Be forewarned, I'm planning to hurt you all emotionally in this chapter. Just in case the title of the chapter wasn't information enough.

Enjoy!

To say that the news of Drake's imminent departure that night caused chaos in the guild was an understatement. The news spread like wildfire, and everyone in the guild seemed to have their own opinion of it. Some agreed, and some didn't. But the chaos was obvious. However, Nashi largely ignored it and kept to herself. She stayed by herself in the corner of the guild and had some drinks, trying to get over the fact that Drake was leaving. She kept returning to the fact that she couldn't do anything to fix it, and that irritated the hell out of her. She was used to looking for solutions. To not be able to do that was the worst.

Still, there was some things she had to do. Mainly, talk to the others.

After she agreed with Drake that he had to leave, it caused a rift in the group. Some, like Elise and Steph, thought it was ridiculous that he was getting permission to leave solo. And they, of course, made that dissatisfaction known. Elise, for her part, cursed out everyone who agreed with it and said they were assholes, and while Steph didn't do that she pretty much agreed with it. Both had stormed off after the argument, sand they hadn't been seen for hours. No seemed to no where either of them was, but Nashi had an idea. It was a habit of Elise to lock herself away when she was upset, so the first place Nashi thought to check was her room at Fairy Hills. She hadn't been there, but Levy had subtly hinted that she might have been at her family home. Nashi got there and let herself in, listening intently to the silence. Had it not been for her dragon ears, she'd have thought the house was empty. Fortunately, she picked up the sounds of occasional sniffling and a bed frame creaking. Until Gajeel had the most girly cry known to man, Elise was here. Nashi used her recovered memories to navigate to Elise's bedroom and saw that the door was closed shut. She felt like knocking was appropriate, but something told her Elise would tell her to piss off regardless of what she did here.

So she opened the door.

"Piss off Nashi!" Elise shouted. Yeah, she figured as much. Ignoring her friend, she walked inside and shut the door behind her. She stood there for a few seconds before moving closer to the bed, She stood there awkwardly, pondering what to say.

"Are you just going to yell at me?" She asked quietly. Elise didn't reply. She was curled up into a ball on her childhood bed, which would have been funny given her height if this wasn't a serious situation. Still, the thought occurred to her. Heh, Elise still fits the bed.

"What do you want?" Elise demanded after a few more seconds of silence.

"To talk," Nashi answered, "and try and help you."

"I don't want your help, go away."

"I'm not leaving," she said firmly. She wasn't going to walk out on her. She'd promised to make her sisters friends happy, so that's what she was going to do. There was more silence between them before Elise mumbled angrily.

"How could you of all people agree with him?" She asked angrily. "That could be a death sentence."

"And you have a better idea?" Nashi asked.

"We could go with him!"

"We can't."

"Who cares what that voice says?! We should go!"

"And what if that voice can help, but us going ruins it?"

"Then she's a bigger moron than Drake!" Elise shouted, "This is fucked, okay! It's fucked!" Elsie curled back up again, grumbling to herself. Nashi shuffled on her feet, trying to find the words to say.

"You're more riled up then I thought you'd be," she said finally.

"What," Elise asked, "you think cause Drake and I make fun of each other I don't care about him? That because he pisses me off and makes me want to throttle him on a regular basis means I don't care that he might die or lose himself and become a dragon? Because I do care! I really, really care!" Nashi watched, mouth open slightly, as Elise continued, "I love him like a brother," she hissed. "I can't...I can't deal with the idea of losing him! Not after we lost you!" Elise curled up tighter again, leaving Nashi in silence. She frowned and sat on the bed next to her, staring at her lap.

"I didn't mean to imply you didn't care," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever," Elise mumbled.

"But I understand. You know I do. Which is why I have to ask you to understand." Elise didn't say anything. "I love him too. N-Not like that, but I do. We don't know how to solve dragonification, Elise. We've never had to deal with it. If this person can solve it, shouldn't we adhere to their wishes?"

"It's stupid!"

"It is stupid," she agreed. "But we have no other way out. That's the part that's getting to you, isn't it? That we can't help anymore. That we have to let him deal with it."

"He shouldn't have to," Elise said. "No one should have to go through something like this alone."

"I know, but we don't have any other option. We just have to trust in Drake's ability and sense." Elise scoffed.

"Than we're fucked," she said quietly. Nashi chuckled.

"Yeah, we might be. But, the facts remain. We can't stop it ourselves, not anymore." Elise was quiet after this, but after a while she sighed.

And then leaned her head on Nashi's shoulder. Smiling to herself, Nashi wrapped an arm around her and held her, doing her best to comfort her.

"This is all bullshit," Elise hissed, voice cracking. "Why is it always something? We're never allowed to relax. It's always more. More death, more stress. More, more, more. Fuck man."

"I know." Nashi said. "I know."

"Why is it like this? Were we born into it? Is it destiny? Did Ankhseram do this?"

"I don't know."

"If I ever see that fucking useless God, I'm kicking him in the balls."

"I don't know if the God of Life and Death would appreciate that."

"Who cares what he thinks, he's never done anything for me."

"Heh, yeah. I know." More silence, and then Elise pushed herself off of Nashi and wiped at her eyes, sniffling.

"I still hate this," she said.

"No one likes it," Nashi reminded her.

"Yeah whatever. Ugh, I need to get myself together. I'm a mess."

"Yes, you are." Nashi agreed. Elise raised an eyebrow at her, and before Nashi knew it Elise had punched her in the shoulder. She gasped in surprise and held her arm, Elise staring knives at her.

"Don't you ever tell anyone what I've said," she hissed. "Especially Drake. The last thing that asshole needs to know is that I cried over him." Nashi tried to laugh away the pain, rubbing her arm.

"My lips are sealed, I promise."

"They better be!"

Finding Steph was way harder then it should have been. Damien had no idea where he was supposed to look for his sister, even with the others helping him. Simon, Ultear and Drake were out helping him, as Crime Sociere was getting ready to head out with Drake. Obviously Drake wanted to say goodbye to everyone, so they needed to find Steph before he left. That proved to be harder than it seemed. Damien hated to admit he didn't know his sister that well. After she'd come back the whole Nashi situation happened, and he'd disappeared. He hadn't really gotten to know her, so he had no idea where she liked to hang out.

"Damien," Drake's voice echoed in his head, making him jump. "Steph's in the part, by the Sola tree. I'm with her."

"How the hell are you talking to me?" Damien asked as he turned himself around to go the park.

"Sound Magic. I'm projecting my voice on the frequency your ears hear sounds at. It doesn't matter, we're at the park. Hurry before she runs off."

Acknowledging that, Damien pushed his way through the streets as nicely as he could. He thankfully wasn't very far, so it only took him like five minutes to get there. Once he got there, he could see his sister sitting on a bench with Drake, who was hiding his appearance again. Drake looked up at he got there, nodding at him. He stood up from the bench and said something to Steph, who didn't look very pleased. The two walked to each other, and Damien made a face.

"You leaving this to me?" He asked warily. Drake scoffed.

"Yeah, I figure it'd be nice to leave it to you," he said. "Talk to her, she needs her big brother right now, not me."

"At this rate you know her better than me," Damien said.

"Well it's a good time to start learning," Drake said. "There's a lot to learn. I'll be waiting at the guild." Nodding, Damien watched him go for a moment before he turned and walked to his sister. She hadn't been watching them talk, she was too busy staring down at her lap. Sighing, Damien sat down next to her and rested his arms on the back of the bench, looking around at passerby.

"Cold out still, huh?" He tried, knowing immediately it was a shit opener.

"What do you want?" Steph asked quietly.

"To see how you're doing," he replied. "Cause obviously Drake leaving has yours feathers ruffled."

"What tipped you off?" She demanded, eyeing him irritably. He shrugged.

"That look is a good tip off," he said. "I've seen that one from Mom before when I piss her off."

"Ugh, you're insufferable," she hissed, wiping at her eyes.

"I know, cause I'm a big brother," he said. "It's in the job description." He leaned back on the bench and stared at the sky, sighing. "You really care about Drake, huh?"

"Well when everyone, including your own brother, abandons you while your trying to settle into your new/old life except him, you get attached!" Damien winced at the jab she sent his way, knowing she was right. "Are you jealous or something?"

"No, I'm just trying to casually work my way into helping you," Damien admitted. "Which is harder than I thought it'd be."

"Well, sorry I don't think this is a good idea," she muttered as she crossed her arms. "Someone should at least go with him. Or we could find Mercuria!"

"You know as well as I do that Wendy, Natsu and Gajeel are going to come back from the graveyard with no more news on that," he said. "Mercuria could be dead. One of the countless dragons slaughtered by Acnologia. We don't know, and we'll probably never know."

"I know!"

"So why waste time and effort looking for her?" Damien asked, "I know this is hard, but Drake needs to search out this voice of his. It's our only lead."

"I know!"

"So why get so up in arms about it?" He asked, "we should be supporting him instead of running away like kids."

"Because your the person to give me shit about running away!" Steph shouted. Damien winced again, but he didn't shout back. "In case it hasn't clued in for you yet, genius, I care about Drake! A lot! He's been more of a brother to me than you have been so far! And now I have to watch as he runs off on some ridiculous quest that might get him killed! Why do I have to accept that?!" Damien felt hurt by that, but she was right. He'd not done enough for her. He hadn't been there for her after Nashi died. Drake had been.

"I'm sorry," He finally said. "I'm sorry I left you when Nashi died. It was selfish."

"It was."

"I'm not going to try and justify my shitty actions. There's no way to. But, that doesn't negate what I'm saying; we can't do anything but support Drake in this. He has to walk this path alone, without us."

"That's bullshit."

"Yeah, it is." he agreed. "But life is about getting bullshit shovelled into your face and learning how best to eat it. There's a quick lesson about life from your brother." Steph snorted, which made him feel better.

"...When Nashi died," Steph started after a blink of silence, "it was eventually just Drake and I. Everyone else abandoned us. He was the only 'friend' I had left, and the only reason he didn't run away was because he was too busy running into a bottle and then drinking it. I had to be the strong one for him. I had to be there, talk to him, reason with him. Be his rock. And so I did. But I can't now. Me being strong or reasonable can't help him now, and it pisses me off! Why can't I help?! It's bullshit!"

"It is," Damien agreed. "But remember what I said." Steph snorted again.

"Something about shit and eating it," she replied. "Yeah, great advice. Doesn't make me feel any better."

"Yeah, eating shit isn't fun. But it's what he have to do sometimes." Damien shuffled closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. Thankfully she let him, resting her head on his chest. "But if it's any consolation, I'm still here, And if you're alright with it, I still want to fill in the big brother role." Steph managed a weak laugh at this.

"Well, that spots about to have a vacancy, so I guess I have to hire you."

"What's the pay like?"

"Shitty."

"Wonderful." Damien managed a smile at this interaction. Still, she was right. He hadn't been being a good brother to her. He needed to fix that.

"Listen," he said, "you can come to me no matter what, Steph. You know that right? I've got your back no matter what."

"Says the guy who didn't side with me earlier."

"You know what I meant," he replied. Steph nodded, sighing.

"I know...I know."

The sun was about to set, and so Drake and Crime Sociere were leaving. He stood before the airships boarding ramp, staring up at it. His enhanced senses could smell the fuel the ship was burning, and it was hurting his nose. How did dragons live like this.

Turning around, Drake saw all of those who had come to see him off. Although most guild members he was less familiar with had already said goodbye to him at the guild, his mother, friends, Lucy and Laxus had come to see him off. Everyone else was gone, still not back after going to look for a cure for him. He imagined they'd be pretty pissed when they got back. As for Crime Sociere, they had mostly already boarded, but his Dad was standing with him.

"Ready to go?" He asked. Drake swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yeah," he said, then turning to everyone else as his Dad went up the ramp., saying, "well, I suppose I'm off."

"I guess you are," Laxus agreed. He stepped forward and offered Drake his hand. Taking it, Laxus pulled him into a half-hug, pounding his fist against his back. "Don'r forget you have a home here, Drake. We'll be waiting for you to come back." Drake scoffed.

"Yeah, I'll have to work to keep that in mind," he joked. Laxus pulled away. and his Mom stepped forward, pressing a small bag into his hands.

"Ultear made a few more booster shots for you," she said. "If you feel the transformation continuing, inject one, okay?"

"Okay."

"Make sure you thank her for those, okay? She's putting a lot of magic into them."

"I will."

"Crime Sociere will be with you all the way until you find a boat. Don't be dumb. Rely on them, okay? Promise me."

"I promise."

"And for the love of God, be careful! Every time I let you leave my sight, you-"

"End up hurt," Drake complected for her. "I know, Mom. I'll be careful. I promise." She gave him a sad smile, tears rimming her eyes. He could tell she was fighting them back. She surprised him with a swift hug, squeezing him as hard as she could.

"Come back no matter what happens," she whispered to him. "I don't care if you turn into a dragon. You'll still be my little boy."

"I won't be little if I'm a dragon, Mom," he tried to tease, fighting back his own tears.

"Shut up and do as I say for once, Drake," she said. "For all threeof us." He didn't reply to this. He could do that. He hugged his mother for a while, but it wasn't long enough. It would never be long enough if this was the last time he saw her.

Think positive, dumbass. You'll see her again.

Finally releasing his mother, Drake looked over to see Lucy and Luke smiling at him. He appreciated that she'd come to see him off. She didn't need too.

"Be safe, Drake," she said, "We'll be waiting for you." He nodded at her.

"Thanks," he said, looking down at Luke, who was reaching out towards him.

"Dwake!" He said cutely. He'd been saying a few words here and there recently, and it seemed he picked up his name. Well, as best he could anyway. Drake reached out and let the baby touch his transformed hand, and he seemed fascinated by it.

"See you later Luke," he said, letting the baby pull on his fingers. "Let's hope you're not way bigger when I see you next, right?"

"Aah!" Luke replied, as if he had even a clue what Drake was saying. Letting the boy play with his hand a little longer, Drake finally pulled away and caught a glimpse of his Mom watching him and Luke, a hand over her stomach. He gave her a knowing smile, and she smiled back. He knew what she was thinking.

At this, he turned to his friends. He could tell just by their faces they were all experiencing varying degrees of agreement. He knew Steph and Elise were against this, and from what he could decipher from their faces Simon and Damien were none too pleased either. And as for Nashi and Ultear, they seemed to hide it relatively well. It sucked Drake knew them so well, because their disguises weren't enough to fool him.

"Well guys," he said, "I guess I'll see you later, huh?"

"I guess you will," Damien replied first, stepping forward. He offered his hand, and Drake clasped it. The white-haired man pulled him into a quick hug, one he returned. "Be careful out there, man. It's not a good idea to trust random voices in your head." Drake scoffed.

"No, it isn't," he agreed as they pulled apart. "I'll see you, Damien. Damien nodded, and so Drake turned to Steph, who was by his side. "Steph," he said.

"Drake," she replied quietly. The two of them stared at each other quietly for a moment before Steph's frown deepened and she rushed to him, giving him a tight hug. He returned it happily, holding her close to him. He was going to find it harder and harder to let go as time went on here, he just knew it.

"Please be safe," she whispered to him, "We can't lose you after everything that's happened."

"I'll be sure to stay safe," he reassured her. "And, hey, Steph? You should open up to the others. About, well, you know." Steph's grip tightened on him.

"I dunno," she answered quietly.

"Just do it," he whispered back. "No one will think any less of you." Steph didn't reply to this, just gripped him tighter. Finally, Drake found the willpower to force her off of him. She stepped back reluctantly, Damien putting an arm around her Casting her one last smile, Drake turned to Simon and Ultear. Simon gave him a strained smile.

"You better come back human," the red-head said. "Otherwise we'll have to redo the guild hall to accommodate you."

"Woe is you, Simon," Drake replied, giving him the same hug he'd given Damien. "I'll trust you to plan that out for me."

"I ain't planning shit," Simon said defiantly. "Come back human or build your own hut outside the city."

"Then you can help me with that." Simon snorted.

"No way in hell." The two separated, and Drake turned to Ultear.

"Ul," he said, "thanks for the booster shots. They've probably saved me already." She gave him a sad smile at this.

"It's no problem," she said. Drake felt a painful pang in his chest when he realised their were bags under her eyes. Nashi was right, the shots were draining her. "Don't give me that look," Ultear scolded when she noticed him staring. "I did it because I wanted to help save you. I don't want your pity, I want you safe."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "I know. But I still feel bad."

"You can make it up to me by coming home human," she said, hugging him close. He returned the hug and, just as he suspected, it got harder to let go. He tried a few times and failed, letting himself rest his head against Ultear's shoulder a bit. She didn't seem to mind, pulling his head into her. After a few more seconds of relishing it, Drake pulled away from her and tried to regain control of himself. Only two more goodbyes to go.

But he knew they'd be the hardest.

He stood across from Elise now, who was watching him quietly.

"Cyanide Breath," she said.

"Bolt-Face," he replied. Her scowl deepened.

"Seems you're going."

"Seems I am." There was a silence between them. Rolling her eyes, Elise opened her arms.

"Well give me a hug, dumbass," she said, cheeks burning red. Smiling, Drake obliged her and hugged. He didn't tease her for how hard she squeezed when he got to her, or the small whimper she gave when he tried to pull away the first time. He allowed her to hug him tight, sparing a thought to joke to himself about how small her frame was compared to his mutating one.

"Just so you know," she muttered into his chest, "This doesn't mean anything. You're still annoying."

"So are you," he replied. "By the way, people will notice you got my shirt wet crying."

"Shut up, damn you!" Backing out, Elise reared back and slammed an iron-coated fist into his arm. He barely felt it because of the scales, but he did her a favour and acted hurt by it. She seemed to appreciate that, but he saw her shudder and rub her knuckles. She'd hurt herself, the dummy. "God, even when I'm free of you, you manage to piss me off one more time..."

"Love you too, Bolt-Face." Drake replied.

And finally, he moved to Nashi.

The pair stared at each other quietly, purple eyes meeting brown. Drake examined her face closely, looking for any crack in her calm facade. He found none except for, of course, her eyes. If they had any more pain in them, they'd be cracking like glass.

"Don't make this long and sappy," Nashi said in a loud, calm voice. He could tell she was projecting. "You've got an airship to catch."

"I was about to say the same to you," he replied. Nashi gave him a small snort for the joke, before practically falling into him. He caught her and hugged her, trying to stay focused as he got a full blast on her scent to the face. The smell overwhelmed him, making him feel comfortable and normal, even if for an instant. He was going to miss this smell. It made him feel at home. Was that weird? He didn't think it was. Still, he relished the contact with her.

"I'm gonna miss you," she muttered into his neck. He managed a smile at this.

"I'll miss you too," he said. He didn't bother trying to make her feel better by saying that he'd be back. He didn't want to say that. He wanted her to know he'd miss her too.

"And hey, if you manage to control this transformation, you can come back and teach Elise and I. Being a partial dragon would be useful, yeah?"

"I don't really feel useful, but sure. I'll keep that in mind."

"You are useful, Drake. To me you are. You saved me. Brought me back from nowhere. You're...important to me." Why did she sound so anxious? He was happy she felt that way. His heart was beating faster as she said it. There was no reason to be nervous over it.

"I better get going," he said to her. Nashi reluctantly pulled away from him, watching him sorrowfully.

Then she did something that stunned him.

Nashi leaned forward and kissed his cheek. She pulled away quickly and avoided his gaze, shoving him gently to get him further away from her.

"Go on then," she said. "Find the voice. Save yourself for once." He stared at her for a few more seconds in silence before he nodded quietly and turned. He didn't have the heart to look back at the others, instead just trudging up the ramp into the airship. His bag had been taken inside by Richard earlier, resting right inside the door. As the ramp closed behind him, Drake had an undying urge to flee and go back to his family. He neglected too, though. He couldn't. He needed to find the voice. He'd be back for them later.

The airship went higher and higher into the sky, the engine beginning to rev up. Drake made his way to the main room, keeping away from the members of Crime Sociere. He wanted to be alone for now. He could see his Dad looking out the window, and he heard him chuckle.

"You'll want to come here kid," he said as he turned to him. "There's something you'll want to see." Making a face, Drake walked over to the window and looked out it, his eyes falling back down to the guild. His eyes widened.

Everyone who had come to say goodbye to him had their arm in the air. They were pointing their index fingers to the sky, with their thumb out. A classic Fairy Tail farewell. They had all noticed him in the window, and were all watching him. Well, except Luke, but even he was doing it at Lucy's direction.

Drake came back to reality when he felt tears flowing from his cheeks. He'd been holding it back until now, but God he was going to miss them. He didn't want to go. He wanted them to come at least. But this was his road. He needed to walk it alone.

Ever so slowly, Drake made the sign with his own hand and awkwardly pressed it against the window, wanting to make sure they saw it. They did, their smiles widened. As the airship began to pick up speed, Drake began to lose sight of them. But he knew they hadn't stopped. They wouldn't stop for a while yet. He hoped they knew how much it meant to him.

"Relax," he told himself quietly. "Goodbyes aren't forever. I'll be back soon. I know I will."

Uh huh. Sure you will be Drake. If anyone's curious, the next chapter will also be in Drake's POV, but will end a bit mysteriously. "A bit" I said. Ha!

I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!