Hikaru: I own nothing, nothing, nothing, NOTHING!

". . .He's been like this ever since he had to send Kratos to Derris-Kharlan . . .I know he feels guilty about it, but this is just insane . . ." Dirk mumbled to himself as he trudged about his home, carrying out his daily tasks. Not too long after Lloyd had to send Kratos away, he proceeded with his journey to collect all the Exspheres in Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, but not even a week after he left with Sheena, she brought him back, telling Dirk that Lloyd had come down with a sudden illness that she had never seen the likes of before.

Dirk had to agree; from his understanding, Lloyd had probably starved himself as a punishment for sending Kratos away like he did, but this sickness was escalating to a whole new level. Lloyd couldn't stand to even look at food, and his other symptoms were frequent coughing, constant fever and major fatigue. When the boy wasn't sleeping he could be found sitting up in bed, having a major coughing fit or groaning from persistent pain. His adoptive father insisted on Lloyd eating and drinking water to keep up his strength, but the youth flatly refused, retorting that he couldn't hold anything down if he forced himself to eat.

Unfortunately, it's been well past a week, and Lloyd still hadn't eaten a single thing. Dirk also noticed that Lloyd couldn't walk on his own accord, most likely it was because he hasn't regained any of the energy he lost in the first stages of the illness. The dwarf jumped when he heard someone knock on his front door rather loudly. It was probably Sheena, Genis, Colette, or someone wanting to visit Lloyd. Dirk absent-mindedly answered the door, finding Professor Raine, Sheena, Genis, Colette, Zelos, Regal, and Presea standing before him.

"Ah, yes, welcome, welcome. Lloyd's . . .upstairs . . ." Dirk informed his visitors.

"I have only just heard of Lloyd's . . .unusual condition, and I would like to see if I can help in anyway I can." Raine said slowly, choosing her words with care.

"Yes, Professor! If you can help Lloyd recover, then, by all means, go right on in!" Dirk urged the half-elf.

Lying tired and weak in his bed, Lloyd made no protest to the knocking on his bedroom door. Hell, he didn't even have the strength to speak, let alone protest. He made a futile effort to hide himself from his visitor's eyes by pulling the bed covers over his head as he heard seven people walk into the rather small room. Light flooded over his body as someone savagely separated the blanket from Lloyd. Professor Raine.

She gasped when she saw Lloyd's weakening status. His skin was discolored, and a trickle of blood seeped through the chest of his shirt. Though she was shaking and visibly pale, Raine took the liberty to inspect where the blood was coming from. The half elf took care to slightly unbutton Lloyd's shirt, instantly finding the source of the blood. At the center of his chest, there were what appeared to be crystal fragments embedded in it, and when Raine attempted to remove them, Lloyd shouted out in protest and pain.

". . .It's worse than I could have imagined." Raine announced to the rest of the group, still staring at the crystal fragments buried in the flesh, transfixed.

"What's wrong with Lloyd? Why is he like this?" Genis asked, frightened for Lloyd. Raine turned to face the others.

"I suspect that the crystal fragments embedded in his flesh are from an Exsphere, most likely from when we fought with the Desians."

"And since the Exspheres are lifeless beings and are really no different from parasites, leeching from human life . . ." Zelos plugged in.

Raine shook her head.

"That is irrelevant to his symptoms save the bleeding. If the Exsphere shards were the cause of this illness, then it would have taken effect a very long time ago, yes?"

"Professor, can't you just heal him with the unicorn horn and Boltzman's technique like you did for Pietro and Clara?" Colette asked, her hope radiating from her tone of voice.

"If I do that, Colette, there will be no guarantee that Lloyd will be cured. The symptoms are unlike anything I have ever healed before; I don't think I've ever healed someone who cannot walk of their own accord before! No, we'll risk doing Lloyd more harm than good because of the Exsphere shards." Raine retorted.

"I see. Lloyd's skin will graft over the Exsphere shards in the duration of the healing, and who knows what will become of Lloyd after that." Regal alleged.

Raine's eyes met Regal's in perfect understanding.

"Precisely, meaning that we'll have to find a way to remove the shards without endangering Lloyd before we attempt to heal him. Any ideas?"

There was an intense silence before Presea broke it.

"Probability of finding a method of removing the Exsphere shards and successfully performing it before Lloyd's illness worsens is ten percent."

"Presea! Don't be so negative! If we just find some way to nullify Lloyd's pain while we try to remove them by force . . ." Sheena began, but Genis cut her off.

"No, Sheena, we don't even know how many or how large or small the shards actually are, or how deep they're driven into Lloyd's body. We might even risk killing him if we try to take them out by force!"

Raine nodded, her blue eyes reflecting evident sadness.

"It's just as Genis says, Sheena. If the shards were just embedded in his arm or leg or any other body part, then we might be able to do that. However, since the chest is home to the heart, we can't risk injuring it."

Raine sighed, frustrated at the current grave situation. If they leave Lloyd as he is now, then he might die, but then, if they attempt to heal him with the Exsphere shards present in his body, then he might die anyway. What they needed to know was the cause of this illness. If they could figure out why this happened, or at the very least how, then Lloyd might just have a fighting chance. Since the illness doesn't seem natural, Raine assumed that it was caused by a magical effect. But the only magical effect they encountered was the instance when they were forming the pacts with the Summon Spirits, or the instance of stopping the twisted germination of the Giant Tree.

"It's . . .o . . .kay . . .Professor . . ." Lloyd struggled to form words from his weak position in the bed. Everyone else gasped in concern.

"Lloyd! You're not well enough to speak!" Zelos scolded the brunette.

Lloyd shot an annoyed glance at the redhead, and then an idea struck him. He reached out for Raine's hand, mimicking Colette's actions when she could not speak. He pushed his finger into his teacher's open palm, spelling out words he wished to speak, but couldn't because of his ill health.

"I . . .think . . .that this is . . .a punishment . . .for my . . .wrong doings." Raine read aloud to the group, reading Lloyd's hand gestures.

"What wrong doings, Lloyd?" Sheena blurted out. Lloyd wrote some more.

"Fighting . . .with . . .Mithos . . .and sending Dad . . .to Derris . . .Kharlan just for . . .the sole purpose . . .of . . .dying." Raine read aloud.

"Lloyd, that's . . .that was . . ." Genis stammered, at a loss for words.

Regal suggested that they let Lloyd rest when he broke into yet another coughing fit. Raine winced when she heard the violent cough. She hung her head as she walked out of the room, now realizing the possibility that even if they had found a way to cure Lloyd, she wasn't sure Lloyd would even want them to heal him.