"We're basically going into this blindly, we have no idea what caused the weapons to get sick, no clue who could be behind this and not much time at all. What're we supposed to do?" Kyami asked.

"I don't know, I guess we can try to talking about what was happening before our partners started feeling sick. Did you do anything out of the usual, or maybe they ate something that was different?"Olivia added, Maka shook her head.

"Soul didn't do anything out of our ordinary routine, We went on our mission and came home. He didn't eat anything the day before that but he does that sometimes. I can't think of anything else."Maka said.

"Cole was fine and one day I heard him crying out in pain, he was holding his stomach but I don't remember him eating anything different and we didn't have a mission. He was just..sick and there was nothing to explain it, I thought he had appendicitis the or something, it was awful." Kyami wiped away her tears.

"We were talking about what we were going to do this weekend, Ai was fine and then it hit her pretty hard and she couldn't move. Then about a day later she had a terrible fever. I don't see a connection to any of the cases, though its true that I haven't talked to any of the others, I can't imagine how this happened and spread so fast." Olivia sighed. Moments later, Spirit appeared escorting two young girls and Black Star.

"What's going on Papa?"Maka asked.

"Lord death asked me to bring you some already know Black Star, but these young ladies are Akane and Rhiannon. They're here to help." Spirit announced.

Maka looked at the girls.

Akane,she decided had to be slightly younger than herself. Her short black hair was slightly spiked and her cyan eyes showed her determination.

Rhiannon's hair was dark brown,her emerald eyes were filled with concern,Maka found that she felt sad for her. The girl seemed to be on the verge of tears as she stood before the group.

"Hello." She greeted with a polite bow.

"Hi, I'm Maka, this is Kyami and Olivia, we're glad you're here, we can use all the help we can get."

"We've talked enough, let's go do something about it!" Black Star shouted.

"If we knew anything about it we would have already done something." She said angrily.

"We don't have time to waste, our partners -"

"Don't you think I know that, Soul isn't lying there because he feels like it. I know this has to be solved and it's killing me right now. I want everyone better too, if you have any bright ideas please enlighten us." Maka challenged. Black Star fell silent.

"I didn't think so." Maka turned away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You can argue later, right now our friends are more important. Don't lose sight of our goal." Akane said. Maka sighed.

"You're right. They need us, I just don't know what to do,it's already been three days and we haven't come up with anything at all." Maka turned to the group spirit had brought.

"Before you got here, we were talking about what was going on before everyone got sick. Did anything unusual happen with your partners?" She asked. There was a moment of silence.

"Zia and I were on a mission, we were following a lead for Lord Death. Zia said she heard something, like someone whispering behind her from an alley but no one was around. I know that sounds crazy but she doesn't normally hear things like that."Akane told her.

"Cyan and I were just taking a walk, just enjoying the evening and then he started feeling dizzy. We stopped for a while but by the time we got back, he was telling me he felt really sick. He was in the infirmary the next morning."Rhiannon said.

"So at least three of us were it's just a virus or something." Kyami concluded.

"It's awfully strange that a normal virus would be selective about who it infects." Akane pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe we should look into this as being caused by the usual suspects. We'll have to-"

"Maka." The young Meister turned to find Kid behind her.

"What's going on Kid, did you find anything?" She asked.

"I don't know if it'll lead you to anything, the information hasn't been verified yet but I can tell you this, it's not something that happened naturally, and you need to be very careful." Kid gave Maka a carefully folded paper.

"Also, I'm coming with you, you're going to need all the help you can get."

Inside the infirmary, Stein found himself overwhelmed as many of the students' conditions worsened. The Meisters that reminded rushed to follow his instructions in an effort to save their friends.

"Soul, do you think Maka's going to be okay?" Crona asked worriedly.

"It's Maka, she'll be fine,she's a strong girl." Soul said weakly.

"Yeah, she is. If anyone can figure it out, she can. I just hope we can keep our promise to her." Crona replied.

"That's right." After a few minutes Soul spoke again.

"Hey Crona, can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Sure soul, whatever you need."

"If I can't keep my promise to her, if something happens-"

"Soul, you can't do that to Maka. She really needs you. You're her best friend. Please don't give in." Crona pleaded.

"I don't plan on it, but things don't always go as planned. If I can't be there for her, can I count on you to be?"

"Yes. If you really want me to." Crona winced at the pain in his stomach.

"It's not an easy request to make, I've been looking after her since our first year here, we've been through a lot of fights and each time I've always protected her as best I could. To not be able to do that now- I have to do what's best for her. You know?" Crrona wasn't surprised by this. He knew the pair was close. He suspected that their feeling toward each other went far beyond Meister,weapon, maybe even beyond friends.

"You'll keep looking out for her even when you're so sick, you must really care about her."

"As long as I'm breathing, I'll do what I need to for her, even if it means that I have to ask someone to take over for me. She'll need a friend when I can't be there. It's an important job and you're going to have to toughen up but I think you can do this."

"I will, but please try really hard to get through this. I'm not as brave as you."

"You'll surprise yourself sometimes." Soul ignored the pain traveling through his body.

"I hope you're right Soul, but more than that I hope you can keep your promise, Maka won't know what to do without you."