"Sting? Rogue?" Natsu approached the collapsed form on the ground cautiously, and gasped when he only saw one body. "What the-" The form rolled over, groaning, and put a hand to its head.
It was Sting. And Rogue. The boy's hair was dark but streaked with white, long in the front and wild in the back. His face was a strange amalgam of both boys, with one black eye and one white.
"Natsu?" The voice echoed, a combination of both Sting and Rogue, and the boy stood up slowly, looking at his hands and down at his body. He was shirtless, with glowing white script across his chest, wearing a pair of simple black pants and nothing on his feet.
"That is definitely not what the spell said would happen," Freed said, walking toward the Rogue-Sting hybrid and staring at him quizzically. "But I suppose it makes sense." Everyone stared at him. "Didn't future Rogue absorb Sting's powers?" Natsu nodded, understanding in his eyes.
"So present both of you have to fight future both of you," he said slowly, then grinned. "That's awesome! Go kick your ass!"
Sting-Rogue laughed, then looked down at his hands and flexed them. "I feel…stronger," he said in that strange voice. Then he looked quizzically at his shoulders and made a strange face. Suddenly, a set of leathery dragon's wings extended from his back, reaching up over his shoulders and stretching out several feet on each side. Wendy squeaked and jumped out of the way, almost getting hit by one.
"What? He gets wings?!" Natsu turned to Levy, pouting. "Can I have wings?!" Levy rolled her eyes.
"Could we…y'know, maybe hurry it up?" Gray's voice was strained, and sweat was running down his cheeks as held up the barrier around them. "I can't…much…" His arms dropped to his sides as he fainted, and Natsu managed to dive underneath and catch him before he hit the ground.
"Idiot," he whispered gently, brushing the hair back from Gray's face. Then he looked up at the rest of the group and grinned. "Let's go slay some dragons."
XXXX
Flying was difficult, as was sharing a body. Sting and Rogue could still feel their separate consciousnesses in this new form, but there was a melding into a distinct new personality, which called itself Skiafos. Once he got the hang of the wings, getting up to Motherglare was a quick trip. He landed in a crouch on the dragon's back, relishing the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair.
"Hey!" His dual voice echoed, and Future Rogue whipped around, staring in confusion at the boy in front of him. Skiafos was taken aback by Future Rogue's appearance – darkness and light, split directly down the centre, with a strange tattoo running down one side of his face. The part of Skiafos that was distinctly Rogue felt sick. Had he really killed his friend and taken his powers? "You don't belong here," Skiafos snarled.
"Who the hell are you?" Future Rogue snapped, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Nothing is going to stop me now." He sneered at Skiafos, then a blast of light erupted from the left side of his body, and a blast of dark from the right. "Even Natsu couldn't defeat me in this form." He reached out a hand in front of himself and shouted, "White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" Thin beams of light and shadows intermingled and flew through the air toward Skiafos.
Future Rogue gaped as Skiafos easily dodged the attack, catching some of the beams and absorbing them into his skin. Skiafos grinned as a blast of energy swirled around his own body, white and dark mingling together and causing his hair to fly up around him.
"How could you possibly-" Future Rogue stopped himself and stared at Skiafos intently, surprise evident on his face. "Me? And…Sting?"
"I am both Rogue AND Sting, but neither," Skiafos shouted, charging toward Future Rogue. "I am Skiafos, and I will destroy you!" To his surprise, instead of light and shadows in his hands, one hand was engulfed in lightning and the other in flames. He laughed gleefully and swung his hands together, and a vortex of fiery lightning formed in front of him and blasted towards Future Rogue. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade!"
Future Rogue looked stunned and tried to dodge the attack, but cried out as it clipped his leg, pushing him backward and almost knocking him off Motherglare. He regained his balance and snarled, forming a swirling blade from the shadows and launching it at Skiafos. "Shadow Dragon's Blade!"
"Ile Amor!" Skiafos yelled, suddenly surrounded by a windy barrier that deflected the weapon. He leaped into the air, arms glowing red, and began to fling scale-shaped projectiles at Future Rogue. "Poison Dragon's Scales!"
"Who ARE you?" Future Rogue's face contorted in anger. "How did you get this magic?"
Skiafos ignored the question and disappeared into the shadows, swirling along Motherglare and appearing at Future Rogue's feet as a beam of light, throwing him backward. "White Shadow Dragon's Sword Horn!"
"How?" Future Rogue howled, trying desperately to shove Skiafos off of him. "I should be immune-"
"You are," Skiafos replied, staring down at the time traveller. "Separately. It's true that you have mastered both light and shadows, but you took it by force." He slammed a fist down into Future Rogue, who barely blocked it with his arm. "Things that are taken by force are never pure. True strength comes from what has been freely given!" Another fist, this time barely missing Future Rogue's head and crashing into the back of Motherglare who howled in pain.
Future Rogue kicked Skiafos in the shin and rolled quickly out of the way, then stood, shooting beams of light and shadow at Skiafos. The hybrid dragon slayer dodged the blasts and absorbed them easily.
"I had to be strong!" Future Rogue screamed, firing a giant blast with both hands that Skiafos caught, letting it push him backwards a few feet and then tossing it aside. "Only the strong survive, HE taught us that!" He panted heavily, leaning forward. The wind whipped around the two boys, and Skiafos could hear the battle raging on below. He needed to end this quickly.
"He was wrong!" Skiafos shouted over the roar of the wind, smashing another fist into Motherglare's back after glancing down at the city, trying to time the crash. "We left! We found a new family!" Future Rogue's face was a mix of fury and despair.
"There was no escaping!" He cried. "Just pain, and pain, and pain. And I had to be strong, and I couldn't escape the shadows…" He dropped to his knees and tore at his hair, eyes wide and teeth clenched. "I had to be strong..."
Skiafos approached Future Rogue, dropping to one knee and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Strong enough to stop her?" He asked softly. Future Rogue stiffened and slapped Skiafos' hand away.
"Shut UP." His voice was low and dangerous.
"She's gone. Our new friends, they defeated her. We're safe now, with people who love us and care about us." He reached out again for Future Rogue's arm.
"There is no LOVE for me!" Future Rogue sobbed, struggling to stand. "Nothing is more important than being the strongest. I have to, I have to…" his voice trailed off and he stood there, holding his stomach and staring at Skiafos.
"It's okay to be afraid," Skiafos said softly. He took a chance, reaching out and grabbing Future Rogue's shoulders and pulling him into his chest. Future Rogue struggled for a minute, then softened against the other boy's grasp. "It's okay to ask for help, it's okay to not be the strongest." Future Rogue sagged against Skiafos for a moment, then shoved him, hard, and staggered backward.
"I can't," he said quietly. "I'm sorry." He stepped backward and pushed his hands together, forming a swirling ball of energy between them. "I have to destroy you."
Skiadros looked at him sadly, then nodded.
"I'm sorry too," he said in his echoing voice. "But I can't let you do that."
Skiafos held both hands out in front of him, a ball of pulsating white energy in the left hand and black energy in the right. The spheres grew until they were each the size of Skiafos' head, then he slammed his hands together. The light shrunk down and merged together, and he brought the new, multicolored sphere back to his chest, then thrust it outward at Future Rogue.
"Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang!" he yelled, releasing the energy in a torrent of blue and white light. The force of the blast pushed him backwards and he planted his feet, struggling to remain standing as the backlash of wind whipped around his body. Future Rogue's face filled with utter disbelief before he dropped his hands in surrender. The beam hit him in the chest and he cried out as it knocked him backward, exploding on impact in a flash or brilliant light. Future Rogue flew backward, slamming into the edge of Motherglare's wing and tumbling to the ground. His body rolled a few times and came to a smoking stop in the centre of the dragon's back.
Skiafos turned and attacked Motherglare again, slamming his fist into the dragon so that he roared and writhed in pain. The city was coming up incredibly fast, but they were headed for the gate, and that was what was important. He could see a crowd around it – Lucy, Wendy, Arcadios and the princess.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Skiafos roared, hoping to hell that they could hear him. There was no stopping this now.
Suddenly, Skiafos felt a tugging sensation in his stomach, and a tingling that ran straight from the top of his head to his toes. A blinding light split through him, and Sting and Rogue fell apart, each dropping to their knees as they shuddered off the effects of the fusion. Sting looked down at the rapidly approaching city, then over to Rogue, who was staring at him intensely.
"Rogue, you –"
"Sting, I –"
Rogue launched himself at Sting, burying his face in the other boy's neck and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Motherglare continued his descent, and Sting could see that they were about to hit the ground. He pulled Rogue to his chest and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head.
"I love you," Rogue whispered into Sting's neck. Then there was a horrible crash, the sound of stones crumbling, and nothing but pain for either of them.