A/N: I am SO SORRY to have kept you waiting this long for an update. I've been so busy with studying, my job, and other stuff. I may work in an environment with a bunch of computers, but it's so hard to think with a bunch of people crowding me all the time...not to mention it's noisy! Anyway, other than that, my laptop's been busted so I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like so I hope you guys can just bear with me. I won't abandon this story, I promise. I love Mag and Nathan too much to do that! Oh, and someone mentioned the Sweeney Todd stuff...honestly I didn't notice that until you pointed it out. Totally unintentional. I guess I've been watching/reading/singing it too much...yes, singing. Unfortunately my voice is far too high and light to play Mrs. Lovett OR the Beggar Woman so instead I got stuck with Johanna, the idiot damsel-in-distress. I really hate that character. I mean really...if she knew where the key was, why didn't she just get outta there in the first place instead of waiting for that stalker guy to rescue her who by the way would've totally failed if it wasn't for Todd? Ugh. I really wanted her to die. Hopefully I can get my lower range to become more mature so I won't have to sound like Jayne Wisener or Hayley Westenra all the time =_= I mean, don't get me wrong-they have good voices, but ugh! Do I always have to get the goody-goody parts in musicals? Any lyric sopranos know how to make the lower range sound more mature? PLEASE TELL ME! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and see you in the next update!

VI. A Plan

"Everything went perfectly as planned..."

Arthur Compton was safe. He escaped, along with his family. None of them were dead like everyone else had said. They had fled without the knowledge of GeneCo's tyrannical leader. He didn't know how they'd managed to do it. He didn't know they managed to make people think they were dead...but they were safe.

It was indeed a huge risk for both Compton and Daniels. They both would have died if Rotti had found out at any time. And Daniels, being the mastermind, probably would have had to endure a worse punishment. A noble act it was, trying to help others save themselves from GeneCo's hold. Noble, but perilous.

And now that Arthur Compton and his family had managed to escape, now that they were safe, perhaps he had a chance to achieve asylum as well. Perhaps, with the help of Rhett Daniels he would be able to take his Shilo away. They could go anywhere – anywhere but here. They too would be safe. They too shall have salvation. She will have salvation. As for Mag...

Mag had been his best friend since they were children. He had been her first friend since she arrived at Sanitarium Island. Since the day he met her he had promised her the gift of sight; instead, he'd given her a curse. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have to be Rotti's little songbird, his little slave. If it weren't for him, Mag would have been a free soul. Blind still, perhaps, but free from Rotti's hold.

It was all his fault. She wouldn't be suffering if it weren't for him. Not only had he made her Rotti's slave; he had also lied to her. But that wasn't him now, was it? Rotti made him do that. He wouldn't have robbed her of her own goddaughter. After all, it was his idea in the first place. Then again, if he hadn't killed his own wife he wouldn't have had to.

It was all his fault. His fault—but he still had a chance to fix it. If Daniels agrees to help him abscond he could have a chance to save her too, and she would be with Shilo. They would be together, the three of them. They would be safe.

"Nathan?"

"Do you have any plans this evening?"

"I don't." She paused for a moment and finally, "Why?"

"I need you to meet with me tonight. Do you still remember that hill in the middle of the woods five blocks from the GeneCo tower?"

If he was going to talk to her, they needed to do it somewhere secluded – somewhere safe. The alleyway near the Genetic Opera at Sanitarium Square would have sufficed, but at this time of night, it was probably filled with Zydrate addicts. He couldn't risk putting her in that kind of environment.

"Meet me there in exactly one hour. I need to discuss something with you."

As he hung up the phone, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of hope when he heard her voice. He still had a chance. He could take her away and she would be with Shilo. They would be safe. They would all be safe. He just needed her agreement.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"You know, for a blind girl you're sure good at finding me," said a voice ahead of her as she approached her friend.

"You go here all the time. You're not exactly one who's hard to find," she joked with a smile as she sat on the grass beside him.

"I swear, Maggie—in a few weeks when I graduate, I'm going to make sure you'll finally see," he told her, gently stroking her hair as her head rested on his lap.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Nate? You don't need to do that for me. I'm doing fine; I've lived for nineteen years blind and I can do that for the rest of my life. You don't have to worry about me," she assured him. "Besides, you should be proud of me. I'm the first blind opera singer in history," she added lightheartedly.

"No you're not. There's that old blind tenor from Italy. You had to sing a lot of his songs, remember?" he countered.

"Oh, of course—the great Andrea Bocelli. But he's a man. I'm a woman. He doesn't count!"

Nathan chuckled and sighed, going along with his friend. "Of course he doesn't, Maggie. Anything you say."

She raised her hand to slap him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked, feigning offense.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she shot at him accusingly.

"Nothing!"

"Hmph! Cheeky..."

"Really!"

"Yes, of course. Anything you say, Nathan."

"Mag?"

Her thoughts were immediately interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice. As soon as she turned her head, she saw him approaching her. Unlike before, however, he didn't stand right beside her; he kept his distance as though she was a woman whom he'd never seen before. Time has definitely changed him. He used to be so clever, so youthful. Now...now she didn't even know him anymore. Seventeen years of grieving can surely change a man.

"You used to be the one coming here for me. Now I'm the one coming here to you," he said, looking at the view of the city lights ahead of them.

"This place was mine first, you know," she told him as she too looked at the same scenery.

"I beg to differ—I'd been coming here even before you came in this city. This was my territory. I just shared it with you," he corrected, suppressing a laugh.

"How was I supposed to know someone else came in this exact spot for the same reason of wanting to be alone?" she retorted.

It surprised her and relieved her at the same time, how they managed to humor each other despite the incident at his house only a week ago. At least neither of them had to worry about any uneasiness in meeting each other for the first (technically second, but he'd thrown her out that time) time in seventeen years.

"I missed you, you know. I was wrong to have shut you out," he said.

"Then why did you? You wouldn't have had to if you'd told me the truth about Shilo."

Her voice was gentle unlike the first time she had asked him the same question, yet it still hurt him. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have had to suffer as much.

"Knowing about Shilo's existence would have been the only thing to keep me sane through all the pain that those Largos put me through. Why did you keep her from me?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I had no choice."

"No choice? Nathan, did you honestly think I would hurt her? You know me better than that!" she snapped, making him feel even guiltier.

"I had to do it, Mag. Rotti told me he would take Shilo and kill you if I didn't! I couldn't let him hurt either of you!" he explained to her in a raised voice, almost as though he was yelling. He didn't want to say it that way, but he had to get her attention.

"I've already lost Marni. I didn't want to lose Shilo or you," he further added, his voice going back to its normal volume. "It was never my intention to hurt you, Mag. Believe me. I just couldn't let him do you any harm. I'm sorry."

"Nathan, I-I..." for the first time, Magdalene DeFoe was at a loss of words. Why hadn't she thought of it this way before? Everything made sense now—she should've known better! All this was of Rotti's doing. He did it to make her suffer – to make Nathan suffer. Nathan wouldn't have kept Shilo from her if he had the choice! She knew him better than that.

"I'm taking Shilo away," he told her. "We're leaving this place, and I want you to come with us."

"What? Nathan, have you gone mad? There's no way out of here!"

"I know someone who can help us. We can get out of here, Mag. I know we can," he insisted.

"Nathan, that's exactly what Remy's husband tried to do. Do you know what happened to them?"

"Compton's not dead, Mag. They just think he's dead."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, confused.

"I saw that too; it wasn't Compton. Trust me, Mag. We can leave this place!"

"Nathan, it's too dangerous. Rotti's guards have their eyes on me at all times. There's no way I can leave without them knowing."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take."

The soprano sighed at her companion's insistence. She understood his desire to protect his daughter, his detestation of the city; she too wanted to leave. Even if Remy Compton's family had indeed left successfully as he was telling her now, they had a slim chance of doing the same thing. Perhaps they would be able to leave on their own, but with her by their side they would only be placed in greater peril. She couldn't have them risk their own lives for her own safety.

"Nathan, I—I can't," she finally decided. "Leave this place with your daughter. The two of you can go. I can't have you risking your own safety for me."

"Nonsense, Mag. We can find a way—"

"People will recognize me from a mile away! Do you really think you'd succeed in your plan with me hanging around?" She paused for a moment, waiting for an answer. When no verbal response came from him, she continued, "I want to go with you, Nathan. You have no idea how much I want to leave this place, but you know I can't. I'm being watched like a hawk."

For a few moments, the silence between them continued as they stared at the scenery ahead; the only sound that could be heard was the occasional chirping of the crickets and the howling wind.

"I'm going to talk to Daniels tomorrow. I'm sure he can arrange a solution," he told her.

"Nate..."

"We'll meet here again in three days. By then we will have figured out a way to get us out."

Without giving her a chance to respond, he turned his back to her and started walking away. Before leaving her completely, he said, "We're not leaving without you, Mag. I mean it."