Examining the sword in her hand, Rogue looked back at Pietro. Her face hidden in the shadows, she appraised him with no expression betraying her feelings. Carefully, she said, "What are yah doin'?"
Face equally blank, Pietro said bleakly, "I'm giving you a choice, Rogue. Either join us or risk painful death."
Tucking her hair behind her ears, Rogue smile twisted ruefully at him. Eyeing him with somber seriousness, she made a noise that indicated mocking laughter. "Ah'd rather kiss Duncan's ass than help yahr father."
His eyes pleaded before hardening. Pietro brandished his own sword and crouched into a ready stance. "Then I have no choice but to kill you."
"Why am Ah not surprised?," she said softly. Without warning, Pietro slammed his sword down but she dodged through the air with ease, twisting to slice down at him with a butterfly sweep.
Pietro quickly blocked it and Rogue asked in a low voice, "Why aren't yah usin' yah're powers?" She made another attack, aiming for his shoulder. Clashing of the metal swords rang out and Rogue kept advancing relentlessly with her attack. Feeling seperated from her arm holding the sword, Rogue only watched as she performed moves she never thought she knew.
'Kill him...'
'Eat his heart....'
'Kill..."
Bloodlust suddenly surged within her, blinding her vision and she licked her lips without knowing it as she cut at him. A cool sting at her arm startled her back into reality and Rogue became frightened with the sudden urge for spilled blood. Red drops decorated the snow below her and she saw a shallow cut made by Pietro. Shaking herself back to reality, she kept the howling rage at bay and said fervently, "Yah don't hafta do this."
The baying wolf of bloodlust slashed inside her, clamoring to be set free and wreak havoc upon the boy. Sweat tinged her face, threatening to blur her vision and Rogue bit her lip; she couldn't hold back the hungry blood-thirst for long. Muscles aching from long-use and the cold warned of her fatigue.
Eyes glittering with something Rogue never saw in Pietro's eyes before, he whispered, "It's either you or me." Agilely lunging in to aim for her heart, he leaped back to avoid Rogue's counter attack.
Gritting her teeth, Rogue pleaded with Pietro once more. "Do yah wanna be Magneto's pawn forever?!" She hurriedly blocked a fast jab and wrenched the accusing sword away from her side with her sword. She snapped, "Yah can fight it Pietro!"
"You can't save me; it's too late," was the only reply. He laughed harshly and coldly said, "I will not fail him!"
The howling wolf inside her was set free and Rogue became blind with hate, thirst for blood and vengeance. Constantly bringing her sword down, she left no room for Pietro to attack, only to defend. One swing sliced into his arm; another slashed at his knees; others rained more injuries. She brought the glinting blue sword down, sliding it around Pietro's own sword and wrenched it from his grasp, falling into the snow a few feet away. In his loss, Pietro stumbled to the floor and looked up to Rogue's eyes. The gleaming point of her sword was pointing towards his neck and he smirked up at her.
His eyes tattled of his knowledge of her uncontrollable thirst and how she managed to recollect herself before she dealt the final fatal blow.
"You gonna kill me?"
Looking down at him with expressionless eyes, Rogue shook with obvious visibility but stood firm, not answering his question.
A blur of colored movement and Rogue's back was against Pietro, her gleaming sword pressed against her neck. To move meant to cut her own throat and a whisper stole into her ears. "You should have known if you didn't kill me, I would've killed you. Good-bye Rogue."
Rogue's eyes closed and they snapped open, her eyes now burning blood-red, no longer green. "Good-bye Pietro," she said coldly and slammed her palm up at his face, feeling the cut sear into her throat. Grabbing his wrist, she wrenched the sword away from him and let her sword do the rest.
Only when she felt the blood fall like rain onto her face did she open her eyes to Pietro's strained face as he slumped to the ground. Closing her eyes, the fiery red inside her died and Rogue took in her surroundings, realizing what she had done. Snow clung on her eyelashes, the coldness seeping into her body but she was numb and couldn't tell the difference from heat or cold at the moment. "Yah coward; yah wanted meh t' kill yah," she said quietly, anger shaking her voice. "And Ah fell for it..."
His rasping breaths came in short, cynical laughter. Grief-stricken, Rogue knelt at his side and pressured her hands onto the flow of blood, trying to stop the bleeding. His hands defiantly pushed them away.
"Don't."
Voices sounded in a distance and Rogue locked eyes with her dying friend. "Magneto's crew?"
He gave a small acknowledgement. "They were supposed to help me stage your death to look like a suicide." Fear rode into his eyes. "I can't go back, Rogue. Don't let them take me back!"
Rogue answered by putting her hands over his wound and Pietro covered them with his own. Looking into each other's eyes, their love for each other flared in their hearts, but both chose to remain silent than to voice what they already knew. "Please, Magneto will only turn me into a mindless machine," Pietro begged. "I want this to end."
Her concern for Pietro overrode her fear of the Institute. "The Professor could hide you; you could be free from Magneto's clutches and still live." Inside, she was shaking; Pietro never ever pleaded for anything. He was too much of a machismo for that. That he was asking for help rattled her nerves badly.
Pietro studied Rogue. "That's not my idea of freedom, forever hiding and trapped in a cage from my own father." His voice grew faint. "Please, Rogue. This way, they can't have either one of us."
The voices grew closer.
"This is... my fate," Pietro said quietly.
Her hands shaking, Rogue grabbed the sword, and closed her eyes, plunging it deeply into his heart.
Memories of Pietro laughing, Pietro teasing, Pietro acting the class clown, Pietro faking movie lines, Pietro handing her the soap, Pietro understanding, and Pietro smiling sadly all flitted through her mind. She didn't cry; she couldn't. Instead, a dull ache had built up inside her and refused to leave, giving her more pain than tears ever could.
This was... fate.
And she was running, her feet crunching through the fallen snow. Running blindly, Rogue opened her eyes to find she was back in her room. Fervently peeling off her blood-stained clothing, she thrust them into the sink and turned on the shower. Pink water swirled beneath her as Rogue slided against the wall and clutched her knees to her body.
And yet, she still couldn't shed a tear for him.
"Magneto can't control yah anymore, Peety. Yah're free," she whispered to her knees.
She continued to sit there, ignoring the silent beating of the water. Instead, she breathed in the steamy scent and debated on what to do about the constricting pain in her heart. Wearily closing her eyes, she drifted slowly into darkness.
-------------------------------
Opening her eyes, Rogue found herself in a field of flowers, filling her nose with the mingling scents of lavenders, violets, bluebells, and so on. Green skies stretched as far as the eye could see and the fields alternated between patches of unkempt flowers, to glistening grass. Letting herself fall into the safety of the flowers, Rogue glanced at her surroundings and frowned.
Suddenly, the environment seemed to shift and Rogue's surroundings changed into endless dirt with no sign of life within miles of her view. Scrambling up to her feet, Rogue was suddenly enveloped in darkness and she cried out in surprise. She looked around her but it was no use; she couldn't see anything. The feeling of dread grew and Rogue nervously wiped her sweating palms on her pants.
She knew this place; her insides all clamored that they did.
Feeling as if she was being watched, Rogue noticed with a start that glowing eyes had appeared to her right. Crying out, she edged away, only to realize more eyes glowed around her. Feeling something cold touch her wrist, Rogue snatched it away, only to realize that its grip on her wrist was strong.
"Let me go!"
Light flared and Rogue's eyes were blinded for a moment. When the spots in her vision cleared, she gulped at the sight of many familiar faces.
The one holding her wrist let go. Looking up into its face, Rogue realized it was Mystique and the dread spread throughout her body. "No, no... this can't be happening... NO!!!" Rogue struggled to wrench free from its grasp.
Her captor's face twisted to a mocking grin. "Welcome to our world, Rogue."
A/N: Eeep, don't kill me yet. Wait for the next chapter, then proceed to throw things at me. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you to those that have.
Face equally blank, Pietro said bleakly, "I'm giving you a choice, Rogue. Either join us or risk painful death."
Tucking her hair behind her ears, Rogue smile twisted ruefully at him. Eyeing him with somber seriousness, she made a noise that indicated mocking laughter. "Ah'd rather kiss Duncan's ass than help yahr father."
His eyes pleaded before hardening. Pietro brandished his own sword and crouched into a ready stance. "Then I have no choice but to kill you."
"Why am Ah not surprised?," she said softly. Without warning, Pietro slammed his sword down but she dodged through the air with ease, twisting to slice down at him with a butterfly sweep.
Pietro quickly blocked it and Rogue asked in a low voice, "Why aren't yah usin' yah're powers?" She made another attack, aiming for his shoulder. Clashing of the metal swords rang out and Rogue kept advancing relentlessly with her attack. Feeling seperated from her arm holding the sword, Rogue only watched as she performed moves she never thought she knew.
'Kill him...'
'Eat his heart....'
'Kill..."
Bloodlust suddenly surged within her, blinding her vision and she licked her lips without knowing it as she cut at him. A cool sting at her arm startled her back into reality and Rogue became frightened with the sudden urge for spilled blood. Red drops decorated the snow below her and she saw a shallow cut made by Pietro. Shaking herself back to reality, she kept the howling rage at bay and said fervently, "Yah don't hafta do this."
The baying wolf of bloodlust slashed inside her, clamoring to be set free and wreak havoc upon the boy. Sweat tinged her face, threatening to blur her vision and Rogue bit her lip; she couldn't hold back the hungry blood-thirst for long. Muscles aching from long-use and the cold warned of her fatigue.
Eyes glittering with something Rogue never saw in Pietro's eyes before, he whispered, "It's either you or me." Agilely lunging in to aim for her heart, he leaped back to avoid Rogue's counter attack.
Gritting her teeth, Rogue pleaded with Pietro once more. "Do yah wanna be Magneto's pawn forever?!" She hurriedly blocked a fast jab and wrenched the accusing sword away from her side with her sword. She snapped, "Yah can fight it Pietro!"
"You can't save me; it's too late," was the only reply. He laughed harshly and coldly said, "I will not fail him!"
The howling wolf inside her was set free and Rogue became blind with hate, thirst for blood and vengeance. Constantly bringing her sword down, she left no room for Pietro to attack, only to defend. One swing sliced into his arm; another slashed at his knees; others rained more injuries. She brought the glinting blue sword down, sliding it around Pietro's own sword and wrenched it from his grasp, falling into the snow a few feet away. In his loss, Pietro stumbled to the floor and looked up to Rogue's eyes. The gleaming point of her sword was pointing towards his neck and he smirked up at her.
His eyes tattled of his knowledge of her uncontrollable thirst and how she managed to recollect herself before she dealt the final fatal blow.
"You gonna kill me?"
Looking down at him with expressionless eyes, Rogue shook with obvious visibility but stood firm, not answering his question.
A blur of colored movement and Rogue's back was against Pietro, her gleaming sword pressed against her neck. To move meant to cut her own throat and a whisper stole into her ears. "You should have known if you didn't kill me, I would've killed you. Good-bye Rogue."
Rogue's eyes closed and they snapped open, her eyes now burning blood-red, no longer green. "Good-bye Pietro," she said coldly and slammed her palm up at his face, feeling the cut sear into her throat. Grabbing his wrist, she wrenched the sword away from him and let her sword do the rest.
Only when she felt the blood fall like rain onto her face did she open her eyes to Pietro's strained face as he slumped to the ground. Closing her eyes, the fiery red inside her died and Rogue took in her surroundings, realizing what she had done. Snow clung on her eyelashes, the coldness seeping into her body but she was numb and couldn't tell the difference from heat or cold at the moment. "Yah coward; yah wanted meh t' kill yah," she said quietly, anger shaking her voice. "And Ah fell for it..."
His rasping breaths came in short, cynical laughter. Grief-stricken, Rogue knelt at his side and pressured her hands onto the flow of blood, trying to stop the bleeding. His hands defiantly pushed them away.
"Don't."
Voices sounded in a distance and Rogue locked eyes with her dying friend. "Magneto's crew?"
He gave a small acknowledgement. "They were supposed to help me stage your death to look like a suicide." Fear rode into his eyes. "I can't go back, Rogue. Don't let them take me back!"
Rogue answered by putting her hands over his wound and Pietro covered them with his own. Looking into each other's eyes, their love for each other flared in their hearts, but both chose to remain silent than to voice what they already knew. "Please, Magneto will only turn me into a mindless machine," Pietro begged. "I want this to end."
Her concern for Pietro overrode her fear of the Institute. "The Professor could hide you; you could be free from Magneto's clutches and still live." Inside, she was shaking; Pietro never ever pleaded for anything. He was too much of a machismo for that. That he was asking for help rattled her nerves badly.
Pietro studied Rogue. "That's not my idea of freedom, forever hiding and trapped in a cage from my own father." His voice grew faint. "Please, Rogue. This way, they can't have either one of us."
The voices grew closer.
"This is... my fate," Pietro said quietly.
Her hands shaking, Rogue grabbed the sword, and closed her eyes, plunging it deeply into his heart.
Memories of Pietro laughing, Pietro teasing, Pietro acting the class clown, Pietro faking movie lines, Pietro handing her the soap, Pietro understanding, and Pietro smiling sadly all flitted through her mind. She didn't cry; she couldn't. Instead, a dull ache had built up inside her and refused to leave, giving her more pain than tears ever could.
This was... fate.
And she was running, her feet crunching through the fallen snow. Running blindly, Rogue opened her eyes to find she was back in her room. Fervently peeling off her blood-stained clothing, she thrust them into the sink and turned on the shower. Pink water swirled beneath her as Rogue slided against the wall and clutched her knees to her body.
And yet, she still couldn't shed a tear for him.
"Magneto can't control yah anymore, Peety. Yah're free," she whispered to her knees.
She continued to sit there, ignoring the silent beating of the water. Instead, she breathed in the steamy scent and debated on what to do about the constricting pain in her heart. Wearily closing her eyes, she drifted slowly into darkness.
-------------------------------
Opening her eyes, Rogue found herself in a field of flowers, filling her nose with the mingling scents of lavenders, violets, bluebells, and so on. Green skies stretched as far as the eye could see and the fields alternated between patches of unkempt flowers, to glistening grass. Letting herself fall into the safety of the flowers, Rogue glanced at her surroundings and frowned.
Suddenly, the environment seemed to shift and Rogue's surroundings changed into endless dirt with no sign of life within miles of her view. Scrambling up to her feet, Rogue was suddenly enveloped in darkness and she cried out in surprise. She looked around her but it was no use; she couldn't see anything. The feeling of dread grew and Rogue nervously wiped her sweating palms on her pants.
She knew this place; her insides all clamored that they did.
Feeling as if she was being watched, Rogue noticed with a start that glowing eyes had appeared to her right. Crying out, she edged away, only to realize more eyes glowed around her. Feeling something cold touch her wrist, Rogue snatched it away, only to realize that its grip on her wrist was strong.
"Let me go!"
Light flared and Rogue's eyes were blinded for a moment. When the spots in her vision cleared, she gulped at the sight of many familiar faces.
The one holding her wrist let go. Looking up into its face, Rogue realized it was Mystique and the dread spread throughout her body. "No, no... this can't be happening... NO!!!" Rogue struggled to wrench free from its grasp.
Her captor's face twisted to a mocking grin. "Welcome to our world, Rogue."
A/N: Eeep, don't kill me yet. Wait for the next chapter, then proceed to throw things at me. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you to those that have.