An: Soooooo here it is! I think this is the last chapter. Woot! I hope everyone enjoys it and I hope that it was worth the wait!
Remember I am not perfect so I am sorry for any mistakes that I may have missed, I tried to catch them all.
Lucy POV
"Nick, what are my limits now that I'm… well whatever I am now?" I asked quietly, keeping one eye on him and the other on the rest of the spirits who were currently trying to break through the barrier around where Polaris' prison was supposed to be according to Ayame.
"Power wise, you're – you're not talking about powers are you?" He hissed when he saw my expression. Nodding I watched as he looked at the others in panic, about to alert them to where my thoughts were directed.
"Don't!" I said a little too sharply. "Don't, they would just worry and we have enough to worry about. They need to focus on the task at hand not what if situations, that's what I'm for."
"Lucy… what are you planning?" He asked worriedly, trying to avoid answering my question. With a shake of my head I saw his shoulders sag as he sighed in defeat. "Unfortunately you're just as fragile as you were before… but you have a longer life expectancy… that's if you don't do anything reckless, or life-threatening." He said giving me a pointed look trying to discourage any dangerous thoughts I may be having. Knowing there was nothing else he could say to change my mind, or get me to divulge my contingency plan he turned to join the others to see if we they were making progress with the barrier.
Looking over at everyone I could tell that they were close to breaking through. The once solid blue barrier was now very dull and I could almost see beyond it; I gave it maybe another ten minutes before it was down completely. Turning away from them I looked behind me, biting my lip wondering when Virgo and the others were going to escape and come looking for me. I hated being separated from Rogue after reuniting with him but I needed time to set everything up in case the worst case scenario happened – that being Polaris escaping, or our attacks not working. I had a vague idea of what I needed to do, but other than bombarding her with the Jeweled spirits' attacks I was clueless, same as the others. Why it only had to be these six spirits I didn't know, but I assumed it had to do with the connection they shared when they had all lost their way to their previous masters' will. Joining forces to betray everyone you loved, and killing innocent people would do that to you I guess.
Leaning my head back I stared at the rough ceiling that was within touching distance. What was I doing? How could Mustache Man leave the fate of both worlds in my hands, and not tell me how I was supposed to save them? Softly growling I rolled my head releasing some of the tension in my neck.
Seeing a flicker of white from down the tunnel leading to the stairs that would take us back into the compound I released my whip from my belt and cautiously walked forward, ready to attack if it was the enemy. With my back against the wall closest to the alcove I had seen something in; I slid up to the opening. One… two… three! I counted in my head, springing in front of the opening on three and raising my whip.
When I saw who it was I dropped my hand quickly and returned my whip to my belt with a relieved sigh. "Crux."
"Zzzzzz"
"Crux, do you have something for me?" I asked eager to find out what he found.
"Zzzzz. Zzzzz"
Sighing I leaned against the wall and waited impatiently for him to wake up. I was just getting comfortable when he startled awake.
"Did you find something?" I whispered, looking over at the other spirits to make sure they hadn't noticed.
"I found quite a few things. The king was not happy about your interest in this but he deems this situation to be dire enough to use it. However I must ask again, must you go down this path, isn't there some other way?" He responded.
"Don't you think I have tried to think of another way? Any other way would be better than this but this is the only thing I came up with, and even you couldn't find any idea on how to defeat her, and she needs to be defeated. I don't need to tell you what will happen if I fail." I said.
A minute passed with him quietly floating just staring at me, until he gave one reluctant nod. Materializing a piece of paper in his hands he offered it to me. "If this fails, not only will she be free, you will have been lost to us forever and will have given Polaris far more power than she has now. And if it does work there is no guarantee that you will survive." He warned.
Nodding I took the offered paper and greedily read each word that was written, committing them to memory. "Thank-" I started, but stopped when I looked up to find him gone.
"Who are you talking to Mas- Lucy?" Corvo asked, coming up behind me and scanning the area.
"No one." I said too quickly, earning a suspicious look. Closing my hand over the paper I crumpled it, and stuffed it into my pocket when he wasn't looking.
Giving me a strange look when he was satisfied that no one was around he grabbed my pack from off of my shoulder. "We broke through." Was all he said before walking away from me, leading the way back to the others.
Following him I stopped where the barrier had been and felt my jaw drop. The room was so un-expectantly pleasant. Unlike the rest of the compound this room looked lived in, and was spotless. Where there should have been jagged rock walls, it was polished and shiny; it even had a few paintings hung up of what I assumed was Polaris. Along one of the walls there was a miniature staircase that held candles that were lit and some that were not along with fresh flowers.
"It's just like a church." I said quietly.
"What did you expect? To these idiots she is a goddess, even though they know what she really is."Corvo said disgusted.
Stepping inside the room I noticed the giant stone that was in the center of the room, surrounded by six lacrimas that were floating above their own small pedestals. The lacrima were all glowing and sending magic into the giant stone. Seeing a tendril of magic coming from above each lacrima I looked closer at the ceiling and noticed that there were circular cut outs. Glancing around the room I found a level that was out of place and rushed to it. Signaling the others to be ready I pulled on the lever with one hand – it barely moved. Using both hands this time I pulled on it again but it still didn't budge. Grunting when it refused to move after several more times I threw my hands in the air and gestured to the stubborn lever and glared at the spirits.
Corvo was the only one blatantly snickering at my failed attempts while the others tried to hide their mirth. Pitting me, Ayame and I traded places as she yanked on the lever, causing a series of gears to grind somewhere above us. Looking up, I watched in horror as four cages were lowered down, each one of them containing an unconscious mage.
"Oh my Mavis." I said bringing a hand to cover my mouth. "Destroy the lacrima." I said to the spirits, after I destroyed the one closest to me and rushed to the nearest cage.
Following suit we released the mages, carrying them out of the room and leaning them up against a wall. Leaving Nick to check on them and make sure that they were stable enough to survive before the others arrived I had the others destroy the cages so they couldn't be used again. If I failed it wouldn't prevent them from building more, but it was all I could do at the moment.
"They'll survive. They're just weak from having their magic sucked from them." Nick said coming back into the room.
"That's good. I've already asked Virgo to come and watch over them and escort them out once they come to." I said nodding to said spirit when she appeared. "Thank you Virgo." All I received in return was a bow.
"Okay." I said more to myself than the others. Seeing no other suspicious things I said the spell to seal the room to keep anyone from entering, and Polaris from escaping… at least temporarily.
Without asking each one of the spirits stood by one of the pedestals calling on their magic; gathering it within themselves, not yet releasing it. Standing in front of what I assumed was the front of the stone because it was where the benches were facing I watched as each spirit started glowing the same color of their gems that were on their keys.
Bracing myself for a major drain of magic I nodded to them when I was ready. One by one they released a steady stream of power and began their assault on Polaris. Silver, amber, green, black, gold and red surrounded the stone, creating a hum of power that filled the room causing the air around us to stir, whipping our hairs to and fro, and snuffing out all of the candles. Without the candles it should have been pitch black but the attack was emitting a bright light.
Squeezing my hands tightly I felt my nails digging into my skin. The amount of power that I was using was astronomical, there was no way I could have done this without the power boost from Nick's healing. Clenching my teeth I checked to see what Gemini was doing and closed their gate when I realized they weren't needed right now. Ah, that's a little better. I thought.
Hearing a loud crack I stared at the stone and watched as a cracked spread from top to bottom and the stone shattered, spraying everyone with the debris. When I opened my eyes after the debris stopped raining down on us I glared at Polaris as she was revealed. If it hadn't been for the obvious barrier around her, I would have started freaking out thinking that she had escaped. Releasing a breath I had unintentionally held I watched for any sign that she was weakening.
Minutes passed and there still wasn't a scratch upon the skin tight barrier surrounding her, nor was there any difference in her appearance from within. Stepping closer, I released my whip and snapped it towards the barrier. Nothing happened. Growling in frustration I continued with my attack, as the spirits continued with theirs.
Another cracking sound echoed through the room, not as loud as the first though. Grinning triumphantly I stepped closer to see where it had happened. Finding the crack in front of Polaris' raised hands I scrunched my face in confusion and reached out to touch it. No. I thought running a finger over it again. The crack wasn't from us. It was breaking from within. The protruding barrier became more prominent as the crack grew; a chunk fell to the ground drawing everyone's attention.
How, why? She's not supposed to be able to escape until at least two weeks from now. I thought panicked. Panting from the continued power use, I gasped when I saw another chunk fall from the barrier and a pale, slim hand slither through the opening. Not thinking logically I rushed forward and tried to push the hand back into the barrier. As if it was going to help. I scoffed.
"Go back." I growled to myself but the hand wasn't budging and I could feel myself being pushed away as the hand resisted me. I let go of the hand as it shoved me off and was planning on trying again, but pounding sounds distracted me. Whipping my head around I looked at the entrance to find the majority of Faily Tail standing behind Rogue, Happy and Natsu who were wreaking havoc on my shield. Their mouths were moving rapidly so I couldn't catch what they were trying to say but I could tell that they were yelling.
I was about to reassure them that everything was fine when I saw their expressions change from angry to scared. Happy started pointing behind me as the two more slayers join in on the assault of the barrier. As if everything slowed down I felt my arm being twisted at an impossible angle that sent spikes of pain shooting from the arm to the rest of my body. When the pressure didn't let up during my struggle to get free I fell to my knees ad felt myself being dragged closer to the stone prison until another hand gripped my neck and brought me to my feet. Brown hair spilled over my shoulders as Polaris' head came along side mine. Looking to the side I saw her smiling evilly at my friends before she turned her glare to me.
"Lucy!" "Master!" My spirits called out to me some of them about to take a step towards me, nearly stopping their attack on Polaris.
"I'm fine." I lied, and they knew so. "Stay focused on her." Giving me dubious glances Corvo, Draco, Nick and Elle strengthened their attack while keeping an eye on me.
"A Heartfilia. I didn't expect another one of you to stand against me again; you're supposed to be long dead. I feel your powers and essence among the others floating in me, yet here you are. Why is that?" She asked tilting her head to the side. "No, you feel different than you did before, more powerful somehow. How?" Again she paused for a moment, this time shaking her head. "Don't bother answering; you reek of the Spirit World. My dear old dad is behind this along with that damned Phoenix. They're always meddling in my affairs."
"Saving my life isn't meddling in your affairs." I growled.
"Oh but it is. If they hadn't interfered you'd be dead and we wouldn't be here now. How you got him to heal you when he wouldn't heal my people is beyond me." She bit out glaring at Nick. "How is it that you gained their trust so quickly? Years of promising him anything he wanted and he still refused us, and Corvo always resenting our hold on him and here he is at your beck and call."
When I didn't answer she tightened her hold on my arm, pulling it further out of the socket, eliciting a painful gasp from me. My spirits must have heard my gasp because there was a flare of light as their attack intensified.
"Tell them to stop." Polari's demanded, hardening her glare.
"No."
"Do it or die." She threatened.
"I can't die; I'm a Celestial Spirit now so whatever you do I'll endure it until they wear you out." I bluffed, seeing Nick glare at me from the corner of my eye.
Laughter was her only response for a moment before she regained control of herself. "Oh you must be really brave or extremely stupid. "You know that they, I, can die otherwise you wouldn't be here now attacking me. As for being part spirit now, we both know that you are just as fragile as you once were." She snickered, cutting off my air supply by squeezing the hand that was around my throat.
Not once since Polaris had partially broken free from her prison did I feel or see any indication that the attack was working against her. And even if it was working, it wasn't weakening her fast enough. Time for plan B. I thought, making eye contact with each of the six spirits, silently apologizing for what I was about to do.
Struggling against the hand on my throat I loosened her hold long enough to speak. "No matter what happens don't stop your attack." I ordered seeing some of them glare at me for having issued an order they couldn't ignore while the others looked at me concerned. I knew they would hate following the order once they realized what I was doing, hell even I was hesitant to have them follow it but I knew this was the only way to give us a remote chance of beating her. If our attack was useless now then once she escaped it would be even more difficult to defeat her and I couldn't allow that.
Bringing my free hand up to the one Polaris had wrapped around my neck I drew her closer as I slammed myself back into her, temporarily stunning her. With both hands free I made sure I was as close as I could get to her. Doing as Crux's note had instructed I found the tendril of magic that connected Polaris and I; the dreams that we shared and our link through the spirit world. With our connection in mind I called on all of my magic, making sure to leave enough for the spirits to continue their attack I opened my eyes and heard a gasp and felt the anger, and revulsion coming through Capricorn's key. I didn't dwell on my guilt, instead I focused on my fear and anger, and whispered the world that would either be our down fall or savior.
"Fondere."
I didn't expect it to be painful, I don't know why I thought that, wishful thinking probably. I thought as I felt Polaris push against me trying to get away. Not allowing her create space between us I held on tight until I felt something fuse to me, or me to it. Again I wasn't entirely sure what was happening only that this was only way to contain her and make her a little less immortal.
The rush of power was unlike anything I had ever felt; it paled in comparison to even my recent surge of power at the guild. There was so much that I felt as if I was going to burst. It wasn't just the power that made me feel incredibly full, it was also Polaris' presence; her spirit, and memories. I could feel her clawing from within, fighting to break free or take over the fragile control I had on over my body. When I saw and felt my spirits' attack lessoning I looked up from inspecting my hands I glared at them.
"Don't stop." I growled, my voice no longer my own.
"But Lu-" Corvo started, taking a step forward but stopped when he saw my glare intensify, and the sparks of magic jumping off of my body.
"I ordered you all to continue no matter what, do it now! I can feel her inside searching for a way to escape. Attack now while you can before she's able to take control. Please." I gritted out, biting my lip to keep myself from crying out in pain. I hardly noticed as my lip bled, seeping through my teeth to coat my tongue. After another moment of hesitation the attack intensified as the spirits followed my order. Searing pain hit me like nothing I had felt before, looking down at my exposed skin I could see that I was turning red, and felt blisters forming all over my body. The burning was so bad that I feared that I would pass out, but I knew I couldn't otherwise Polaris could gain control of me.
Several times I tried to channel the searing attack to Polaris alone, my body acting as a conduit, but I failed as I focused too much on the pain. Staring at the concerned and horrified faces of those I loved and was trying to protect I grit my teeth against the pain and focused on protecting them rather than my pain. When I finally was able to channel the attack to mainly Polaris, she screeched in pain and anger, desperately trying to escape. With the attack channeled properly now I felt my skin calm down somewhat, but it was still painful and covered in blisters. With the small respite from the pain I sagged against the now empty shell of the prison.
Continuing to blast Polaris with a constant stream of magic I felt her finally weakening enough that I could focus on the unpleasant tug of power that was coming from my barrier that blocked my friends from coming into the room. Seeing Sting standing in front of everyone else now, I watched as he ate the light from the shield, weakening it enough for me to hear what was happening on the other side.
"Keep going Sting, you're almost through." Rogue said his attention divided between me and his best friend. Sting grunted in response, looking like he wanted to throw up and pass out at the same time. But I could see Wendy working on him so he could continue eating the shield.
Not wanting them to come in the room until the threat was dealt with I drew my attention further away from Polaris and spent precious moments strengthening the barrier. Those few seconds that I was focusing my powers elsewhere cost me with Polaris. Sensing my distraction her attack increased, and a primal scream burst from my lips that wasn't my doing. By her will alone I took a step toward Corvo and then another until I was standing inches away from him. Fighting the command, I watched helplessly as my hands wrapped around his throat and squeezed for all I was worth.
Polaris was trying to get him to stop his attack, but the lack of oxygen didn't prevent him from adding his attack with the others. The sickly grey color that creeped over his skin concerned me greatly, spurring me to fight harder to gain control over my hands again. Through my renewed determination I felt the channeled attack intensify enough to stun Polaris so I could gain enough control to stop the squeezing but couldn't remove my hands completely.
"I'm sorry." I cried to Corvo as he took a huge breath and his skin slowly regained some of its color.
"Argh!" Polaris cried within me when she couldn't take control again. Sensing my resolve to not be distracted again she froze before a malicious feeling radiated off of her, instead of the anger and fear that had been coming from her since our merge. "If I'm going down then so are you." She promised before withdrawing.
No longer was she flowing throughout my body trying to find a way out. Instead she forced her way to my heart and weaved around it. The attack that was being channeled to her was now attacking my heart as well. Sharp pain radiated from my chest causing me to fall to my knees gasping, and clutching my chest.
Rogue POV
"Where did Polaris go?" Natsu asked what everyone else was thinking after we saw Lucy's eyes glow gold right before Polaris disappeared, and Lucy looked like she was in severe pain. At first I thought that the attack had worked, but when I saw that the spirits hadn't let up on their attack completely I knew I was wrong. Lucy's lips moved as she talked to her spirits, her face filled with anger before the magic attack visibly intensified and made Lucy arch her back in pain.
Banging on the shield I tried in vain to break through to stop the attack on Lucy. "What the hell are you doing? Can't you tell you're hurting her?" I yelled.
As before they didn't hear me, but I did see Nick glance over at us and give me an apologetic look before turning his attention back on Lucy. Hearing no one else complaining about what was happening in front of our eyes I turned around to see that the Fairy Tail mages looked concerned or scared, while my guild mates just looked angry.
"Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on and why they are attacking Lucy now?" I growled out.
"Th- that's not just Lucy now." Rea whispered, her gaze glued to Lucy in alternating between disgust and awe.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked getting angrier as everyone continued to watch.
"She's right." Gray said seeing my disbelief. "When we first found Capricorn he wasn't himself. His previous master, before Lucy, had combined their spirits and took control of his body and powers. You see how Lucy's hair is flickering colors, how she's clenching her fists? She's fighting for control, giving her spirits enough time to defeat Polaris. But if she loses control Polaris could trap her and take over the contracts to turn the spirits against us."
"Isn't this hurting her? I thought the contracts prevented that." I pointed out watching Lucy, now noticing the obvious internal struggle she was going through. At my question Natsu and Gray looked at each other, unsure of the answer.
"Because their intention is not to harm Lucy, their master, it is to attack Polaris. It's a very find line that Lucy is walking. It's probably why she told them not to stop right before they merged." When I gave him a weird look he shrugged his shoulders. "I can read lips." Freed said stepping forward to stand by me to get a better look at Lucy.
"Why didn't the attack work before the merge?" I asked.
"It was working… it just wasn't very effective. At the rate they were going Polaris would have scaped and killed Lucy before she was weak enough to be killed. But when they merged Lucy stripped away Polaris' defenses and took control of her powers. However Lucy can't defeat Polaris on her own because this magic is taboo with Celestial Mages and she has no training in it, which makes her doing this even risker, but I see why she had this as her back up plan." Freed explained nodding his head in understanding, as he looked on worriedly like the rest of us.
"Sting!" I yelled when I saw blood dripping down from Lucy's lip and hands. It was too much to just stand here and watch. I needed to be there with her, to help her somehow.
"What?" My partner responded walking up beside me.
"Can you eat the barrier like you did before?" I asked hopeful that he would be able to get us in there.
Sting looked dubiously at the barrier but nodded his head as he took a couple of deep breaths before he began sucking the light out of the barrier. Alternating watching Lucy and Sting I noticed that Sting was turning a little green, but before I could say anything Wendy was there healing him as he did his thing.
"Keep going Sting, you're almost through." I said, relieved that I could hear Lucy's heavy breathing from the room. But my relief was short lived as a scream burst from Lucy startling everyone. Locking gazes with Lucy I silently pleaded with her to drop the shield so I could go to her but her gaze hardened. As did the shield, reversing all of Sting's hard work.
Pounding the barrier in frustration and anger I glanced around at the spirits and noticed that they all had painful expressions as they watched Lucy lose the struggle with Polaris. A few of them paled when Lucy/Polaris started to slowly walk towards Corvo, her arms raising until they were around his throat. I could tell that Lucy was still fighting for control and that she was horrified by what she was doing. Silent tears rolled down her face as Corvo's skin paled and turned a sickly grey color before her eyes.
Standing by helplessly was killing me. I hated seeing her in pain, from the attack and from her uncontrolled actions that was hurting her spirit. If I thought I was hurting before, it was nothing compared to what I felt when Lucy suddenly fell to the ground clutching her chest as she screamed. We all knew it was bad when the barrier before us began wavering. Timing it perfectly I launched myself through the shield when it disappeared for a second before rematerializing.
Rushing to Lucy, I slid to her side on the ground and held on to her, trying to see what was causing her to grab her chest. Ignoring the pain of the spirits' attack grazing me I turned Lucy over until her head was in my lap and I was staring down at her pain filled face.
"Lucy, what can I do to help?" I asked desperately.
At the sound of my voice her eyes popped open and they nearly made me cry. The amount of pain she was going through was too much for her and I saw the resignation in her eyes. She thought that she wasn't going to survive, but I knew differently. We had Wendy and Nick on standby, there was no way she could die and I wanted to tell her so but before I could she lifted one of her hands to my face and stroked my cheek.
"Rogue." She mouthed smiling at me before gasping.
When I felt her hand fall from my face I quickly caught it and held it to the cheek she was just touching. "Lucy." I sobbed. Staring into her eyes I watched helplessly as the light in them was snuffed out as the woman I loved left me.
"Lucy, Lucy!" I yelled over and over shaking her, but when she didn't respond I brought her head to my chest and began rocking. "LUCY!"
Everything around me ceased to exist. I didn't hear the others spill into the room, I didn't register when the burning attack stopped, nor did I hear any of the people who were speaking to me. All I could focus on was how Lucy was starting to get cold and how her chest was no longer rising and falling as it should. However when I felt someone trying to break my hold on her I did register that and snarled in the person's direction and held her tighter to me. When that fool of a person tried again I responded the same.
Pulling Lucy's head away from my chest a bit so I could look down at her smiling face I leaned down. Placing my lips on hers is the last thing I do before everything goes dark.
AN: What are everyone's thoughts?! Please let me know what you thought whether it's good or bad you know I love reading reviews.
I want to thank EVERYONE who has read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this fic. All of you are fantastic and I don't think I could have finished this fic, or had the courage to write any of my other ones without all of your support and wonderful feedback. I really appreciate you all so much!
Also I may have fibbed a little about this being the last chapter. I thought about it and I decided I couldn't leave it to end like this so in the next week or two I will post an epilogue. But I can't promise a happy ending, it all depends on my mood.
**Fondere is Italian for merge. I didn't want to just have her say merge because it just seemed weird. lol