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Also, thank you so much to YungVodkaDikost for beta reading this chapter! :D
CHAPTER TWO
Soft golden rays of light illuminated the tops of trees and cast long downward shadows onto the still form of the town below. The setting sun hung low as the huge orb made its way down to the now orange tinted horizon. The number of town's people bustling down the main road into the town had significantly dwindled as the golden hue signified the inevitable nightfall that was soon to come.
The ebony haired man sighed while his ruby red gaze observed the sky's deep orange color slowly fade to give way to the darkness of night. The man couldn't help but feel like he was being led around in circles like a ridiculous game of cat and mouse- that he was losing, if the fact that he was forced to trek down a new road in yet another godforsaken town was any credible form of indication.
The thought of the target of his mission slipping through his calloused hands once again left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Of course, the shadow dragon slayer wasn't bothered by trivial and unimportant things like tracking down bandits alone. No, in fact sometimes he loved getting a small amount of time away from his over-exuberant partner- but now, was not one of those times.
Though he had his beloved Frosch to keep him company, Rogue was really wishing his fellow Sabertooth slayer would have been able to come along to assist him in getting this requested mission done and over with. The ebony haired male pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache started to form behind his eyes.
It was difficult to get a little peace in his now rambunctious guild, so yes; he would gladly take a small mission every now and then just to have a moment of peace to himself. Besides, taking a mission was a great way to pass the time when Sting had to catch up on the massive amount of paperwork piling up on his desk.
The white dragon slayer had vowed to make the Sabertooth guild a bit more like the Fairy Tail guild with every passing day, and the blonde had definitely made good on that vow. To say that the Sabertooth guild had changed would be a complete understatement. The guild had undergone intense ever-constant change since the Grand Magic Games had ended- something that everyone was immensely grateful for.
The former most powerful guild in Fiore did a complete one-eighty, turning from a cold ruthless guild who only sought power, into one that was much more friendly and easy going in just a few short weeks. The changes had been a welcomed relief to everyone in or who associated with the guild.
Even though both dragon slayers had moved into the guild's living quarters after they returned from Crocus, the shadow slayer still had to accommodate for housing, food, and essentials for Frosch and himself. So, Rogue found himself having to take a couple of missions without the new guild master, who of course complained wholeheartedly about being left behind with mountains of paperwork to do.
The ebony haired mage lets a small smirk play on his usually stoic face as he thought of his twin complaining behind a giant stack of forms ready be filled out and apology letters to be signed. Rogue knew that Sting was itching to get out of the guild and go on a mission like they used to, but being the guild master of the second most powerful guild in Fiore came with a massive amount of responsibilities that couldn't go ignored for too long. The red-eyed male just thanked the gods that Sting had Lector to keep him company along with their resident celestial mage, Yukino.
His twin and the silver haired beauty had become a lot closer after the Grand Magic Games, and that had the ebony haired mage speculating that the lighter haired slayer would end up taking the stellar mage as his mate before the end of the year if fate had anything to do with it.
Rogue didn't care how much Sting denied his feelings, the shadow dragon slayer and the rest of the guild could see right through the new guild master. After all, Sting and Yukino were practically attached at the hip by this point. So much so that when Sting was able to get out of his office to go on a mission, Yukino would accompany both him and Rogue without even having to ask. It was just expected she would tag along these days.
Rogue sighed as he watched the darkness of night swallow the last remnants of light from the day. Shadows began to form around him, fueling his instinctual dragon slayer magic. The mage had -and would always feel- the most powerful at night; it was natural when he was surrounded by his element. Rogue knew that no matter how strong they made him feel in the cover of night, he had to be cautious because the shadows could also be very dangerous as they held the power of evil intent as well. The Shadow slayer's magic was one in the same with the darkness, so he knew he could never let his guard down, or else his very magic would consume him once again.
Rogue thought back to the Grand Magic Games when his shadow had almost succeeded in consuming him, and he didn't even want to remember the eclipse gate incident. The shock of finding out that the cause for all the destruction was none other than his future counterpart- who had been consumed by the very same shadow he fought against daily- had almost been too much for Rogue to take in.
The ebony haired male clenched his fist together when he thought of the crazed man that came from the future. He would never become that man. He would never let the darkness get a hold of him. That was a promise he knew he would never break.
Rogue was brought out of his thoughts as Frosch snuggled closer to his neck, the wind was picking up just a bit, so the slayer made sure to drape his cloak over the small exceed that was curled up sleeping on his shoulder. He would never become his future counterpart, because he would never let anything happen to Frosch. The ebony haired man pats the green exceed's head while making sure to keep him covered. Rogue would protect his little companion with his life if it came down to it, which he knew for a fact.
Rogue let his piercing red eyes scan over the small overgrown path he had stumbled upon while walking around the town of Achidea, the last known location of the group of bandits he was currently trying to capture to turn into the magic council. The mission would have been relatively simple if these were just your typical run-of-the-mills bandits, but they were far from typical.
This particular group of bandits also had powerful wizards as their top rank leaders, bumping the mission up from a regular request to an S-class mission. The ebony haired slayer knew there had been reports of them looting town's people, and kidnapping women along their way. Sadly, the reports say the kidnapped women never make it back to their families. Most are usually found dead miles from where they were taken, often in other towns or not at all.
So far, Rogue wasn't having any luck finding the infamous bandits when all he had to go off was rumored locations from the local townsfolk. The magic council, being the ones who made the request, could only offer up last known locations and reports. The whole situation put him on edge and had him frustrated to no end.
Rogue scoffed as he glanced back towards the path before turning his back to head back into the heart of the town. If he hurried, he might be able to make it to the local inn and get a shower and meal before going to bed to start his search all over again tomorrow.
The dragon slayer stiffened when his ebony hair lightly whipped around his face from a particularly strong wind. Rogue closed his eyes as he caught a strange scent that was oddly familiar to him being carried on the wind's path, causing him instinctively to turn back towards the eerie trail.
He stood, his back straight with his nose pointed up in the air trying to catch even the smallest trace of the odd scent once again. The slayer's body went rigid as his nostrils flared, finally catching that sweet yet slightly sinister scent once more, though this time it was mixed heavily with the smell of blood.
Without a second thought, the Sabertooth mage turned to face the direction the aroma was coming from then merged with the shadows and drifted down the pathway.
Rogue couldn't place where he had picked up the sweet scent before, but his curiosity got the best of him as he reemerged from the shadows into a small opening much like a field. With his enhanced dragon slayer vision, he could see even in the darkness of night that the area had taken quite an impact of damage. Trees had been crushed by an invisible force as if something fell straight from the sky creating giant crates on the ground beneath his feet. Men lay scattered amongst the destruction, obviously they had taken a serious beating.
..But from who?
Rogue strolled through the destroyed field, looking over all the men that lay unconscious. He was taken aback when he noticed that two of these men matched the same vivid descriptions of the top leaders among the bandits said to cause chaos and discord in their wake.
The ebony haired man slipped out his communication lacrima and sent a pulse of magic to the device while he focused on a vision of Sting. It wasn't long until an image of the said dragon slayer popped up.
Rogue's face remained stoic as he took in Sting's current state of being. It looked as if he had fallen asleep on his desk if the red mark on his forehead was any indication. The blonde haired male gave out a loud yawn as his groggy eyes finally seemed to focus on Rogue through the communication lacrima.
"What's up, Rogue? Did you catch those bandits, yet?" The guild master asked with another tired and obnoxiously loud yawn as he leaned back and stretched. The hopelessness in Sting's voice almost made Rogue smirk. He knew that the blonde would much rather be helping him then stuck in the confines of his office.
"I believe so. I found them unconscious down an abandoned old trail leading out of Achidea. Call the Magic Council to come and get them." Rogue demanded to the now alert guild master. Sting nodded as he finally let the first part of the darker twin's sentence sink it.
"What do you mean you found them unconscious? Someone had already taken them out, but didn't call the council?" Sting questioned his dark haired companion. The latter just rolled his eyes at his best friend and guild master.
"Stop wasting time and call the council, I'm just as in the dark as to what happened here as you are. All I know is the area is a complete disaster." Rogue calmly stated moving the lacrima around, so Sting could see the damage.
"Alright, you stay in the area while I make the call to the council. It shouldn't take them long to get to your location, maybe about fifteen to twenty minutes at the most." Sting said before he cut off the communication from the lacrima. Frosch had begun to stir from the loud voices of the two dragon slayer's talking to one another. The little exceed set up on Rogue's shoulder while the Shadow mage slipped off the pack he had been carrying and put the lacrima back in its original place.
"How did you sleep, Frosch?" Rogue asked his pink frog suit wearing exceed.
"Fro had a great dream about fish! Can we get fish soon, Rogue?" Frosch asked Rogue while throwing his paws up in the air to show his excitement over the thought of eating fish. The slayer smiled fondly at his little friend while he took him off his shoulder and started carrying him in his arms while making sure all the bandits stayed put.
"I think that is a great idea, Frosch." Rogue agreed as he looked up at the sky. A soft breeze blew lightly past Rogue, tossing his ebony hair around his face once again. He stilled as the familiar, yet unfamiliar scent he originally was in pursuit of wafted through the breeze. The source of the aroma wasn't far off, but it alarmed him as to how much blood he could smell in the mix of the scent now.
Rogue took one more look around the damaged field before walking to the other side that opened up to resume the small pathway. He could sense another heartbeat in the quiet of the night not far away from where he and Frosch are now. The shadow dragon slayer glided through the small path that twisted and turned down the dense forest that surrounded them, the heartbeat growing louder with every step he took.
The foul smell of iron filled blood permeated the trail as he drew in closer to the source of the familiar and obviously injured source of the scent. He stopped as the sight of a tree with one bloody hand print adorning its bark caught his attention.
The curious slayer walked closer squinting while his eyes traveled to the ground beside the tree. He gasped as his eyes fell on the small form of a woman. Frosch pushed out of Rogue's arms causing him to land on the ground with a small thump then waddled over to the unconscious woman's body.
"Miss Lady, are you okay?" Frosch shook the arm of the woman but pulled back with a cry as his eyes dropped to her side and saw the crimson cloth that had been the source of the puddle of blood he was standing in.
Rogue immediately removed Frosch from the woman's side before he went to put his hand on her wrist to check for a pulse. Her heartbeat was still there, but it was so slow and unsteady he was worried she was going to die right then and there with he and Frosch and by her side.
The dragon slayer threw off the pack he had slung over his shoulder and started fishing through its contents. The ebony haired male pulled out a small first aid kit and only hoped it had enough supplies in it to cover what he could already tell was a gnarly wound on her side.
With baited breath, Rogue opened the kit and said a silent thanks to whatever deity was watching over him at the moment. The shadow dragon slayer pulled out the gauze pads and surgical tape while Frosch watched on in complete horror.
Rogue always hated when the little exceed was put into these types of situations, but the slayer also knew that this wasn't the first and most likely wouldn't be the last time the feline would see someone hurt in the line of work he does. The ebony haired male carefully undid the tied clothing that was covering the woman's injured abdomen while trying to avoid hurting her.
"Frosch, I need your help, can you hold this flashlight steady so I can see her side clearly?" Rogue held the flashlight out to the shaken exceed. The little feline gulped but nodded as he took the light out of Rogue's hand then attempted to hold it steady to where the beam was pointed directly on the woman's wounded side, then quickly turned his head away with tears in his eyes so he didn't have to watch.
A low growl rumbled from the slayer's throat as the blood soaked cloth dropped to the ground revealing the amount of damage inflicted on the woman's side.
What the hell exactly happened to this person?
Not only did she have an injury that looked like it had been gouged out, but her flesh around it looked like it had been cauterized, then ripped open once again. The skin was bubbled and pink like she had been severely burned beforehand as well. Rogue didn't have to lift any more of her clothing to see she had similar burns covering the rest of her body.
He quickly put the gauze over her side and tried to tape it down to whatever undamaged part of skin he could find, which was proving to be a challenge.
The dragon slayer looked up when he heard shouting in the distance, which he could only assume that the council had finally shown up and was taking the bandits into custody.
The conflicted male looked in the direction he had just came from, wondering if he should take this woman to them as well, but decided against it when he looked down to try and distinguish the characteristics of her face.
Her smell was driving him insane. Being so close to her, and yet he still wasn't able to tell who exactly she was because of all the wounds and filth covering her body. He knew her identity was right on the top of his head, but he just couldn't put two and two together.
Her face was bruised and swollen while dirt and blood clung to her like a second skin. Her hair was also matted and dirty and he couldn't even tell what color it originally was. Did she have brown hair with dirty blonde highlights or maybe she was a blonde?
"Rogue, is Miss Lady going to be okay?" Frosch cried as he climbed into Rogue's arms. Rogue set him on his shoulder, not caring for the smell of blood that now coated the bottom of his exceed's frog suit.
"I don't know, Frosch, but we should take her to get some help, shouldn't we?" Rogue said standing up to look over the frail woman's body. How could he pick her up without hurting her even more?
"Can we bring Miss Lady back to the guild with us, Rogue? Maybe she will feel better if she has some fish as well!" Frosch asked with such innocence and hope in his eyes. Rogue didn't see the harm in taking her back to the guild, they did have an amazing infirmary and she did smell extremely familiar.
Not only that, the nearest hospital was about two hours away. Plus, he didn't want to upset Frosch by telling him no when he really didn't have a good reason not to. So, for the second time that night, Rogue took out his communication lacrima and focused as he pushed magic through it once again.
Rogue watched as the lacrima lit up with a confused image of Sting.
"Ah, come on man! You always have the worst timing, what is it now?" Rogue watched as a blushing Yukino appeared in the lacrima while the blonde slayer stood rubbing the back of his neck.
Oh, they are so busted.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have a more important situation. Can you get an infirmary bed ready, and tell Rufus I will need his assistance?" The ebony haired man said with a calm expression, even though he wanted to smirk for being able to interrupt a moment between their celestial maiden and his bonehead guild master.
"Infirmary? Why do you need Rufus? Both you and Frosch look fine to me." The blonde gave Rogue a confused look.
"The reason why I need an infirmary bed and Rufus is because I found an injured woman who might die if I leave her here for much longer. Her scent is oddly familiar, but I can't recognize her with how beaten and bruised she is." Rogue directed his lacrima to the unconscious body on the ground.
He heard a horrified feminine gasp which he could only assume came from Yukino and a string of curses come from the blonde male. Rogue returned the lacrima back to himself and looked at their concerned expressions.
"I'm going to go to tell Rufus you'll need his help when you get here. Yukino, you'll go get the infirmary ready. Rogue, get her here quick, she looks like death will be knocking on her door any minute, buddy." The connection went dead and the slayer turned to put the lacrima back in its original place.
The dragon slayer sighed while removing his cloak to put it over the woman's unmoving body. Her heart beat was still faint, but it had regained a steady rhythm now that the flow of blood had been stemmed better.
He leaned over and braced himself while he tried to pick her up as gently as he could. The woman let out a small pained whimper while he cradled her against his chest and carried her bridal style. He pushed his magic out and used it to cover himself, Frosch and the mystery woman as they merged with the shadows.
Rogue usually never used this form of travel with others except Frosch. It took up a lot of his magic to cover himself and another person, effectively draining his magic at a rapid rate. The longer he used his magic to merge all three of them into shadows, the faster his magic depleted.
Thankfully, Achidea neighbored Crocus so they weren't far from Sabertooth to begin with. Rogue pushed himself further into the shadows as they traveled faster to the guild.
When the ebony man finally stopped and reemerged from the shadows he was standing in front of the proud tall structure that was the Sabertooth guild. The shadow slayer wasted no time as he kicked open the door, paying no attention to the occupants of the guild hall as they gasped in shock looking from one another then back to the entry of the hall.
Rogue blocked out the whispers as he walked to the staircase that led to the second floor where the infirmary was stationed.
Questions along the lines of, 'who is that girl?' And 'What happened to her?' Circulated through the hall as the focused slayer continued his ascent up the staircase to the infirmary.
He walked down the long hallway cradling the fragile woman close to his chest so he didn't jostle her too much in his haste to get to the infirmary. Rogue could see the glimmer of silver hair as Yukino ran from the end of the hall with Rufus and Sting hot on her heels.
"How is she? Is her heart beat steady?" An out of breath Yukino asked as she shuffled closer to get a better look at the woman cradled in his. Sting and Rufus chose to observe from behind the silver haired mage, opting to look over her to get a glimpse of the beaten woman currently situated in the shadow mage's arm.
Frosch jumped off his place on Rogue's shoulder and onto the ground causing the concerned stellar mage to redirect her gaze to look down at the green exceed. Yukino- not wanting to startle Frosch anymore than he already was- told the feline that Lector was in the guild hall eating fish and suggested he should go get some as well.
While their celestial key holder was busy talking to Frosch, Rogue walked past her and the other two men who had been trying to catch a glimpse of the woman he was holding. The crimson eyed slayer just really wanted to put the mysterious woman down on an infirmary bed so she could get examined properly.
He shoved the door open and moved one of the adjoining privacy curtains back and gently laid the woman down on the pristine white bedding. The infirmary quickly filled up with people as Rogue moved away from the bed to let Rufus have a look at her.
Sabertooth didn't have an infirmary doctor- or even a healer for that matter, but they did have the next best thing.
Rufus was a memory-make mage and could basically mimic anything he remembered, including medical techniques. So even though they didn't have a doctor to take care of this woman, they did have someone just as good. The shadow mage watched as Rufus and Yukino mumbled to each other while they evaluated the bruised and battered body of the unconscious female.
The shadow dragon slayer fidgeted when he felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him while watching Rufus cut small portions of the girls' clothing off then poke at her tender flesh, something about another male touching her made a growl form low in his chest.
It wasn't so much that he was protective over her as much as it was that the woman just smelled weird. The ebony haired male couldn't understand why she was so familiar to him.
Rogue snapped out of his weird daze as he noticed the silver haired mage take a few steps away from the bed, tears threatening to fall as soon as they started to form in her eyes. Sting must have also taken notice of the racing of Yukino's heart as it beat uncontrollably. The Sabertooth guild master made to grab her arm to ask what was wrong, but the celestial mage just looked at him and shook her head as the tears started to fall. She put her hand up to her mouth to keep from openly sobbing.
Rufus must have known exactly what the stellar mage had realized because he stood from where he was examining the unconscious woman and firmly grabbed one of Rogue's shoulders.
"You need to tell me if you know who did this to her." Rogue was taken aback by the raw emotions swimming in Rufus's emerald eyes.
Shocked and confused by the display between both Yukino and Rufus, Sting chose to be the one to ask the question that was gnawing at both the twin dragons.
"What the hell is going on with you two!?" Sting shouted while Rufus removed his hand from Rogue's shoulder before putting a hand to his head while walking to stand beside Yukino, who had reclaimed her spot back by the woman's body.
Rogue could hear the silver haired woman's watery murmurs as she whispered to the unconscious body.
Rogue stood in the corner across the room while watching the display between the female saber and the mystery woman, still in the dark as to why both Rufus and Yukino were acting differently. Yukino was now using a wet cloth to clean off some of the dirt and blood from the female's face while still whispering to her in hushed tones.
"I can't say I know who did this to her, but if I had to guess, I would say it was most likely the bandits I was supposed to capture." The shadow dragon slayer pushed himself off the wall to stand behind Rufus as he examined the woman's left arm. The appendage was bent in the wrong direction indicating it was broken with a few tendons ripped as well.
The memory make mage moved from her left arm to the right side of her abdomen where the ebony haired male's make-shift bandage covered most of the severe damage. The shadow mage tried not to cringe as Rufus slowly and skillful peeled the now blood soaked bandage from her raw skin.
Rufus gasped as he saw the deep gouge marring her pale flesh, the sides of the wound were burnt and raw with blisters bubbling up over her porcelain skin.
"I'm going to need both Sting and Rogue to leave for privacy reasons; Yukino will stay to help with my evaluation." The memory make mage said to no one in particular as he got up to put on a pair of gloves and gather some more medical supplies from the cabinets. Rogue looked at Sting who shrugged and made his way to the door, the former hesitated before following the white dragon slayer out of the room.
"She does smell extremely familiar, but I just can't place it with the stench of blood surrounding her body." Sting noted as he leaned against the wall of the hallway next to the infirmary door.
"I put Orga in charge of guarding the top of the stairs just in case someone decides to get a little too interested while we assess the situation," The guild master said looking down the hall where he could see the lightning god slayer sitting by the wall, obviously bored out his mind. Rogue stood beside Sting as they waited outside the infirmary for what seemed like hours.
Finally, after what was actually forty-five minutes, the infirmary door swung open to show a tearful Yukino and a somber Rufus. The twin dragons felt the atmosphere shift as they moved away from the door to let the pair back into the infirmary.
"You two can come back in. I had Yukino clean her up as best as she could without my help. I cleaned and stitched the wound on her side, which from my memory was caused by some sort of electrocution, and then a knife was inserted. Electricity was forced into the wound from the knife, causing the flesh to cauterize around the blade while it was still embedded in her body, then the wound was reopened when it was removed, taking a lot of skin with it. Her arm was broken and out of its shoulder socket completely, from my memory, I replaced it and set the bone as best I could. I cleaned and covered her small cuts with antiseptic salves. She also has a huge burn going from her shoulders to her rear, I had Yukino put medicine and cover it as best she could." Rufus sighed.
"She has lost a lot of blood from the wound from her side, if you didn't find her when you did; she would have died a couple of hours ago. She is in stable condition for now, but I can't say much about her mental trauma. She must have endured a lot today, and that is going to take a toll on her emotionally." Rogue and Sting took in the information, they were both relieved that she was going to be alright in a physical sense, but that still didn't answer the question as to why her scent was familiar not only to Rogue but to Sting as well.
As if the memory make mage could read their mind's he continued.
"The reason why her scent is familiar to you both is because she is Lucy Heartfillia from Fairy Tail, and the reason I asked if you knew who did this to her, is because I'm sure Fairy Tail is going to want revenge for the torment they put this woman through, if my memory serves me right." Rufus hesitated as he tried to form the best possible way to explain the last and one of the most crucial bits of information. The twin dragons watched as Yukino and Rufus exchanged a glance. The later sighed as he got ready to tell them their final discovery.
"Not only was Lucy beaten and tortured, but indicating from the blood Yukino discovered coming from her nether region, she might have been raped as well." Rogue and Sting both let the last bit of information sink in.
This was Fairy Tail's celestial spirit mage they were talking about.
Not only was she a valued member of Fairy Tail, but she was Natsu Dragneel's best friend and partner.
Oh, yes. The man who did this to her was definitely in for it when Fairy Tail finds out.