, so we can try and cure a local plague that just been spreading." I guess Millie decided that the only reason these two were here at all was for the same reason as we were.

"Actually that is why we came, sorry to tell you this but this herb will not cure the illness that is spreading on this planet. Please, believe me, we came to help you and your planet find a cure for this sickness."

Dorn looked at Ilia and I just knew that he would say something I would later regret him saying. "Are you Gods? Is that why you appeared out of nowhere? Is that why you travel in a light?" I couldn't believe what Dorn was saying, that made no sense at all.

"Dorn, they are not gods. I mean for crying out loud if they were gods they could snap their fingers and all our problems would be solved in less time that it takes you to wink. They are no doubt normal people just like us, and having heard that we were suffering from an illness they came to help us."

Ilia smiled as I finished saying that, "Actually you are more right than your friends may believe. We are normal people like you said except for two things, our culture is much more advanced that you are at the moment, and the other is we came from another planet. We don't have tails like your kind."

She turned around and sure enough she didn't have a tail like someone like us. "I don't know, I see a fine piece of tail right in front of me." That somehow made me want to hit Dorn for saying that, I don't know why I felt like that but my cousin beat me to it and slapped him hard across his face.

"That is a rude comment Dorn, you should know better than to treat a young lady as a piece of meat!" This made Ronix, Illia and I laugh as we heard Millie tell him that after the slap she gave him. Her hand print was still visible on his cheek.

"What I would like to offer you two is for you two to come aboard our ship, there our doctor can examine your friend and he might come up with a cure for your illness. I do need to ask you to close your eyes."

We had nothing to lose and Dorn was already infected, we all nodded our head as we closed our eyes. As we opened our eyes only after a few seconds we saw something we have never seen before. "As you can see our level of technology is far more advanced, come let us take your friend to our doctor."

Just as we began to walk towards the exit and the door opened Dorn fell on his knees touching his chest. "Don't touch him, the illness spreads through touch." I guess Millie wanted to warn these two nice people about it, but somehow I get the feeling she also didn't want Illia to touch Dorn at all.

The floor moved on its own, and the inside looked like no building or ship I ever was seen. Dorn was placed inside a strange tube by men wearing strangest clothing we have ever seen. A few moments later, we looked at a bright light ring moved up and down on Dorn's body. As the light turned off we looked at a middle-aged man reading a piece of paper that came from the wall.

"I was afraid this was going to happen, I am afraid that this plague is impossible to cure using Earth knowledge." Millie ran where the man was and grabbed his what I guess is his shirt. "You people said that you're more advanced than we didn't you? How can you say the disease Dorn has in incurable?"

The person waited till Millie let go of him, "Miss, the reason I can say this plague is not curable is because we are more advanced than your people are. The thing making him sick is in a state of constant change, even if I make a vaccine the vaccine would be useless in a matter of minutes. If we could somehow find the host or original carrier of this disease then maybe we might be able to cure it, but it will be too late for your friend."

"Don't lose hope, as soon as we find the cure we can still use it and restore all your people that had turned to stone. I am sorry but as far as I can tell you friend only has a couple of hours before he completely petrifies."

Just like I expected of her, she broke down and came to sit on the floor, crying her heart out. I know my friend is her boyfriend, and they been pretty much a couple since as long as I can remember, but this even caught me by surprise.

"Captain, I know this might be a little selfish, but if I am to die. I rather die in my own bed. There is something I own that I want to give to Millie. It's something very important to me." I knew what Dorn was talking about, but somehow I didn't think that they would let us go after seeing all these wonders we have seen.

If we told people they could either consider us insane at worst and liars at best. "You don't need to worry Ronix, we will go with Illia here, she can make certain we are back. For their sake please grant their request."

Ronix smiled at me and so did Ilia, "You could tell I was not going to let you two go back after seeing this, that is impressive, but I need to correct Dorn. You are not going to die, you will just go to sleep for a long time, but after we get the blood of the person or animal this illness came from and with the vaccine we will make, you will be back to normal."

"Very well, Illia please make sure to transport him to his bed, once you return be sure to give them a tour of the ship. It's not like they will influence their own world if they see more of our technology."

Just as I came to appear and saw Dorn on his bed I felt a sudden anger, a sudden sadness, that could not be held back anymore. The only thing that kept me able to restrain myself was my cousin's tears. I walked closer to his bed and looked at him, and I couldn't stay quiet.

"Why did you wait so much to tell us you were ill? We are your friends, your family, why did you keep quiet about the pain?" Dorn always faced life with humor, it was his thing. I know that he must have a reason but I needed to hear it, I needed to hear it because I desperately wanted to hear something that made me stop feeling like I failed my best friend.

"Funny thing, Roddick. I was having so much fun being with you both that I forgot. I guess deep down I didn't want to worry both of you. Do me a favor buddy, get that music box that is the one on my nightstand. Give it to Millie please."

I could not understand why he wanted to do this, "I can't take this, it was the only thing you had from your sister." Millie was shocked as I was that he wanted to give us the only memento he had of his long dead sister. The woman who practically raised him.

"In my family, we passed down that music box, the men in my family give it to the person we love as a means to propose to that person. I might as well do it now, I guess I will be sleeping for a long time and I might not have the chance later. I love you, Millie and I always have."

Just as I heard my best friend say those words his skin lost all color and where my smiling friend was there was now a stone statue. Millie broke down in tears once more as she hugged the music box to her chest. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I realized that it was the hand of Illia offering me what I needed the most at the time, her support.

"Roddick I know this is sad, but we need to go now. We need to tell the other's what has happened here. We need to find who spread this illness in this world and why. So come on Roddick let's go we need to find a cure for him and much more and we can't do it if we just sit here."

As soon as we got on the ship we received an amazing tour of the ship. The things I saw I once thought it was things that were in the realm of fantasy, but there they were. The thing that could make anything and anywhere you wanted appear around you, so real you could mistake it for real. The device that with a simple word would make the food you wanted.

The floor that went up and down with a simple push of blinking light, I know that I should not be enjoying this, but in some way this was the moment that I realized that Ilia was not just doing what Ronix told her, she was trying to get our minds off my friend and to think about anything else. That was when I think I first realized how sweet, kind and caring this person was.

I guess this was the moment I began to actually fall in love with the woman that travel across the stars.

We heard an awful siren and we somehow knew something was wrong. 'Unidentified life form detected in the transporter room, Repeat, Unidentified hostile life form detected in the transporter room.'

We all got on what she called a lift and went directly to the room we can into the ship. There on the transporter room was three full grown fellworms. I took hold of my sword and began sending one wind cutter after another, one of them got a lucky strike and bite my arm before I stabbed it through its head.

I heard a gasping sound and I looked at Ilia who looked surprised for some reason. "It disappeared! The second you bleed a little it just vanished!"

Millie was confused and she walked over the dead fellworm. "What are you talking about it is right here! It is right where I am pointing at!"

That was when she looked like an idea came to her and she ran out of the room, we had to run after her. "So this creature is from your world? How in the world did it come to be aboard our ship." Ilia asked me as we stood on the moving floor.

"They are called fellworms, and I guess one of them laid some eggs on one of us. When we came aboard the ship they probably fell off and grew on the room's floor. What do you mean it vanished? We could see it as clear as day."

Illia looked at us and then she began to rub her chin with her right hand. "I mean it literally vanished, I could see where you were pointing at, but I could no longer see that creature. I think this might help us learn why would anyone spread that illness to your world. At least I hope the doctor can find something to that effect."

We walked into the same room where we met the man who had told us about Dorn's condition and how severe his condition was. "Doctor, is there anything different between the people of planet Roak and ourselves?"

The man looked at her and then at us, "Physiologically speaking there is little difference between humans and fellpool. We are systematically the same, and we even share much of the same biology, even down to the reproductive sense. I might even say it is possible for a human and a fellpool to have a child together."

"There is one key difference however and that is the blood. In humans hemoglobin the main element in our hemoglobin is iron, the blood of fellpool the main element in their hemoglobin is copper. That is the only biological, and systematic difference between our species and theirs."

Illia began to nod her head, "Doctor I need you to find any possible substance that may be produced by petrifying fellpool blood. Something that could not be found otherwise." I was looking at the doctor's face lose all color for a second, I guess this caught him by surprise.

"You have any idea how many combinations and variable formula that could entail! Damn it Illia, I am a doctor not a biochemist." Illia looked at him with a great deal of concern and I could see that she was thinking hard about this.

"Doctor I know I am asking something our of your comfort zone, but this may be the only way that we can make sense to this senseless tragedy or should I say cruel act. Please Doctor, this could help us find why this happened in the first place, and more importantly why would anyone spread this illness in the first place."

I saw the doctor scratch the back of his head, "Alright, I get it. I will try my best to find what could be made from petrified fellpool blood. You should go and report to the captain, he must want your report about this, and to tell our guests where this ship is headed."