An: So I'm sad I haven't already finished this fic but I promise you, really promise that it is almost at the end. The last four/five days of December I had an unexpected trip so I wasn't able to write and I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that it has taken me so long to post this chapter, I had half of it written on paper it was just a matter of typing it all out, and now that I am back in school life is a little more hectic.

But I haven't given up! I hope you all haven't given up on me or my fic!

Sorry for any mistakes I may have missed.

Enjoy!

Lucy POV

"We're here." Corvo said, waking me up as we came up on an island. Groggily rubbing my eyes free of sleep I took in the island below. The aerial view of the island showed that the Abastors were experts at covering their tracks. If I hadn't known any better I would have thought that the island held nothing except plants and wild animals, but underneath it all there was a whole compound hiding hundreds, maybe thousands of dangerous mages that wanted nothing more than to kill me and everyone I loved.

Tightening my hold on Corvo as he circled the island we began our descent. Spotting movement in the middle of the island I turned my head in that direction and watched as they spread out into the forest; once they entered the forest it was impossible to track them. As the trees rose, up blocking my view further, we hovered near a ledge at the bottom of the cliff, so no one could see us unless they looked over the edge.

Swinging my leg up and over Corvo's back I dropped down onto the ledge, stumbling a little before I steadied myself on the wall. Waving at Corvo as he flew off, transforming into his smaller form as he went I faced the wall and stretched out my legs. Hugging the wall I pulled my whip free from my belt and flicked it up the cliff knowing that it would latch on to something, after a few experimental tugs I began scaling the cliff. Now that I knew that my whip could pull me up, I looped it around my foot and held on. Ordering it to slow down and stop as my head crested the edge I looked around for any of the scouts I had seen walking into the woods. Seeing none of them I pulled myself up fully, attaching my whip back onto my belt I crouched down behind the nearest set of bushes and waited for Corvo to return.

"Gemini how are things going, how far away are you from the shore?" I asked.

"The dragons are beginning to suspect, but we are staying in the back of the group to avoid them. We are a few hours from the shore; please wait for us to get there before you do anything else." They pleaded, but when I didn't respond I felt them sigh before they spoke again. "How long must we stay like this? Piri piri." Through our bond I could sense that they were unhappy with what I had asked them to do. They didn't like deceiving everyone, and thought that I shouldn't have gone off alone.

"Good job you guys when you get to the shore I'll send Draco for them and you can go back to the spirit world." Ending our connection after I felt them acknowledge the plan, I flinched when I felt something scuttling over my boot. Seeing a cute little rabbit nibbling on my laces then wrinkled its nose at me before it hoped away.

"I'm glad they didn't kill you." I muttered smiling at the rabbit as it joined its family.

"They do kill animals, but the ones on the island are off limits so they can keep up the appearance that no one lives here." Corvo said from behind me, startling me. Putting my hand over my racing heart I glared at him for scaring me. "They have a well-stocked supply of food and a tunnel dedicated to their live-stock."

"How do you- never mind." I said with a shake of my head and a small smile.

"Lucy-"

"I know Corvo, it's all in the past." I said patting his back, trying to give him the reassurance that I knew he needed, but I knew he failed when he responded.

"Okay." He said not quite believing me.

Thinking back on our flight to the island, which had taken about four hours, half of the time it would have taken us to get here by train, Corvo had come clean about his part in the destruction of Sabertooth my poisoning, and numerous other things that happened before he decided that I was the better bet than Polaris and his lackeys.

Spying on me and my friends was apparently not against the contract we had so there was that could be done about it. According to him he hadn't known that they were going to poison me and once he realized what they had done, that was when he decided he was done dealing with them. I had remained silent for the following half hour, thinking about how I felt about this revelation. Most people would probably think that they couldn't trust him anymore but that never crossed my mind. According to Wendy, Master, Mira, and well everyone at the guild, Corvo had been a huge help while I was incapacitated. He could have taken the time to rest in the Spirit World but he voluntarily kept guard, and helped in any other way he could. Even if he hadn't helped, I would have given him another chance; like I had done with some of the people I considered my family.

When I had told him as much he was relieved, but I could tell that he didn't quite believe me, giving me the same look now as he had when I told him he was forgiven.

Giving him a knowing smile I shook my head as he grumbled about how annoying I was before he turned away from me when several normal crows appeared above us. After some incomprehensible noises between them the crows flew off in different directions.

"The scouts you saw are patrolling the inner ring of the island, if we want to clear the way for the rest of the guild we can, but we would lose the element of surprise within when they don't report back." He said, his choice clear as day.

"I saw five of them, is that number still right?" I asked bitting my lower lip as I thought about what I wanted to do.

"Yeah."

"Fine, I don't like it but I'll just have Draco relay the message when I send him to them." I decided, feeling guilty, but knowing we needed the element of surprise in order to take care of so many mages.

"Good, let's go." Corvo said standing up, but staying behind cover.

"Lead the way." I said, sweeping my arm out in front of me, hiding how scared and nervous I was behind a smile.

"Wipe that smile off your face, we're about to enter Polaris' hide out, there is nothing fun about this." He growled bumping into me as he walked past me.

With those parting words it dawned on me that he was just as scared as I was and my smile slid away. Was every one of my spirits as scared as I was? I thought running to catch up with him.

"Corvo… I'm sorry. I don't find any of this fun I'm just scared, but if I can convince myself that everything will be alright then I get a little less scared and more confident the closer we get to facing Polaris." I said to his back. A grunt was all I got in response. Sighing we continued on in silence, walking towards the middle of the island where the entrance was.

Twice we nearly ran into the patrolling guards, but were saved when some of the crows tossed a stone in the opposite direction of us to distract the guards, giving us time to either move passed them or back track in order to go around them. Creeping up on the small clearing that housed the entrance we stopped at the edge of the forest, looking for any signs that the guards were watching. Seeing none, and hearing no warning from the crows, we crossed the clearing and peered inside of the hole in the boulder that was barely big enough to fit Corvo.

Hearing nothing within Corvo gave me a worried look before moving to go in. Grabbing his arm before he could disappear in the darkness I ran a finger over Elle's key and saw rather than felt the two of us disappear from view. The instant we crossed fully over the threshold the air around us seemed to thicken until we were having difficulty breathing and could no longer move. Hearing the muffled sound of approaching footsteps I tried to take a step back, pulling Corvo with me, but I couldn't. It felt like my entire body had become lead, making it impossible for me to move at all. Panicking I held my breath and waited for us to be discovered.

"Can you believe it, Julien actually left his post at Angelica's office and that bear and shadow walker broke in and barricaded themselves in. I have never seen her so livid before!" The first guard to appear exclaimed as he shook his head.

"I know! I'm glad we're up here today. Although it is annoying when this spell around the entrance is so fickle, nothing is here." The second guard said looking right through us. With a frustrated growl he stopped several feet away from us and turned towards the wall and opened a hatch so he could press a series of buttons, unintentionally releasing us from what had been holding us hostage.

Pulling Corvo so our backs were to the wall we silently watched as the second guard walked forward, inspecting where we had just been standing. Peering towards the entrance of the cave he once again shook his head before turning back to his partner. Following closely behind him we had just gotten out of the barrier as it was reactivated. Halting Corvo when he moved to attack the guards I waited for them to close the hatch, and then turn their backs to us before releasing my hold on Corvo and whispering, "Now."

Silently, Corvo sneaked up behind the guy on the right putting him in a choke hold, while I snaked my whip around the other guard's neck. Quickly pulling him towards me so I could cover his mouth with my hand I held on tight until I felt his body go limp and took a step back to let his body fall to the ground.

"We should kill them." Corvo said, glaring at the rope and tape I had just pulled out of my pack. Giving him a look that showed him my disdain for his suggestion I tied the two guards together so their backs were pressed together and then put tape over their mouths so they couldn't alert anyone of their predicament. "What's going to stop them when they wake up? They're mages."

"It's anti-magic rope, and there is a sleeping draft coated on the tape. According to Nick it should keep anyone asleep for half a day. By then we will either have defeated Polaris and will be long gone, leaving the restrained guards to be dealt with by the Rune Knights or we will be dead. Either way they won't be a problem for us." I said shrugging. Leaving them guards lying on the ground I went to the nearest door and cautiously opened it. Fortunately no one was in there and I swung the door open all of the way. Quickly going through the room I found nothing of use and left. "Help me drag them into the room will you." I grunted as I hoisted them to their feet only to feel myself slipping back to the ground with them. Releasing a sigh of relief as Corvo took most of their weight off of me. Slowly we walked into the room and dumped them in the nearest corner, closing the door as we left and sticking a letter opener I took off the desk into the key hole and breaking it so a piece was left inside.

Opening the hatch I quickly entered the button sequence they had used to deactivate the alarm. Leaving the entrance unspelled for the others Corvo and I went deeper into the compound, going down one floor we found no one in the hallways or rooms. As we got to another set of stairs we heard grunting and pounding as some shrill woman yelled about sending everyone to the pit and killing the Dragon Slayer as soon as she got her hands on him.

Rogue! I thought, reaching for Corvo for support. "We have to help him." I whispered. "Not only because he's my boyfriend, but because he is with the last spirit we need. Didn't you hear the guard say that a shadow walker and bear were holed up in some office? This has to be that. It's a necessary risk; I need Ayame to destroy Polaris. You know that." I added when Corvo looked like he wanted to refuse.

"Damn it." I heard him mutter under his breath.

"We still need the element of surprise; we don't need every guard looking for us as they are for Rogue and the others." I said stepping away from the staircase and finding the room that I was pretty sure right above where Rogue was trapped. Entering and locking us inside the room I summoned Virgo, barely feeling a drain on my powers.

"Punishment, Hime?" She asked appearing before us.

"No Virgo." I said tiredly, shaking my head as usual. "Can you create a hole in the floor, big enough to fit a bear through it? As quiet as you can please." I said unnecessarily as I had never heard Virgo's hole making before.

It didn't take long for a large hole to appear. Looking below I saw Virgo holding the piece of the floor she had just cut free above her head, before she gently leaned it against the wall.

"Virgo! What are you doing here, is Lucy… is she alright?" I heard Rogue ask as he became visible.

"Rogue! I'm fine." I said, smiling and waving down at him.

Rogue looked up at me excited, but then his expression changed to confused then worried. Whipping his head back to look at Virgo who was talking to a beautiful woman that had also appeared he gasped out the word ghost, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Ghost what do you- oh." Releasing Elle's invisibility from both Corvo and I, I looked at my hand and was glad to see it. "No I'm not a ghost; I was only borrowing my spirit's invisibility." I explained.

Handing Corvo one end of my whip to hold I tossed the other end down, so he and the woman could climb up. The woman nudged Rogue, when all he did was stare at me, while the whip swung in front of him. Grinning at him I watched as he snapped his mouth closed and grabbed onto the whip.

Not seeing him for a month, even though I was in a coma and not knowing if he were safe or not had been hell, and I could only imagine what he had felt since he had been awake the entire time. Although it was a short distance between floors, it took forever for him to be pulled up, but when he could finally reach the edge of the hole he hoisted himself up and drew me into his arms. I was in the middle of saying his name when his mouth met mine, taking advantage of my open mouth by shoving his tongue inside.

Closing my eyes I leaned into him, wrapping my hands around his neck trying to pull him in closer as our tongues danced. When we were as close as we were going to get I let myself get lost in the kiss. I had thought I had missed a lot before, but finally being in his presence, his arms again made me realize how much I had truly missed him. I felt whole again, as if a piece of me had finally returned.

"Rogue." I whispered when we let up for air. Resting his forehead on mine we just stood there in each other's arms.

Rogue POV

"Open your eyes." I demanded when her eyes didn't open after our kiss had stopped. I wanted to see her beautiful brown eyes again; I hadn't seen them in so long. I could feel her lips curve up in a smile as she did as I asked. Gazing into her eyes made it seem like everything else didn't matter, and further cemented the fact that I wanted to be with her always. She was home. With her around I could endure the light, I could be happy, loved. She was my everything, and I wasn't about to let her go anytime soon.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." She said, squeezing me tighter.

"Not nearly as much as I've missed you Lucy." I whispered to her, peppering chaste kisses on her lips, and tangling a hand in her hair. "I. Love. You." I said in between kisses, smiling when she giggled.

"And I. Love. You." She said, copying me.

The sound of a throat clearing behind me drew me out of my Lucy induced haze. Turning without separating from Lucy I glared at the crow.

"That's nice and all." The crow said waving his hand towards us. "But can we get on with the plan. We have the bear, now we need to go before your friends down there discover that you escaped."

At the crow's words I felt Lucy slump and sigh. With one last peck on the lips and a tight squeeze her arms fell from around my back and landed back at her sides. When she tried to take a step away from me, I refused to let her go.

"We don't have much time." She said with a sad smile. Looking away from me she nodded in approval when she saw that the hole in the floor had been sealed somehow. "Rogue no matter how much I would love to stay here in your arms, we had to leave before we are discovered. Stealth is necessary to avoid a fight that we don't have time for right now."

Reluctantly letting her lose from the cage of my arms I looked around and realized that it was only Corvo and her. "Where is everyone else?" I asked, not liking the guilty look Lucy was trying to hide from me.

"They'll be here soon enough. Within the next hour or so." She said grabbing a hold of my hand and pulling me out of the door after checking the hallway to make sure it was clear. Silencing any further questions I might have with a look and a finger to her lips we stood at the top of the stairs that led down to the floor where Angelica was still barking orders .

"What is taking so damn long! Worthless, the lot of you! Has someone found that imbecile Julien yet?" I heard Angelica yell along with another wave of whimpers as her whips cracked.

"How are we supposed to get pass- where did Corvo go?" I whispered into Lucy's ear when I saw that the crow was nowhere near us. When she pointed down the stairs I looked at her incredulously. "What happened to stealth?!"

Instead of answering another finger met her lips as she told me to be quiet. Showing my displeasure, I waited.

A minute passed, and then another as we waited for Corvo to return. I didn't even smell him approach, but the next thing I know is Lucy's reaching out into thin air and then he appears.

"Invisibility." Lucy whispers, answering my unasked question.

"We can sneak behind them. They are all clustered tight against the opposite wall, trying to get the door open. Idiots, all of them." Corvo said with a shake of his head. "We'll need to be quick about it, we don't want that bitch to swing her whip into us."

Nodding Lucy grabbed my hand, and Ayame's and waited for to place his hand on her arm, before she made us all invisible.

Incredible. I thought not feeling the slightest flinch or increase in heart rate from Lucy as she expended so much magic.

I didn't have too much time to dwell on her increased stamina before I was being pulled along down the stairs. When I saw the group of mages mashed up against the door I cringed, smelling and seeing all the blood that had been spilt from the lacerations the whip had inflicted. Holding my breath so I wouldn't gag at the other smells that wafted up my nose, we hugged the wall that was devoid of the enemy and quickly made our way past them.

It wasn't until we had gone through every room in the next four floors that we stopped and rested in one of the empty rooms. Since we were resting Lucy lifted the invisibility and sat how in between my spread legs and leaned her back against my chest, and laying her head on my shoulder.

"Ayame." Lucy called, breaking the silence. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia and I'd love it if you would make a contract with me. I promise that I will do my best to not force you to do anything you don't want to do, and I will terminate the contract if there is ever someone you find more fitting to have your key. But I ask that you help me and the other previously banished spirits destroy Polaris so we all can have a future."

Ayame stared at Lucy, probably in shock that she would be willing to give her up. Even if I wasn't a Dragon Slayer and her boyfriend, I would be able to tell that she was sincere in her promise, and her determination to defeat Polaris. I just hoped Ayame felt it too.

"Here, this is yours." Lucy said holding out a key with a deep forest green gem on the handle.

"How did you come by this?" Ayame asked, taking the offered key.

"A girl named Rea had been keeping it safe from the Abastors after they took and most likely killed her mother. She said that her mom entrusted the key to her should something happen to her." Lucy answered, snuggling deeper into my chest. "Give it back to me if you decide to make a contract with me. You can go back to the Spirit World too, Mustache Man wants to talk to you."

In the next second after she finished talking Lucy's breathing evened out as she fell asleep.

"Let her rest, she's been expending a lot of energy today." Corvo said gruffly, when I was about to shake her awake.

"I thought we needed to go so we could find Polaris." I said.

"I know where she is, we needed to go before because of the mob that would have attacked us if they found us, but now they are trying to get into an empty room and probably won't find their way in for at least another hour or more. Virgo added a little something to that barricade of yours while you two were eating each other's faces." Corvo said with a snicker.

Grunting at him I looked to Ayame. "What are you thinking?" I asked, semi concerned that she was still looking at Lucy strangely.

"That I don't quite believe it. You told me about her, in great detail while we were searing the compound, but I didn't believe you to be honest. But meeting her makes me want to believe that not all Celestial Mages are corrupted, or power driven." Glancing away from Lucy she looked at Corvo with nearly the same look she had given Lucy. "Is what she says true? Would she truly give me up if I wanted it?"

"She said it didn't she?" He grumbled. "But yeah she would. The little idiot would give up all of our keys if she knew that was what she wanted."

Even though he called Lucy and idiot, I knew that he cared for her. It was in the way he would look at her when he thought no one watched. His eyes softened and he appeared more human when they did so. I would have been jealous of the glances if it hadn't been for the fact that he did not smell of lust or dispute my claim on her. Unlike that flirty lion, Corvo's affection appeared completely platonic.

"You said we had time before they come looking for us?" Ayame asked Corvo, when he nodded his head, she did too right before she disappeared and her key fell to the ground. Corvo's arms extended to pick it up but he stopped when Lucy's sleepy voice filled the room.

"Leave it. She'll be back." She said confidently before drifting off again.

An: Again sorry it took so long. Let me know what you think of it. Please and thank you. :)