Prince of the Stars

Prince of the Stars - Chapter 10: Healing Pod

After the close call with the dragon, they all breathed a sigh of relief and gave Jellal a big thanks. The heavenly body mage didn't understand why he was feeling so weak. 
"Thank you so much Jellal," Princess Allura said, "We would've never gotten out of there without you."
Jellal felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, "Not a problem your Majesty, ngh," he moaned.
"Jellal?" Erza asked, "Are you alright?" 
"I don't know," the bluenette panted, "I feel so weak," he staggered and nearly fell over.
Luckily, Keith was there to catch him, "Woah there, easy man,"
"Thank you,"
"The Castle systems are functioning like normal. This is amazing!" Coran exclaimed.
"No way, they were at critical levels just a few minutes ago," Shiro said.
"But how? Wait..." the black paladin said and looked over at the heavenly body mage. 
"You didn't just give the Castle's defense systems a boost of power did you? You gave the Castle defense systems all of your magic abilities. And in doing so, you've exhausted all of your magic power." Shiro explained.
Jellal simply answered, "Yes, you're exactly right,"
"Wait," Keith said worriedly, "So that means you could pass out any second now,"
The blue haired mage simply nodded and did just that, falling forward into Keith's arms.
"Jellal!" Erza rushed forward and knelt down next to Keith who was holding Jellal in his arms.
"He's so pale," Erza said as she tenderly stroked his cheek.
"Keith, check his pulse," Shiro ordered.
The red paladin pressed his fingers against Jellal's wrist and felt a faint thump every few seconds.
"It's very weak Shiro," Keith said as he looked up at his brother.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Lance asked.
"He's gonna be fine Lance." Shiro said.
"He's not gonna die, is he?" Hunk asked frantically.
"He's not gonna die Hunk," Pidge butted in.
"I'm sorry guys. I'm just really worried about him."
"It's okay Hunk," Shiro reassured him, "Jellal is just really really weak right now and he needs to regain his energy."
Princess Allura spoke up, "Do you think we can put him in a healing pod?"
Erza wasn't so sure about that.
"I don't know if that's a good idea. I don't know how his body will react to it."
"We have to at least try, if that fails then Allura can try using her magic." Shiro explained.
Erza thought about it for a moment, then eventually agreed with the black paladin.

As soon as they got to the healing pod bay, Shiro and Keith worked to get a healing pod ready, while Erza and Allura kept a close eye on Jellal's weak pulse.
"...ngh," the blue haired mage moaned and leaned heavily on Erza. 
"Jellal..."
Allura placed her hand on the mage's forehead and closed her eyes as her hand glowed a beautiful turquoise. She opened her eyes back up, and looked over in Shiro and Keith's direction.
"Shiro, Keith, is that pod ready yet?" Allura asked.
"We're almost done Princess. We just need a monitoring suit so the pod can monitor his vital signs." Shiro said and looked to Keith, "Go, hurry,"
"Yes sir," Keith hurried off to one of the medical supply rooms.
Keith was back within a minute or two.
"Good job Keith. Now let's get him in the pod." Shiro said.
Keith handed the suit to Erza, and both women helped the unconcious mage change into the suit. After that, Shiro gently pulled Jellal into his arms and carried him over to the pod. 
The black paladin heard a soft moan and looked down at the mage in his arms.
"It's alright, I got you,"
"...Erza," he rasped.
"She's okay, I promise," he assured the blue haired mage.
Jellal sighed tiredly and passed out again.
Shiro knew that he wasn't going to last much longer, so he didn't waste a second in getting Jellal into the pod.
As soon as the pod closed, it immediately fogged up and a holographic diagram came up on the glass. Erza stepped forward, but Princess Allura stopped her.
"Hey, it's alright," she said, "That just means the pod is doing it's job."
"The reason why it immediately fogged up like that is because he's in critical condition," Shiro explained. 
"No," Erza gasped, tears welling in her eyes.
"Don't worry, these pods have the supernatural ability to heal a human being from near death." Allura explained.
Erza let out a sigh of relief and hugged Allura tightly.
"Oh goodness, it's alright,"
"I know, I'm just worried,"
"Don't be," Shiro said, "I can't tell you how many times these pods have saved my life."
Erza pulled out of the hug and took a breath before pulling herself together. 
"He's stronger than you think," Keith butted in with a smirk, "He'll be okay."

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While waiting for the pod to finish--the paladins, galran prince, his generals, and Erza--gathered in the lounge.
"So Erza, can you tell me a bit about your Guild? What was its name... Fairy Tail?" Allura asked.
"Well, it is quite a lively place. Natsu and Gray are almost always fighting. Lucy is the newest member of our guild and she loves her celestial spirits as much as we love her. Elfman is always talking about how we should grow up and be a man."
This made Allura giggle, "That sounds like something Coran would say."
"Then, there's Cana, she's the drinker."
"Drinker?" The Princess was confused.
"It means she enjoys drinking what's known as an 'alcoholic beverage',"
"Oh, okay," Allura said, then looked down at her wrist. She had a small wristband that was connected to Jellal's healing pod via wireless signal.
"It looks like the pod is done."
Allura, Erza, Shiro, and Keith went back to the healing pod bay. Erza was the first one over to the pod as it finished the final healing cycle.
She watched the steady rise and fall of her husband's chest as the pod continued to monitor his vitals.
"Jellal..." she sighed and pressed her hand to the glass.
Erza felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Keith standing there, a look of sympathy on his face.
"Believe me, I understand what you're feeling right now."
A beeping alerted them to the pod, which then finally opened up, revealing the blue haired mage.
Jellal's eyes flew wide open and he gasped, which triggered a coughing fit. The coughing fit continued to choke Jellal as he struggled to sit up.
Shiro stepped forward and Jellal sit up.
"Slow down now, take it easy," Shiro murmured. Jellal's coughing fit seemed to have calm down slightly.
Jellal finally took a breath and looked up at Shiro, "Thank you,"
"I'm a Paladin, it's what I do."
Jellal then looked to the Princess, "and thank you,"
"Oh so we're just going to forget that I'm even here?" Keith asked.
Jellal then looked in his direction, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't notice you were there."
Keith's eyes grew wide, his mouth flew wide open and he threw his hands up. 
"Really?!"
Shiro laughed, "Oh Keith, I love you man,"
Keith flushed bright red, "SHIRO!"
This made Jellal laugh. He then turned to Erza.
"Hello my dear," he said with a smile.
She smiled back and caressed his face, "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Well, your heart rate and pulse are normal, your breathing is fine, and you're responding normally to everything we say." Princess Allura explained.
"I guess that means you're free to join us in the lounge," Keith commented, "I apologize for that outburst man."
"Hey, It's alright, um...Keith, right?" the blue haired mage asked as he slowly stood up.
"Yep,"
"I hope that we can get to know each other."
"Same here."