Max watched over Carly with a careful eye, hoping that Alex and Eve could get Salem to help. She didn't want her trainer and friend to die.

Taylor covered Carly with a blanket to keep his friend warm. He hoped that Alex and Eve were able to get the antidote.

Max was starting to pace lightly, looking over to Carly every few seconds, thinking that they were taking to long.

~~~

"So we have a deal?" Salem asked, curious. He would give their friend the antidote to his poison and he would be healed from whatever the scientists gave him.

Eve nodded. She was glad this had went well.

Alex gave a nod to Gina, letting her and Kushina know to end the seal matrix.

Kushina ended the seal and closed it up to keep the energy stable. She was glad the plan to help Carly worked.

Salem saw the seal disperse and felt the energy around him disappear. "Now then...what do I need to do?" he asked. He wanted to get this over with and quickly.

" Follow us to where Rikku will meet us to cure you. Then give us the antidote. " Eve said , glad that this was going well.

The only reason why Alex wasn't giving any grief about them fulfilling their part of the bargain when they talked about it was that Rikku was meeting them with Jean and the Head Knight, Leglius who would quickly capture and subdue Salem if he tried anything funny.

Salem nodded. "Alright then, lead the way," he quickly said as he started to show signs of the poison from the scientists.

" Do you need help?" Eve asked Salem. She was feeling concerned he wouldn't be able to make it.

"I'll live," he replied, but thanked her for the concern.

Eve nodded. She hoped Salem would be alright. She knew the building was a little bit outside of town and they were getting closer.

Alex saw that Salem was starting to tire out, but also knew that they were close to the place where Rikku and the others were waiting for them.

Eve saw the building in the distance and was glad they were close. She hoped it wasn't too late to help Salem

( Sorry about taking so long. Went to pick strawberries today and made some freezer jam.)

(that's no problem)

Rikku was pacing back and forth waiting impatiently for Ark and the others.

Eve opened the door and entered. She was glad to see Rikku there .

Rikku and the others heard the door open and both Jean and Leglius got into a fighting stance, just in case something went wrong. Once they saw that both Eve and Alex came in before Salem did, they relaxed, causing him to chuckle lightly.

"It's alright guys. Salem is going to help us save Carly." Eve said .

"Really?" Rikku asked before Ark nodded lightly, a small grin forming on her face.

" Just hold still Salem. It might take a little bit to pinpoint where the poison is. " Eve said.

Salem nodded as he stood still as Rikku placed a hand on his shirt, a white glow forming around it as she used the Scan spell. A few seconds later, the glow died down. Placing the tip of her staff right underneath his heart, she cast Esuna, drawing the poison out of Salem, a small sheen of sweat on her body from concentrating and using so much magic in a short amount of time.

Max hoped that Alex and the others would get here soon. She could feel Carly getting weaker and was getting very worried.

After Salem finished healing, he looked at Alex and asked him to take him to their friend, having a feeling that their friend didn't have that much longer. Luckily for them, his poison could be cured at any point in time. "Where's your friend?" He asked as he stood up.

" She's at a safe house close by." Eve said . She hoped that Carly would be alright.

Salem was waiting for them to show him where the safe house was so that he could help their friend.