Hello everyone! The hiatus finally comes to an end! Sorry for the extension, but I thought I'd get more free time this week. Turns out I was right! Not for the reasons I thought, though.

If you guys haven't checked out Homecoming of a Devil, I advise you do. It's a fully canon side story on my profile so go and check it out. A new chapter will be up soon so don't miss it!

That being said, please enjoy the return of 2nd Generation!

Pain.

That was all Drake felt as he struggled to climb back up the side of Mount Olympus, towards the top. His body screamed for him to stop, but he had no intention of doing so. He was making it back up to the summit no matter how long it took him. Grabbing onto another ledge, Drake hoisted himself up and grimaced as he felt broken bones threatening to break the skin. He didn't know what exactly he'd broken but he knew it was bad.

I'm getting to the top, I don't give a fuck what breaks in the process!

After another agonising climb, Drake felt his hand reach for the peak of the mountain. He exerted himself one last time and felt his back hit solid ground at the top of the mountain. Breathing heavily, Drake rolled onto his stomach and forced himself to his knees, gasping for air.

"Nashi!" He shouted, not looking up. "Nashi, we're going home! Come on!" Finally finding the courage to look up, Drake did so.

And his heart stopped in his chest.

Laying at the center of the peak was a corpse, charred black. No matter how long he stared it didn't budge, and he felt himself spiralling out of control.

"N-Nashi..." Drake struggled to his feet and wandered over to the body, falling to his knees beside it. Reaching forward, he ran his hand over the charred skin, rough to the touch. "H-hey, you're okay...Right...?" He slowly pulled at her arm, which flipped her over onto her back. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth hung open from the momentum he created.

Drake pushed her lightly.

"Nashi...?"

The corpse did not answer him.

"...Nashi please I...please..."

It still did not answer him. Drake felt tears slipping out of his eyes as he brought the body closer to him, cradling it in his arms.

"Nashi please...I-I'm so s-sorry... I should have been there...I should have...I could have..."

"Could have what, Drake?" Drake didn't have time to respond before he felt a hand grab his neck. The grip tightened, and Drake gasped for air as the corpse in his hands began to shift.

Nashi's soulless dead eyes stared at him as she strangled him.

"N-Nashi..."

"You're so pathetic," she hissed, voice barely audible. "You failed the one time it mattered. What kind of friend are you?" Drake could not respond as she choked the life from him. "I needed you, and you failed me. You're a horrible friend. You don't deserve the life I gave you."

So she seemed bent on taking it.

Nashi wrapped her free hand around his throat and squeezed even harder, and Drake began to black out from the lack of oxygen he was getting. He felt his hands go limp, and he couldn't move any more. The shambling corpse picked him up by the neck and walked to the edge of the mountain, dangling him over it. He could only watch as Nashi glared up at him. And then, she smiled. It was a genuine smile, and her face flashed back to her regular one, not charred and deformed.

"Goodbye, Drake."

With this, she threw him from the peak. Drake flailed in open air for what felt like forever, until he was face down. He watched as the side of the mountain got closer and closer, surely intent on finishing what Nashi had started.

And then, it made impact.

"No!" Drake shouted as he sat bolt right up in bed, sheets flying off of him as he did so. Doing a quick check of his surroundings he found himself in his apartment, in Magnolia, and it was the middle of the night.

Drake ran a hand over his entire body, making sure everything was still in place. He sighed and did his best to calm down once he realised he was okay.

It was just a dream.

Drake sat in silence for a moment, staring down at his bed. He'd had another nightmare. It wasn't something that surprised him, they happened all the time. It didn't make the contents of those dreams any less disturbing, though. Taking another deep breath, Drake looked over towards the other half of his bed and smiled weakly.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" He asked.

The black cat resting on the other side of the bed mewed softly at him in response. Drake laughed to himself softly at this, reaching over to pet her,

"Sorry girl, it was another nightmare." he said. The cat reacted positively to his touch, leaning into him as he scratched her head. The cat used to hang around Drake's apartment all the time, so a few months ago he opened the door for her and she hadn't left since. It was nice having a companion, even if it was just a cat. He hadn't named her yet, but Drake couldn't really think of any names for a cat. He wasn't good at naming things.

Standing from his bed, Drake walked out of his bedroom and into his kitchen, opening the door of the fridge and searching for something to drink. Pulling out a bottle of water, Drake wandered back into his room and looked out the window into the dark snowy city, contemplating his life.

It had been over a year since Nashi died.

In that time, Drake's life had changed so drastically he wasn't sure what to think. All the others, except for Steph, were off doing their own thing. Elise had disappeared in the night roughly ten months ago, and nobody except her parents had a clue where she'd gone. That had been roughly eleven months ago.

Ultear accepted a job in a rough part of Fiore and hadn't returned yet, but she'd sent letters saying their was a lot of cleanup to do and she'd come back when she had the chance. That had been ten months ago.

Simon was training and working with Crime Sociere. He'd wanted to do so for a while according to him, but he'd finally done it around nine months ago. Drake hadn't heard from him since, but Erza told him he was doing well.

Damien too had disappeared into the night roughly seven months ago, and Steph told him that he was leaving for some kind of retreat he wanted to do. Drake didn't know what that mean, but he hoped it was something important.

Steph had stayed around, mostly because she didn't want to leave her parents again so quickly. Drake appreciated this greatly, because he wasn't sure where he'd be without her.

And then there was him.

Drake's last year had been a nightmare in real life. He'd had to carry Nashi's burnt decaying corpse home, he'd had too help bury her, and he had to watch as his friends disappeared one by one. He'd been so hammered for seventy percent of the last year he barely recalled half of it, but he knew it was a dark time in his life. For the last few months, he'd been working on bettering himself. He limited his drinking, he started to see a therapist, and he started to act a little normal again.

But the nightmares continued.

Drake's grip on the water bottle tightened, causing the water to rise and spill onto his hand. He really didn't care. Every few days, Drake would have a nightmare. They usually revolved around Nashi, which was to be expected. But even after he started therapy, they refused to stop. Nothing he tried worked. He was tortured day in and day out by what he saw, but it didn't stop no matter what he tried.

Setting the water bottle down, Drake walked back over to his bed and threw himself down on it, staring up at the roof as he contemplated his nightmare. Everything he'd seen up until Nashi's corpse reanimating was accurate, which was probably why it seemed so real. Looking back at the cat, Drake found she was asleep. He wished it was that easy for him. He got comfortable and closed his eyes, doing his best to forget what he'd seen in his dream.

As if he'd ever forget that day.

Drake woke up the next morning to the sound of someone banging on his front door. He paused and listened, but they persisted in slamming their fist into his door. Growling, Drake got up from bed and stumbled towards the door. He didn't even bother putting on a shirt before he got there and flung the door open to stare at his visitor.

"Good morning!" Steph said, smiling at him. "Took you long enough to answer the door." Drake just eyed her sleepily, yawning.

"What?" He demanded. "I was sleeping." Steph rolled her eyes as she entered his apartment, taking her beanie off to shake the snow off of it.

"I know, but you have an appointment today." She replied. "I figured I'd come and walk with you." Drake sighed and closed the door to stop the snow from getting in. Steph shed her jacket and rubbed her arms to regain feeling before she started to shift through Drake's fridge, frowning as she did so.

"What?" Drake demanded.

"You've got nothing to eat in here," she stated flatly, closing it. "I'm hungry."

"Eat at your own house," Drake said, sitting down at his table and rubbing his eyes.

"Why would I do that if I can here?" She asked, sitting down across from him. Silence came over the pair until a meow announced the cats entrance. She jumped up on the table and walked over to Steph, who smiled and pet her. "Hey you, you been watching Drake for me?" Drake watched the cat jump into Steph's lap and settle down, happy she was off of the table. "You named her yet or what?"

"No," Drake replied. "I told you I can't think of a good name."

"I can think of a few." Drake stared at Steph, who met his gaze without flinching.

"No," He replied.

"I didn't say anything," Steph said.

"I know what you wanted to say," Drake replied. "I'm not naming her Nashi."

Silence came over the two again as Drake stared down at the table, and Steph pet the cat.

"Already been a year, huh?" Steph asked, a far away look in her eyes as she pet the cat. "Feels like it was yesterday." Drake nodded solemnly as he thought back to what happened a year ago. Nashi shoving him from the edge of Mount Olympus and sealing her own fate. He'd warned her, but it was exactly like her not to listen to him. If Drake had been smarter, if he'd paid more attention instead of getting lost in the moment, he could have prevented it. He could have saved her. But he let his emotions blind him, let Nashi deceive him.

And he paid for it.

"Yeah, well, time flies when your mind is elsewhere," Drake replied, standing from the table. "We should go. I'll get dressed. Steph nodded, and Drake walked back to his room and threw on some clothes. Walking back outside he saw Steph waiting for him, already bundled up for the cold again. Drake grabbed his black trenchcoat, Drake opened the door and walked out into the cold with Steph.

The cold air woke him up a little more, which was nice. The pair trudged through the snow silently, not having anything to say to one another. It wasn't uncommon nowadays for silence to fill the air between the two. Being the only ones still left from their group of friends tended to leave them without much to say. Drake appreciated that Steph hadn't up and disappeared like the others, more than she knew.

He just wished she was here.

As they reached Drake's therapist's office, they walked in and shed their coats in the warm waiting room. It didn't take long for the doctor, Angela, to open the door from her office and smile at them.

"Drake!" She greeted. "So nice to see you!" Drake offered her a weak smile in response.

"Yeah, you too." Angela gestured behind her, and Drake walked for her office.

"Don't worry Steph," she said. "I won't keep him long today." Drake heard Steph laugh.

"Don't worry, I don't have anything else to do today." Angela closed the door as Drake sat down, and she smiled at him again as she sat as well.

"How have you been?" She asked. Drake shrugged.

"I've been okay." He replied.

"You look better," Angela said. "When I first starting seeing you you were a mess." Drake knew that was true. Coming to see her hadn't been his idea, it had been his mom's. Drake remembered it because he was so hung over he could barely function.

"Thanks," he said. "I've been trying." She smiled reassuringly at him.

"I know," she said. "I was hoping today we could touch base on all the problems you've listed in the past. Would that be okay?" Drake shrugged.

"I guess so," he replied. Angela nodded.

"Okay, let's start out with the nightmares. Do you still have them?" Drake nodded sadly, his mind flashing back to the one he'd had the night before.

"Yes," he answered. "Almost one a week without fail." Angela hummed at this.

"I see. Do they still bother you?"

"Of course they do," Drake replied, clenching his fists. "I'm forced to watch the same shit again and again, it's tormenting."

"Have you been keeping your mind off of the events at Mount Olympus?" It was kind of hard to do that, seeing as he was reminded every day. Drake still hoped that this was some cruel joke, but he knew deep down it wasn't.

"Hard to do that when you're reminded every day," he answered. Angela nodded in agreement.

"I know it's hard, but it will help in time, trust me." She was the doctor, so Drake figured he had too. Couldn't hurt. "Now, I know you said you didn't ever want to speak of it, but how have you been thinking about your friends recently?" Drake felt himself getting defensive, but he couldn't clam up. He was here to open up, after all.

"Not really any differently." He answered.

"Still angry?"

Angry. That was the term Drake had used to talk about the others. He was angry. Angry that they'd all left, angry that they didn't seem to care, and angry that they had all seemingly forgotten what happened.

"Yes," Drake replied. "They ran. Ran from what happened like it was nothing."

"Perhaps they are healing in their own way." Angela said. "Surely they haven't forgotten."

"Sure as hell doesn't seem that way," Drake replied, feeling his temper rising. "She died and all of a sudden nobodies around anymore. Did she mean nothing to them?"

"Drake I'm sure she meant the world to them."

"Then where are they?" Drake asked. "Why did they leave? Why're they trying to forget?"

"Who said they're trying to forget?" Angela asked, silencing Drake. "I have a theory, Drake."

"What?"

"I think you're mad at your friends for a different reason. I don't think you're mad at them for leaving."

"Please enlighten me as to what it is, then."

"I think you're frustrated. Frustrated that they are moving on and you aren't. Angry that they're trying to move past it and you're stuck suffering. You're not mad at them, you're mad at yourself." Drake scoffed.

"Really?" He demanded. "Took you that long to figure that out? Of course I do. I could have saved her. If I hadn't been so dumb, things would be different now. I could have saved everyone so much heartbreak, so much pain. But I didn't because I let her fool me. I trusted her, and in the end that killed her. I failed." Drake knew he was being rude, but it was how he felt. "Sorry, I...I shouldn't be yelling."

"Please do, actually." Angela said, a smile on her face. "Every time I've seen you you open up more and more. Yelling means I'm doing my job right." He still felt bad. "So, you blame yourself?"

"Yes, I do." Drake said, crossing his arms. "As should everyone else. You know, maybe that's why everyone left. They couldn't bare to me around me anymore. That makes sense."

"Don't think like that," Angela scolded. "I'm sure that isn't it."

"Yeah, maybe..." There was silence between the two before Angela smiled.

"I know it was short today, but I have an idea. I want you to keep working on keeping it off your mind, okay? I want to see you in a few days to try something out and see how it goes." Drake didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but he didn't see any harm in it.

"Alright, well, thanks for letting me yell at you." She just laughed.

"It's what I get paid for." Leaving the room, Steph looked at him in confusion.

"That was quick," she said. Drake nodded.

"Said she wanted to meet again in a few days," he replied. "So I guess we're done." Steph nodded and stood as Angela came out from her office.

"Actually, Steph, could I talk to you for a second?" Drake and Steph shared a look before she nodded and entered the office with Angela, shutting the door behind them. Drake was tempted to listen in on what they were saying, but he didn't bother. It'd probably be better for him if he didn't. After a few minutes, Steph left the office with Angela, looking rather troubled.

"Everything alright?" He asked. She nodded, smiling at him.

"Yeah, everything's okay." She said. Drake didn't completely believe her, but he wasn't going to pursue it. There wasn't a point.

"I want to see you again in three days, okay Drake?" Angela asked, smiling at him. "Same time as today." Drake nodded.

"Okay, that's fine." He replied. Drake and Steph left the building and began to walk towards the guild hall, once again. silent. This time, however, Drake watched Steph walk right past the turn for the guild hall and keep walking.

"Follow me," she said before he could ask her what she was doing. Tailing behind her for a bit, Drake felt his stomach tighten when they approached the cemetery.

"What're we doing?" He demanded. Steph looked back at him, a sad look in her eye.

"Paying our respects can't hurt, right?" She asked. Drake felt his throat drying up the closer they got to Nashi's gravestone, but he refused too stop. He hadn't been back here recently, but he knew exactly where he was going.

Soon, the pair stopped right in front of it, and they stared down at it quietly. Neither of them said anything at first, maybe because they didn't have anything to say. Drake forced himself to read the words inscribed on the headstone, as he had hundreds of times already.

Nashi Dragneel.

Beloved daughter and friend. Gave her life to protect those she cared about.

Rest in Peace.

"...It really has been a year, hasn't it?" Steph asked. Drake nodded, pocketing his hands.

"Yeah," he said. "It has." Silence. Drake looked over as Steph shook slightly.

"I'll never forget that sight," She hissed. "Of you carrying her corpse home..." Drake stared down at the snowy headstone as she said this, doing is best to not start crying.

"Thing's could have been different," he said. "If I hadn't fallen for her tricks. I let my guard down."

"If we're gonna blame people so easily, it's Macbeth's fault too." Drake frowned at her as she said this. "Because he couldn't find a way to send us back far enough to save her." Drake remembered now. He was still drinking heavily at that stage, but he knew what she was talking about.

"What do you mean you can't figure it out?!" Drake lifted his head slightly to look at the commotion. Simon was shouting at Macbeth, looking absolutely livid. Macbeth just eyed him carefully.

"I told you a hundred times," Macbeth replied. "An Archive spell strong enough to calculate a number that exact to send you back in time can't be cast. Not by me."

"You did it in the future!" Simon shouted. "Do it again!"

"Listen to yourself," Macbeth said. "You told me in the future I used Super Archive. I can't used Super Archive, nor does any lacrima right now have the capability of doing so. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Drake knew what they were talking about. Simon wanted to use Crocus' messed up time flow to travel through time again and save Nashi. From the sounds of it, it wasn't going to work.

"Find a way!" Simon shouted. "We can save her, I know we can!" Macbeth shook his head solemnly.

"No," he replied. "We can't."

"Or it's our faults for not being able to make it to the top of the mountain," Steph continued, still looking at Drake. "You didn't do anything wrong and you know it."

"I was the only one who could have saved her," Drake replied. "And I didn't, Whose at fault but me?" Silence fell upon the two of them as they stared at the headstone. Drake knew Steph was trying, but he didn't agree with her. He was at fault, and she was foolish for not agreeing with him.

"I wish everyone was still here," Steph said quietly. "I wish we could grief together properly."

"Isn't anything proper about what happened," Drake replied. "Not point in trying to make it so." He wrapped an arm around Steph's shoulders. "Come on, we should go." Steph let him steer her away, which Drake appreciated. He didn't want to stay here any longer. As they walked away from the gravestone, Drake looked over his shoulder back at it.

"I hope, one day, you'll forgive me"

These words echoed in Drake's mind, and he frowned.

I never blamed you.

I think we can stop here for today. Bet you guys weren't expecting this, eh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!

Chapter 282: It's Not Your Fault