Chapter 5

"Of Love and Illness"

The grunt continued down several hallways until he came to the infirmary and went inside. Once inside, the grunt located the doctor and then followed the instructions he had been given. The grunt entered the infirmary and looked for the doctor. A minute or two later the doctor came out of his office to see who had come in.

"So," said the grunt, "Arinia's is in good shape, except for a swollen arm from the tranquilizers."

"What?! The poor thing..... I don't trust the kind of medicine they gave her to knock her out!" The doctor exclaimed.

"Ugh...I agree with you..." the grunt said, and then sighed. "Damn you, Team Magma..."

"I think I should check Arinia and give her a check up......" The doctor said sighing.

"That's a good idea," the grunt replied, "do you know where she is on the boat?"

"No I don't....." The doctor replied his voice trailing off.

"Then just follow me." The grunt turned on his heel and walked off with the doctor following.

They walked down several hallways until they came to Arinia's room and entered it after knocking.

"Hey, Arinia. A doctor is here to check out your condition, alright?"

Arinia nodded and leaned her head against Mark's shoulder.

The doctor looked at Arinia and nodded. "Could you lay back for a moment?"

Arinia let go of Mark and laid back gently resting her head into her pillow.

"Arinia, I think I know what happened. You were allergic to the tranquilizers. However, to prove this I'll need to take a blood sample." The doctor explained.

Arinia nodded and let the doctor take her hand to prick her finger.

The doctor watched the red liquid flow into the small tube and then took it out after a few seconds. "I'd say that's a sufficient amount." The doctor put a small rubber cap over the mini needle and stuck it in his pocket.

The doctor wrapped a band-aid around her finger and then left the room to go analyze the blood sample.

"See? That was easy," said Mark to Arinia with a smile, "now, you look like you have something to tell me." He looked at the grunt.

"Only to tell you that we're headed to the Team Aqua base like you suggested." The grunt informed him.

"Great news! We can protect her much better there than we can here with just a few people, and the boss likes her anyways so there you are." Mark replied.

"Well, yeah, you're right. The boss does like her. But, anyway, we'll be there shortly," the grunt said, "I hope."

Arinia looked from Mark to the grunt trying to figure out why she suddenly felt slightly weak and a little sick.

Mark looked at Arinia, concerned. "Um, Arinia, are you OK?"

"Mark...... I....." Arinia's voice trailed off.

The grunt also looked at Arinia. "You sounded sick. Really. Are you alright?"

"I…. I don't know....." Arinia smiled weakly.

"Oh, man. I bet that doctor was right," Mark said with a gulp, "I think you were allergic to those tranquilizers."

Arinia looked scared.

"Now, we don't mean to scare you, but...I think he's right." replied the grunt.

"So...... What's gonna happen?" Arinia asked still sounding scared.

"I don't have a clue!" exclaimed the grunt.

"Same here," Mark replied, but calmer.

Just then the doctor returned with the test results and some medicine.

The grunt nodded. "Got anything?"

"The results showed that she was allergic to the tranquilizers like I thought." The doctor said sadly.

"Aww..." replied Mark.

Arinia smiled weakly at them.

"Well? Any more info?" the grunt asked.

"She needs medical care." The doctor replied sadly.

"Ah...and how long will she need medical care?" Mark asked.

" I don't know..... As long as it takes to get her well." The doctor replied.

"That's a good answer." said the grunt with a nod.

Arinia smiled weakly since she didn't feel very well.

"Um...does Arinia have to stay here or what?" the grunt asked.

"Can she stay in this room or does she have to stay in the infirmary is that what you're asking?" The doctor inquired.

"Yeah." The grunt replied.

"Should she stay here or should she be moved to the infirmary?" Mark asked sounding worried.

"Well, I suggest that she be moved to the infirmary." the doctor replied.

"Then we'll do so. Though we must keep her comfortable." Mark said.

The grunt nodded. "Mark's right."

Arinia tried to sit up but couldn't.

The doctor looked over at Arinia and smiled. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine."

"Okay....." Arinia replied with her voice trailing off.

Mark now helped Arinia sit up and then moved her so that he could lift her into his arms.

The doctor placed his hand on the doorknob after he walked over to the door. "Alright, let's move her now." He opened the door and walked out.

Mark followed the doctor and carried Arinia up to the infirmary with the grunt following him. Mark carried Arinia into the infirmary and over to a bed. The grunt pulled the covers back and Mark laid her down, then the grunt covered her up again.

"How's that?" the grunt asked.

"Okay, I guess....." Arinia replied.

"Good enough." replied Mark.

"Mark?" Arinia asked.

"Yes?" Mark replied.

"Team Magma did something else beside the shots to me..." Arinia replied.

Mark looked shocked. "What'd they do!?"

"They made me take two sleep potions...." Arinia replied looking down.

Mark's eyes widened. "Those bastards," he swore, "You may have been allergic to THOSE too!"

"Probably....." Arinia replied.

He let out another swear and he clenched his fists. "MAN, I cannot WAIT to get back at Team Magma now..." He was mad.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Mark." Arinia said smiling weakly at him.

Mark calmed down slightly. "Ah, heh, that's alright..."

"Mark? What would have happened if Maxie found out that I had gotten sick?" Arinia asked sounding slightly worried.

Mark's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. I never thought of that. A lot could happen, I suppose."

"Like what?" Arinia asked.

"He could have used the DNA of your illness to torture prisoners, I suppose." Mark explained.

"But what would he have done to me?" Arinia asked sounding scared.

"Oh...heh...man, if he had you as his prisoner, he might have thought you were useless since you were sick and killed you." Mark replied.

"What!?" Arinia cried.

The grunt shook his head and spoke for the first time in a while. "Hey, it sounds like something Maxie would do."

"So basically you might've saved my life......" Arinia replied wide-eyed.

"For all intents and purposes.…." the grunt started.

"...yes." Mark finished.

"Thank you." Arinia replied now trying to relax.

"You're welcome," Mark replied simply.

Arinia nodded and tried to sit up to hug him but couldn't.

"Don't sit up," Mark warned, "you don't want to hurt yourself more than you already are."

"I wanted to hug you, but I guess I can't....." Arinia said looking down sadly.

Mark smiled. "Aw, Arinia...you're gonna be fine. Team Magma are jerks for giving those things to you. Man, I'd call them worse, but I don't feel like it."

"What about my parents?" Arinia questioned. "Are you going to tell them about this?"

Mark covered his eyes. "ACK! I forgot about them!" He put his hand back to his side. "Yeah, I'll tell them."

"When do you think I can see them again, Mark?" Arinia asked.

"I have no idea," Mark said sadly, "that's the doctor's job."

"Mark, if Team Magma sees her again, they'll probably capture her again, I don't recommend her going anywhere for awhile until we have Maxie handled." The grunt said speaking up again.

Mark nodded, looking at the grunt. "Yeah, that's a good plan."

"What's going to happen then?" Arinia asked.

"We're gonna keep you at our base until the threat passes." Mark told her grimly.

The grunt nodded. "Just like you said to me, that's a good plan."

Arinia sighed and looked down since she felt trapped with the plan they were putting in place to protect her.

"Arinia? You look uncomfortable." the grunt commented.

"I just miss my parents....." Arinia said still looking down.

"Oh..." said the grunt slowly. "Hey, shouldn't we have gotten to the base by now?!"

The grunt's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm going to go check what the heck is going on."

Just then Mark's radio crackled to life. "MARK! Stay with Arinia! We've been ambushed by Team Magma!" A voice said through the radio.

Mark swore. "Well, that's scary!"

The grunt laughed. "HA! I don't even know the meaning of the word fear!" The grunt opened the door to see a Team Magma Admin pointing a gun at his head. "Fear, noun, a state of terror."

The grunt pulled out a gun of his own and joined the rest of the Team Aqua members fighting the Team Magma members.

Mark shut the door and locked it. "This is bad, huh, Arinia?"

Arinia looked at him, her eyes wide and she was shaking in fear.

"Aw..." Mark sighed. He quickly hugged Arinia, but he didn't lift her off the bed. "Don't worry, we'll get through this fine..."

Just then the doctor reappeared with three shots.

Mark looked up at the doctor. "Wait a minute...where'd you come from!? You didn't come in through the door, it's locked!"

"I had gone into my office to get her medicine." The doctor replied.

"Yes, I know that," Mark said, exasperated, "but how'd you get in here?" Mark blinked. "Wait, I just realized we're in the infirmary..."

The doctor came over to Arinia's side and gently pulled her arm out from under the covers.

"Hold on. This won't hurt..." the doctor said in a quiet voice.

Arinia relaxed and waited for the pricks to come that would signify that she had gotten the medicine she needed. A minute or two later, it was all over and all three shots had been administered.

"Well, that was alright...not!" The doctor pulled off his lab coat to reveal a red coat underneath. This fake doctor was actually a member of Team Magma.

Arinia struggled to get away from the person in the red coat but could barely even move.

The Team Magma executive laughed. "Don't try to escape!" He suddenly took a vicious uppercut from Mark.

Arinia gulped and shivered in fear at the sight of what was unfolding before her.

The Team Magma executive peeled himself off the floor, kicked Mark in the knee and grabbed Arinia. He looked at Mark's frame on the floor as he spun around and ran out the now open door.

"MARK! HELP!" Arinia cried scared to death.

Mark stood up and chased the Team Magma executive with a slight limp from the kick to the knee. "Hold on!"

The Executive stopped briefly and gagged Arinia so that she couldn't talk and give away his position. The executive kept running after he had gagged her and then passed her off to Maxie. Arinia's eyes went wide and she trembled in fear.

Maxie smirked. "I have you once again!" Maxie turned around and ran towards the ship.

Arinia tried to cry for help, but couldn't talk because of the gag.

Maxie ran towards the ship as time seemed to slow down. He reached the ramp and ran up it. "Farewell, TEAM AQUA!!"

Team Magma members worked to pull up the ramp before any Team Aqua members or Mark could reach it. They raised the sail...and set sail.

Arinia's eyes grew even wider since she was now trapped with no way to get back to Mark, and even if there was a way she couldn't move because she was sick.

Maxie laughed a sick laugh, like the twisted person he was. "You're with us now...we won't let you out of our grasp...EVER..."

Arinia looked terrified and tried to squirm to get loose but to no avail.

"It's not worth it...you're stuck. For good!" Maxie told her severely.