The Funeral

And this is the next chapter. As usual, I hope that you all enjoy.

Plus, Felix, Here's your mention.

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, Kay and Rayne. Xenolord owns Maria, Safiria and Gale. All others do not belong to me.

It had now been 4 years since The Mourner became the terror to all drakel in Lore.

If anybody would take a look around, in most cases, there were no drakel to be seen. They had either gone into hiding, or fled to safety. Originally, she had thought it was Ren T'kak that they were all hiding in, but then she remembered the chilling tale that she had heard from Maria about it. It had partially been rebuilt now, but she doubted that it had enough supplies to support that many people. From what she had heard, whispered by mouths all across the land was that now the refuge city, as it was called, was teeming with drakel, from those who lived barely a mile away, to the people who dared to ever leave the drakel lands.

The Mourner had attacked all across Lore, but oddly enough, he hadn't even gone anywhere remotely close to the city.

No one knew what the Mourner was thinking. He was unpredictable, and had never been caught. They didn't have any idea where to find him, and it drove both Guardian and Drakel Authority alike crazy.

They both didn't think to look for The Mourner right under their noses though.

Lizzie stared into the horizon, her face pensive as she sat on the shore. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her eyes unblinking as they looked out into the sea. She was in a new location, and a new town. She never stayed in the same place for too long. If she did, there was a chance that she would be caught by the group that was after her, who she had come to call the hunters.

Those hunters, from what she had seen so far, were a group of well-trained Drakels and guardians. 'Not well trained enough, though.' She thought. If they were as great as everyone thought they were, they would have been able to catch up with her more.

Counting Gale's fight, there was only four times in which they had met up. Twice, it had just been a fleeting glimpse. They had gotten there, just as she left the scene. As she walked away, she could hear the curses and disappointed groans f the team, and couldn't help but smirk.

She wasn't smirking the fourth time though. It had been a brush with Kay. Literally. That time, they had managed to find her at the scene of the crime, and began to pursue her. One of them had managed to catch up with her. The person's hood had fallen off while they were running, and Lizzie had caught sight

of her head. There was no mistaking that fiery hair, only a shade lighter than he own. Lizzie almost froze right there, but instead, simply increased her speed and ran faster than she ever had before.

It had been four years since she had seen that hair as well. Four years since she had left Battleon...

Lizzie shook her head to clear her mind. She had been thinking a lot about Battleon, and the people living there recently. She didn't know exactly why- it had been quite a while since she let her thoughts stray to her former home.

Home.

The woman suddenly felt a pang of longing and sadness inside of her. She raised her hand, and placed it over her heart, tearing her gaze away from the waves at last. She knew this feeling. It was homesickness. Every now and then during the past couple of years, the few times it rose up, she pushed it aside, ignoring it completely. Now though, it was becoming increasingly common, and happening nearly every single day.

Lizzie slowly lowered her eyes to where her hand rested. She was clutching at the fabric of her shirt, almost as if she was trying to get at her chest. She was holding it so tightly, that her fingers and knuckles were turning white. It was as if she was trying to reach inside of herself, trying to reach into her chest and rip out that homesickness that hurt so badly. It throbbed, and no matter how hard Lizzie tried, she couldn't completely vanquish the feeling, only lessen it.

The woman sighed, and stood, dropping the hand over her heart to her side. Turning away from the shore, she began to walk away. 'Sleep'. She thought. 'Sleep will help. Sleep will take it away. Sleep always takes it away'

The next morning however, Lizzie found that sleep, for once, didn't help at all. When she awoke, her mind was blissfully blank for all of five seconds. Then it hit her. The ache in her heart was now stronger than ever. It was so bad, that it was now physically affecting her. She literally felt unwell- her head hurt, and her usual strength was drained, half of its normal state. As much as she didn't want to do it, Lizzie knew what she now had to do.

Lizzie dressed in all black (sans her armour), as she had every day since the death of Rayne, . With pale hands, she tied Rayne's cloak around her shoulders, then produced a portal-com. With sluggish fingers, she twisted the knob and entered in all too familiar coordinates.

A step, familiar sensation, and a burst of light later, Lizzie was atop of the hill that overlooked the town of Battleon.

Not much had changed, she could see. Yulgar's Inn was still there, and Aria's and Warlic's shops too. The Guardian tower still loomed in the distance. But there was one, strange detail.

There were no people to be seen, anywhere. At least, not along Main Street, this was odd because it was usually packed with people. Lizzie went down the hill, and stealthily made her way up to the

windows. She peered in and saw that no one (who would know her at least) was inside. Aria's store was closed- Warlic's was too.

Lizzie thought it odd, but didn't dwell on it. She came back to Battleon for a reason- to try and stop the homesick feeling. As she walked around, she lost all conscious thought about where she was going, and just began to wander the streets. She didn't need to see or look where anything was, for she knew the town like the back of her hand. It was her home, after all.

But if this was her home, why did the homesickness grow instead of fade?

Lizzie blinked suddenly and looked around. Without noticing, she had wandered farther into the town. In fact, she had wandered off so far, that she had reached a place that was near the boundaries.

The Battleon Cemetery

Lizzie looked up at the iron-wrought words above the entrance, and then faced the open gates once more and walked inside.

Now that she was in the cemetery, Lizzie realized something. The horrible feeling of sadness in her heart was dissipating slowly, more and more as she walked further into the graveyard. It was strange. Why would such a sombre, solemn place bring her such relief? Lizzie didn't think about it too hard though. She was losing that desperation to come back, and that was all that mattered. She walked over a hill, past another row of stones, and there she saw it.

An entire group of people, all swathed in black. Lizzie stood at an angle; she could see the group, but she faced the back of the tombstone they all stood in front of.

The redhead came closer. When she could see the faces of the people at the very front, she stopped in her tracks. Something had happened while she was gone. She inched behind a tree, and watched the funeral. From her position now, she knew that if any of them looked her way, they wouldn't be able to see the woman.

Someone parted from the crowd and walked up to the tombstone. Lizzie could tell that it was a man. He cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"I only knew her for a short period." He said. "She was a comrade of mine. We were on the same squad, the one that was...is hunting for the Mourner. Previously, we had no knowledge of each other. She was a young, yet talented Guardian, and I was Felix, a warrior, yet a fresh face in this town. She was the one who showed me around on what few breaks we had, and introducing me to people and life in Battleon. Even during the toughest of times, she was constantly trying to motivate us all, and make us laugh. She was a great person, and a great fighter; but most importantly, a great friend."

The man, Felix, stepped away, keeping his gaze straight. Lizzie could see that he was trying not to shed a tear. As he went down, Lizzie saw someone else go up. She didn't see their face, but it didn't matter if she did or didn't, because it didn't matter. People gave their thoughts and experiences, and were

replaced by more people, expressing how they felt about whoever they were talking about. Lizzie didn't know them all, and she didn't care. She was suddenly reminded of a funeral, four years ago, much like this. Where she didn't know who was speaking, who was grieving, who was crying. That funeral, like this one, was all a big blur.

Soon, the congregation of people had left. Almost all of them were gone now, except for four people. Lizzie flipped the hood of her cloak up, left her position behind the tree, and crept closer. All four of their faces became clearer and easier for her to see, but Lizzie already knew who they were.

The two that were farther away from the tombstone, Lizzie could see first. They stood out more, despite being farther away. It was the height difference really. They stood side by side, one of them looming over the other. Whoever it was, they were tall, incredibly tall. They were at least a head and a half over the shorter one. Yet that wasn't the most distinctive trait. Lizzie could see that the tall one was a drakel.

Burning hatred and a lust for drakel blood replaced the solace that Lizzie had temporarily found. Her muscles tensed, her breathing quickened, and her body became instantly ready for a fight. She looked around for something as she moved closer, any weapon; a rock, a branch, something loose that she could get her hands on, something she could use to kill that despicable creature. Lizzie stopped though, as something happened that completely surprised her.

That drakel fell into the arm of the shorter person, who wore a black cloak just like Lizzie's, with the hood down. Lizzie caught sight of the orange hair, and she knew who they were. It was Kay, and... Lizzie strained her memory for a name. It was that girl, that drakel woman from years ago, Jess. Jess had fallen into Kay's arms, crying. Lizzie could see, even from a distance, that Kay herself was holding back tears.

Dimly, Lizzie remembered a scene like this from Rayne's funeral, where it had been Kay who was crying her heart out, and Gale who was comforting her and drying her tears. Now the roles had been reversed, and it was Kay's turn to be strong, and comfort another. It was utterly ironic- two women, both striving and competing to earn the heart of Gale Despair, now turning to each other for comfort in this time of grief.

The two closest to the grave marker, were both incredibly pale. One had shoulder length, wavy seafoam green hair; the other, long raven locks, down past her waist. The green haired woman had eyes of crimson red, the dark haired one with amber. Lizzie could see that something was wrong. Maria and Safiria's eyes, both usually piercing and full of depth, were now lacking that very trait, instead, being clouded over with sadness, grief, and a million other emotions.

Lizzie had now reached where they all stood. She walked behind them, none of them noticing her. She stood behind them all, and read the gravestone they stood at.

GALE DESPAIR

A kind daughter

A strong Fighter

A loyal friend

She will be loved, and missed

Somewhere, deep inside, Lizzie was completely overwhelmed. Gale, Dead? No, it couldn't be...

But it was true. It had happened. It was like the grass beneath her feet, the stone erected all around her, and the rain that was beginning to fall from the stormy sky above. It was real, and there was nothing she could do to change it.

Lizzie stood still. The rain fell harder now, and Jess and Kay both left slowly, not noticing the woman behind them. Maria and Safiria stayed at the grave, not caring about how soaked they were getting. There, all three of them stood, as the rain continued on increasing in strength with every passing moment.

Somewhere in the distance, lightening flashed, and thunder crashed and that was what did it.

Maria fell to the ground, onto her knees. He wracking sobs could be heard over the loud splash that every droplet of rain made, and the boom of thunder.

"Why?" Lizzie heard her yell. "Why didn't I get them all?" Her cries were answered only by the hiss of the wind.

"It should have been me, damnit!" Maria screamed. She punched the ground, over and over again. Soon, Lizzie could see blood dripping from her knuckles. It mingled with the rain, and fell back to the ground. Still, she kept on hitting the earth, as if punishing it for taking Gale away.

She smashed her fist into the ground one last time. "Bring her back!" She wailed. Safiria slumped to her own knees as well, and their sobs melded with the howl of the storm. Lizzie had never seen either of them break down so completely before. Maria was always cheerful and in control, and Safiria was so calm and reserved. Now, those people, the queen and the fighter, had let their bodies and souls be consumed with grief.

Suddenly, Lizzie had gone to the side, and picked flowers. And before she knew it, she was in between Safiria and Maria, placing those wildflowers in front of Gale's grave. Safiria looked up as the flowers. Her eyes widened, and another sob escaped her mouth as she saw them; they were Gale's favourite kind.

And then both Safiria's and Maria's arms were around her, and both their faces were pressed into the already soaking fabric around her neck. Lizzie let them cling onto her, knowing that now more than ever, they needed the comfort of another. The Mourner disappeared, and Lizzie, the kind, caring, understanding Lizzie came back for that day. She murmured soothing words them. Even though she knew they couldn't hear her over the roar of the storm, she knew that they both understood what she meant. Lizzie helped them both up, and slowly, they all walked back to the Despair Manor.

As they went inside, Maria (who until then had seemed not to notice where they were) finally realized that they were not at Gale's grave. She tore herself away from Lizzie, rushing to the door. Lizzie let Safiria down gently, before following Maria and grabbing her, before she could step outside. "Let me go!" Maria roared, trying her hardest to shake the smaller woman off of her.

Lizzie held on though, and somehow, managed to close the door. She threw herself on top of Maria, who was now flailing, clawing at the wood floor, trying to get away from the woman who was holding her back.

"Let me go!" She shrieked, squirming and flailing.

"Maria." Lizzie said quietly. Maria said nothing, and kept fighting against her. Safiria was slumped beside them both. Lizzie was sure that if the vampire wasn't grieving, she would have held Lizzie back, and let Maria go. At the moment she couldn't even move, the sobs that shook her entire body taking up too much energy.

"Maria!" She said again, a little louder. Maria stopped trying to squirm away, but began to try and blindly attack Lizzie, twisting her arms upwards to hit the younger woman.

"MARIA!" Lizzie finally yelled. Maria froze, and Safiria herself stopped crying, both momentarily overcome with shock.

"Lizzie?" Maria whispered voice raspy from her screams. Lizzie nodded. "It's me Maria. You can't lose yourself like this. You won't be any use to the world if all you do is spend your time at that grave-"

"Memorial."

"What?"

"It's a memorial. Not a grave." Safiria said. Lizzie looked bemusedly at her.

"Gale's body... Gale's body isn't there." Maria said quietly. The meaning behind that sentence struck Lizzie, and the former guardian began to fight again, the rage and grief clouding her mind once more. "That's why you have to let me go!" She yelled. "I have to go back to her memorial, and then... I have to kill those bastards! Starting with that kid that started this hellish chain of events!"

Lizzie pressed down harder on Maria. "Safiria, tell me what happened."

The vampire queen began to breathe harshly, but nodded.

"Gale... she had come home. She had been hunting for the Mourner, and they finally let her come back, just for a while. It was bad enough having her away from us for so long. Things just got worse from there. Gale decided to go back to the college, take a class or two that she had missed before. One night, Gale was...she was... " Safiria broke off, closing her eyes and biting her lip so hard, that she began to draw blood.

"She was raped." Maria growled. Lizzie was stunned. It was only when she felt Maria almost break free of her pin that she continued to press down. "Safiria, please, tell me more."

Safiria nodded, once she had regained control of her breathing. "We found out that she was pregnant. She was debating about the baby for a while...but then she decided to keep it. She hated the father, wanted him to die, but she didn't want another child to be parentless." Lizzie nodded. Being an orphan in her own childhood, she knew the pains of having no parents. "Jess and Kay...when they learned, they were shocked. But then they promised Gale, that they would help her take care of the baby. Things were finally starting to look up. But then...this happened." Safiria took in a few deep breaths, becoming more worked up with every word that she had said. Her eyes were still closed, and Lizzie was sure that behind those eyelids, memories were flicking by.

"A week and a few days later, Gale accepted a mission. She went with two other recruits. After two weeks had passed, people went to go investigate. And they found..." Her voice cracked, and she lost the control that she had so desperately tried to hold onto, as she began to cry again.

Although weaker and weaker now, Maria was still struggling. She continued on for the woman. "DrakZombies." She snarled. "That's all that was left. No body, no corpse, just the remains of a DrakZombie." Her voice rose from a rasp to a scream. "I'll kill them all!"

Finally, she relaxed, heaving for breath. She had overdone it, forcing herself to use so much of her strength, and draining herself of what little energy she had left. From what she could tell, Safiria had now cried herself into a fitful sleep. Maria was on the verge of passing out as well.

Knowing that at this point Maria could not possible try and bolt for the door, Lizzie got off of her. She supported Maria, and then got Safiria too, helping them both up to their bedroom, and dropping them on the bed. With some difficulty, she placed their blankets atop both of them, Safiria had clutched onto the blanket like a child having a nightmare. But Maria, Maria was still awake. As Lizzie fixed the blanket around her, Maria looked up, and asked her something, that, if Lizzie's heart wasn't already forever broken, would have smashed it once more.

"Why did this have to happen?"

Lizzie closed her eyes. "I don't know Maria." She replied softly. Maria didn't hear her answer- she was already asleep, clutching at the blankets like her wife, and whimpering.

Lizzie stepped out of the room, and shut the door quietly. She walked away, back into the hall. Quickly, she wandered towards the window. It was dark now- quite dark, even without the storm clouds. Lizzie would think it to be around sundown. But there was no sun today to tell her, and for good reason.

She stared out the window, and up into the sky. The rain was still falling hard and thick. 'It's as if the heavens opened, and the gods' tears are falling to the earth.' She thought silently. "They're crying." Lizzie murmured. "They're crying for the loss of a daughter." She didn't say anything after that. Lizzie just stared, completely still. Inside, however, her mind was working fast, as she asked herself the question that Maria had asked a moment ago, but on a broader scale.

She asked herself why everything had to happen. Why did Gale go on that mission, why did Rayne have to be shot, why did everything in the last four years occur. She asked herself all these questions, and so many more.

And she couldn't answer a single one.

Lizzie ended up staying the night at the Despair residence, knowing that Maria and Safiria, even with each other, could not get through that first night without some sort of help. When morning broke, Lizzie found Maria and Safiria both in a deep sleep, one that could only come from exhaustion. Even asleep, Lizzie could see that they were still troubled. Every now and then, she could hear a whimper coming from either woman, their eyes beneath their eyelids flickering, and the dried tracks of tears still on their faces. Both of them were strong woman, and natural leaders. It saddened Lizzie to see them so heartbroken.

Lizzie left the room, and headed down to their kitchens. After leaving the small breakfast she knew they wouldn't eat on the table, Lizzie headed back to the Battleon cemetery, the light from the sun on the horizon just barely lighting her way.

Soon, the woman found herself at a familiar place- gale's grave. Lizzie shook her head. Not a gravestone- a memorial. Kneeling down on the wet ground, she sat by the stone, thinking. Her mind wandered off again, and for some reason, she was back to thinking about her homesickness. It surprised her that it hasn't left the minute she gazed upon this town. 'Why hasn't it?' She asked herself. 'This is my town; this is my home.' It confused her. But what puzzled her even more, was why only now, in the cemetery, she was lacking almost all of it.

It just didn't make sense. Here, surrounded by hundreds of bodies lying merely metres beneath her feet, she should be feeling longing, longing to leave this place immediately, with its eerie tranquility and silence. She shouldn't be so at ease. It made her wonder why now, the only longing she felt was o stay in the graveyard forever.

She thought back to Maria, who had thrashed and fought, screaming to the world that she wanted to go back to the graveyard. Was she feeling the same homesickness that Lizzie felt? Did she want to escape the sadness too? Maybe so.

But why a boneyard, of all places? Why would this place bring so much comfort to a person?

It was then that something caught Lizzie's eye. It was another grave, one that stood close to Gale's. Without getting up, Lizzie slowly crawled over to it. As she crawled, what remainders of the homesickness she still had, faded and faded away until they were almost completely gone, as she read the name chiselled into the stone.

RAYNE ANASI

With a single hand, Lizzie reached out, and traced her fingers through each letter, writing the name again and again, just like she used to. As she traced, she felt a sea of calm wash over her, realizing dimly that this was the first time in four years that she had felt the homesickness drift away. The answer came to her then.

Home isn't just a place – it's a person.

At that moment, the sun chose to fully rise into the sky. It bathed the entire cemetery in its light. All around her, the moisture that remained on the grass from the previous day glittered, making it look like tiny diamonds were scattered all around. Lizzie slowly stopped tracing the name on the gravestone, and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the warmth that shone down on her face. Dropping her head and looking at the ground, she noticed something, lying on the ground. Picking it up, she saw that it was the wildflower bouquet. Twirling it between her fingers, she saw every little dewdrop reflect the light, making it sparkle. Crawling back over to Gale's headstone, Lizzie placed it gently onto the ground before the stone. "Goodbye, Gale." She whispered. A strong breeze picked up, and blew across the graveyard. As the wind caressed her, Lizzie felt completely at peace, knowing that somehow, somewhere, Gale had heard her words.

For days, Lizzie stayed with Maria and Safiria, helping them get through their lives. Whenever company came over, Lizzie would either leave the house entirely, or stay out of sight. Every day, people came. They were all different, some strangers, some painfully familiar. Kay came all the days that Lizzie was there; listening to her daughter's voice, Lizzie wanted to reveal herself, let the younger redhead know she was there. But it could not be so- there was a time for everything, after all.

However, on her seventh day in Battleon, she knew that it was time for her to go.

The wind blew, and an owl hooted. Crickets chirped, and the grass rustled. The moonlight cast its silvery glow down on the Battleon cemetery, and an Elizabeth Miura-Anasi.

Lizzie sat in between the grave markers of Rayne and Gale, her knees drawn up to her chest, her face pensive. She stared out like she had but a week ago, not into a sea of water, but into a sea of grass and tombstones. This time, she was not troubled. She was calm, and at peace. But this couldn't last forever. As much as Lizzie wanted to, she couldn't stay in the yard. Not while she still had work to do. Her cloak, Rayne's cloak, sat beside her, folded, clean, and ready at any time to be slipped on. The initials stitched into the light side, RA, just reminded her of what still needed to be done.

Slowly, she picked up the cloak, unfolded it, and slipped it, dark side out, onto herself. She didn't leave though. With a snail's pace, she pressed one hand onto Gale's stone, closing her eyes and bowing her head at the same time, looking as if she was in prayer. She removed her hand and turned to Rayne's grave. Lizzie crawled over to it, and turned so that the inscription faced her. She laid herself, face down, onto the ground.

This was the closest to Rayne she would ever get again, for they were separated by six feet of earth, a wooden casket, and the boundary between life and death.

With one last sigh, Lizzie got up again, and began to walk, turning her back on the tombstones. She strode, out of the cemetery, out of the street, and out of Battleon once again. Never turning back for a final glance, she trekked on, never stopping, never slowing, until she reached the crossroads. There, she saw two figured, who she knew without even having to see their faces.

Maria and Safiria.

Slowly, she made her way towards them. As she stood in front of them, she noticed two, Guardian issued rucksacks. Much like her own when she first left Battleon, they were full to the point of near exploding. Maria, she could see, was back in her Guardian Armour as well, the sobbing wreck from one week past and the playful, seductive woman gone, replaced with the deadly warrior that lurked right beneath the surface.

"You're leaving." Lizzie said. It wasn't a question.

Maria nodded. "Like you, Lizzie, we have other things to do, things we can't accomplish by staying here." Lizzie knew that Maria was talking about the Mourner. She hadn't told either of them, but both women were definitely not stupid.

"I see." There was an awkward silence between them. Lizzie contemplated turning and leaving right then, but just as she was about to, Safiria spoke up.

"I..." She hesitated. "I just...I want..." She faltered, and swallowed, then took a deep breath. Safiria exhaled, and looked Lizzie straight in the eye. "Thank you." She said finally. "Thank you for..." the vampire trailed off, as Lizzie held up a hand.

"I know. You're welcome." She replied. All of them knew what Safiria was trying to say- Thank you for watching over us. Thank you for helping us through that first night. Thank you for caring for us. Thank you for being our friend. Thank you for everything.

"Goodbye." Lizzie whispered, as she turned and began to walk into the night, knowing that behind her, Maria and Safiria were doing the same in a different direction.

Lizzie had learned that home wasn't just a place; it was a person as well. Maria and Safiria were much like Lizzie herself that way. They had found their solace, and made their home in that person. For Lizzie, it was Rayne; for the Despairs, it was Gale. And now, all 3 women had another thing in common- their homes had been lost, been destroyed.

And that was why, Lizzie realized, she was killing. Not just to avenge Rayne, but to make sure that this would never happen again. What little shreds of compassion that were still left in Lizzie's heart didn't want anyone else's homes to be destroyed.

Lizzie knew this was what Maria would do as well. Lizzie didn't guess; she knew. For every day she was in Battleon, Lizzie could see Maria inwardly asking herself, 'Why didn't I get them all?'.

The way she said DrakZombie that one night, with such conviction, such hatred...she was going to go and kill them all now. She was just like Lizzie, avenging her home.

But there would be a difference in who they became when they killed.

The Mourner was considered a mass-murderer, a sick minded fiend who wanted nothing but to slay and murder the drakel folk. Maria would most likely be considered an even greater hero, coming out of her retirement to try and rid the world of even more scourge than she already had. It was ironic, really – two women, with similar goals driving them to commit similar deeds. Yet only one would be praised, her name sung in songs by troubadours across the land, while other would be declared a threat to every living being, her name spoken in frightened whispers and terrified screams.

Lizzie numbly pulled out her portal-com, and pressed the required button. With one last thought about the two friends she knew she would never see again, Lizzie stepped through the portal, and was gone.

"KAY!"

Kay and Blaze turned to the calling voice. Before they knew it, Blaze was hit by a tall, scaled blur. Looking at who it was, Kay was surprised to see Jess clinging onto the older man. Blaze had become a mentor-like figure to both Kay and Jess after word has spread about his outburst at the local community college years ago. He was well trusted by both, and something like an uncle to Kay.

"They're gone!" Jess gasped.

"Who?" Blaze asked, looking confused, even as he rubbed soothingly at the drakel woman's back.

"Maria and Safiria!" She exclaimed. "I went to check on them, and they were gone!"

As she went on to say how they should send a search party out immediately, Kay recalled a similar situation, one that was so fresh in her mind, that it was is it had happened yesterday.

"No." Kay said. Both Blaze and Jess looked at her incredulously.

"What do you mean no?" Jess asked. "We should send someone immediately! We don't know what's happened to either of the two, and the best thing to do would be to search!"

Blaze scratched his head through the red cloth of his bandana. "I'd have to agree with Jess, Kay." He said. Kay sighed, and shook her head.

"No. If they're gone... then they're gone for a reason." The blonde man mulled over Kay's words, but Jess Just stared at her.

Until a moment ago, Kay had never understood why Trip had said these words to her when her own mother left. But now, she understood why.

"Are you insane? Do you not care about them?" Jess asked.

Kay sighed, wishing that Jess' grammar hadn't improved so much over the years.

"Jess, I do care for them, so, so much. That's why I'm not going to go out and search for them."

"But... they...we..." The drakel spluttered. Blaze simply remained quiet, listening to Kay as she resumed speaking.

"You know them just as well as I do. They wouldn't leave without telling anyone, unless there was a reason. Neither of them is like that. If we follow them, we'd be going against their wishes. "

"Why are you so calm about this?" Jess wailed, with wide eyes.

"Because..." Kay hesitated, before slowly continuing. "Because this is what happened to me, four years ago. When my mother left, I was the same way you are now Jess. I asked myself, 'Why would she leave?'But then Trip explained to me why. She said something very similar to what I've told you. And only now, I fully understand what she was telling me."

Kay blinked back unshed tears burning in her eyes, and continued, willing her voice not to crack.

"My mother...she left me a note, saying that there was something she had to do alone. Trip told me the same thing. This is the same situation, Jess. Whatever Maria and Safiria have to do, they have to do it by themselves. They're gone, and all we can do now, is pray for their safety, and hope that one day, they'll come back to us."

Jess let out a choked sob, and flung herself away from Blaze, and onto Kay. And suddenly, Kay felt as if she was in the scenario from four years before, but in a different perspective. She could see herself in Jess, crying her heart out because she had lost two of the people closest to her in such a short amount of time. And now, she knew how Trip must have felt. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Jess, silently promising herself, and Gale, that she would piece Jess back together, just as Gale had done to her.

Blaze stood at the side, proud of Kay. When Lizzie had left, Kay had been a wreck, a shell of what she once was. She was broken. He had watched how, bit by bit, Gale had brought the old Kay back. And now, with Gale gone, Kay would stand up, and do the same for Jess as Gale had done for her.

He was proud of Gale too. Proud of her for being such a caring person, and a fighter to the end. Most of all, for touching so many people's lives, including his, and changing them for the better. He raised his head up to the sky.

"Thank you Gale." He murmured.

The wind blew once again.

Lookup Gale's name in the dictionary if you want to know the importance of the wind.