Back again, once again with a new chapter guys! What might I pull over your eyes today, hm? Don't worry, I don't plan on making you guys wait any longer to see Nashi again! You will see her again today!
Enjoy!
"Ow!"
"Well it wouldn't hurt if you didn't get into fistfights over stupid shit!" Drake cast Meredy an irritated look as the pinkette waved the sewing needle around like a weapon. After his fistfight with Simon over Nashi's scarf, the boys had been whisked away to the airships infirmary to receive treatment. Simon's injuries were pretty bad in comparison to Drake's, so Meredy had used her Sensory Link to heal his broken nose. Now Meredy was in pain of her own, so giving Drake his stitches as well seemed to be pissing her off.
"I didn't start it," He said as he ignored the flaring pain of the needle closing the open wound on his forehead.
"You sure as hell weren't going to end it either," Meredy said, still scolding him as if she was his mother. "Not a good way anyway." Drake frowned and thought back to the fight, recalling his vicious attack on Simon's face after the redhead had been paralysed. He felt terrible now that he had calmed down, but Simon's allegations lingered in his head. Disrespect, huh?
"Sorry I defended myself," he replied, eyeing Meredy closely. She only rolled her eyes at his response and purposefully stabbed him with the needle. "Ow!"
"Don't be a dickhead," She said, tightening up the stitches and cutting it short. "You're going to talk to Simon about this and apologise as soon as we're done here."
"Do I have too?" Drake asked. "What if he attacks me again?"
"Deal with it," she said. "Now, let me see that gash on your chin." Drake did as he was told and lifted his head so that Meredy could see the cut on his chin, the one that opened after Simon's initial attack. Ignoring the pain of feeling the needle and thread closing the wounds, Drake thought about the fight. Looking back on what Simon had said, he could see why the man had thought that way. The way Drake had just casually tossed the scarf on without thinking about the others was pretty selfish of him. He felt as though his lingering anger at those who left Magnolia caused him to disregard them in that way. Either way, Simon was certainly not wrong. Drake's thoughts were interrupted as Meredy pulled away from him, putting the needle down.
"Done?" He asked. Meredy took a deep breath and nodded as she turned back to him.
"Yep," she said. "Now, don't get into any fistfights for a bit. Or else it'll open them back up. They might be scar worthy anyway."
"Great," Drake muttered, running his hand across the one under on the left side of his chin. "Now I'm going to get scars."
"Beats what you did to Simon." She replied. "Besides, I'm sure Wendy can get you both fixed up once you get back to Magnolia."
"Hopefully," he said. As Drake hopped off the bed and went for the door, someone beat him too it to open it. He was greeted by Ultear, Simon standing behind her.
"Oh good," she said. "You're up and moving." Ultear turned and shoved Simon ahead of her. "Let's go, apologise."
"Yeah, let's hurry up and kick that hornets nest." Meredy agreed, running for the door and closing it behind Simon before he could escape. This left the two men alone with each other, and Drake would by lying if he said he wasn't a bit tense. He had just gotten sucker punched after all. Simon had been dead quiet so far, perhaps thinking about what to say. Drake felt the same, truthfully.
"So..." Simon started. "...Sorry for punching you." Drake shrugged and pocketed his hands.
"Sorry for paralysing you." Drake replied mechanically. Silence fell over the pair after this before Simon sighed.
"Listen..." He said. "About all that shit I said. I didn't mean it."
"Yeah, you did." Drake replied. "You meant every word." Simon frowned at this, but Drake wasn't done. "And you were right. I was being disrespectful. I wasn't thinking."
"I didn't come in here for you to agree with me," Simon said, scowling. "I was in the wrong. I let my anger get the better of me and started a fight. I'm trying to take responsibility for it."
"Takes two to tango," Drake said, sitting back down on the infirmaries bed. "Besides, I'm saying you were right. I should have thought about that. Just wearing something with so much significance to someone we lost...Was pretty rude of me."
"Well, I still should have tried to calm down." Simon said, crossing his arms. "I drew my own assumptions from the very little info I had and started a fight over it. I was worried you were still struggling to let go and then you tried to get my dad to scan the scarf."
The scarf, huh?
Drake was still in shock that Nashi's signature had been tracked to Bosco. He didn't know why she was there or what she was doing, but she was there regardless. Part of Drake didn't think this was real, to be honest. There was no way, right? Nashi died. He'd seen her body.
But that body was no longer in it's casket, and END had warned him she was alive already.
Come to think of it, what the hell was END? The apparition, or Thought Projection, had called Nashi's death a hoax over a week ago now, and Drake had shoved it from his mind. Now, shown more proof she was alive, only confused Drake further. What the hell was she? Where had she come from? Why did she look like Nashi?
Overall, as usual, Drake understood less and less as time went on.
"Not only that," Simon said. "But...Part of me is scared to see her again." Drake made a face at this. What the hell did that mean?
"What?" Drake asked. Simon chuckled and looked away from him.
"We failed, man." he said. "We let her die because we couldn't find a way out. We weren't strong enough to seal the deal, and she paid the price."
"Nashi would never see it that way," Drake replied. "I know she didn't see it that way."
"Still," Simon said. "I don't want to face her after a failure like that. Maybe part of me wanted her to be dead. So when you tried to get my dad to scan the scarf, I panicked."
"She never once blamed you in those moments," Drake said, looking at his feet. "She was angriest at herself. We had a chance to run, you know. We chose to go find Zeus, and paid for it. Probably would have died either way but, hindsight is a bitch. She'd never in a million years blame you for that."
"I suppose." Simon agreed. "I just...I can't help but think I could have done more, you know? But, it's probably not helping anyone to talk like that." Drake did himself a favour and stopped thinking about the situation at Mt. Olympus. It wouldn't do him any good now.
"Listen," Drake said, standing up and walking to Simon. "What's done is done. You and I need to be on the same page when we see Nashi. So let's put this behind us and look forward. Okay?" Simon stared at Drake for a moment before he smiled.
"Agreed," he said, raising his arm. Drake grabbed his hand tightly with a smile, instantly forgiving Simon for what had happened. "You and I can't see her again angry at each other."
"Damn right," Drake replied. "Let's keep our smiles on as we find her." Simon nodded, and Drake noticed his eyes starting to water up.
"She's alive, Drake." he said, voice cracking a little. "She's alive."
Simon saying this caused Drake to reach a similar realisation, and he too felt his eyes fighting him for a chance to cry.
Nashi, his best friend, was alive.
"Yeah, she is."
After forcing Simon and Drake into the infirmary to make up after their fight, Ultear returned to the main deck of the airship and looked around. Steph was sitting with Damien and Bella to the right side, whilst the only Crime Sociere members present were Jellal, Erik and Erigor. Looking to her left, Ultear saw Elise sitting by herself, still holding her legs close to her chest like she had been when the fight had been going on. Ultear felt herself getting irritated that Elise was by herself, clearly upset, while there were people present to comfort her. Taking it upon herself, Ultear walked up to the girl and sat next to her.
"You okay?" She asked. Elise shifted slightly to free her mouth.
"Yeah," she replied. "I just...got upset."
"I could tell," Ultear replied. "What happened? Why did the fight scare you so much?" Elise didn't reply right away, but soon she sat up normally and rubbed at her eyes.
"I-It just reminded me of Silverridge." Silverridge? Ultear didn't get it.
"How so?" she asked.
"Drake got into a fight with Damien there too, remember?" Elise asked. "Cause Nashi was still in the city before it exploded. I...I've only been that scared a few times before. Like Mt. Olympus." Ultear made a face at this.
"Drake gets into a lot of fights on Nashi's behalf huh?" She asked, thinking back. Elise managed a laugh.
"Suppose so." Taking a moment to herself, Ultear thought about what had happened. Part of her didn't believe anything that had happened. Nashi couldn't be alive, and she couldn't be in Bosco. But, the scanner spoke for itself. Nashi's magical signature lingered to her scarf, and now they'd tracked her down.
"Do you really think she's alive?" Elise asked, looking over at Ultear. "That her coffin is empty?" Ultear made a face at this. Part of her didn't, and yet the evidence was mounting against her.
"I don't know," she replied. "I really don't. I really hope she is, but...I just don't know."
"I hope she is," Elise said. "I miss her so much. Things just aren't the same." Ultear nodded.
"Yeah, they definitely aren't." She said, wrapping Elise into a one armed hug. "Now, we needs smiles on our faces for when we find her. Don't cry, okay? It's fine now."
"Why do you insist on being the group Mom?" Elise asked, leaning into Ultear regardless of her accusation. "It's so infuriatingly effective." Ultear simply smiled at this. That was her goal after all.
"Sorry I care so much," she said. Elise stayed in her hug for a few more seconds before sitting up on her own and wiping at her eyes.
"How're you?" She asked. "We didn't see much of you for days, and then Simon talked to you." Ultear took a moment to think about this. Sure, she felt better after talking to Simon. However, it wasn't because he'd forced her into an epiphany and she stopped feeling depressed. She still very much felt depressed and useless, but Simon's words had lit a spark in her. Just like him, she wanted to fight for the people she cared about. But unlike Simon, she was going to help them in any way she could, not by becoming so insanely powerful that she could protect them. It was her own little way of moving past her own inadequacies.
"I'm better," she replied. "Just going with the flow currently. But the flow right now is kinda confusing me." Elise smiled weakly at this.
"Yeah," she agreed. "I didn't expect to wake up today and find out Nashi was alive. It's still so hard to believe." Ultear agreed wholeheartedly. Finding out Nashi was alive seemed like a dream. She wouldn't believe it for a second unless they found her, but she had to admit her heart was racing right now.
"I know," she said. "I just hope we find her and she's safe."
Damien was beyond happy to see that Nashi's signature was found in Bosco, but unlike the others, he was very suspicious of what was happening. If she really was alive, why was she in Bosco? If the Demon Lords had resurrected her, why? Who had done it, and would they be caught for it? Did the Olympians know she was alive, and where they holding her hostage?
None of these questions had answers, and it was pissing Damien off.
As he sat with his sister and Bella, Damien's heard swirled with all of these questions, only serving to make him confused and angry.
"I can't believe she's alive," Steph said from his right, leaning into his side. "After all this time, we find out she isn't dead."
"Don't get too happy yet," Damien replied. "We don't know the circumstances of her disappearance. Or why she's even alive, for that matter."
I mean..." Steph started, before a frown appeared on her face. "When you put it that way, I'm nervous." Damien felt bad for worrying her, but the possibilities were endless. At the end of the day, they didn't have a clue what they were flying into, and it was going to cost them one way or the other.
"Steph, why don't you go and check on the girls?" Bella asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I need to talk to your brother privately." Steph made a face at Bella before raising an eyebrow at Damien. Damien only nodded, so the girl stood and went over to talk to Elise and Ultear. Once she had waked away, Damien turned to Bella.
"What is it?" He asked. Bella frowned and looked around the main deck.
"I'm really worried about this," she said. "How the hell do we just find her in Bosco like she never died? Why did one of the Demon Lords resurrect her? I don't like it."
"Do you think it's a trap?" Damien asked, Bella shrugging.
"I don't know," she replied. "Maybe. What I do know is that Nashi is alive, and Meridia warned me a tragedy was coming. Lines up a bit too well, don't you think?" Now that Damien looked at it that way, it made him even more nervous. What exactly were they flying into?
"I don't like it either, honestly." he said. "But if that scan is correct, and Nashi is alive, we have to do everything we can to bring her home." Bella nodded at this.
"Absolutely," she said. "And I'd never suggest otherwise. But all of it lining up like this is making me incredibly nervous."
"Don't be," he said, forcing out a smile for her sake. "We're all together now, there's nothing that'll stand in our way. Not The Olympians or the Demon Lords." Bella's face flushed red for a moment before she raised an eyebrow.
"The Olympians," she said. "They've been quiet." Damien nodded, which was another part of this he didn't like. Leading up to Nashi's apparent death, The Olympians had a hand in everything that happened to them. Since the ruse at Mt. Olympus, Damien had not seen or heard from them at all. So on top of everything else, they had to worry about that too.
"They have been, yeah." He said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had a hand in this too."
"Do we say anything?" Bella asked. "We could be flying right into danger." Damien was silent for a moment before he shook his head.
"No," he said. "Even if we say anything, it's not going to stop the others. Besides, we have no proof the Demon Lords and The Olympians are connected. The Olympians might just think she's dead."
"I suppose," Bella agreed. "Even so, we need to stay on our toes." Damien nodded at this. They wouldn't reach the location the scan gave them until tomorrow afternoon, which gave them more than enough time to think about what they were going to do if they did find Nashi.
All of a sudden, Damien and the others were thrust into another ordeal like before. This time though, they were looking to save one of their friends instead of stopping somebody.
Damien didn't know what they were going to find in Bosco, but what he did know is that Nashi was there. But was that all they would find?
They were closing in on the location Nashi's scarf had given to them, and Drake was unable to sit still. Since waking up that morning all he'd done was pace around the airship, but now his nerves were settling in. He could see the town in the distance that he presumed they were headed too, and he was tempted to tell Erigor to floor it. He kept that to himself though, as he didn't want to start an argument over something so trivial. Everyone on the airship had gathered on the main deck waiting to arrive, and no one seemed particularly excited despite what they were here for. Then again, Drake had to remind himself that there was a good chance something was going on here. Nashi had no reason to be out here. If she had been alive this whole time, why hadn't she come home? Why was she out here by herself? Drake knew something was up, and that meant his friends had reached that conclusion too. After all, his nerves weren't about seeing her again.
"Alright merry crew," Erigor said, breaking the silence. "We've arrived at the location the scarf provided to us. Nashi should be somewhere down below."
"Should we stay together or split up?" Sorano asked. "Will it be easy to find her?"
"Drake and I should be able to sniff her out," Elise said. "If she has been here recently, her scent should be easy to pick up." Drake only nodded at this, feeling antsier the closer the airship got to the ground.
"So we see if they get any hits and then go from there." Jellal said. "Everyone ready?"
"Did you really need to ask?" Drake demanded. "Let's go already!" Before they moved, someone tapped Drake on the shoulder. Turning, he saw his father standing there, Nashi's scarf in his hand.
"You want this kid?" He asked with a smile. Drake smiled back and nodded, taking the scarf and wrapping it around his neck. Jellal lead the group towards the airships main exit. Once there, the door opened up and revealed a small town to the group. Bosco's Northern border was farther away from the desert in the center of the country, so the chill of the winter was still present as cold air rushed to greet them.
The second Drake stepped off the airship, his eyes widened.
"E-Elise..." he managed weakly, turning to the smaller girl. "Y-You smell that?" Elise's eyes were also wide with surprise, and her face had paled considerably.
"I do," she replied, looking over at Drake in shock. Without any more words said between them, the pair took off away from everyone else, the shouts for them to wait up drowned out by the urgency Drake felt. His legs were moving faster than they ever had before, running after the trail of firewood and lavender before him.
"Drake this way!" Elise shouted, the only voice that cut through his desperation. Drake turned to follow her through a crowded market place, not caring who he thrust out of his way or who swore at him for his rude behaviour.
"You're so god damn stubborn." Nashi's voice echoed in his head. Drake only managed to laugh at this.
Only you would die and decide it wasn't going to stay that way.
Drake fell slightly behind Elise as townsfolk tried to avoid them, only creating more of a barrier than before. Elise didn't wait for Drake to catch up, only sprinted ahead in her own zeal.
I just never imagined our story would end like this.
Drake ignored all of the dirty looks he received as he finally freed himself from the crowd and tore after Elise's scent as well as Nashi's. Making a split second decision, he tore down an alleyway to his right and used the walls of the buildings to jump around and make sure he kept up a good speed as he followed after the girls scents. His mind was so muddled he was barely registering the obstacles in his way, only continuing to sprint as his mind raced.
Which is why, I hope one day...
Drake left the alleyway and ran down a more empty street, Elise's scent becoming stronger as he approached a corner.
...You'll forgive me.
Drake rounded the corner, and his world stopped turning.
Elise was standing, frozen, a few feet from him. That wasn't what he was looking at though.
Standing fifteen feet from Elise was somebody else. This somebody had bright pink hair that cascaded down to her shoulders, and curled slightly at the end. She had deep chocolate brown eyes, ones Drake would recognise anywhere even though they weren't directed at him. She seemed to be talking to a store owner about something, and she laughed. He knew that smile as well.
"Drake!" He heard Ultear yell from behind him. "Don't just rush ahead of of us you-!?" The entire crowd of people behind Drake grew silent, just as he and Elise had. They all just stared ahead in shock, no one able to truly comprehend what they were seeing. It was her. It really was.
Drake felt like he was in a trance as he walked towards her, slowly outstretching his hand. He passed Elise, who was still frozen, and reached out for Nashi. He had to check, he had to make sure she was real. She had stopped talking to the store owner as they walked back into their store, leaving her alone on the street. She turned in Drake's direction, making a confused face as she locked eyes with Drake. He had to be dreaming, there was just no way.
"...I-I can't believe it," he said as she stared. "It's...It's really you. It's you, Nashi." He reached out to touch her face as she stared at him, eyes wide.
Drake came crashing down from his trance as she recoiled from his closeness.
"Um..." she said, looking defensive now. "I'm sorry." What? Why was she apologising? She hadn't done anything wrong.
"Y-You don't have to apologise for anything," Drake said. "I never blamed you, I wasn't ever mad at you. I'm just glad that you're alive and-"
"No, I..." Nashi said, interrupting him. "...I'm really sorry, you must have me confused with somebody else."
"...Huh?" Drake asked, feeling light headed. "What do you mean Nashi?" The girl frowned and forced his arm down to his side, keeping eye contact with him.
"My name isn't Nashi," she said. "And I've never met you before in my life."
To be fair, I kept my promise from the authors note up top! Hahaha! I'm actually a piece of shit, I know. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!
Chapter 304: Luna