Novels2Search
Leray World ~ Can Magic Kill?
Chapter 25: Magic FLu

Chapter 25: Magic FLu

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<01/02/1972 ~ 11:12 | Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>

Little changed over the course of the next two days, which zoomed by quicker than Danny and Taylor were able to realize. Helping out on Friday wasn't so bad, but now that Jane's recovery had been slowed by that large fever of hers, it was anybody's guess to determine if she was going to make it through this illness.

The depression within everyone persisted as well. Since Jane wasn't really conscious for such a long time, nobody was able to return to their old normal selves. With Taylor's search for the truth about the spell bomb placed on hold, there was really nothing for her or Danny to do today. Though it doesn't normally happen often, this Sunday, Dakota was open for optional training with Eliza and the other teachers overseeing the operations. Both Danny and Taylor opted out; skipping today's training session with so much already on their minds.

At this point, both of them knew why they weren't really happy, as they have been praying for Jane to be okay from her previous injury. Since it was still a bit early in the morning, eleven A.M. kept the sunlight from being too intense at the hour. Danny and Taylor already woke up from sleep and eaten their last bit of rations for breakfast. Kain would have to supply them with new ones soon if they really decide to stay here. Otherwise, they really will have no choice but to get going to Junon, but with Jane in such a critical condition, neither one of them wanted to move away from Fronas.

Danny had just talked Taylor into visiting Jane's house again. They were expecting little within Jane to have changed even now, but at least they can go see Jane's family and check up on her. After it was decided, the both of them needed no time at all to approach the door of Jane's house and knock on it again.

Taylor waited with Danny for several minutes. There was no response to Danny's knocking. That meant everyone was either asleep or vacant of the home. "I don't think they're here."

"That's strange," Danny figured. "If they aren't here..." Danny turned around towards Taylor, now worried of what possibilities were open. "You don't think they took Jane to medical, do you? Maybe she's in trouble!"

"Calm down," Taylor demanded. Even she was worried about Jane, but only staying calm would pull them both through this. "Let's head over there and see if they did have a visit."

Danny agreed and followed Taylor to the facility. Taylor wasn't walking quickly though. It was like she knew Jane was fine, or maybe she just stopped caring much about it. No, that wasn't like Taylor at all. She still has to be depressed by all of this. Danny was sure that she was, as he felt the same way. As long as Jane doesn't recover, nothing will get better in this hellhole, and he knew it affected her more than himself. How can one simple girl be the faith stone for everybody in the entire town?

Taylor opened the entrance to the medical facility after their walk here, and immediately noticed that Nurse Francine, Tiffany, and Smith were all there in the lobby. Jane had to be around somewhere. Her parents really did escort her to medical.

Seeing new people enter the building, Smith glanced over towards the door, reacting on seeing familiar faces. "Oh. It's you two."

Francine and Tiffany were now staring at Danny and Taylor as well, just as surprised at their visit with the timing. "We came to check on Jane," Taylor announced.

It took a moment for Francine to assess what was going on right now. It looked like the kids finally figured out how worse Jane had become lately. She waited until Danny and Taylor huddled in closer to Jane's family. But first, she needed confirmation. "Misses and mister Venn? Is it acceptable if I disclose Jane's medical information with Danny and Taylor? I'm required to ask for any instance in which patient confidentiality is momentarily breached."

"Yes," Smith nodded. "These are Jane's friends, so it's quite alright." Though he never admitted it, Danny and Taylor were perfect company right now. They both symbolize any last shred of hope that she'll survive this. Jane would never let these two down.

Francine faced Danny and Taylor, explaining once again what was going on with the older teen. "I've already explained this to Jane's parents, but Jane is being afflicted with an unknown strand of the flu."

"So it really is the flu?" Danny assumed. It didn't sound like magical spells can make others sick, so maybe it was a coincidence. Still, this is really bad news!

"Her symptoms present enough evidence to this diagnosis." Francine still didn't completely understand the results of the examination of Jane, but it was clear enough that she was sick and in need of recovery. "She's still very weak from before. That would have a lot to do with her MP energy not recovering on its own like it should. And I did drain that energy days ago. So there is no doubt that she is sick with something blocking Leray magical recovery. It is common for such illnesses like a flu to cause this sort of damage."

Taylor remembered back to Friday, when she was checking up on Jane and helping her with that horrible fever. If Jane only went to medical today, then that means her fever must have persisted for the entire weekend, only getting worse. To add to the thought, Taylor never really considered how much danger she was putting herself in as well. "Is it contagious?" Taylor meant to ask that in a way that didn't sound rude, doing the best she could to remain monotone. After helping out with Jane, the flu could spread to her, and then outbreak to anybody.

Francine answered, "Without determining the exact cause of the infection, we can't be certain. But it is always best to assume it is, just to be safe."

"But from what the nurse has told us," Tiffany concluded, "Jane will still be just fine."

After seeing their faces sigh with relief, Francine was comfortable in her diagnosis. True it was that Jane would still barely recover if she can just fight through it. "I've given Jane prescription medication to help with the fever, and so far, her body is responding." She then faced Jane's parents again, continuing with the instructions. "Now you make sure not to give any of the medicine to Jane if her fever is not above one hundred and three. It's better if Jane keeps a low-grade fever at least. It will help her body fight off the infection much quicker."

In harmony, Smith and Tiffany both replied, "Thank you."

Despite how grim the news was, Danny still felt heavy discomfort about the entire situation. If Jane has the flu, he and Taylor may already be sick with the same thing. Even still, something about the timing of her illness just doesn't seem natural. "Can..." Danny wasn't sure if it was a good idea anyway, but just seeing Jane again to make sure she was breathing would make him feel a little better about this. "Can I see her?"

Francine wasn't sure if she should allow that. "I suppose that is up to Jane. She's finally awake for now. I'm not sure what good that will do her, but nobody can stay asleep forever. I'll ask her if she's ready to move around a little."

"And she can do that?" Smith wanted to make sure Jane was taken care of with every bit of interest in her safety. Having a sick person move around at all didn't seem normal.

"Yes," Francine offered. "Though I'm not discharging her even with the medicine until later, it will be good for Jane to get some fresh air, minus the exercise. Don't let her overexert herself. I'm not allowing her to use even the slightest hint of magic. She'll still have to stay close to this facility until five P.M. this evening. If she goes anywhere outside these walls, it must be with adult supervision, for no longer than ten minutes."

"That's good." Danny knew Jane was going to make it. Her recovery really was taking forever, but at least it was happening on some time scale. "We'll be waiting just outside."

Taylor reluctantly followed Danny outside. He must want Jane to get over her reunion with her family alone first. Or maybe he was having a panic attack inside and didn't tell anyone yet. Taylor heard Francine tell them both that she was going to go and get Jane, just before walking back outside.

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Chapter Theme Shift: Quiet 12 ~ Solar Empire OST

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It was a bit of a wait now before either of them would meet Jane awake and conscious again. The fact that she can even walk is amazing after what Taylor witnessed Friday. Both she and Danny had plenty of time to talk about anything, with their backs against the outer walls of the medical facility.

"So..."

Taylor stared awkwardly at Danny. He obviously needed to say something, but why hold back at all? "What?"

Danny wanted Taylor's opinion on what to do next. His last plan isn't going to work with Jane like this anymore. "What do we do about Nyar and Kalamo?"

"Oh." Taylor bowed her head a little, realizing that it was something serious. Danny wasn't just going to know what to do next with something that big. It made sense why he needed a second opinion, but even Taylor was hazy on what to do next. "What about Dakota?"

"We could stay here until we graduate," Danny offered. "It would make us decent in Leray battles, and if we do that, we at least have an excuse to stay in Sprawn Valley. Nyar isn't going to travel everywhere searching for us. I can promise you that much." Of course, if they just stay in Sprawn Valley forever, Danny would miss out on returning home forever, unless he could find a way to situate Taylor to stay here while he leaves. But then who else would look after her? Jane can't be trusted just yet, not after what she did to herself.

Taylor liked the idea completely, except for one part. Whether they go or stay, they will eventually come into contact with that airport. Once that happens, it's time to leave. Taylor would never just decide to go, but knowing her parents or even Nyar, (she didn't know Nyar yet), they would just drag her into that plane by force. Then again... By following Jane around everywhere with so much battle experience, she could technically fight back with her own Leray powers. Nobody would be able to stop her, just so long as she stays in the Sprawn Valley Leray protection zone. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was one of best fit. "Alright," she spoke. "Let's do that."

"Are you sure?"

Taylor nodded, after which she heard someone else interrupt unexpectedly.

"What are you two talking about?"

Danny and Taylor turned heads towards the facility entrance where the voice was coming from. It belonged to Jane, but now that he was seeing Jane up and about for the first time, it was something he wasn't prepared for. He and Taylor noticeably winced in surprise. Jane was wearing a light wardrobe made of a T-shirt and long shorts with her shoes, but it showed off how much her skin had changed. It was as if something literally drained the color right out of Jane's entire body, and her stance added to the appeal of her physical weakness. Jane was far from healthy looking, and even her voice was scratchy.

Jane noticed their reactions, and clenched her fists to show them both how rude they were being. "Come on. I don't look that scary. I'm not dead anyway."

Taylor tried to return her facial expression to normal, but there was no denying how surprised she still was at the development. "Well I'm glad you're okay. Standing here in front of us shows a major improvement to me."

Jane welcomed this small amount of privacy they were allowed. Francine said that adult supervision was required if they stray so much as ten meters from the facility, but since Jane and her friends had their backs to the outer walls of the building beside the glass doors, they were in the clear. "That leads me to ask," Jane began. She had to pause longer to try and think. Last night and the night before was such a blur, and she was only awake for an hour or so each night. "Did you visit me while I was out?"

Danny blushed, realizing he didn't have Jane's permission to go that far. Even though he and Taylor earned her parents' trust to help out around her house, Jane can still be just as scary to disappoint or upset at times. This could be one of those things. "Uh— well... Yes."

"We were just helping out a little is all."

Jane folded her arms and closed her eyes. It felt good to give her head a bit of a break. The pounding headache getting through to her right now was not helping one bit, but at least she now has the whole story. Her parents said something of such, but how was Jane to know what to trust at this point on? "I see. You guys didn't let me do something embarrassing like walk around hallucinating, right?"

"Jane, we would never." Taylor replied so casually that Jane believed her immediately. Of course, Taylor knew Jane hallucinated a little, even sleep talked, but it wasn't anything a person could even understand. She didn't need to know that anyway.

Jane lightened up, eased from the stress of not knowing what was going down. It was surprising to know just how much care and attention her friends were still giving to her after being so physically ill, though she didn't let either one of them know that. It also seemed like the argument she and Danny had was pointless with how comfortable he was towards her already. Somehow, being sick resolved much of his hostility. "So, I have the flu now? Just great."

"I know what you mean by that." Taylor smiled a little. Even now, Jane hated the very idea of being unable to train with her Leray abilities. "They have training Sundays now. Though I'm told it's not always Sunday."

"Well duh," Jane replied. "I thought you would have learned by now that Dakota and other academies are open for certain weekend days for additional training exercises. Though their events are optional, it's still important."

Danny reminded, "Well even if you could, you'd be a magnet set to repel with everyone knowing you're contagious. They might not let you in school for a while."

Jane gave Danny a mean look, though he was probably too far away to tell. How harsh can the guy really be? "You know Danny, you sure don't sound upset the way you were last time we spoke."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Well that's because you're sick." This time, Jane and Taylor looked at him, uncertain of what he meant by that. He broke down his intent. "I was mad at you before because you knowingly did something dangerous. I don't want you to injure yourself or risk your life like that. But now is not the time to be angry. I know of all things, you can't stop a flu. Even I know you're not powerful enough to prevent illnesses."

To Jane, Danny made sense of what he was saying, but it was so annoying to hear again. "Now you just sound like my dad."

"Ah—" Danny didn't know what to say, but he somehow managed to feel confused by her remark. What exactly sounded like Smith? Uncertain whether he really was confused about what Jane meant, Danny decided to just drop it entirely.

"But Jane," Taylor impeded. She was not about to forget all of that hard work researching spell bombs. Danny is right normally. You can't help from getting a flu, unless it's not a flu after all. "I don't think you're sick in the way the doctors think you are."

"You don't?" Jane and Danny spoke at the same time.

Taylor focused her attention to Danny, amazed that he wasn't even paying attention to his own memory. For that, Taylor gave him a whack to the back of his head with the palm of her left hand. "Wake up! You know this as well."

Jane envied Taylor for giving a good whack to Danny. Someone had to every now and then. But what was it about not being technically ill did Taylor mean? "I don't like the sound of this... You think what happened to me in Blue Port is related to what I have now?"

"Possibly." Taylor still didn't know how to approach it. Since nobody around including Jane had any idea what type and form the spell bomb used, there needs to be a different angle to investigate. "Jane? What else did you not tell us? That guy who gave you the orb, who was he? What did he look like?"

"Taylor..." Jane sounded shameful before she even began to answer the question. "I don't know much more than you. The guy who gave it to me ran off before I could even get his name. All I know is that he was concerned for the orb's physical safety, and that he might have been chased by some other people, who I also didn't get a good look at."

"And this happened in the woods just outside of Blue Port?" Danny figured that whoever these people are, it might be possible to track wherever they are.

"Yes," Jane responded. "Eastern side of the forest. That's problematic, because there is nothing that way at all. Only the west side of the forest of Blue Port is significant, the Arragon Forest. It's the only way into Gross City from Blue Port. The northeast exit path from Blue Port leads to Vanon Port, but that wasn't the direction anyone was heading to."

Taylor held out her hand to try and stop Jane from speaking. "Yeah-ah, I got it." She sounded a little snappy as well, but Taylor already heard about the Arragon Forest before, and if it wasn't important, then forget mentioning it. "It's just that, we've tried to find answers about what spell bomb it was, going by the unique color, size, and multiple symbols used by the spell bomb."

"And?" Jane requested.

"And nothing," Danny shot down. "There is no information available for the spell bomb you used. It could be something completely new that nobody has ever seen before, and maybe that's why it's so dangerous."

Jane refused the explanation so far, since it didn't prove that the spell bomb is what made her sick today. "But I still don't get how that has to do with the flu I have."

"It's the timing of it all," Danny protested. "You got sick just the morning after you finally recovered from the knockout the spell had on you when that beam of light hit you from the sky. But that's just the thing. Maybe you didn't really recover to begin with. Maybe the spell has some kind of effect on you that's causing additional symptoms, and we just don't see it."

Jane folded her arms again. She could understand why they were thinking that, but it sounded more farfetched by the second. "Man, talk about being paranoid. If I'm not really sick, then why is my medicine working on me?"

"Because they're not anti-viral, genius." For once, Taylor's sarcasm worked to make Jane look like the uneducated one. At the very least, Jane must have forgotten the purpose of her medicine. "You're fevers are real, and the meds are only designed to control them while you heal naturally."

"But then why not just give me the real stuff?" Jane was confused. How did they know more about her condition than she did?

"Weren't you listening when Francine was talking to you," Taylor pressured. "It's an unknown strand of the flu, so they can't treat you with those sorts of medicine. But what they call unknown, I call mistaken. I don't believe this is a flu."

"There you are!"

Danny, Taylor, and Jane all switched views to the woman yelling at them in the distance. It was Eliza, speed walking all the way over here from her own training facility! What was she doing here?! Danny knew Eliza was concerned too, but she has a class to run with additional training to students, people to teach. Not to mention her timing is terrible since they can no longer discuss information about spell bombs. Hopefully Jane would catch on to that and not open her big mouth.

"Eliza? What—" Jane was speechless. Eliza had to know that she was neglecting her duties, and all just to check up on Jane. Why is she suddenly so popular?

Eliza continued walking until she was finally at an indoor range between Jane and her friends. Jane really looked terrible, pale, and ill. Contrary to that, Jane seemed much more energetic compared to two days ago. Far from recovered, but Jane was at least moving and talking. What better timing to put a theory to the test? "Jane. Taylor and Danny too."

"Well this is kind of a shock," Taylor evaluated.

"I know..." Eliza stopped moving and began panting in place. She kept a jogging pace all the way over here, but to her it was considered a bit out of shape for short traveling. "I have someone looking after class, so I came to check up on Jane."

"I'm flattered," Jane spoke sarcastically. Even she had to notice how everybody in town was interested in her wellbeing. It wasn't a bad thing, but the total attention from everyone was just unusual. Jane never remembered attracting around so many people in the past. It only started after Danny and Taylor arrived, but even they weren't to blame. "By the way Eliza, I've already been examined."

"But you haven't been tested," she replied.

Danny stood up in between both of them. "Hold on! What are you two talking about? You can't just ask Jane to start doing back flips and shit. She's got to recover."

"Cool it!" Eliza ordered. "Jane? I have an idea to help us figure out what happened to you."

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Chapter Theme Shift: Heartbreak One ~ Ace Combat 5 OST

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"Wh— what do ya mean?" Jane wasn't sure what Eliza was talking about. What did she know about Jane's condition that she didn't already? Jane was hit from a blast in the sky. And though she didn't remember that happening, Danny and Taylor kept any other details in the dark, even from Eliza, right? Her teacher might be investigating why it happened though. Her friends may not have accounted for that. Eliza was no Leray agent, but when it comes down to helping out with Jane, she would do anything, much like Danny and Taylor.

"Well," Eliza thought of how to put the sentence into words. After just arriving here, she realized that not one of the three had any idea what she was up to. "I want to try and see how much Jane has recovered in light of her magical capabilities. If we can see how her MP usage conservation fairs, it will help us understand what that beam of light really did to her."

Taylor winced, pretending to act surprised. "You think something happened to Jane, other than being hit with a lunar blast?"

"It is a possibility, and the test is both traditional and simple."

Jane tried to study Eliza's expression, guessing what she was up to long before she really had to ask. Danny and Taylor were both sort of easing at the gesture that they knew what was happening already. Maybe Eliza was already suspicious about something, but even her friends didn't have that idea in mind. Anything could happen now. "Okay." Jane agreed, and though she was still feeling very weak, it should be simple enough to pull a Leray ability out of her hat.

"Good," Eliza replied. After huddling closer to Jane, she set up the scenario in both their minds while Danny and Taylor helplessly watched. "I know you're exhausted, but this test really shouldn't be difficult even for you Jane. All I want you to do is successfully invoke a magic spell towards the ground in front of you. Use your weakest skill so that we can see if any magical related damages are lasting."

Jane didn't know what to say. Eliza must have really been paying attention to something. She must have the same theory as Danny and Taylor now, that the beam of light that hit Jane must still be affecting her even now. Even Jane wasn't sure of that yet, but she was about to find out. "So I guess I'll use Radial Stars."

"Is that safe?" Taylor begged.

Danny stepped in front of her with the same thought on his mind, only to elaborate the concern. "Yeah. Francine said no magic is to be used. If Jane stresses herself too far, it could do lasting damage to her further. I'm not letting this happen!"

Jane turned to both of them, confident that she could at least pull this thing off. "Relax you two. It's only Radial Stars. Since it's a weak attack, it shouldn't backfire. I'll be fine." Danny's expression didn't change, but she had already decided to perform this test. It was really useful for Eliza to think of this so suddenly. Francine would have at least allowed this for one specific use as a benchmark to study her current health. If Jane can't use magic for any reason with this illness, she best know about it herself. Jane already began concentrating, first on bringing up her energy scope for everyone to see. In order to know if her attack is successful, both Jane and Eliza must see just how much MP is conserved in the process. If Jane ends up using a ton of MP just to launch a weak attack like Radial Stars, then it means something really is affecting her. Of course, a flu would defiantly cause massive drains on one's energy during attack usage, but even so...

image [https://i.postimg.cc/kGFy1smX/S1-Jane-Red-002.png]

Jane was impressed already with several details. Though Francine already knew this herself, Jane was still having problems with natural recovery rates. Despite her energy scope returning to the normal orange neon color it once was, she was having a problem with her natural MP recovery speed. Her status was not in critical condition any longer, but somehow her own energy scope could still detect that something just wasn't right with Jane's energy responses. That of course could mean a lot of things, but it was still unusual to see that little has changed by now.

Eliza focused on Jane's reaction rather than the energy scope's findings. "Whenever you're ready." Eliza made sure that Jane took all the time she needed. She didn't want to overexert her either, but one had to know at what point would that occur? If Jane cannot launch a simple attack, then it was likely to say that a flu was the least of her worries. If her energy gets used up more than it normally takes, then a flu is more of a possibility. But if Jane can't use magic at all, then everything is still open for discussion.

"Just be careful," Taylor cautioned. She didn't want Jane to do anything she didn't want to. If she goes through with this and does encounter a problem, it would prove to Eliza that something was up as well. Taylor was already sure of it, but uncertain as to how that would react to Jane's magical abilities, and worse, Eliza was one of the persons they've been trying to hide this stuff from.

Jane concentrated in front of her. It was a relatively simple task. Use Radial Stars, aim at the ground a few meters in front of her, and that's it, but even Jane was wary. As soon as she was ready, Jane began to focus. First, she got in touch with her MP energy as she normally would, and then began releasing that energy into a Radial Stars spell. Even though she was weak and tired, Jane was so good at using this attack from practice, that she really could use this in her sleep. It took less than a second to charge and release the energy needed for Radial Stars. Jane's left hand began glowing blue, just as it normally would. Then, a glyphring for the spell formed in front of her as Jane took aim. Without even needing to chant the name of the spell aloud, Jane could do this while just thinking of the word Radial Stars to herself silently in her head. But as Jane began to release the energy and launch the spell, something actually did go wrong.

Jane's attack spell did not launch, as if she had simply failed to make any of those beautiful looking stars shoot from her hand and the center of the glyphring. Immediately after realizing that her spell wasn't working, a searing tremor of pain emerged in both of Jane's hands, even though she was using the left one to try and shoot Radial Stars. As unprepared as she was for this, Jane had not felt pain this way in a long time. Her hands were on fire, with the added sensation that sharp needles were piercing into her skin in every tiny location on and inside of her skin. The pain was so intense in just the first second; it brought Jane all the way to the ground with a screech escaping her tongue. Jane was brought to her knees without the pain letting up.

Taylor, Danny, and Eliza all rushed in to help Jane, taken by surprise in whatever just happened to her. Taylor tried to help her up, after all of them were shouting at her to find out what was happening. Even from here, Jane's hands were glowing blue, as if she failed to completely release the energy she stored there. Once the glow of blue began to fade on Jane's hands, residue of random blue electrical sparks populated the area in its place. Taylor and the others were reluctant to touch Jane, afraid of getting hurt themselves in the process. They never seen anything like it before. All around both of Jane's hands, thin static electrical arcs flashed and faded automatically. Though it didn't appear to be normal, the power level of such uncontrolled magic seemed harmless to others. Taylor eventually ended up pulling Jane to her feet by hold of her arm.

Jane's eyes were squeezed tight for a moment. The sharp pain in both her hands receded for the most part, lingering only slightly. When she opened her eyes to take a look, Jane noticed that both of her hands were pulsing and sparking with tiny blue arcs of what looked like static electricity, in the form of Leray magic, while her hands were trembling without end. She couldn't stop what was happening, and her hands were both frozen in place aside from the uncontrollable shaking to them, stuck like this as if they were paralyzed completely. Jane immediately noticed how surprised her friends were as well, but she checked the energy scope to see what changed if anything had.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/wTg2tCXt/S1-Jane-Red-003.png]

Other than the fact that her attempted use of Radial Stars ended up drawing more MP energy out of her than she was supposed to use up, Jane didn't see anything else different about the energy scope. Her hands were in a lot of pain, though less than the first few second when this started. Instead of shooting Radial Stars, her hands had become entombed in some kind of magical reaction that was now blocking out her ability to release any more energy into that area. Jane attempted for a second to store MP energy again, but failed to get in touch this time. Eliza moved in for a much closer look, holding Jane's arms while the others reacted in shock.

"Jane, what's happening?!" Danny demanded.

"I don't know."

For once, there was a lot of fear in Jane's voice. Eliza never heard Jane sound this scared in the past, but Eliza had another problem to deal with. After trying to touch Jane's hands to try and stop them from trembling and twitching uncontrollably, she had to rush her own hands away from Jane's, feeling a powerful and compelling burning pain rush into her own two limbs. "Ouch! Jane, that's red hot!" Her hands couldn't have been this warm before, since Taylor touched them a moment ago to help her up.

Jane turned her hands over, already opened without her ability to control them. Jane's hands didn't look much different except for the sparking blue bolts the size of her fingers rushing all over that part of her body. According to Eliza, they were red hot to the touch, enough to hurt her, but they weren't hurting Jane that badly, at least not now. That had to be killing nerve cells if Jane could not even feel the same exact pain in her hands when she did as soon as this started, and it was freaking her out. Jane stared blankly at her hands while the others began to panic. Jane's heart rate rose significantly, and she could feel her breathing get much heavier. "My hands!"

Eliza didn't understand what was going on, so all she could do is guess and hope she was right. "Jane, you have to release that energy from your hands. Do it now!"

Jane tried to do as she was asked, but she just couldn't move her hands on her own. They weren't responding to anything Jane tried. Even when she tried pushing more energy there, it didn't work. The pain in her hands began to return again with a bit less intensity. Jane suddenly began feeling faint, forcing her to the ground to sit before falling over instead. Taylor and Danny followed down to help her, making sure she doesn't pass out. Jane felt weak and dizzy, but still far from done. The electrical looking sparks on her hands did not stop, and Jane had to keep them away from her to avoid making it any worse.

Eliza hunched down again to try and feel Jane's hands. Expecting to get burned like before, Jane's hands were only warm to the touch this time. They had to be around 115 degrees, but it was still much cooler than they were a second ago. Was that part of Jane's fever?

"Jane!" Taylor and Danny both were trying to help her, but all they could do was try and make sure she doesn't pass out or fall down from sitting up. There was nothing they were able to help Jane with.

"I can't!" Jane responded. Eliza had told her to release that energy, but it was impossible. "I can't release it," she repeated.

"Stop trying," Eliza commanded. She too was by Jane, holding her head now to see if she was burning up. If she was, it may be the cause. It didn't feel to Eliza like Jane was even running a fever in her head. It couldn't be over a hundred degrees there. And now, after trying to feel Jane for any other problems, Eliza noticed that Jane's entire body was shivering with her hands.

Danny caught on to that first. "Jane, you're shivering!"

"I-I'm na-na-na-not c-cold!" Jane could barely make it out. She could feel herself trembling inside, shaking as if she was freezing, though she wasn't chilly. She could not control herself from shaking like this. Her hand still have not calmed down either, with the blue glowing sparks and arcs rushing everywhere only on her hands.

"Come on," Taylor squeezed through her teeth. She tried to pull Jane back up to her feet once more. "It's time to check you back in."

Eliza helped Taylor as well, realizing that Jane needs to return to medical. Luckily, they were standing right by the building. Jane's entire coordination was messed up. She could barely stand up straight on her own, much less walk without swaying in either direction. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make this worse."

Danny was stunned in place. Since it only took two people to help Jane back into the facility, he was simply not needed at the moment, leaving him to try and contemplate what the hell just happened back there. All Jane did was attempt to use a magical ability, and a weak one at that. Now Jane can't stop shivering; she can barely move a muscle. Still, what was Eliza thinking having Jane try magic here? "Satisfied with what you've learned?" The remark was meant to hurt Eliza's feelings for being reckless herself, but Jane simply didn't allow it.

Jane replied to Eliza's apology, need it not be necessary. "How w-were you supp-ppp-ose to know?"

Danny followed them inside, where Nurse Francine immediately rushed in to assist Jane back towards the exam room. Her parents were there too, making it all worse for them to worry about Jane. It took a while to get her there, but Francine took over helping Jane in the back room. Taylor and Eliza stayed behind, uncertain of what to think anymore. Her sudden appearance inside the facility rose many questions that were answered by the simple notion that Eliza was checking up on Jane.

"I hope she'll be okay," Taylor announced. She didn't know what was going on with Jane anymore. Taylor walked over towards him, giving Danny a sympathetic hug. Though he wasn't expecting one, Danny embraced any comfort he could get right now; he had to be scared too.

"What's happening to our poor baby?" Tiffany and Smith were afraid for Jane as well, since nobody in the world had seen anything like this before. Nobody was able to miss the electrical show all around the girl's hands. They were giving each other as much comfort as Danny and Taylor were giving to each other.

Eliza held her hand to her chin, zoning off to try and figure out what this was about. Eliza knew she had never seen anything like this before in all her life. No flu of any caliber has the power to block Leray magic in such a way where it backfires on the user. It's just not possible. Whatever is wrong with Jane, it's worse than she thought. Would Francine agree? Probably isn't best to mention Jane trying to use magic from her own instructions right now.

After letting go of Taylor, Danny embraced the hope he once knew from before. "She'll be fine," Danny repeated. He knew that it was just a saying of blind hope, but Jane had to be okay for their sakes. Please Jane! Please be okay! "Jane will be okay."

Eliza kicked her boot into the wooden floor in frustration. Just because something interesting like that happened didn't mean she now had an answer, or that she was any closer to figuring out what was wrong with Jane. All she could do now was attend to her duties. No more sense hanging around here. Jane was safe for now in Francine's hands; that much she was sure of. Unfortunately, Jane will likely be staying here longer, all because she got curious. Danny and Taylor were right to try and warn them both. They're more capable of helping Jane than she is. "I trust you two will keep Jane company, but I have to be getting back to Dakota now. See you around."

"Yeah," Taylor replied. Eliza walked off out of the building, going back to her own class. She did so in a mild rush, afraid to stay inside of the building any longer. Taylor figured it was to avoid receiving any bad news, but it was just as well too, since Eliza promised Jane would be fine using magic. Taylor was a bit pissed off that Jane's own teacher forced her into that, but even Eliza wasn't expecting something so crazy to happen. Still, Eliza could stop acting so impatient and just stay until Jane gets better. What was with her today?

Danny began thinking some more about Jane's condition, after seeing that Taylor was somewhat calmer. Eliza may have been doing that for a test of information, but he learned from it as well. No way can a normal flu cause that. It has to be Jane's spell bomb. But what kind of spell bomb can do this to any person?

"Danny?" Taylor asked. Danny was now paying full attention to her, even though he was ready to return to his trance of thought. "Let's say after Jane gets normal again, we hang out with her for the rest of the day?"

"A sound plan." That is if Jane can return to normal today. Even if Jane was an idiot back there, even she doesn't deserve this. He had to wonder if illnesses here could also be caused by magic. The thought of developing a magic flu made Danny force the scary thought away immediately. It would just be best to keep her friend company. Danny knew it would do Jane some good. Even she must be scared too now. It's not like Jane has the answer to what is going on. All she did was use an unknown spell bomb on herself from some unknown guy. Now what was going to happen to her?