It seemed Drake was first in line to receive a hug from Ultear, taking the girl in his arms as she approached him.

"What're you guys doing here, anyway?" She demanded. "We were talking a few days ago, and all of a sudden you just show up here." Drake laughed as she moved away from him, smiling.

"It's a long story," he replied. "We wanted to see you."

"Yeah, we missed you silly!" Steph said, taking advantage to hug Ultear first, who laughed as she struggled to stay upright as Steph tackled her into a hug.

"I missed you too, but come on!" She said. "You show up here and the first thing you do is get arrested. How am I not surprised?"

"Some things never change, I guess." Drake said. "Trouble follows no matter where we go." Ultear nodded as she got released by Steph, and looked at Elise. The tired girl took notice of this and moved forward to give Ultear a rather indifferent looking hug, probably because she was still tired.

"I'll say, how the hell did you get yourselves mixed up with a scouting party of guards?" She asked, giving Elise a tight hug to mess with the girl. Drake smirked as he thought back to how exactly they'd gotten mixed up with the guards.

"Steph had to pee," he replied, making Steph choke and Ultear raise an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked.

"It's not important!" Steph shouted, face red as all hell. "Point is we're here now! And it's great to see you!" Ultear seemed very confused by the exchange, but she didn't push it any further.

"Great to see you guys too," she said. "You're lucky I wasn't working today so I could bail you guys out. Otherwise you'd have been in jail for a while longer."

"Guards always arrest anyone they see on the road?" Drake asked. "Kinda odd that we took down some bandits and the guards came down on us instead of thanking us." Ultear made a face.

"Is that what happened?" She asked. "Actually, tell me back at my place." At this, Ultear narrowed her eyes at Drake. He didn't know what her problem was, but her stare was making him feel uncomfortable.

"What?" He asked.

"I..." She started. "Why're you wearing Nashi's scarf?" Drake made a face and looked down at his neck, where the fabric was still wrapped around his neck. Truth be told, he didn't know why he was still wearing it. Maybe he was clinging to the last bit of Nashi he had.

"Natsu gave it to me," he said, grabbing it and looking at it. "He said that she'd want me to have it." Ultear smiled sadly and looked down at her feet.

"I think that makes sense," she said. "You meant the world to her. Clearly..." Silence fell over the four at this, but Steph perked up quickly.

"Let's not talk about this right now!" she said. "We need to catch up with Ultear! Should we go and get something to eat?"

"I am pretty hungry," Elise said, seeming to wake up at the mention of food. "We should do that."

"Yeah, let's get out of this station already," Drake said, looking around at his stuffy environment. "I'd rather not get arrested for loitering or something."

"We'll eat back at my place," Ultear said, turning to the door. "Follow me." Following her instructions, Drake and the girls followed Ultear out into the streets, which were barren of people. This didn't improve the more they walked, which confused Drake thoroughly. This was a city, right? Where was everyone?

"Where is everyone?" Steph asked, voicing Drake's thoughts. "This place seems empty."

"The military post usually is," Ultear replied, not even turning her head. "All the citizens are closer to the town center. Easier to defend."

"I guess so..." Elise said. "So they just moved everything closer?"

"Basically," Ultear said, gesturing to their right. Drake looked over, where walls could be seen cutting through the city streets. "Keeping everyone spread out would only result in more loss in the result of another raid, so everyone's closer together."

"Just how bad are things are here?" Drake demanded. He got no response to this, which he assumed it and of itself was his answer.

Not good.

Soon they approached what looked to be the entrance to the middle of the city, the makeshift walls keeping anyone unwanted out. Ultear knocked on the wall, waiting.

"Who is it?" A male voice asked.

"It's me, Josh." Ultear replied. "Let me in."

"Yes ma'am!" With this, the makeshift gate was opened, revealing a man slightly older than Drake standing guard. "Sorry Ultear, didn't know it was you!" He said, laughing sheepishly. Ultear waved him off as they entered.

"No problem, good job on keeping watch." She said, patting him on the shoulder. This seemed to make Josh happy, until he noticed Drake and the others standing there.

"Who're they, Ultear?" He asked, pointing to them.

"Friends of mine from Fairy Tail," she said. "They came up for a visit." Josh's eyes seemed focused on Drake, who made it a goal to stare right back.

"I see," he said. "Well, if they don't cause any trouble they're as welcome as you are!"

"We'll see about that," Ultear muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Drake to hear. "Thanks, keep an eye out okay?"

"Will do!" With this the group moved on from the gate and through the side streets of the city, staying quiet. Soon enough they came across a medium sized house, which Drake assumed was their stop. Ultear took a key out of her pocket and put it into the lock, opening the door. Once they were inside, Drake took in his surroundings, it was very bare and basic, which he assumed was partly because Ultear was always working. Basic things lay around, but nothing that would convince you a young woman lived there.

"Home sweet home," Ultear said, closing the door. "Take a seat guys, the walk must have tired you out."

"Elise was tired anyway," Drake replied, earning a snicker from the girl.

"I need my beauty rest," she replied. Drake rolled his eyes.

"Ain't nothing beautiful about how you sleep," he retorted. He dodged the incoming jab from the smaller girl, chuckling. "Ooh, too much?"

"Watch it Cyanide Breath," she hissed, looking irritated. "I'm wide awake now."

"That's new," he said. "Did you learn how to do that when you were away?"

"Easy you two," Steph said, stepping in between them. "Don't start something in Ul's place." At this, Ultear let out a laugh. Looking over, Drake found she was watching the exchange with a smile, biting her lip.

"Sorry," she said. "That was just like the old days." So, she saw it too. That exchanges like that weren't a normal feeling anymore. "I got a good laugh out of it."

"Glad someone enjoyed it," Elise hissed. "I'm just annoyed now."

"Another reminder of the old days," Drake said, earning a glare. Despite the growing irritation Drake was getting from Elise, they all sat down in Ultear's small living room, Ultear and Steph on the couch, and Drake and Elise on the chairs facing it.

"So, how's work been?" Steph asked, facing Ultear. Ultear shrugged and played with her hands.

"It's okay," she replied, suddenly growing quiet. "It's hard work, but I need to help these people. They really need my help, you know?"

"Yeah, this place isn't looking too hot," he replied. "It's a good thing you're here to help. What do you do, anyway?"

"I help them fight off bandits," she replied. "Sometimes we go out and track them down. That might be why you guys got arrested, you were around a few of them yeah?"

"You could call it that," Drake said, eyeing Steph, who looked at her lap with glowing cheeks. "Do you know how to put an end to it?"

"No," Ultear replied. "That would require we know where they're based out of, and we don't. We don't even know if all these people work for the same group."

"Well, it's a good thing we're here then." Drake said, leaning back in his seat and resting one leg over the other. "We'll help you out." This seemed to confuse Ultear.

"You'll help me?" She asked. "But it's my job."

"So?" Elise asked, checking her fingernails. "We're friends, we want to help you out. With us here we can run these guys out of town no problem."

"Yeah, with all of us, those bandits won't know what hit them!" Steph agreed.

"...It's my job," Ultear said, looking down at her feet. Drake made a face at this and looked towards her, watching her carefully. She seemed to be bothered by something, but what? "I should deal with this by myself, not involving you guys."

"Ul..." Elise started.

"It's my responsibility!" Ultear yelled, raising her voice and startling them. She seemed to realise she'd done this and looked embarrassed, but didn't say anything more. Drake couldn't take not knowing anymore, so he activated his sound magic.

Soon the whole story flooded his mind.

"Ul," he said, making her look at him. "Do you want to say it, or should I?" This clued Ultear in that he'd heard her, and at first she seemed annoyed, but soon she calmed down and took a deep breath.

"Elise," she said, making Elise perk up. "Do you remember The Enchanted Blades?" Elise raised an eyebrow at this.

"I feel like I do..." She said. After a few more seconds, her eyes widened. "Wait, you mean that bandit guild we beat a long time ago?!" Ultear nodded.

"Yes, them." she said. "We didn't finish them off. They've resurfaced, and they're attacking all over Seven and the north of Fiore. This...Is where they operated originally, way back when I took that S-class job before Nashi learned magic."

"Woah..." Elise said. "That's a throwback." Ultear nodded quietly.

"I thought..." She started. "...I thought that we finished them off a year ago. I thought we were done with them, but we aren't. They're back, because I fucked up. It's my responsibility to finish them, like I should have last time we ran into them."

"How come you wanted our help to finish them last time?" Drake asked.

"I was wounded," Ultear replied.

"You always are," Elise said. 'It never fully heals, right?"

"What're you guys talking about?" Steph asked. Ultear looked over at her and stayed quiet for a moment, then she stood. Drake watched as she unbuckled her pants and dropped them slightly, revealing her thighs. Moving her leg, she revealed the long light pink gash wound to Steph, who looked at it in surprise. "Oh, wow..."

"Their last leader did this to me," Ultear explained. "His swords were enchanted, so that the wound would never fully heal. Wendy couldn't even fix it. It was worse when I came back, so I needed help." She buckled her pants back up and sat back down. "But I'm okay now."

"Physically," Drake said without thinking.

Silence came over the room. Drake looked up to find everybody looking off in different directions, nothing to say.

"Yes, physically." Ultear said. "Mentally?...Not so much."

"Yeah, well," Elise muttered. "That's nothing new."

"We've all got a lot going on," Drake said. "But we need to heal together. We're family, and family doesn't abandon you, or let you deal with your problems alone." He looked right at Ultear, who met his gaze weakly. "We've all gone through a lot, even excluding Nashi's death. But...dealing with it together is infinitely better than alone." He cast a look at Steph, who smiled at him. "Trust me, I'd know."

"So let us help," Steph said, looking at Ultear too. "We can help. Trust us." Ultear looked at Steph weakly, before down at her feet. She was quiet for a moment before she sighed.

"Okay, fine." She said. "You guys can help. There's a meeting tomorrow with the soldiers. Come with me and we'll see if we can't sort this shit out."

"I wonder if Chief Killjoy will be there," Drake pondered aloud. "So I can watch him get angry again." Ultear laughed at this as she stood.

"He probably will be," she answered. "But don't rag on him too much, he just takes his job seriously."

"Clearly," Drake said. "Guy out here acting like we're on a war front." Ultear chuckled as she moved towards a doorway in the home.

"I'll go make you guys something to eat," she said. "Any requests at all?"

"As long as it's edible, nope." Ellis replied, leaning back in her seat. Ultear nodded and made way for her kitchen, Drake watching her carefully. He hadn't brought up a certain part of what he'd heard, mostly because he didn't think it was appropriate. But he still wanted to talk to her about it. Now was as good as ever,

Ultear sighed as she opened her fridge and surveyed it for anything she could cook. Nothing stood out to her, at least nothing that could fill Elise's massive stomach. Clicking her tongue, she closed it and opened the freezer as someone else entered the kitchen. Looking up, she saw Drake standing in the doorway watching her.

"Hey Drake," she said. "Got a request?"

"Nah," he said. "Just wanted to mention something to you."

"Go ahead."

"I heard about the girl."

Oh.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it," he said as Ultear's grip on the freezer handle tightened. "But it's important you talk about what bothers you, even if it's painful. Keiko-"

"Drake," Ultear interrupted, casting him a glance. "You are treading on some seriously thin ice right now." Drake didn't seem to react to her threat, but he reached towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Talk," he said. "Trust me, it helps. Bottling it away...Doesn't do anyone any good. And judging from what I heard, you kept that shit to yourself for way to long." Ultear stared at him before looking down at the hand on her shoulder, contemplating his words. Maybe he was right. Why was she keeping to herself exactly?

"...I'll think about it," she said. "Can you just leave me already? My emotions have gone through enough today and today isn't even over." He nodded and turned to leave, looking over his shoulder at her.

"Trust me," he said. "It hurts to let it out, but so does keeping it in." With this he returned to the living room, leaving Ultear by herself. She remained quiet and stationary for a bit before she opened the freezer door and grabbed a slab of meat mindlessly.

It hurt no matter what.

But she knew he knew that.

The next day many important figures were huddled in a tent at the outskirts of Arkney, a strategy meeting for dealing with the bandits roaming all over the place. Many higher ranking soldiers were there, including the Chief of Arkney's security. It was already established they needed to wait for Ultear, as she was pivotal in their attacks against the bandits. But nobody seemed to know where she was or why she was taking so long.

"Should we send somebody to investigate?" The Chief asked. "She's late, and that's unusual."

"I'm sure she's okay," Mayor Dean responded. "Give her some more time." After a few more minutes had passed, the tent flap finally opened, revealing Ultear standing there looking sheepish.

"Sorry I'm late everybody," she said. "I thought we were meeting at a different location and-"

"Damn, this is the base of operations?" The men and women assembled in the tent watched as a boy with maroon hair waltzed past Ultear, surveying the tent. "This is kind of underwhelming." Two girls walked in behind Ultear and watched, meanwhile the Chief stood in anger.

"What are they doing here?" He demanded. "They're criminals."

"Nonsense Chief," Mayor Dean said. "These are Ultear's friends. Our backup." The Chief looked shocked at this as Drake rolled up his sleeve, showing his purple Fairy Tail emblem to those in the tent.

"Who's ass do I get to kick?" He asked, a slight smirk on his face.

Chapter 291: Border Hopping