And here we go again on another Weekly update! Gotta grind while I'm still unemployed ya know. Other than that, I'm going to update both Roommates and Homecoming this week! I'll try anyway, but I'll do my best!

Enjoy!

1134.

That was the final count of survivors currently aboard Crime Sociere's airship. 1134.

The number didn't seem real to Drake. Only 1134? Way more people than that had lived in Magnolia. Way more people were born, worked, had families, and called that city home. And now, there wasn't.

Part of Drake wanted to believe that many had survived the blast and that they'd be okay, that they just hadn't gone to the airship. But he couldn't be sure of that, and that was the worst part of all of it. So many people, gone just like their home. Sitting on his seat next to Simon and Ultear, Drake stared blankly out the window at the clouds. He didn't know what to do anymore. What did they have left now?

"I can't believe this is happening," Ultear said in a low voice, barely audible over the sounds of people in varying amounts of pain. "This isn't possible, is it?"

"Sadly, it is." Simon muttered, ice pack in hand as he pressed it against Ultear's head. "Now turn and look at me, that bump is bad." Drake didn't spare a look at the pair, knowing full well that Ultear had received a nasty bump on her forehead. Wendy had done her best to heal her concussion, and had tasked Simon with helping her keep the bruising down as she helped others with their injuries. Honestly he was surprised the healer was even still on her feet with all the magic she was using.

Finally tearing his eyes away from the window, Drake looked around at the mess around him on the main deck. So many people were laid around on just a blanket, bandaged or worse. Erigor was quiet as he piloted the airship towards Sabertooth. Probably for the best he focus on the air. After scanning the area, Drake saw Sammy sitting by the other wall of the deck, staring at his feet quietly. He had bandages wrapped around his head and one eye.

Naturally, Drake knew he'd heard the news of his friends demise.

Despite the anger Drake had felt towards both boys for many years, Drake knew that the friendship he and Rocky had shared was quite genuine. Even when others had stopped associating with Rocky due to what he'd done to Nashi, Sammy hadn't. For what reason, Drake didn't know. But what he did know is that they were friends.

Deciding he needed to do something, Drake got up from his seat and walked over to Sammy, making the boy look up as he approached.

"Hey man," Drake greeted. Sammy nodded weakly.

"Hey," He greeted hollowly. Silence fell between the pair, neither saying a word. Sighing, Drake sat down next to Sammy and the pair surveyed the mess in front of them.

"How you feeling?" Drake asked. "Head okay?" Sammy didn't reply right away, taking a deep breath.

"It's fine, Wendy said." He replied. "I'll live."

"Hm." More silence fell upon the pair, broken only by moaning.

"Did he really need to die?" Sammy asked, breaking Drake out of his thoughts.

"...No, he didn't." Drake replied. "But he chose to save Luna. And he did what he thought was necessary." More silence.

"...I don't know what happened to him, Drake." Sammy said, massaging his wrists. "After Nashi died, he... He changed. I barely ever saw him around, but when he did he was always working as hard as he could. Always trying to better himself. I even saw him leaving flowers on her grave..." Sammy slowly leaned forward and put his head in his hands, fingers shaking.

"...I'm sorry," Drake managed.

"Don't be," Sammy managed shakily. "You didn't kill him. They did." Slowly lifting his head up, Drake watched as Sammy surveyed the area. "They did it because they were after her, right?" Drake didn't really know what to say. He didn't know if this information had been relayed directly to Sammy or not, but there was no point in hiding it. It was obviously what happened.

"Yeah, they were." He replied. This caused Sammy to chuckle.

"The bully goes out the hero," He said. "Ironic. He spent so long making her want to take her own life, only to die saving it."

"...Sure."

"...If he died to save her," Sammy said, turning and focusing his single good eye on Drake. "Then we need to make sure that he didn't go out in vain. We need to keep her safe." Drake smiled at this, glad that the topic had turned away from death.

"Damn right we do," he said. "All of us. It'll be hard, she's pretty accident prone." Sammy laughed.

"That's an understatement." He said. "And a lot of that falls on you, so you'd better step up." Drake snorted and crossed his arms at this.

"I've been practising forever, I'll protect her." Taking a deep breath, Drake stood from his seat. "Speaking of her, I'm going to go and check on her. See if she's doing okay." Sammy nodded, allowing Drake to wonder off. He hadn't been sure about Sammy going into that conversation, but it was good to see he was willing to help. They were going to need all the help they'd get.

"Hey," Drake turned as Sammy spoke up again, seeing the man watching him. "One more thing."

"Yeah?" Drake asked. The pair watched each other for a moment before Sammy frowned.

"I don't know how I can atone for what Rocky and I did in the past but...If there's anything at all...I'll-"

"Stop," Drake replied. "I don't need to hear this. Once Luna has her memories back, you can tell her that. She's the one you need to make it up too." Sammy seemed surprised by what Drake had said, but gulped and nodded. Drake turned and walked away from the boy at this, hoping that Sammy didn't need to go the same way Rocky did. Despite their past, they didn't deserve that.

Walking down the hallway into a less crowded area of the airship, Drake came across a room that had been set aside for Luna. Currently His father and Richard were stationed near the door, perhaps to keep anyone unknown from accessing her room. Keeping any security risks to a minimum was a must right now, especially with Luna.

"Hey kid," His father greeted as he approached. "How's it looking out there?" This only caused Drake to frown.

"It's bad," he replied. "Worse than I thought."

"Do not fret, Drake." Richard said with a bright smile. "With the power of love we can overcome any obstacle!" Usually Richards love rants got on Drake's nerves, but it was nice that someone here still had a positive outlook. He'd need to learn how to do that more often.

"How's she doing?" He asked, changing the conversation towards the girl in the room. His father shrugged at this.

"Wendy fixed her up, but she's been pretty quiet since you came back to the airship." Drake knew why. Luna had been one of the first people to hear of Rocky's demise, and she hadn't seemed thrilled about it. In fact, she'd nearly cried on the spot.

"Can I see her?" He asked. Nodding, His father stood aside to let Drake inside. Taking a deep breath, Drake entered the room. Sitting in the bed at the far end of the room was Luna, Drake's cat sleeping in her lap. She had bandages wrapped around her head, and both of her arms as well. She looked over as the door opened, meeting his gaze hollowly.

"How're you feeling?" Drake asked weakly as the door shut behind him. Luna shrugged weakly and turned back to look out the window, still as ever.

"Fine," she answered quietly. Drake nodded at this, leaving them both in silence. At this point the silence was deafening, and he desperately wanted to fill it with something. Anything, really.

"She behaving herself?" He asked, gesturing to the cat. Luna looked down at the small animal, petting her back as the cat stretched.

"Yes," she replied. "It's nice to have some company."

"Yeah, she's good at giving some company." Drake agreed, finally deciding to dive in. "Are you okay?" Luna continued to pet the cat at this question, not giving him an answer right away. After a few seconds, she sighed.

"I feel horrible," she replied, tears building up in her eyes. It killed Drake to see her like this. "I'm just sitting here and he's...He's gone." It dawned on Drake at that moment what she was going through.

It was the same thing he had.

"Survivors guilt," he said, getting her attention as he said this. He pulled up the empty chair in the room next to her bed, sitting himself down. "You're wondering why you're sitting here safe and sound and he's dead."

"E-Exactly," Luna said in a shaky voice. "I-I should have been taken by those people, but he saved me...And now he's gone, because he tried to help me."

"You can't think like that," Drake said as he wrapped his hands together. "It's not going to do anybody any good, least of all you."

"But-"

"No, no buts. If you sit here and dwell on his death like this, all it's going to do is destroy you. Rocky did what he did to save you. He did what he did to make sure that you could be here right now. He made his own decisions."

"Why did he have to die for me?" Luna asked, tears finally falling down her cheeks. Drake frowned at seeing this. If there was one thing he hated, it was seeing her cry. It was always heart wrenching.

"He made a choice," Drake replied. "The choice to forfeit his own life to save yours. He...He wanted to save you."

"But why did he have to die?!" Luna shouted, raising her voice as her anguish grew. Drake made a face and looked down at his feet, thinking about what to say. What could he say to her to make her feel better?

"...Do you remember what I told you?" He asked, looking up at her. "How you died? How I...How we lost you?" Luna furrowed her brow and looked down.

"Not really," she said. Drake pressed his lips into a thin line and took a deep breath. He really didn't want to relive this again, but he had too.

"We were cornered," he said, bringing himself back to that day. "In such a way that we couldn't escape no matter what he did. But you...You saved us."

"..." Luna was silent at this, but Drake wasn't going to bring up the fact that she had absorbed the satellite's blast. That would only make her feel like she could have stopped Magnolia's destruction by sacrificing herself again.

"By giving up your own life, you saved us. You saved me."He managed a smile as she looked up at him again. "Do you see where I'm going with this?" For a moment she just watched him with a soft look in her eyes, and then looked back out the window.

"You had to go through the same thing," she said. "You know what you're talking about." Drake nodded at this. She was right on the money.

"Exactly," he said. "And I did the same thing you are. I sat around and I whined. Why is she dead and I'm not? Why am I still here? I don't deserve to be here if she isn't. But that line of thinking misses the whole point."

"What is that, then?" Luna asked, looking back at Drake. The look in her eyes told Drake she was lost. Like she was deep in a forest without a way out and no light to guide her. He felt like that was more accurate of a description then he knew.

"The point isn't whether or not you deserve to live and if they deserved to die," Drake replied. "The point is is that they gave their life for you. And if they were here, they...They'd scold you for being upset at such a silly thing like guilt over something you couldn't change. Rocky gave his life to make sure you would be safe. If he found out you were upset you weren't there...He'd slap you silly. He wanted you to go, and he made sure you got out."

Luna stared quietly at Drake, petting his cat as she did so. Finally, she sighed and looked back out the window. The silence persisted for a moment or two, neither saying a word.

"And I did that for you?" She asked. Drake nodded. She had indeed.

"For the others too," he added. "You gave your life, and it ensured that we didn't die. I guess I haven't thanked you for that." Moving forward, Drake took the girl by surprised and wrapped her into a hug. He heard the cat meow in irritation as Luna's posture shifted, but he didn't care about that. The cat could wait.

"W-What are you-?"

"Thank you, Luna." Drake said into her shoulder as he held her close. "For saving my life. And for making sure you got to the airship. You did the right thing, no matter what your mind tries to tell you." Slowly but surely, as he heard Luna being to tear up, she wrapped her arms around him too. It was up to him to be here for her in situations like this, as Steph was for him back before. It came with the territory of being a friend.

"I-It was nothing," Luna managed to croak out into his shoulder, making him laugh.

"I'm sure," he replied as the two moved away. "I should go check on the others, Ultear got banged up pretty bad and I want to see if-?" As Drake moved away to get up, Luna grabbed his hand. Looking back at her, Luna was watching him. The red tinge on her cheeks made him raise an eyebrow at her.

"C...Can you stay here a little longer?" She asked. "I...I'm calmer when you're here." The red tinge only got worse as she said this, and Drake smiled at her. Of course he'd stay. She needed him, after all.

"Of course."

After a few more hours, the airship finally arrived at Sabertooth. Looking out the window down at the circular guild hall, Drake tried to feel like they were safe. Sadly, he knew they weren't. Hell, he was surprised they hadn't been blasted out of the sky already. Jellal and the other adults were doing their best to get everyone off the airship and into the guild hall, Sting only opening the doors and helping them funnel people inside. It was odd that he was so welcoming, but he must have been able to tell this was dead serious and turning them away wasn't an option. After everyone had been taken from the airship into the guild hall, Drake walked out with the others and helped Luna get off of the ramp down.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around curiously.

"At Sabertooth, A friendly guild." Steph replied, sporting a bruised ankle at worst. "They'll help us, don't worry."

"They must be great people." Luna said.

"They are," Damien said, forearm in a cast. "Don't worry, with their help we'll figure out a plan."

"I hope so," Simon muttered. "Because I sure as hell can't think of anything." Walking towards the entrance of the guild hall, Drake was greeted by the scene of Sabertooth helping in any way they humanely could. He saw people straightening out tables to put injured people on, he saw some listening as Wendy rattled off orders and then moved on. Hell, he even saw Sting with Laxus ordering people around and telling them what they could do to help. Watching this scene cause Drake's chest to swell with gratitude. For someone to so easily open up their arms was such a fantastic display of friendship it hurt.

"There they are! They're over here!" Turning, Drake was greeted by a group of people he hadn't seen in a while. Standing up front was Juno, looking more or less the same as she had a year ago. Her black hair was up in ponytail, her bangs getting in her face as she ran towards them. Kyoko's blonde hair was styled to the side, giving her an odd yet elegant look. Rina had cut most of her hair off, leaving her with a pixie cut with her green bangs styled to the side. Keita looked very similar as well, his hair had just grown longer and he'd tied it up in a short ponytail to keep in under control.

And, of course, they all had the same confused worried look on their face.

"There you guys are!" Juno said, surprising Drake with a hug. "We were worried you were hurt too!"

"Well, I wouldn't say we got out unscathed." Steph replied as she bounced unevenly on her bad ankle. Rina went to her and helped her stand, making Steph smile at her gratefully.

"What the hell happened!" Keita demanded as he tore Elise off of him. "You guys are-!"

And just like that, Keita went dead quiet.

Drake stared at him in confusion, unsure why he'd gone quiet. One after the other the group went quiet, all staring at one thing.

How was Drake this big of an idiot?

Standing a ways behind them was Luna, just kind of taking in the guild halls size and stature. She seemed to notice that everyone was looking at her, and she gave a half-hearted wave of confusion.

"What the hell is that?" Kyoko asked weakly.

"I'm seeing things, aren't I?" Rina asked.

"Drake, what's going on?" Keita asked, looking towards him in shock. Drake rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, uh...We have a lot to talk about."

"This is bad..." Juno muttered. "I wasn't expecting this...How do we tell him?"

"I don't know any more than you do," Rina hissed, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I never expected this would ha-"

"...Guys?"

And of course, fashionably late, the last member of the Sabertooth team had to join them. Looking past the others, Drake saw Michael standing there in shock, his arms hanging at his side. He was staring dead at Luna, who just kind of returned his stare curiously.

"Michael..." Juno started, looking concerned. Of course she would be, it was obvious why. Michael was technically Luna's ex. And he'd thought she was dead.

And yet, here she was, standing right in front of him with a confused look on her face. Michael looked more like a ghost than anything.

"Nashi... Is...Is that really you?"

THIS ISN'T A CLIFFHANGER IT'S A TACTICAL WRITING PLAY TO INCLUDE MORE STUFF IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!

Chapter 312: Really Here