Thank you all so much for being patient with us. We haven't given up on this story... we're just writing considerably slower lately. We hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12

CRACK!

"What was that?!" Panic clouded Lyon's voice as he looked questioningly over at his possible savior.

There was triumph in the man's expression as he said, "She did it." The tiniest of smiles was lifting the corner of his lips but it vanished in a split second.

Lyon blinked at him in confusion. "Did what? What did Lucy do? Is she ok? What is happening to her?" His voice was laced with dread. He didn't know what was going on. Just a few minutes ago he was begging this man not to allow Lucy to be left alone with that monster but then a moment later he was leading him to a foreign room and telling him to look for a key. Could this have been the man's plan? Had he told Lucy something that he himself didn't know about?

"Hurry," the man said and began tossing things around in search of the keys.

Lyon hesitated only a brief moment and then began searching as well, his body cringing every time some loud boom echoed towards them from the hall. What the hell was going on out there? It sounded like the mountain was about to crumble to pieces. Could Lucy somehow have unlocked her magic? His mind raced with a million different scenarios. Was she hurt? Did Vane do something to her? Was she fighting him?

"I found them!" the man suddenly shouted, holding the ring of keys triumphantly in the air.

Within seconds they had Lyon's wrist bands off and a surge of magic power rushed through his body like a winter storm. It had been so long, so agonizingly long since he'd felt this feeling. He flexed his fingers, testing out the feeling and then rubbed his wrists where the bracelets had been. The skin was raw and chapped there but it he'd never felt anything so wonderful in his life.

"Come on," Cain hollered, "We have no time!"

Lyon nodded his head and followed the man out of the room. It only took a few seconds for them to find the hall once again and then they were running along the etched stone corridor back towards the cell. When they got there, Lyon could hardly believe his eyes. Scattered everywhere were bodies of men moaning in pain and smack dab in the center of it all was Lucy, fighting alongside her spirits who were easily destroying their captors. She was a hell of a sight. He'd never seen anything so captivating before.

Her gaze was fierce and strong and her voice was powerfully commanding as she directed her spirits here and there, taking care of man after deplorable man with ease. She was the perfect captain and even though he knew how she must be feeling at that very moment, how her body must ache to the very core of her bones, she didn't waver even the slightest.

Although he didn't want to, he pulled his attention away just as a man began heading towards him, an axe raised high in the air. Lyon clenched his fist on instinct and called out, "Ice make-Eagle!"

At once a magnificent bird appeared, it's giant, frozen wings outstretched like brilliant sparkling icicles. It swooped down at the approaching man and knocked the weapon out of his hand then circled back and knocked him flat on his face.

A wave of almost unbearable exhaustion washed over Lyon the moment the attack was complete and he barely reached a hand out in time to steady himself on the wall. His magic power was nearly depleted. It hadn't been all that long since he'd been drained to the last drop and right now it was all he could do to keep himself upright.

"Lyon!" Lucy's voice shouted down the short space between them. She had an arm around her pink-haired spirit and they were making their way towards him. "Lyon, are you ok?" she asked.

He could see the pain she held at bay etched in the creases of her face. He wanted so badly to reach out to her, to pull her against him and fight off every bad thing that could possibly threaten this angel. But his own body was rebelling and it was only with an immense effort that he was able to stand up on his own two feet once again.

"I'm alright," he finally replied, holding back the grimace that threatened when his muscles nearly gave out on him. "Are you ok?" he asked after a few seconds had passed. "What hap…?"

"Sorry to interrupt this reunion," Loke hollered as he knocked another man flat on the ground, "but we need to go… now!"

"How do we get out of here?" Lyon asked, turning to Cain.

Cain glanced wearily at the doorway for another second and then motioned in the opposite direction. "This way," he said and then started running down the hall.

They followed him as fast as they could, Lucy leaning on Virgo while Loke helped Lyon. The door grew closer and closer but just as they got to the end a loud bang stopped them dead in their tracks.

At once they all turned and standing several dozens of yards away was Vane, a strange weapon in his hands and a repulsive leer on his face. A trail of blood dripped down the side of his face from where Lucy'd hit him earlier and a purple halo was already appearing around his neck.

Suddenly Vane pointed the strange weapon at them and a huge chunk of the ceiling slammed to the ground in front of them. Dust flew everywhere, choking them as they struggled to suck in breaths.

"Stop this!" Cain hollered, stepping out of the dust cloud and moving towards the mute man.

Vane pointed the weapon at him.

"Please, just let them go," Cain pleaded, holding his hands in the air. "You don't have to do this."

An angry sneer overcame the hunched man's face and he continued to threaten them with his weapon, waving it in the air like a sword. He shot it once again and another boulder came tumbling down from the ceiling, nearly hitting Cain as he stepped closer and closer.

"Listen, just let us go and nothing will happen to you. Raeden will never find out what you did. Just let us go."

Vane's eyes ran over the group, coming to rest on Lucy who was leaning heavily against Virgo's side. She was still coughing from the dust and Lyon took a painful step towards her, wanting to put himself between her and that horrid gaze. If only he could summon his magic just one more time. If only he could…

Suddenly Vane pointed the weapon at Lucy and before he could react, the weapon discharged.

There was a horrible moment of silence, the entire place frozen as if caught in one of his spells. No one dared move… no one dared breathe, 'till suddenly there was a morbid cough and the sound of a large body hitting the floor.

"No!" Lucy cried, her voice cracking with strain.

Lyon's mouth gaped open in shock at the sight of Cain sprawled out on the floor, his large body a mess of bloody welts and torn clothing. His chest was still rising and falling but the sound was ragged and harsh, as if each breath was sucked through a muddy filter.

Lucy was at his side within seconds, falling to her knees and grasping the sides of his face. "Cain!" she cried, "Cain!"

The man coughed and then sucked in a painful breath. "You…" he rasped, "You must go, now."

"No," Lucy sobbed, "We're not leaving you."

Loke released his hold on Lyon, leaning him up against the wall and began to attack the mute man who continued to fire shot after deadly shot in his direction.

Tears started to fall unheeded down Lucy's face and Cain smiled up at her, lifting his hand slowly to wipe her face. "You look just like her," he said, his eyes warm and distant.

Lucy took a ragged breath but remained silent as she let the man continue.

"Your hair, your eyes, your smile… even the way you laugh, it's just like her." Tears clouded his eyes but he smiled through them. "If only I could have saved her. If only I could have found her." In the background you could hear more men joining the fight and Virgo moved to Loke's side, taking care of them as he continued to pursue Vane.

"Who?" Lucy asked, leaning towards him and then cringing when a loud blast shattered the wall beside her.

Cain coughed and blood stained his lips. "Abby, my dear sister Abby. She was a mage, just like you. She was good and kind and… and…" he coughed again and suddenly his eyes turned hard and cold. "Raeden took her. He took her and hid her away. I-I couldn't find her. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find her."

He grabbed a hold of her hand and Lucy leaned in close to hear, "You have to find her. Please, you have to save her," he pleaded and his words made something constrict inside her chest.

"I will," she said, squeezing his hand. "I promise, I will find her."

Suddenly there was another loud bang and Lucy looked up to find Loke rolling over the ground. Panic and anger grew inside her in deadly force and she clenched her fists at her sides and was about to stand up when Cain tightened his grip on her hand.

"It's time," Cain said, grunting as he slowly sat up. "You must go, now!"

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked but suddenly found herself being pulled away from behind.

"Master, we have to go!" It was Virgo and she had a hold of Lucy and was tugging her away.

"No!" Lucy screamed and fought to free herself but it was too late, Cain was already to his feet and sprinting towards Vane. She watched as the weapon went off once again but then a split second later, Cain grabbed a hold of him. They fell to the floor in a heap of body parts and then the ceiling started to collapse, chunks of rock tumbling to the floor. "Cain!" she cried but it was too late, the place was falling in on itself and at the last second, Virgo yanked her through the doorway and into blinding sunlight.

Blinking slowly, she stared at her surroundings, feeling an odd sense of detachment with the trees and grass. It was overwhelming, all the green, all the life. For so long now she'd been surrounded by nothing but rock and stone. The vastness of the sky was immense, so much so that she found herself staring at it wordlessly, watching the clouds drift slowly by. She hadn't forgotten what it looked like during her time in captivity, but she'd forgotten the details, forgotten how many shades of blue it actually was, forgotten how streams of light could burst through a puffy cloud and how no matter which way you looked, it was always different.

"Lucy?" a quiet voice interrupted her wandering thoughts and she turned her head at the sound, confronted by crystal blue eyes that she was sure she could find somewhere in the sky. "Lucy, are you alright?"

She smiled warmly at him and felt her skin stretch from the dried salty tears. Without a word she threw her arms around him, burying her face against his neck and soaking in the warmth that only he could give her. This had been home for so long, and now they were finally free.

"Ah, guys… I think we have a problem here," Loke interrupted and Lucy backed away in time to see several men running towards them from another path.

Not a moment later, a blazing ball of fire erupted around the men, scattering them all over the path. "Natsu!" she screamed and within seconds, the bursts of fire were mixed with streams of ice and then pillars of stone.

"Gray!... Jura!" she heard Lyon holler and the next thing she remembered was seeing Wendy's beautiful smile and then nothing…

To be continued