Although she saw what happened, Rouge can hardly believe it. She'd worried how Roger was with Ace before, but never in her wildest dreams could she have dreamt up the reality of what she's just seen.
"How could you?" she says, voice thick with disgust. For the first time, she wishes she still had her powers. She wishes she could leave this cursed ground and run to her son, hold him and undo the terrible thing Roger had just done.
Rouge doesn't want to believe it. One moment they'd been focused on watching Akainu fall to the ground, the next Luffy and Sabo had been screaming Ace's name, Marco pulling him away from Roger as Roger's sword slid clean of his torso.
"You stabbed our son!" Rouge says furiously, lip curled in anger. She doesn't know this man before her, not when he can do something so terrible to their child. She remembers how Roger had held Ace in his arms when he was a baby, how tenderly Roger had looked down at Ace. Where had it all gone wrong?
"Rouge," Roger starts, reaching out for her, but she moves out his reach. His face falls, and, for a moment, Rouge wants to hold him. She loves Roger, so, so much, but she also loves Ace. Her heart is torn, but her child will always win.
"No," she says, the words wavering as she shakes her head. Rouge feels sick, and she's not sure how she isn't throwing up right now. She's weak from being away from the Holy Ground for so long, and she doesn't know if she will ever recover from what she's seen.
"You have to trust me," he says, and Rouge wants to, oh how she wants to. Roger's eyes are wide and, for once, he's not smiling. He has wrinkles around his eyes and his mouth, laughter lines, and Rouge thinks fondly that she was there for their making.
"How could you," she said, though the fight is gone from her words. She sits down on a ruined stone, rose thorns tearing at her dress. She ignores them, unconcerned whether her clothes are ruined or not.
"It was the only thing I could do for our world," he says, and Rouge lets him take a seat on the ground next to her. Her eyes trail from his dark hair out into the darkness around them. She can see the other worlds, some closer than others, and she thinks of all the stories she's made up, the tales she's imagined about the people on those worlds. She thinks of the stories she's told about Roger and Ace, and not one of them ever ended as terribly as this.
"When I renounced my title and passed it onto Marco, I lost the ability to create." Roger smiles sadly, and Rouge knows that the man she loves is still there. He's always been there, but she doesn't regret her doubts. There should have been another way, a better way.
"Despite all this time and teaching, Edward told me he still doesn't accept the power. He still hates his immortality, and he has never been able to create." Roger runs a hand through his hair, and Rouge looks out at the nearest planet. It looks so vibrant and alive, framed with twinkling stars, and she sighs.
"You can't play god forever," she says, and Roger's fingers tighten their grip in his hair. He's nodding, and Rouge touches his shoulder gently, giving him permission to lean against her. She's still upset – for she has no way of knowing whether Ace and Marco will be able to find the right path – but Rouge now understands and believes in them.
They sit in silence for a long while, watching the worlds exist and live. While she may not always enjoy the forced captivity, Rouge does love the Holy Ground, and she knows she'll never be able to part from it, not properly. This is her home now, no matter what.
"Perhaps I should disappear," Roger says, and she thinks that he is such a stupid, stupid man. "Ace can take my place, Marco too if they pull through this. The world doesn't need me anymore, I should just stop."
Rouge pushes him away and stands. Her dress catches on the thorns, and she hears it tear, small holes dotting her ankles. The holes are nothing compared to the growing emptiness in her stomach, however and she looks down at Roger.
"How dare you," she says. Rouge thought she'd lost her son tonight, she's not ready to lose the man she loves too.
"I need you," she says, and she can feel Roger's surprise when she kneels down, wrapping her arms around him. It's been so, so long, Rouge thinks, but Roger feels everything as she remembers.
"Even if the world no longer needs you, I do, so don't you dare say any more." And, because he is a stupid man, Rouge knows Roger is about to say something, about to open his stupid mouth and start saying words she doesn't want to hear. He's about to ruin everything, probably, and Rouge tightens her grip, trying to stifle the words before they escape his throat.
She succeeds, but Rouge is aided in her stifling. It seems to be a star, at first, and Rouge turns, looking at the speck as it brightens. She recognises it instantly, and lets her arms fall from Roger, keeping a hand on his arm as they watch a door open.
Rouge takes a deep breath and can hear Roger do the same. There are a handful of people who are able to use Rouge's mirror, and Rouge waits to see who has come to visit. Her heart leaps in her chest, and she's only just able to move aside as someone charges in, heading straight for Roger.
Well, she thinks, turning to the second person who steps free of the threshold. Rouge opens her arms and says the first words that come to mind.
"Roger deserves that really," she says, and the laughter that echoes around the Holy Ground is the most sacred thing Rouge has ever experienced.