An: So I was/am on the fence about this chapter, but oh well, I accept it. So I'm sorry for any mistakes or if it doesn't make sense or whatever. :/

Anyways I hope you don't hate it. ;)


Rogue POV

"Quiet everyone!" Mira yelled into the crowded guild gaining everyone's undivided attention except for two.

Sitting comfortably on a bench at the balcony's railing Lucy sat in my lap and we laughed as we watched Natsu and Gray begin arguing over what they thought was the best course of action in how to handle the search for the various lairs. This had been an on-going argument between the two of them, well three if you included Erza, but when she stated her opinion the guys let her lead the conversation for fear of invoking her rage.

It had been four days since Lucy and I had gotten together and two since Team Natsu had returned to the guild. To say that they were angry when we had told them that the poison that was in Lucy's system was most likely fatal was putting it mildly. Within seconds of hearing that Natsu's rage and fear at losing his best friend had taken over and he burned everything that was surrounding him, which was about half of the furniture. Luckily everyone had seen how short his fuse was and had gotten away in time so no one got hurt. As for Gray, he had better control over his emotions... barely. Stopping the rapidly spreading flames by freezing them, he accidentally trapped a few people in the ice who were too close to him. While Erza, who was angry at Lucy's situation and the two idiots she called teammates, chased them out of the guild and out of town to vent her frustrations out of them. When they had returned several hours later all three of them had numerous scrapes and lumps, and the smell of tears wafted from them.

Kicking me out of Lucy's room shortly after their return they locked themselves in there and only came out when they needed sustenance. Within minutes of them entering her room everyone heard them arguing about Lucy lying to them and preventing them from getting Cobra. Lucy angry at the destruction and sad that she hurt their feelings yelled louder than ever, saying that she wouldn't be responsible for the deaths of the healer, Chelia or Cobra, even if it meant she would die. After that the guild had grown quiet, almost too quiet at that new revelation. After an hour of eerie silence coming from the infirmary I had peeked inside and was relieved to see that Lucy was alright and that they had all piled on the bed and fallen asleep. Ever since then they've been a constant nuisance always arguing about how they were going to save Lucy, even though we had already told them that Mira and Makarov were coming up with a plan with the help of Rea.

Jerking out of my thoughts when I felt a menacing aura I saw that Mira was ready to snap, and that Erza was stalking towards her teammates. Coming up behind them she bashed their heads together and stepped away to let them fall to the ground, groaning in pain. Stepping between them so they couldn't fight Erza stood there with her arms crossed and nodded to Mira who was standing on top of one of the tables, surrounded by the guild and the few mages from Sabertooth who had chosen to remain. At least half, maybe more, of the mages who had survived the attack had told Minerva that they were leaving Sabertooth so they could join a different guild. They had said that they didn't want anything to do with the group of followers who we now know call themselves Abastors, thanks to Rea.

"Thank you Erza!" Mira smiled, her annoyed expression vanishing. "As I was saying, thanks to Rea we now have eight locations we need to search for the Abastors' hide outs. We suspect that each location will be heavily guarded and is sure to have some sort of camouflage, making it difficult to find. So I have taken the liberty of setting up six groups that have a Dragon Slayer, which will hopefully make it easier to find the bases. Out of the six groups two of them will be scouting out two locations instead of one." Unfolding a piece of paper that she had gotten out of her pocket Mira called out the names. "Group one Natsu, Happy, Gray and Cana; group two Wendy, Carla, Elfman and Erza; group three Laxus, Evergreen, and Orga; group four Gajeel, Lily, Levy and Jet; group five Sting, Minerva, Juvia; gr-"

Said mage gasped, "why can't Juvia be with Gray-sama?!" She wailed as she glued herself to his side.

Silencing the budding questions, Mira glared at everyone and continued. "Group six: Rogue, Bickslow and Rufus. I know some of you are wondering why we broke up some of the official teams, but it was necessary. As I said earlier each group needs a Dragon Slayer, and because of how dangerous the Abastors are we decided that an S-class mage, or as close to S-class mage needed to be in each group. That's why Erza is with Wendy, and three of the S-class nominees are in a group together. The rest of the groups have a former or current S-class mage.

"Now regarding your question Juvia each group was made with the environment in mind. Natsu's team will be going to Satan's Peak; an active volcano region in Bosco, your group will be going to Bandit's Cove, Laxus' Thunder Peak, and so on." Looking to Freed she explained why he wasn't going at all "Freed you will be in charge of looking after Lucy while everyone is gone; you will set up and maintain your protective runes, while still trying to decipher the books that Lucy gave you, hopefully there are some answers in there. If there are any more questions, or complaint take it up with either Master or myself. You know where to find us." She finished before taking her brother's hand and stepping down from the table.

Those who were not part of one of the groups resumed what they had been doing before, while the rest of them dispersed into their respective groups. Cuddling up to Lucy's back for one last sniff of her scent I kissed her neck. "I'll be back, and I'll bring you up a smoothie." I whispered before setting Lucy down on the seat next to me so I could stand up and meet up with my temporary team.

Finding the that both of them were already at a nearby table I joined them. Sitting down, I stared at Bickslow as he chuckled and let his tongue hang out of his mouth. "So you and Cosplayer, huh?"

"Cosplayer, Cosplayer."

Assuming he was talking about Lucy, I gave an affirmative nod. "You got a problem with that?"

Holding his hands out in surrender, he shook his head. "No, no problem. I just hope for your sake the demon doesn't find out. She'll have your wedding and future children names all planned out."

"Children, children."

"That's alright." I said shrugging, looking back at Lucy who was watching us from above. I had come to terms about the lack of privacy we would get in her guild, the moment I thought I had lost her when Julien was attacking her. I'd rather be with her than without her, and if that included her crazy guild-mates then that was fine by me.

"Can we discuss the topic at hand please?" Rufus interjected before Bickslow could say anything more on the subject of my relationship with Lucy. "Mira gave me this earlier, saying to not open it until she had talked to the whole guild." He said placing an unopened envelope in the middle of the table. Reaching for it, I opened it and read what it said aloud.

"You three are probably wondering what a Shadow Dragon Slayer, Memory Mage and Seith Mage are doing in a group together, and what kind of place would require you all. As I said earlier Rea told us of various locations for the Abastors' headquarters, what I didn't say is that we believe we found where Polaris' prison is. Yes we understand how important it is to find a cure for the poison but it is vital we confirm Polaris' location without alerting them that we are on to them. If they do catch onto your search they are likely to believe that her location is still safe and you are only looking for the antidote. To keep them off your trail we have also included one of their possible camps on your way to the main destination.

Your first destination will be a small secluded town just out of Hargeon. It was once a location of a fanatic cult, that worshipped some sort of animal. Anyways, it is very unlikely that they have the antidote, but to be safe you will be searching the area. After you have done your search, and told us of your findings via Lacrima you will go to Hargeon and look for Fairy Tail's ship - Bickslow knows what one it is. From there you will drive the ship yourselves to Skull Island, the rumored haunted island.

Our research has indicated that there has been a ton of activity as of late on the island and in the ports, so keep an eye out for any suspicious characters in Hargeon. The island itself is rumored to be littered with lost souls, who crash any boats that get too close, and steer them further out to sea - obviously that is where Bickslow comes in. Once you are on the island, since there are no known maps, and lacrima is rumored to not work on the island we need Rufus to create one and send it to Warren who will create a direct line with him after teaching him how to communicate telepathically. As for Rogue, well your ability to see in the dark, and all of your enhanced senses will be invaluable to the team as you lead them through the maze of tunnels..."

"Ha, you're just there to babysit the two of us." Bickslow laughed, and Rufus let out a chuckle before he caught himself and smothered the noise.

"Babysit, babysit."

There amusement would have annoyed me if it hadn't been for the remaining words on the paper. This is for you alone Rogue. As discussed we tracked down Julien. We believe he is recovering on the island, if what Gajeel told Makarov is true then Julien is the leader of the dark mages in Fiore. If we are unable to find a cure then he would be the one who knows where to find it. If nothing else comes from the island we will have found Julien and will be able to get some answers out of him. Remember though to not get too carried away when you get a hold of him.

Tucking the letter back into the envelope I folded it and put it in my pocket. "So I'm already familiar with Rufus' powers, but what exactly does a Seith Mage do?"

Summoning one of his babies to hover in front of him, I watched as the light in its eyes disappeared and it fell into his waiting hands and a fuzzy ball of light appeared. "I can seal lost souls into various objects. Like Cosplayer's spirits, each of my souls has a different personality which is why I made their dolls look differently. For those lost souls that don't want to stay in this world I help them move on and others are just plain pissed off at the world and want to be left alone. Those are probably the kind that are surrounding the island." Returning his baby's soul into the doll he released it and let it join the others. "My babies can fly, and shoot powerful beams."

Taking the grate off of his face I briefly saw his eyes glow green before he put it back over his face. "My figure eyes allow me to take possession of humans, and I can control them as if they were my dolls."

"If you were to take possession of someone could you command them to tell you what they know, or does their memory go away when you have control?" I asked after he was done talking.

At the question he tilted his head. "I guess so? I haven't tried anything like that before."

Lost in thought I missed the concerned look Rufus sent my way before he changed the subject and started telling Bickslow about our magic. This just got a whole lot easier, but a lot less fun. I thought, displeased at the thought of not being able to beat on Julien a little more.

Getting a huge whiff of my favorite scent, I looked up to the second floor to see that she was no longer where I had left her. Scanning the guild I found her blonde head weaving through the people towards the front door.

Lucy POV

I felt bad that they all had to go travel to those dangerous places, all because I couldn't move fast enough to avoid being cut. If any of them got hurt it'd be my fault. But I had faith that they'd be able to protect themselves; Mira did come up with some pretty powerful teams.

Watching the six groups of people get acquainted with each other and their magic I thought of the bright side of them leaving. If they left tomorrow, or even early tomorrow morning I'd be able to sneak off to my apartment so I could meet with the lawyer...Freed would be too busy with the book and moping at being separated from his precious Laxus.

Slowly standing up so I wouldn't tip over I made my way to my room. Since I was going to be staying at the guild a lot longer than expected, Master had made one of the unused offices into an actual bedroom for me and Rea who would be staying with me. The best part of it was that there was a balcony that overlooked the training yard, so I could look at the stars at night. Of course it was a weak point in the security, so Freed had naturally placed runes around it, so no one could sneak in.

"Master you called?" Corvo said as he landed on the railing.

"Have you found anything yet?"

"No, nothing but a group of wolves that is on its way into town. One of the wolves seems to have a human on its back though, I'm not sure if she was alive or not though. They should be here in about twenty minutes." Looking away from me he stared off in the distance listening to what his flock had to say. "You know, keeping me out like this, doing your scouting is what's causing you to be so tired recently. If you stopped this you'd gain enough magic to summon your other spirits."

"I know, but there is nothing they can do at this point. You're able to search the surrounding area for any signs of an attack, and if I were to tell anyone else they'd force me to stop somehow and I can't afford that.

"You actually sound concerned for me Corvus, are you[finally having a change of heart?" I asked hopefully, because I didn't like it that he didn't like me, like the rest of my spirits did.

"Tch. No, I just want a break from you." He said glaring at me with his beady black eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry I haven't given you much time to rest have I? You can go back to the Spirit world now if you'd like." I said feeling guilty for keeping him out so long. Pulling out his key I was about to close his gate when he pecked at my hand. Looking down at him in question he took off flying before I could speak.

Even though he says he doesn't trust me and never will I know he's beginning to. I thought leaning on the railing, following his flight until I lost sight of him. When I had first summoned him to scout Magnolia about three weeks ago he was only able to travel to the edge of town every way, but as time passed and we got to talking and I didn't punish him for any of the dead presents he had gotten me, and left on the empty pillow next to me, he was now able to go past the edge of town, and soon he'd be able to reach the next town over and then after that, he would hopefully unlock his other form.

As for Draco, he still popped out every once in awhile and played with Natsu and Wendy. We had decided to lie to them when we said it took none of my magic to let him fly around in his natural state. Just because I was sick I didn't want my spirits to be unhappy and if making them happy came at the cost of me being tired for a day or two then so be it.

Seeing movement in the distance I saw the cluster of crows following the random path of the wolves from above. Seeing how close they were getting I went to inform the guild of the wolves arrival. If they had been a threat I know Corvus would have said something, but I didn't want everyone else to be taken completely by surprise.

Gingerly walking down the stairs I weaved through the groups that were strategizing and finally made it to the bar. Bending my head over it I rested for a bit, taking deep breaths to slow my racing heart. I hadn't told anyone yet but I had figured out that the poison was working on physically weakening me before it began its real assault on my magic reserves. When that day came I knew I'd get as bad as mom was, bed ridden unable to summon any spirits and unconscious most of the day. Not being able to say goodbye to my spirit friends was extremely difficult to think about, so I sent them waves of love through their keys every chance I could, just in case tomorrow was the day I'd be cut off from them.

"Mira!" I shouted over everyone's chatter, trying to call her out from the kitchen.

"One moment!" She replied from behind the doors, as something fell to the ground with a loud clang and a curse from her.

Hearing the sound of wolves over everyone I saw the slayers' heads raise as they looked to the entrance. Pushing through the crowd once again I made it to the door and opened it just as the wolves came bounding up the street. The civilians had already scattered, still screaming their heads off as they cowered away from the lethal animals.

"Heartfilia." The leader said, bringing the other ten to a halt just outside the door.

"Yes?" If there are talking cats why not other animals? I thought watching as she transformed into a human, sans clothes. stepping in front of her quickly I took off my robe and held it out to her.

"We've come to join you and yours." She said as she took the offered piece of clothing and sniffed it a couple of times before putting it on with an annoyed sigh. "And have brought you several things we believe belong to you." With a grunt and a jerk of her head the wolves parted as a figure walked towards us.

"Yukino?" Sting half whispered as he broke off from his group and tackled the mage. Grunting at the impact she embraced the Dragon Slayer, with tears streaming down her face. Seeing the bundle on her back wiggle Sting stepped away from her as she opened the flap and two heads popped out of it with a cry.

"Sting-kun!"

"Rogue!" said Dragon Slayer was a blur of shadows, even beating Sting who was a few feet away, as he raced to Frosch, and ripped her out of the bag and into his arms. "Frosch has missed you, Rogue!" She cried, clinging tightly to him.

"How...?" I whispered, unaware that I too was crying, until I felt something wet hit the back of my hand.

"We found them running away from some mages at the other guild and saved them." The woman said emotionlessly surveying the reunited pairs. "We tried to return them to you before you left, but the ground began shaking, and then it flew. Getting my brethren out of there was my priority, not returning some lost cats. We were then pursued by the nasty smelling mages and eventually gave up on trying to make it back to the ruins.

"It was during that time that we found the girl. She was being held captive by them." Walking up to Yukino, I put a comforting arm around her shaking shoulders, bringing her stiff body closer.

"Amie here created enough of a distraction to prevent any of them from torturing me, and eventually freed me. She was wary of my Celestial Mage, saying I wreaked of those of the stars." She said with a choked laugh. "It turns out her mother is one of the six you have been looking for and that's why she doesn't like Celestial Mages."

"Mother?"

"Yes, my mother is one of the banished. But she is no longer with us, when my father died some years ago she decided to follow him and passed her powers onto me. I, unlike other spirits am not limited to living in their world. I can come and go as I please, since I am the master of my key." Amie said defiantly glaring at me and my keys that were hanging from my belt. Putting a protective hand over them, I returned her glare and promised harm to anyone who tried to hurt them.

Tearing his eyes away from Frosch, Rogue butted in. "I thought you said your master ordered you to follow us." He said suspiciously.

"Humph. We did not what side we were to join. Of course I would not go around saying that I was leader to the enemy, anyways it's better that others believe my mother is still alive, it makes it safer for us." Amie said, dismissing me and turning her attention to my boyfriend.

"Why did you decide to join us, rather than the Abastors'?"

"Simple, they attacked us, and killed one of my pack's whelps. There are more of us, but they are to stay back until we determine if it is safe to move in completely." Looking around the guild she stopped at the other exceeds and made a noise of disgust before moving on. "From the looks of it there is no threat here. Especially when the one we fear the most is slowly dying." Amie stated staring me in the eye.

"That's not something new. If you were looking to impress anyone with your announcement you failed. If you cannot be nice to everyone, and I include the exceeds in that group then we do not need your help, or want it. Remember it was you who came to us, not us to you. There is something you need isn't there, something from us." I said crossing my arm and meeting her head on. No one disses my family, and gets away with it.

The closest wolf to her whined and bumped the back of her legs, causing her expression to turn from one of disdain to concern. As if the one bump had flipped a switch she deflated. "Yes we do need something from you. Lately people have been attacking us, and have poisoned them just as they've done you. In exchange for shelter and first aid, we are willing to help you in your fight."


An: A big shout out to everyone who supports this fic in anyway! I appreciate it and hope you are still enjoying it.

kerippi: It would be uber depressing if she did. :/

BronzeDove: Haha sorry it took so long! I'm glad it didn't disappoint you! :D

artificialartofficial: :D Yay! glad you enjoyed it.