A/N: I do not own these characters, they are copyrighted by Squaresoft. I would love it if I weren't true but... Alas. The song in the story is called 'You're my Best Friend', by Queen, one of the greatest bands there's ever been. I don't own that song, either. The plot is mine though.

The Virus

Chapter 1: Infliction

The third straight day of rain. It was sickening to him. This mission would have been so much easier if they weren't crawling through mudslides and getting stuck every three seconds.

He gave his Ehrgeiz a soft tug, a nervous habit of his. This mission was never going to work unless they had absolute stealth.

For the fifth time that hour, a wave of dizziness over came him, and he staggered, his hand sinking deep into the mud at his side when he tried to support himself.

Squall looked back, concern etched on his face. "You all right?"

Zell waved the comment away like it wasn't important. "Just tired."

Rinoa, now a high-ranking SeeD, also looked concerned. "Are you sure? You keep on stumbling..."

"Don't worry about me, Rin." Zell smiled, but he was thankfull nonetheless that he had friends who cared. There was no one he'd rather call friends than the two people who had been by his side at the final fight with Ultimecia.

All three stopped, but Squall first, all his muscles tensing.

"Sh... Something's there." The SeeD Commander stepped forwards, drawing Lionheart to battle position.

Out of the brush and foliage stepped three Toramas, their teeth bared, ready to attack.

The battle began, but it was difficult. The mud was holding fast to their boots, making any form of physical attack much harder to pull off.

Squall ran forwards and did a slash, pulling the trigger on Lionheart. One of the Toramas fell, defeated easily by who must have been the strongest guy on Earth.

Rinoa cast double on herself, ready to finish a Torama with a double Flare.

Zell started forwards to do his punch combo, a simple attack, when a wave of nausea and pain hit him, causing him to double over before he could attack.

The two Toramas both headed to him, licking their chops, but a flare spell hit both, knocking them backwards into trees.

The creatures ran away, defeated, at the same time Rinoa and Squall ran to Zell.

He was so dizzy his friend's faces seemed like blobs of flesh-colored jelly. He felt like he was going to throw up if he moved a muscle.

"Zell, are you all right?!" Rinoa asked, laying a hand on his forehead. "He's feverish, Squall. Zell's sick."

"It may be nothing serious, but just in case, we have to get back to Garden. Zell, I'm going to pick you up, all right?"

Zell's reply was a soft groan of protest. But he quickly managed, "I dunno, man... I think I'm gonna throw up..."

"Not on me." Squall replied, and pulled Zell to a sitting position.

Zell's entire world began to spin, and he gagged.

Rinoa watched the gross scene, and then she asked, "What about sleep and curaga?"

Squall nodded. "Cure doesn't work on illness. Try esuna and sleep."

Rinoa nodded and casted esuna first.

Zell sighed as his vision stopped fuzzing and his friend's scared faces came back into view. "Oh... That's better."

Then she casted sleep, and Zell's head immediately dropped down to rest on his chest.

Squall lifted him onto his back and nodded to Rinoa. "Let's get him back to the ragnarok, and then'll we'll tell Headmaster Cid our mission is failed because Zell has gotten ill."

"And we'll call for back up, right? To complete the mission?"

Squall nodded. "But first all we have to think about is getting Zell back to the ship. It's going to take a long time, I hope you have a full supply of sleep spells."

Rinoa nodded. "It's my Def-J, but oh well. I'll use curaga instead."

*****

"This is Commander Leonhart, requesting backup on a failed mission."

"Failed? What happened?" Headmaster Cid asked, his voice full of concern. "Did Rinoa get injured?"

"No, Zell got sick. We're bringing him back to Garden to have him treated. Rinoa and I will get back to the mission a.s.a.p."

"No need. I wouldn't take you away from a friend when he's ill. I'll send Nida and someone else. It's not a tough mission, no one will think less of you if you leave because you care about someone's well-being."

Rinoa stepped into the cockpit, fear on her face.

"Commander Leonhart signing off, over." Squall finished and turned off the radio. "Rinoa, what's wrong?"

"I took his temperature, Squall... It's at one hundred and five, and it seems to be climbing."

Squall looked at the controls, then at Rinoa. "Can you handle this for a while?"

"Sure." Rinoa nodded, and the two switched places.

Squall headed down to the sick bay, and opened the door. True to what Rinoa had said, Zell looked considerably worse.

His open eyes were glazed over, his face was flushed, and a fine layer of sweat glistened on his skin.

"Zell." Squall crossed the room and placed a hand on his forehead.

Zell slowly shut his eyes and whimpered. "God, Squall, it's so hot in here..."

Squall silently went over his stocked magic, and then he casted an esuna.

Zell gave a shaky sigh, but Squall could feel that his temperature had dropped already to a less dangerous level.

He turned to the cabinets and pulled it open. He took a washcloth and then walked to the sink.

Zell shifted his position on the bed behind Squall, and he softly groaned.

Squall filled the sink about one quarter full, and casted blizzard on it.

The top layer of water froze, like Squall had expected, and when he broke his hand and the cloth through, the water under the ice was freezing. He pulled the cloth out, wrung the dripping water from it, and carried it to Zell. "Lay on your back."

Zell slowly rolled back off his side, his breathing coming out in a quick gasps as he moved.

Squall placed the cloth against's Zell's forehead, and smiled when Zell let out a sigh of what could only be relief.

"That's a little better..."

Squall spent a little more time wiping the sweat off Zell's face and neck, then he casted sleep and left the cloth lying across his forehead to bring the temperature down.

"I never knew you could be so caring." Came Rinoa's amused voice over the intercom. She had watched it all from the the moniter above the pilot's chair, since they had cameras placed in the sick bay to keep an eye on the injured without crashing the ship.

Squall shook his head and pressed the button to send his own message back. "You were in a coma last time I was so caring. And besides, I'm the one out of the two of us who has had extensive medical training."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in." Rinoa laughed, then added, "Come on back up here, it looks like Zell's sleeping peacefully. More than he was when I was down there."

Squall looked back, and it was true that Zell wasn't moving a muscle, except for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It was a tad bit quick for Squall's liking, but it was better that nothing. "All right, I'll be right up." Squall answered, and stepped out of the sick bay, shutting the door softly behind him.

*****

"Just about there." Squall informed Rinoa, who was half asleep in the chair next to him.

She lazily opened one eye, then peered up at the moniter for the sick bay. "Zell's still sleeping, and I can see him breathing. I think he might just have a bit of a virus."

Squall nodded, but still felt concerned. "Might be. But better safe than sorry. Zell's never sick, so of course I'll be worried."

"Worried, you? Mr. Serious?" Rinoa joked, stretching her arms.

"....whatever." Squall replied, equally as jokingly.

"I'm going to go check on Zell and maybe try another esuna or an elixir."

"No elixirs. They work on HP only." Squall told her, his eyes fixed on the compass. They were still right on course for Balamb.

"Ok, ok." Rinoa nodded and got up. She left the cockpit and walked down the hall, stopping for a second to check how many esunas she had left.

"Rinoa."

She jumped, but recognized Squall's voice. She searched for an intercom, then pressed the button. "What now?"

"Zell's out."

"Huh?"

"He just exited the sick bay. I can't tell if he's sleeping, or if he's just feeling better. He probably feels guilty the mission has ended."

"I'll find him." Rinoa promised, and took her finger off the button at the same second Zell turned the corner into the corridor she was in. "Zell, there you are! Squall was scared for you." She scolded, walking up to him.

He looked horrible. There were already dark circles under his eyes, and he was trembling. "Rin, I'm so sorry. You guys had to cancel the mission 'cause of me..."

"It's all right, Zell. Squall doesn't care, and neither do I. Headmaster Cid understands and he's sending three other SeeDs to finish the job." She put a hand on his forehead and made a face. "You're burning up."

"It's hard to sleep..." Zell explained, his eyes half closing at Rinoa's cool touch. "It's so hot, I just wanted to find a cooler place to lay down... It's hot here too..." And with those words, Zell's legs gave out and he collapsed.

Rinoa just barely caught him, and she sat down on the floor with him, allowing his head to rest back on her shoulder.

"Rinoa, is everything all right?" Squall's voice came, and Rinoa frantically tried to reach the com from where she was sitting, but it was way too far from her. "I'll just set it the listen mode, so you can talk... I guess you might not be able to reach me." There was a buzz, then a soft humming.

"Squall, I found him! He passed out in the hallway, and I can't move him!" Rinoa called out, her voice echoing through the empty hall. "I'm in the second floor hallway, third room. The one we came in from in space."

It click, then Rinoa heard, "We're almost there. I'll inform Balamb Garden to be ready with a stretcher, and Dr. Kadowaki." And then everything was silent.

"Rin..." Zell mumbled softly, his eyes still closed.

"What is it?" She asked, scared for her sick friend.

"Can... can you sing to me?"

"Why?"

"My ma used to do it when I was sick..."

"Well... Ok... What do you want me to sing?"

"Just any song..."

"All right..." Rinoa took a breath and started to sing a song she'd heard on the radio. "Ooh you make me live. Whatever this world can give to me, It's you, you're all I see. Ooh, you make me live now honey, ooh you make me live... Oh, you're the best friend, that I ever had, I've been with you such a long time, you're my sunshine, and I want you to know, that my feelings are true, I really love you, oh, you're my best friend..."

From the cockpit, Squall closed his eyes breifly. Rinoa sung just like Julia had.

*****

"Rinoa, prepare for landing." Squall said over the intercom, as he slowly brought the Ragnarok down into the hangar that had recently been built for it.

"Aye aye captain." Came the reply, once he had switched to listening mode.

"How's Zell doing?"

"Not sure. He's been tossing and turning, but he's still sleeping."

"Good. If he wakes up, make sure he doesn't move himself around too much. I want him as calm as possible going into the infirmary."

"No problem." Rinoa said loudly, and that was the end of the conversation.

Squall finished the landing perfectly, and let out a sigh. He hated cutting missions short, and that had only happened about three times. Once because Irvine shot himself in the foot, and the other time because their subject target had been murdered. Now this. "How's it going, Rin?"

"Smooth. Zell's awake, but he's calm."

"Zell, how are you feeling?" Squall asked, concern barely creeping into his calm voice.

"Like shit." Came the raspy reply.

"Rin, make sure to tell Dr. K to give him plenty of water when she gets him in. Throat sounds sore."

"Ok."

Squall opened the doors next to the room Rinoa was in, then got up to see how everything was going.

*****

"Ok, and lift." Dr. Kadowaki instructed.

The two trained girls lifted Zell off the ground and placed him carefully on the stretcher.

Rinoa bit her lip nervously, scared for her best friend.

"He'll be fine as soon as I know what's wrong." Dr. K smiled, patting Rinoa on the shoulder. "No sense getting worked up for nothing important."

"What about his fever?"

"It's rather high, but you have nothing in here to bring it down with. I'll give him some medicine that should work for that. Aa, Squall. Just the man I wanted to speak with."

"How is he, Doctor?" Squall asked as he stepped into the room.

"Fine, just fine." She explained, but she had questions she wanted to ask as well. "Now, when did he first start showing signs of illness?"

"I guess it was during the mission. He had a few dizzy spells."

"How many?"

"About five, and it all started about the same time. Every few minutes he would stagger."

"And when did he become too weak to complete the mission?"

"We encountered three Toramas, and Zell collapsed before he could start fighting."

"And the fever?"

"Right after he collapsed."

"It came on suddenly, then?" Dr. Kadowaki could not hold back her look of concern.

"Why, what's wrong?" Rinoa cried, clutching onto Squall's arm tightly. "Is it bad?"

"Well, it could possibly be just a stomach virus... But... There's one illness I've heard of that it could very well be."

"Well, just give him the medicine he needs, then." Squall nodded.

"That's the problem. This illness is so rare, a case of it hasn't been seen in so many years... I don't have the ingredients to make the cure."

"Where do you get them from, then? I can make a run to get them."

"Well... It was once called Noble, but now it's being called 'The Nameless Island'. There's the Skeleton Pennisula, and the knuckle joint for the index finger-"

"There's some strange monsters there." Rinoa interrupted. "I read about them in myths. Monsters have been inter breeding into new species of more and more deadly and ferocious things... The ingredients are there?"

"The main one is. It's a very rare plant that you can only find at the heart of the Island, the heart of the forest." Dr. Kadowaki explained, exiting the Ragnarok.

"Why talk about this yet? We don't even know if that's what it is." Squall pointed out as they headed back into the Garden. "If that's what it is, we can talk about when and how to get this plant, and I'll bring it back for Zell."

*****

"How're you doing?" Selphie asked softly, stepping into the infirmary room.

Zell smiled weakly. "Feeling a bit better..."

"Oh, that's good... What's wrong with you?" She sat down in the chair next to the bed, and Zell pushed himself to a sitting position, despite the dizziness.

"Dunno yet... Dr. K says it might just be the flu or something... But I don't know... I don't get sick easily, and with my luck, when I do, it's always something big."

Selphie patted his arm. "Don't be pessimistic, Zell. It can't be that bad."

Another incredible wave of dizziness washed over him, and he put a hand against his forehead. "Oh, man... I gotta lay back down..." He settled into the uncomfortable bed again, and had just shut his eyes when Squall came into the room.

The SeeD commander looked... No, it couldn't be... But it was! He looked almost like he had been crying. Well, ok, sure, it wasn't a huge surprise since Rinoa and everyone else had brought him out of his shell. He was a lot more open than ever, though he still kept somethings to himself. "Zell..." He started, shutting the door behind him.

"Don't tell me, I know." Zell held up a hand and sighed. "Let me guess, I've got that rare illness, and you and the others have to go to Noble to find the cure, right?"

"And you're staying here." Squall finished.

Zell sat up. "No way. Uh-uh. I'm not staying here in the infirmary with nothing to do but wait to die! I'm going. Even if I have to latch myself to your leg permanently."

"Zell-"

"I'll make your life a living hell if you don't take me along, Squall. I won't get in the way. I'll pretend I'm not sick." Zell very shakily got to his feet and put his hands on his hips. "See, I'm feeling better. All I needed was a couple pills and a few esunas and that's it! I can walk." Zell took a step forwards, but wisely held his hand onto Selphie's shoulder to support himself. His knees were shaking, and he started to sweat with the effort it took to stay up.

"Zell, you're not healthy enough to be doing anything. It's dangerous."

"So leave me on the Ragnarok with Rinoa! I'll at least be happy... Please?" Zell begged, putting both hands on Squall's shoulders now. "Pretty please?"

Squall sighed very defeatedly. "Fine. But you stay on the Ragnarok. No last second 'Oops, I lied, I'm going with you into the dangerous situation', understand?"

"Understood." Zell managed, then fell back onto the bed with a breath of relief. "And it's about time."

A/N: All right! In the next chapter, the gang will board the Ragnarok with supplies for Zell, and everyone else.