Christ I'm sorry for the wait guys! I've just recently started going to college, so it's a huge change for me and I've been really busy for the past little while, so I haven't had time to write. Luckily I've made time, though!

Enjoy!

The three people in the cemetery stood there silently, none of them saying a word. Probably because Drake didn't know what to say.

Drake had not seen Elise in almost a year, as she had disappeared around ten months before. Since then Drake often wondered where she'd run off too, but the last thing he'd expected was to find her here, at the cemetery.

Thankfully, Steph recovered faster than he did.

"Elise!" She shouted, lunging forward. Elise prepared herself for the hug and took it well, stumbling a few feet backwards as she did so.

"Hey," she responded, voice sounding deeper and more mature than Drake recalled. "It's good to see you again, Steph."

"Where have you been?" Steph asked, breaking away slightly to look Elise in the eyes. "You just disappeared!" Elise laughed weakly.

"I've been all over," she said. "No where in particular." Elise looked past Steph and towards Drake, smiling. "Hi Drake, it's good to see you." Drake smiled weakly and pocketed his hands.

"Good to see you too," he said. "What're you doing here?" Elise looked back at the grave, staying quiet for a second.

"...Felt a little homesick," she said. "Figured it was time to come home. I haven't really paid my respects properly so..."

"Well it's good to see you!" Steph said, smiling brightly. "Feels like it's been forever since I've seen you!"

"Really has been," Elise replied, smiling weakly.

"Have you seen your parents yet?" Drake asked, both girls looking back at him. "I'm sure they'd like to see you." Elise nodded.

"Yeah, I stopped by the guild hall." She said, smiling even wider. "It was good to see everyone again. They seemed a bit older than I remembered."

"It has been almost a year since you saw them," Steph said. "I'm not surprised." Almost a full year. Drake knew that was accurate. Elise was the first of their little group that disappeared, but she was the only one who gave them no indication she was leaving. One day she'd been there, the next day she wasn't. Her leaving confused and angered Drake, but he still felt happy to see her again. He wasn't going to hold on to his negative emotions anymore. Didn't do him any good.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Elise approached him, wrapping him into a hug. The show of affection surprised him, as the Elise he knew wouldn't have done this out of nowhere. Despite this he returned the hug, happy to see her.

"How have you been?" She asked, voice muffled by his clothes and shoulder. Elise was short, after all. Drake chuckled.

"I'm fine," he replied. "Doing better than before."

"That's good," she said. "I'm glad it's not dragging you down."

If only you had a clue.

"Let's go back to my place and get out of the cold," Drake said. "No point in hanging around here." Elise nodded as she moved away from him.

"Yeah," she said, looking back at Nashi's gravestone. "That sounds good."

"Wow, when did you move here?" Elise asked as they entered Drake's apartment. Drake laughed.

"A while ago," he replied. "I've lost track of time."

"It's nice," she said. "Must have cost you a fortune."

"Well I had a small one available, so it wasn't that big of a deal." Elise laughed at this.

"Right, you're share of the Grand Magic Games winnings. I forgot about that."

"So why did you come home all of a sudden?" Steph asked. "I know you said you were homesick, but was that it?" Elise didn't reply right away, slowly running her hand across Drake's counter. After a few seconds, she sighed.

"Mostly," she said. "Also I...I'm done running from the pain."

"Running?" Drake asked. Elise nodded and looked back at them.

"I...Ran away from the pain," she said. "Being here was so hard, I had to get away. But, I've done that before, with what happened with Phantom Dove. I tried to run from what happened, and it got me nowhere. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson."

"...Well, I'm glad you're here now." Drake said, pocketing his hands. "It's good to see you." Elise nodded, looking grateful.

"Yeah, I'm glad I'm here too." Silence came over the three before Steph yawned loudly, stretching.

"Well I hate to be the one to leave, but I'm exhausted." She said. "Today was...A long day."

"Not gonna stay for a drink?" Drake asked. Steph shook her head.

"Nah," she replied. "I need to get some sleep. Besides, drinking with you is an ordeal." Drake snorted at this, and Steph turned to Elise. "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow Elise. Can't wait to catch up with you!" Elise smiled.

"You too," She said. "See ya." Drake and Elise watched as Steph turned and left the apartment, leaving the two of them alone. Elise turned to Drake, smiling slightly. "You mentioned a drink?" She asked. Drake smiled and walked to his fridge, opening it.

"What are you feeling?" He asked. Elise shrugged.

"What's the hardest thing in there?" She asked. Drake reached into the back and pulled out a bottle if whiskey, one he hadn't touched in a few months. He had cut back on his drinking a lot, but he kept some around just in case. He pulled out a large glass and filled it, handing it to Elise. The girl took a large sip, wincing slightly as she did so.

"Too hard?" He asked. Elise coughed as she swallowed the drink.

"Nah, just burning my throat a bit." Drake chuckled and poured himself a drink, taking a sip himself. It was pretty hard stuff, but she'd asked for it. The apartment grew silent as the two sipped at their drinks, not saying a word.

"You lied when you said you were fine," Elise said, breaking the silence. Drake cast her glance to see her looking down at her glass. "Didn't you?" She looked up and locked eyes with Drake, who just stared back.

"That easy to tell?" He asked. Elise snorted.

"Wasn't hard to tell," she replied. "If I'm still hurting, there's no way you're fine." Drake looked down at his whiskey, swirling it slightly.

"No, I'm not fine." He replied. "Haven't been for a long time. I still see her face all the time. In my dreams, around town, all over the place. But..." Drake thought back to his therapy session earlier. "...I'm working on it." Elise nodded, downing the rest of her drink in one go.

"That's good," she said. Drake nodded.

"At least I didn't run from it," he said. He knew it was an instigating comment, and he could tell by the tension in the room that Elise didn't appreciate it either.

"You really want to do this right now?" Elise asked. Looking over, Drake found she was giving him quite an angry stare. He didn't back down though.

"May as well, we've got some drink in us." He said. "Want to explain to me why you ran? Left me alone?"

"You have the others, why does it matter if I-"

"Others as in who?" Drake demanded. "Steph?"

"The others too! Ul, Simon, Damien!"

"They're gone." Elise's eyes widened, and Drake finished his drink as well, glaring at his cup. "Everyone left, Elise. Only Steph and I are still here."

"...W-What?" She asked. She looked stunned. "How long have they been gone?"

"Months," Drake replied, pouring himself more whiskey. "Damien left last, and he's been gone for seven months." Elise didn't respond right away, so Drake took initiative and poured her more whiskey. "Everyone up and left. Some friends, huh?"

"...I had no idea," Elise said quietly. "I-I thought...I thought only I left."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't surprise me." Drake said, glaring at the wall. "You lasted the least amount of time before taking off. No letters, no visits. How would you have known?" Elise didn't reply right away, making Drake sigh. "So it's not entirely your fault."

"...I'm sorry," Drake looked over, as Elise spoke so softly he'd barely heard her. "I...I couldn't deal with it." Drake noted that her hands were shaking, as with her voice. Now he felt bad.

"Elise..."

"The...The pain was too much," Elise said. "I saw her face everywhere. No matter where I looked I saw her face. It was driving me insane, I couldn't sleep. I...I'm selfish." Drake frowned at this. "I only cared about myself, and I ran. I didn't stop for a minute to think about you guys...I'm sorry."

"...It's okay,"

"It's not okay!" Drake jumped a bit as Elise shouted. "She's dead, Drake! Nashi's dead! How is that okay?!" Drake watched as tears streamed down Elise's face, her whole body shaking now. "She's dead...We couldn't save her. What kind of friends are we, Drake?"

"The best of friends we could have been," Drake replied. "If Nashi wanted saving we could have done it, but she didn't want to be saved. She wanted to save us, and she did. It took me far to long to realise that."

"..."

"...I'm sorry for being a prick," he said, putting his drink down and walking towards her. "I shouldn't have started this."

"I shouldn't have run, but I did." Elise replied, looking up at him. Drake reached forward and hugged her. She leaned into him and returned it, and Drake felt his pent up frustration towards her melting away. He'd known all along they had their reasons for running, and the last thing they wanted to do was hurt him. That was just an unfortunate side effect.

"Maybe the drinks were a bad idea," Drake said, earning a laugh from her.

"Maybe," she said. "I'm exhausted, I just need to lay down."

"Want to crash her?" He asked. "I know you haven't paid for your dorm in a year, you probably wouldn't be allowed in." Elise made a face as she wiped the tears from her face.

"You think my mom wouldn't let me in?" She asked. Drake shrugged.

"Dunno, maybe she's rented your room out already." She snorted, and Drake was glad he was able to make Elise laugh. The mood needed to lighten up.

"Yeah, I'll take your couch," she said. "I'll sort my shit out tomorrow."

"Couch?" Drake asked. "I'm not an asshole, go sleep in my bed." Elise gave him a suspicious look.

"You trying to make moves over here?" She asked. "Your tactics are interesting." Drake rolled his eyes.

"Right, that's what I'm doing," he said. "Trust me, I'm not interested."

"Well, that hurt."

"I'll take the couch, go sleep in my room." He said, ignoring her comment. "You look exhausted, I'll manage for a night." Elise made a face, but nodded slowly.

"Alright, thanks." Drake shrugged her off, and moved to his couch as Elise moved for his room. "Goodnight, Drake.

"G'night," Drake replied, making himself comfortable. He heard Elise lay down in his bed and the lights turn off, silence filling the air in his apartment.

His day had been rather interesting, and certainly not what he'd expected. Reaching into his jacket, Drake pulled out the letter Ultear had sent him. He hadn't opened it due to Elise's appearance, and now he felt too tired to open it. Shoving it back in his jacket, Drake shifted and closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep sleep.

"...Drake...!...Drake...C'mon...Drake!"

Drake jumped awake and looked around, light blinding could tell he was on the couch in his apartment, but what the hell had that been? He could have sworn someone was calling his name, but no one was around.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Drake looked over the back of his couch into his kitchen, where Elise stood by the stove. Drake didn't know why was was only wearing her shirt and panties, which honestly displayed a tad too much comfort in his opinion.

"I don't think so..." He replied. "Were you saying my name?" Elise made a face.

"No, why?" She asked. Drake frowned. He knew he'd heard his voice, but why?

"...It's nothing," he said. "Must have been a dream." Elise shrugged him off and returned to cooking, leaving Drake to his own thoughts. He honestly didn't remember any dream, but that was really the only explanation he had. Standing, he walked over to the kitchen and observed what was happening.

"Trying to get an eye full?" Elise asked, glancing over at him. He snorted.

"Just trying to figure out why you're in your underwear," he replied. Elise shrugged.

"Slept like this," she replied, flipping over an egg in the pan. "Didn't plan on waking you up yet, so I didn't get dressed." Drake shrugged and walked past her, spanking her as he did so. He smirked as she glared at him.

"I'm not complaining," he said. "Was just curious."

"I'd watch where you put those hands, lover boy." Elise warned, her right hand turning into a sword. "Or you might end up missing them."

"I'll take my chances," he replied. Elise rolled her eyes and returned to cooking, and Drake shuffled through his cupboards looking for any thing to snack. It was odd, that last interaction. Almost like the good old days were. Like Elise never disappeared, and last night's little fight had never happened.

Like Nashi hadn't died, was essentially what he was thinking.

Deciding there was nothing to snack on, Drake stood up and turned, finding his feline friend sitting on the counter watching him.

"What have I told you about being on the counter?" Drake demanded. She mewed in response, making Elise chuckle.

"She's cute," Elise said, smiling at the cat. "Wasn't expecting to share your bed last night."

"Should have remembered my bed belongs to her," Drake said, shoving the cat off the counter, which got an indignant meow. "Sorry if she bothered you."

"It's fine, she's a good roommate." The cat snaked around Elise's legs at this, mewing up at her. Elise laughed and looked down at her. "What? Are you hungry?" Another meow. "Drake hasn't fed you in how long?" Another meow. "What?! That's crazy!"

"She's such a liar," Drake hissed, picking the cat up. "She just didn't eat last night cause you got me distracted."

"Right, that was my fault." Drake put the cat down near her dish and filled it with food, which seemed to distract her. "What's scheduled for today?" Drake shrugged as he turned back to Elise.

"I don't know," he replied. "I've got a few things to do, but other than that there's nothing going on."

"Mind if I tag along?" Drake shrugged.

"Nope, not at all." He really didn't care if Elise went with them, it wasn't something she needed to be excluded from. Drake didn't know where exactly Michael was, or if he was even still in town, but Drake wanted to apologise to him. He'd been rude to him the day before, and he didn't want to leave on a bad note with him. It was really the only thing he had planned for that day, so hopefully it didn't take him long.

"...Drake...!"

Drake's spine tingled, and he looked over her shoulder, surveying his apartment. He saw no one, and a quick scan with sound magic confirmed no one save him and Elise were present.

So who was calling his name?

After eating breakfast, Drake and Elise left his apartment in search of Michael. They checked at the guild hall, and Laxus said he'd stopped by earlier, but was no where to be seen since. Steph decided to come with them, and the trio scanned all over Magnolia, until Elise got a strong hit on Michael's scent. Following it, they soon found the blonde Dragon Slayer outside a kiosk, reading a magazine. He scoffed as they approached.

"Sometimes I wonder who writes these bullshit articles," he said, putting it down as they reached him. He smiled up at them and crossed his arms. "Nice to see you, Elise. Where have you been?"

"Here and there," Elise replied, smiling back at him. "It's good to see you too."

"Michael," Drake said, cutting in. "I came to apologise for yesterday. I was a bit of an asshole to you." Michael watched Drake for a moment before he smiled in Steph's direction.

"Did it work?" He asked. Steph laughed.

"I'd say so," she replied. Michael chuckled and looked back to Drake.

"No need to apologise," he said. "I'm just glad you're not being an idiot anymore. Although i don't really think I get to take credit for any of it." This made Drake laugh.

"I'll give you a little credit," he said. "Not all of it though." Michael laughed back at this, before stretching his back.

"Well, in honour of Drake's little triumph, I propose drinks tonight," he said. "On Drake, obviously."

"If you think for even a second you're drinking my booze you've got another thing co-"

"Drake...I know you can hear me damn it...Drake...! Fuck...Thought Proj..."

Drake froze and whirled as the voice called out to him again, rapidly scanning the crowd for anyone speaking. No one did so, but Drake was not convinced. He knew he'd heard a woman speak his voice, but who?

"Drake?" Elise asked, making a concerned face. "What's the matter?"

"...Nothing," Drake said after a few seconds. "I'm just hearing things."

"Is that somehow a new thing for you?" Michael asked sarcastically. Drake offered him no response, still watching the crowd. He saw nothing, but he could not shake the feeling that something was going on. Why was he hearing this voice? Who was calling out to him?

"How about we get those drinks now?" Steph asked. "I think Drake may need them."

"...Yeah, maybe." He said. He turned slower than the others, still watching the crowd. He knew he was being called, and it was really bothering him.

He was just about to catch up to the others when a scent filled his nose.

A very familiar scent. One of firewood and lavender.

Drake whirled, and his heart jumped into his throat.

There, standing amidst the crowd, was Nashi. She was staring right at him, eyes a dark murky red colour. She had fiery horns on her head, and her arms were coated with craters. Her hands were also coated with flames, in the shape of talons. She reached out towards him, as if trying to beckon him forward.

And then, in the blink on an eye, she was gone. Drake stared in awe at the location of what he'd seen, but Nashi did not return.

Now Drake was worried for his own well being. He was seeing things. After all this time, now he was seeing things. Nashi was dead, he knew that. He'd carried her corpse home.

So why was he seeing things?

Drake just wanted to go to bed, he'd had a long day and a lot of things to ask Angela when he saw her next.

After following the others back to the guild hall, they'd hung out there all day. Drake didn't hear anyone else speaking to him and didn't see Nashi again, which he was grateful for. Perhaps he wasn't losing his mind. Then again, he probably was. He knew what he'd seen. and it had been his dead best friend.

"What the fuck us happening to me?" Drake hissed, clutching his forehead as he walked down the empty snowy street. He was thankful it was late, so there was no one out. "Why am I seeing things? Is there something wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you,"

Drake froze in his tracks.

Not again.

Slowly turning, Drake's heart sank as he stared into the eyes of Nashi's apparition. She looked the same she did earlier, only now there was nothing blocking the two. Nashi looked surprised.

"Can you see me, Drake?" She asked.

Drake offered her no response.

"Thank God you can see me, I've been trying for weeks to get a hold of you, and I finally got through. You have no idea how hard Thought Projection is when you aren't-!"

She was cut off as Drake launched himself towards her and delivered a punch so strong the buildings next to them cracked from the force.

"You're dead," he hissed, glaring at the smokescreen he'd whipped up. "You died, I saw it with my own eyes...So, how..." Drake felt his voice cracking and his eyes watering up.

The smoke cleared, and he got a clear look at Nashi holding his fist in her right hand.

"How are you real?!" He shouted. Nashi released him, and he fell backwards onto his ass, still staring at her. After a few seconds, her image flickered in and out of existence.

"We don't have much time," she said. "I need to get my message through before it's too late."

"...Message?" Drake asked. Nashi nodded. "Nashi...? Is...Is it really you?"

"Nashi?" She asked. "No, that is not my name. But I see how you would make that mistake."

"...What?" Nashi flickered again, and she stared down at Drake.

"Perhaps starting from the beginning would be best." The apparition walked up to Drake and knelt down in front of him. She was so close now Drake could smell the firewood and lavender.

"My name is END," she said. "And I...We need you, Drake. Nashi needs you."

Yeah I lose cliffhangers in case you guys didn't know. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!

Chapter 284: Empty Space