Title: 337 Crepuscular Hours
Summary: "We're the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth, remember? We're in this together. You just have to follow my voice until you come back from the shadows…I'll never give up on you." – the contributing factors to the rise of Future Rogue.
"Shadows...The shadows...they're trying to consume me...They've come for me...time and time again. The darkness within me...is permanent. And the day I lost Frosch, I became one...with the shadows."
- Future Rogue
The pressure pounding inside Rogue's head deepens and he panics, bringing his arms up to his temples in a vain attempt to defend himself. His body struggles to respond, every movement sending painful vibrations up and down his spine.
The whispering voice is all around him now – he feels little snake tongues flicking at his skin and large, strong hands gripping at him from all directions.
'…Kill…'
"Rogue!"
Someone is calling to him, but the shadows will not let him come back.
'Kill him…kill Sting.'
"Please, stop…I can't…not Sting…"
"Rogue, come on man, come back to me. I'm right here."
Rogue jerks his eyes wide open, but he sees nothing but the shadows. They jeer at him, willing him to come closer.
"Fro is here too!"
Rogue slams his eyes shut. The shadows 'reward' him with images of corpses strewn across an empty field. The stretch of decaying flesh and the thirst for blood overwhelm his senses.
"K-keep talking…lead me back. Hurry."
"Hey, you're fine, man. Remember the Grand Magic Games six months ago? Rufus said he went near Magnolia Town on an escort mission and visited Fairy Tail. The town rebuilt their guild as a reward for winning the Games. We'll have to go see Natsu-san and Gajeel-san sometime and check it out. Well, and fight them, of course."
"Fro agrees!"
Sting's corpse is somewhere to his left, blank eyes staring upwards into eternity. The shadows focus on the image and ingrain it into Rogue's mind. He shudders, concentrating on the words of his friend.
"Remember when we had to go to Magnolia Town a few years back to defeat one of the dark guilds? God, Fairy Tail was such a dump back then, their own town had to call us for help."
Head pounding, the shadow dragon slayer forces himself to listen to Sting, pushing the whispering out of his mind.
You kept saying you couldn't believe that your idol belonged to that guild. You didn't even notice how Frosch kept stealing your food."
The images gradually fade from Rogue's head until nothing but black is left. He inhales deeply, waiting for the feeling to return to his body.
"Actually, you were distracted the entire mission. One of those guys nailed me on the head pretty hard because you weren't paying attention. I don't think I ever got you back for that-"
Rogue's eyes open weakly. The same spiky blond hair and clear blue eyes the shadows showed him are in front of him now, but this time Sting is alive this time and staring directly into his eyes. Rogue becomes vaguely aware of the chair underneath him and Sting's hands clamped down on his shoulders to prevent him from moving.
Alert that his friend is once again sentient, Sting loosens his grip and briefly stretches out his legs before resuming his crouched position. The Guild Master of Sabertooth offers Rogue a slight smile that does nothing to erase the worry in his eyes. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"
Rogue slouches forward in exhaustion, forehead coming to rest on Sting's shoulder. Sting automatically readjusts his grip so the two are in a loose embrace.
Rogue feels something tug at his calf and looks downwards to meet the tearful eyes of his partner.
"Fro doesn't understand." Frosch stares up at Rogue with confusion.
"It's the shadows again…They want to consume me. They told me to kill Sting this time."
Rogue feels Sting stiffen, and the image of Sting's exposed wounds briefly reappears in Rogue's mind.
"You have to keep fighting it. Fairy Tail has a medical advisor, Porlyusica, that's supposed to be the best healer out there. We'll go see her, okay?"
Rogue shakes his head against Sting's shoulder. "I can't keep doing this-"
Sting suddenly grabs Rogue's head and jerks it in front of his own. Rogue is caught off guard by the bags under his friend's eyes – day and night had sort of blended into each other for Rogue, but the endless nights of Rogue's screaming had clearly taken their toll on the light dragon slayer – yet Sting's facial expression is stern.
"We're the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth, remember? We're in this together. You just have to follow my voice until you come back from the shadows…I'll never give up on you."
"Heh…If Jiemma were still the Guild Master, he'd kick me out for being weak."
"You're not weak, Rogue…You're the strongest out of all of us."
"Fro thinks so too!"
Months later...
"Rogue! It's been awhile."
"You're the one who's always busy with 'Guild Master business'."
"Sorry."
"I understand."
"Well, maybe we should take Lector and Frosch on a mission? We can be the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth again, just like the old days."
"I'm going to Oshibana Town tomorrow. You can come, if you like."
"Eh…Tomorrow I have to meet with the Magic Counsel."
"Oh."
"But I'll go on the next one, okay?"
"Of course."
(Rogue is too indifferent to the situation to point out that was Sting's response last time as well.)
"Fro is hungry!" Frosch stares up at Rogue pleadingly.
The dark-haired mage's face is expressionless, as usual. "We're still about four hours away from Oshibana Town. Can't you wait?"
The frog-like Exceed continues staring up at Rogue with unsure eyes before nodding unconvincingly. The corners of Rogue's eyes soften; he always has and always will have a soft spot for his Exceed.
"Actually, I'm getting tired. Let's take a break and rest. There's a fishing pole in my bag. Go fish at that stream we passed a few minutes back." Rogue instructs in his quiet way before settling down against a tree and closing his eyes.
"Fro will!" The frog-like Exceed breaks out into a smile and nods obediently, then extracts the fishing pole from Rogue's bag and meanders over to the stream.
Rogue thinks about the mission waiting for him and Frosch in Oshibana Town and experiences the last few moments of true content in his life before he hears the sickening scream.
He appears from the shadows just in time to see the assailant draw his sword from Frosch's body; just in time to hear the splash as the corpse of his partner falls into the river, fishing pole still in hand.
The attacker, a young male still in his teens and griping the sword in shaking hands, is instantly torn to shreds by shadows.
The shadows are all around Rogue now. They replay the image of the trembling youth's death again and again like a child's melody.
'Killl…'
There is no one to lead him back, so the shadows consume him.
"Rogue, man, please, just listen-"
"Frosch is dead, Sting, he's dead."
"But you can't just….He would've wanted you to stay."
"I watched him die."
"God damn it, I wish I'd just gone with you-"
"But you didn't. You had 'Guild Master business'. Again."
"Look, I know I haven't been around as much, and I'm truly sorry. We're still the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth."
"We used to be."
"Hey, we still are! Frosch would-"
"Frosch is dead. You're never around anymore. They're all I have left now."
"'They?' Rogue, are the shadows bothering you again?"
"They don't bother me anymore. They've always been a part of me, I just didn't realize it until now."
"Rogue, no, you can't let them-"
"Too late. We'll meet again, one day. Goodbye, Sting."
"Damn it, Rogue, no, don't leave me-"
.
.
.
The next time they meet, there are no words.
Instead, they make eye contact just as Rogue's shadow-enhanced fist slams through Rufus's chest, killing him instantly.
Before Rufus's crumpled form hits the floor, numerous beams of light emit from Sting's open fist directly towards Rogue.
The shadows laugh as they overwhelm the light and swallow it whole. In the second it takes for Rogue to plunge his shadowy arm into Sting's abdomen, disbelief and regret flash across Sting's pale face before he too falls to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Rogue suddenly remembers when the shadows showed him Sting's corpse years ago but Sting brought him back-
His knees buckle, and the shadow dragon slayer falls forward soundlessly. Power surges through his veins; he feels the light the shadows swallowed merge with the shadows inside him.
The sensation knocks him unconscious for a few moments, but when he stands back up, he is the most powerful being in the world.
A/N:
Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think of this in a review. :)
Crepuscular hours = "when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious" (from the Wikipedia entry for crepuscular rays). Make of that what you will!