2Hello! I'm back with another chapter! I hope none of you forgot about this story. I've had a lot of things happen that caused me to have the biggest case of writer's block I've ever had. But the good news is that I made the Dean's List for my college! So I guess something good came out of all this! Anyway, I'll let all of you read the story instead of wasting time. Enjoy!
Chapter 19: Fugitives
"Oh, Zeref," I whispered, giving him a saddened look as Ty curled up on my lap, patting my leg with a paw. "I am so sorry about what happened to Cassie… And for what happened to your mother that made you think you had to do this."
He reached over and clasped my hands with his own, his eyes burning darkly as he gave me a smile. "I know you are and I appreciate the sentiment," he said, even though he looked so sad. "My mother, Queen Leeta, was strong, even if she was rather cold, and that is what passed on to me the most. I took that strength that she gave me and kept living, no matter what happened. And Cassiana… well, she was the light of my life. She taught me how precious life is and I know that she would tell me not to regret that if she were still alive right now. Even the man who sired me taught me an important lesson and that was not to trust so easily."
"What Rhazien did angers me greatly and made me root for a Dragon that I despise," I told him, making him smile a little and rid himself a little of the sadness. "There is something I need to know now, even though I know this subject hurts."
"I trust your judgment," he said to me. "I know that you ask for a reason and not to cause me any pain."
"You said that Adira and Deysis are sealed within you? And that your mother allowed Deysis into her mind years before?" I asked as he nodded slowly. "Do you know if there is any way to force them to leave the bodies they're possessing?"
"Are you referring to Adira possessing your daughter? I can guarantee that she won't be there for long. She just needed to use her long enough to stop Deysis in future Timara's body."
"I don't understand how she possessed her though."
"Maybe Saphira was wishing to become stronger with all of her heart and so Adira heard her," Zeref told me. "It was a split second decision that had to be made quickly."
"How are those two even here right now?"
"When the future version of you was healed by me when she almost died, the two spirits must have sensed you. Deysis was most likely waiting for a chance to escape and when you siphoned away my powers, she followed after without anyone noticing. Once they were both unsealed, Adira went out into the world while Deysis possessed your future version."
"This is so confusing," Ty said as she stood up.
"No kidding," I told her. "This is all so messed up. Who knew it could get so complicated?"
I stood up as Ty took to the air, extending my hand to Zeref and pulling him to his feet. I conjured a piece of cloth from the shadows and wiped up the blood from his previously broken nose. He looked confused and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks until I was done. There were still a few bruises on his skin left that hadn't healed as quickly as his nose and I traced my fingers over them, making him flinch away in pain. I felt bad about hurting him again and let the cloth disappear into thin air.
"I'm sorry about what I did to you," I said quietly before hugging him. "I reacted badly to what happened earlier and I took it out on you. I never should have done that. I promise you that it won't happen again unless you actually deserve it."
He hesitated a little before wrapping his arms around my shoulders, stroking my hair slowly and resting his chin on top of my head. I had a feeling that he was secretly thinking about Cassiana and wishing she was still alive. "That's my Timara, threatening future violence after already punching me once today."
"Your Timara?" I heard a voice say as I pulled away from the hug, seeing an angry looking Natsu standing behind us. "I didn't realize that she ever belonged to you."
"Natsu, I didn't mean—" Zeref tried to say, looking very pale, before I cut him off.
"Natsu Dragneel, you better not be getting jealous," I growled, glaring at him as he did the same. "You know I'm yours. I hugged him as an apology for punching him so hard that I broke his nose."
He didn't say anything, just moved fast over to Zeref and slammed his fist into Zeref's nose. There was yet another sickening snap as his nose broke and I groaned while Zeref howled in pain. "What the hell is with you two?" Zeref yelled, his voice sounding nasally as he pinched his nose to stop the blood flow after snapping it back in place. "Why do you insist on breaking things?"
"I feel much better now," Natsu said before looking at me. "I see why you did it."
"You had no reason to do that though," I told him with another glare, smacking him on the chest. "Not only that, but you should know better than to fly into a jealous rage."
Zeref's eyes looked bruised now from the force of Natsu's punch and, after fighting with Natsu who insisted on pulling me back to his side whenever I got too close to The Black Wizard, wiped the blood away from his nose. I gave him an apologetic look before allowing my hands to turn cold by separating Ice Magic from Etherion. I placed my hands over his eyes and he sighed a little, the pain ebbing for him as he healed himself. After a minute or two had passed, he pulled my hands away and he was finally all healed up. He thanked me quietly before disappearing into the woods, most likely heading for the rest of the group.
"Great, you made him upset," I told Natsu, still looking in the direction that Zeref had gone. I nodded to Ty, who was still flying around me, and she followed after the poor man. "He's already in a bad state of mind right now. I'm worried about him."
Natsu caught on to my tone of voice and lost his anger, getting a bit more serious. "Why, what's wrong with him?"
"He told me everything about his past and how he came to be The Black Wizard," I told him, finally turning around to look him in the eyes. "He hasn't had a very good life. The girl he fell in love with died because his Magic went out of control. Poor, poor Zeref and Cassie…"
"Damn, now you've made me feel bad for my actions," he grumbled while looking down at the ground. "Saphira is all right now. She woke up and doesn't remember a thing about what happened. That was why I came to find you."
"There was no sign of that ancient being left in her, right?" I asked.
"None that I could sense," he told me before moving closer and rubbing the skin on my arms comfortingly. "I think it left soon after your future version decided to leave."
"Well, at least there is one good thing that has happened so far today," I sighed before walking off in the direction that Zeref went in with Natsu on my heels.
Even as I walked out towards the field where Natsu and I had fought, it somehow found a way to get even worse. Coming out into the clearing, I saw everyone turn their heads in our direction. All of them had a despairing expression, like whatever hope they had just drained away from them. I only hesitated for a second before moving faster and towards the center of where they were all gathered, finding Makarov and Erza standing in front of a Communications Lacrima that hovered before them in the air.
"What's going on here?" I asked the Guild Master as Natsu stood at my side. I saw a few others like Gray and Lucy move closer as a familiar face appeared in the Lacrima Crystal. "Olly, is that you? Why did you contact us?"
I saw an angry glint in her eyes as she looked at me, not thrilled with me using the nickname for her but she let it go. "Don't call me Olly. It's Olivia," she said quietly before speaking up a little louder. "Anyway, I didn't contact Fairy Tail to debate this, I decided to warn you all. More specifically, I decided to warn you, Timara."
"Warn me about what?" I asked hesitantly, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.
Olivia sighed a little, playing with a strand of wavy lavender hair and her midnight blue eyes moved down as she said, "The Chairman is sending the Rune Knights to capture you by any means necessary and place you in their prison where you can atone for your crimes."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu growled, throwing his arm around my shoulders protectively. "She hasn't done anything wrong! I've been with her all this time and she hasn't done anything to warrant an arrest!"
"Trust me, Natsu, I know she hasn't done anything wrong," Olivia said as she finally looked back up, her eyes blazing angrily. "The Chairman is just looking for a way to get rid of her since he's still angry about what happened in Cedar. He thinks that she is the biggest threat to him and I think he's super paranoid, no longer fit to lead the Magic Council. However, what he saw recently has led his paranoia to further heights."
"What did he see?" I asked, feeling like I had a hunch as to what forced his hand.
"A week or so ago, maybe even longer than that, it was discovered that there were quite a few murders in Mercurius. Some Surveillance Lacrimas were put in place in the palace and we finally caught the face of the one who was doing the killing. Not only that, but we caught a man trespassing in an area that is off limits to people without clearance."
Olivia pulled up one of the pictures and there in black and white was my own image. I held back a gasp when I finally caught a few differences, two of which were the fact that she had white hair and white eyes. I growled and knew my hunch was right, my future version was causing more damage than I liked. If she was in the immediate vicinity, I knew that she had to be laughing like a fiend. She didn't care what her mindless killing would do to me or how it would affect my life. The other picture was of future Rogue and I had a bad feeling about it.
"I know this isn't you," Olivia said to me. "Princess Hisui and I had a discussion a few days ago. She told me that there was a man from the future who came to her with a plan, one that involved the palace itself. Perhaps this is the future version of you and that's why she looks so similar. I think the man shown in the picture is also the one who talked with the princess, although she wouldn't give up his name."
"You catch on quick," I said quietly. "You are right about her identity and we have been dealing with her for days now. She's a force to be reckoned with and you should be advised to avoid her at all costs. Only I can defeat her. As for the man, it's the future version of Rogue and he is not to be trusted either. He is to be stopped at all costs."
"I figured that was his identity," Olly said. "Unfortunately, so did the Chairman. He wants your brother gone as well, just to keep both of Skiadrum's children out of the way lest the one who roams free causes as much trouble as the one captured."
"How long do we have until the Rune Knights get here?" Natsu asked.
"Well, I had some difficulty getting to a place where I could be alone and wouldn't be spied upon, so you have maybe… fifteen minutes left."
"Are you kidding me?!" Gray yelled and an uproar started around us as everyone began talking loudly. "How are we going to hide her in time?"
"Hey, dummy, did you forget that she's a Shadow Dragon Slayer? She can just shift into her shadow form and they won't be able to find her, no matter how hard they try," Natsu told him, smacking him on the back of his head.
"That's a bad idea," I said to myself as I looked down at my feet. "What about Rogue? I mean, I can't just let him get captured. I bet that they're coming for me first to use me to get him, too. This means I need to leave now and warn him, maybe even go into hiding with him now before it's too late. Not only that, but we have to put the fact that Lucy's Keys have been stolen under consideration. Their next move would be to go after Yukino for her set, so we'd have to go there either way."
"Is that what you plan on doing then?" Natsu asked, startling me a little. I looked up and saw that everyone was starting at me. They must have been waiting to find out what I was going to do next.
"I think that's the only option I have right now," I told them all. "Rogue needs to know this and I am sure that the future versions of him and me are moving towards Sabertooth as we speak. I'll go alone and I'll be able to get there quicker than if we all went together."
"I'm not letting you go alone, but nice try," Natsu huffed. "If anything, a group of us will be going with you." He immediately turned to Gray, Erza, and Lucy with a grin. "So, how about it? Should Team Natsu go on yet another adventure together?"
"Sounds like a plan," Erza said with a laugh.
There was a honking noise and we all turned around to see a Magic Vehicle appear that was driven by a sick looking Gajeel. Once he pulled it to a stop, he practically rolled over and to the ground with a groan. Levy and Rowan ran over to him with worried expressions while Pantherlily tried to get him to his feet.
"I forgot about my motion sickness," Gajeel grumbled before finally managing to stand up. "Use this to get out of here. We'll watch out for the kids while you're gone, you have my word."
I nodded and proceeded to give Saphira a tight hug before moving towards our getaway vehicle. This Magic Vehicle was smaller than the one we used before and Erza took the front seat to drive it. Ty and Happy flew inside with Gray and Lucy while I dragged Natsu after them. Even though he wanted to go, he didn't want to have anything to do with the Magic Vehicle and his motion sickness. I had to have Gray help me pull him inside the cab when Natsu wedged himself in the doorway with a stubborn look on his face.
"Natsu, let go!" I yelled as Gray and I pulled as hard as we could on his arms. "This is ridiculous! I get motion sickness, too, and you don't see me practically throwing a fit like this!"
"Come on, Flame Brain!" Gray growled. "The faster you get in here, the faster it will be over with!"
"Allow me to help," I heard a voice say and I looked over Natsu's shoulder to see Zeref standing behind him.
He moved his wiry body just so and then pushed as hard as he could, freeing Natsu and making us all tumble inside. Zeref laughed hysterically until he realized that he had somehow managed to land on top of me, scrambling up and sitting on the bench behind the window so he could look at Erza. He took the SE-plug from her with a smile and explained that he could keep his Magic going so we would reach the wooded village outside of Sabertooth sometime after nightfall. With a laugh, Zeref started the vehicle and began to move it at a slow pace so that Erza could navigate it between the trees.
Instantly, Natsu and I slumped against each other with a groan as our stomachs protested the movements. I heard Ty and Happy giggle quietly as they watched us, tempting me to glare at them but feeling too sick to bother. Gray only shook his head and looked out the window, not even glancing in our direction. Lucy gave us a sympathetic look but I could tell that her heart wasn't entirely in it since she must be too worried about her Keys being in the hands of a monster.
"If only Wendy had cast her Troia spell on us before we left," Natsu grumbled.
"How many times do I have to tell you that she can't keep using that on you?" I mumbled back. "It will stop working one of these days, if it hasn't already."
"Quit your whining," Gray said as he watched the passing scenery. I turned my head to the window to see that we had just left the forest altogether and were speeding along down the path. "I don't really want to hear the complaining the entire way to Sabertooth."
I let out a growl and was entirely tempted to attack him, but my stomach protested and forced me to sink even further against Natsu's side. I felt him rest his head on top of mine and I closed my eyes in hopes that I could somehow fall asleep. He groaned again and I wrapped an arm around him, which seemed to make him feel a little better. Before long, I got my wish and slipped into an uneasy sleep.
XxXxX
To say that I was in a bad mood was an understatement. I was beyond enraged at the situation I was put in earlier in the forest outside of Magnolia. To think that the evil being within me managed to escape the confines I had around it in my mind was one thing, but to be attacked by another being that possessed a little girl, who also happened to be my daughter from the past, was another thing entirely. She had obliterated my arm and it still stung after all this time, even after it had healed up on its own. I stretched it out in front of me, clenching my fingers into a fist as my rage took to even higher levels. It was a feeling that could only lead to one thing and that was to go on another killing spree. With a buzzing in my veins that meant the shadow within me was pleased, I found a tiny village to the west of the forest hiding Sabertooth and razed it to the ground. No one survived my attack and I stood amongst the flames as I watched everything burn.
This will be like your era once you return to it, the being I was growing to hate said. You will be able to destroy all life in the blink of an eye. Fulfill my wishes, my pet, and I will reward you generously.
"Shut up, you crazy freak," I growled at it as I shoved it back down in my mind. I felt its intense surprise that I was getting stronger than ever before. "I do this because I want to, not because it's what you want. I don't care what you think and the sooner I can destroy you, the better off I will be. Now leave me be as I enjoy my moment."
I didn't hear another peep from the being called Deysis, so I knew I had won. With a grin, I turned my sights on the forest nearby and ran in as fast as I could. I had a feeling that I would see this era's Rogue again soon, most likely to track down the source of the fires lighting up the sky. I jumped up into the branches of the trees and moved further into the forest to wait for the chance I needed. I adjusted what I was wearing since it was twisted a little during my demolition of the village and noticed all of the blood I was covered in. I shrugged and stretched, arching my back a little with a contented noise and then went back to observing what was beneath me with a predatory gaze.
Just like I had predicted, I could see through the shadows that there was a dark figure moving along towards the west in the direction of the village. I could see a tinier shape near his feet that seemed to be shivering and I could sense its fear. I knew that the right person had stumbled upon my trap and I let out a peal of laughter, startling them both and making them freeze. The tiny figure moved even closer to the larger one, shaking even more as it tried to find me but failing.
"I know you're out there," the present era's Rogue said, his gaze locked on in the general area that I was standing in. "You might as well come out now and show yourself."
With another laugh, I leapt down from the branch I was standing on and left the shadows to step out into a spot where moonlight was leaking through the leaves. He looked deeply surprised that someone like me had snuck up on him without him noticing. "Little Rogue, how nice to see you again," I said with a grin.
"How do you…?" he started to say but then a look of recognition cross his face. "You're the lady from the ball at Mercurius! You are the one that asked me to dance!"
I had almost forgotten about moment and I let my mind wander back to that day. It was back when I was using my fake identity as the future queen of the Pergrande Kingdom and had been at the ball since I had heard word that my dearest 'brother' was present. I had been looking around for him when I found past Rogue. It was like looking back to a time before the horror I had withstood and it almost tore my blackened heart to shreds. I still felt a deep-seated fury for him, but a tiny part of me knew that this Rogue hadn't done anything to me yet. I felt the need to make sure anyway and so I approached him.
"Would you care to dance with me?" I asked him, giving him a fake pleasant smile.
He looked a little shy about it but nodded quickly, so I grabbed him by the hand and dragged him along after me. I took him inside the crowd where no one would think anything suspicious and placed one hand on his shoulder while he placed his free hand on my waist. He still looked a bit embarrassed and I knew then that this Rogue was still the good one that seemed like a distant memory.
"So tell me," I said, making sure my eyes stayed their fake dark color, "what are your thoughts on backstabbers?"
"I think they are vile and the lowest of the low," he whispered, his one red eye that I could see blazing passionately.
I gave him a smile that I actually meant and said, "Ah, a man after my own heart. It's good to know that I'm not the only one with such strong feelings."
"How about you?" he asked. "What are your thoughts on the subject?"
"My thoughts?" I asked as I titled my head to the side. I let him think I was pondering the question for a few seconds before flashing him an ominous smile that showed off my fangs for the briefest of seconds. "I think they should all be killed for what they have done. They should not be shown any mercy whatsoever."
The song then ended and I was about to leave when he caught hold of my wrist. "Who are you?" he asked me, a curious look on his face.
Quite a few thoughts swirled through my head as I debated on what I should tell him. With a decisive nod, I said, "No one important," then moved through the crowd to disappear from his sight, which was around that time that I saw my brother outside on the balcony.
I shook my head and focused in on the man standing before me with the cowering Exceed hiding behind his legs. "What a lovely memory you have," I laughed. "I would just hate to be dust in the wind to you."
"Frosch, I think you should leave right now," Rogue said softly. "If anything happens, I don't want you to get hurt. Go find Sting and stay with him for now."
"Are you sure?" the little cat asked with worried eyes.
"Yes, now go before it's too late."
As the cat in the frog suit flew off towards Sabertooth, I said, "So, now it's just you and me. Just like old times."
"I don't understand what you mean, lady," he said with a glare. "I don't know you and the only time we've met is during the ball."
"Not true in the slightest," I told him as I took a step closer to him, moving lithely like a panther. "We have known each other for a very long time. You just don't recognize me yet."
He paused for a few seconds, looking very uncertain now yet standing his ground, then quietly asked, "Who are you? Answer me this time."
Deciding to go for the shock value of revealing my identity, I pushed my Death Magic down hard enough to let my hair and eyes shift back to their old colors. My hair went back to being blue black and my eyes turned golden, making Rogue gasp in astonishment and stare at me in silence before I let my Death Magic come back to the surface to turn my hair and eyes colorless once more. He still stared at me and looked extremely pale the whole time. Rogue almost seemed like he might run, but I could see him tense up as he forced himself to stay put.
"I can see that you recognize me now," I told him as I let my expressions go blank, startling him even more. "I know you are confused about how this can be when I am so different from your sister. Unfortunately for you, I truly am your sister, just from the future."
"What happened to you?" he asked hoarsely and his muscles all clenched as he tried to force himself to stay still.
"You happened, that's what," I told him coldly, moving even closer to him. "In one year's time, you will lose Frosch in some terrible accident, become so grief stricken that your tiny little mind snaps just enough that you think it's acceptable to kill Sting, steal his White Dragon Slayer Magic to make it your own, and then come after me. We will then proceed to fight to the death because you threatened Ty and I manage claw out your right eye after you break a few of my ribs. In a blind rage, you create a spear and throw it at Ty. I then move in front of her and allow it to stab through my back to protect her, only to find that it went all the way through my body and into her. She dies in my arms and then you step on my back to pull your spear free, just to put me through even more pain. The last thing you say to me before you leave will be that you are the strongest of Skiadrum's children now and that I will take that knowledge with me to the grave. Well, I went to the grave and came back, better than before. Now I am here to take revenge on the backstabber that did this."
"You can't seriously blame me for this!" he yelled and I could see fear in the one eye that wasn't blocked by his bangs. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer and he took a step back. "I didn't do that! I would never do something to harm my sister! I love her!"
"Oh, please," I sneered, finally letting some emotion into my eyes as they must have glowed with my fury, making him take another step back. "As you said, the grief changed you. You can't say for sure that you would never do that when you've never been in the same position. However, I think you are weak enough to crumble like my brother did."
"No! I don't believe you!" he yelled and that was when I knew he was about to run from me.
I saw his muscles bunch up as he was about to turn and I moved faster than he could react. I grabbed him by the throat to keep him in place, squeezing just enough for him to start clawing at my hands in an attempt to get me to let go. He still had an edge of fear in his eyes but now it was mixed with anger as he glared at me. I could see his body shaking as it knew it wanted to get as far away from me as possible, but I wasn't about to let that happen.
"You better believe it," I hissed at him, letting him feel the force of my rage. "It's going to happen. I can see down to your soul that you are weak, that you need to do cowardly things in order to make you feel better about yourself. It's immoral and reprehensible, yet it's going to happen. You need to be put down now before others suffer from your mistakes."
"Shut up!" he screamed. "You don't know anything! You are sick and twisted by bitterness! Just leave me alone!"
"Sorry, but no can do," I told him as I bared my fangs in a snarl. "Time for you to die."
Keeping a hold on his throat and squeezing a little tighter to keep him in place, I began to punch him over and over again in the face. There was a wet snapping noise as his nose broke and blood poured everywhere, making him scream in pain as he tried to fight back. I broke one of his arms and was about to break the other when he just went limp, taking everything I had without so much as a yelp. His eyes were swollen shut and he had a massive bruise along his jaw. Blood completely covered him and I finally stopped punching him. I wasn't actually going to kill him, but he had already accepted his fate as I lifted him up in the air and began to squeeze his airway shut. He made a few sputtering noises as his breath left him then somehow managed to open his left eye just enough to stare down at me calmly.
"I'm sorry… Timara," he managed to say just as he was about to pass out.
I was beyond shocked at his words and felt my hand open lifelessly, letting him drop to the ground as he coughed heavily. He groaned in pain as he tried to curl up in a ball, but I put my foot on his side and rolled him onto his back. I hunched over him to stare him in the eyes as he tried to do the same. I couldn't even believe what I had just heard him say and it made my blood run cold.
"You're sorry?" I asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow as I gazed down at him. "I thought you weren't to blame for what happened to me?"
"I'm not," he coughed, his body shaking a little as he looking up at me. "But… I'm sorry for… what I'll do."
I sighed in annoyance as I grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him up and having to dangle him on his toes since he couldn't stand on his own. I looked him in the eyes and noticed how warm they were, nothing like the brother I knew now. Even though pain wavered through them, he was much different and I couldn't fault him for mistakes he didn't yet commit. I felt something within my icy heart ache and it was extremely disconcerting.
"I think… I think I'm the one who should be sorry," I said vacantly. I felt the ice surrounding my heart melting and it ran through my veins, warming me up in ways I wasn't expecting.
I set him back down on the ground as gently as I could and he sat there quietly, looking up at me in awe. "I can see my sister in you," he whispered. "You may or may not want to hear that, but it's the truth. You've built up walls to keep people out and to make others think that you are a monster, but deep down there is still a shred of the sister I know within you."
"I have killed my family and friends," I told him flatly, glaring at him a little. "I have completely decimated the strongest guild in Fiore then went after yours and destroyed it too as revenge, yet you say I'm not a monster?"
He didn't back down from his beliefs and said, "You've been hurt in more ways than one. You aren't entirely to blame for all of this."
I shook my head and decided to be silent. There was no use in arguing with him, but I decided to give him one act of kindness. Even though I could hear the agonized screaming of Deysis in my mind, the one who began to send jolts of pain through my entire body as punishment for both ignoring her and for allowing myself to melt for someone, I used my Magic to turn my hand freezing cold and then placed it over Rogue's swollen left eye. He sighed and then let his guard down, surprising me more than I already was. This was just confusing me but I suppose that is what happens when you avoid humanity because they always surprise you.
As I moved my hand down to his jaw, he looked up at me once more and gave me a small smile. I tilted my head to the side and gave him a confused look, which only made him chuckle softly. "Stupid humans…" I muttered halfheartedly under my breath.
"I knew it would only be a matter of time before you came after me this way," I heard a familiar voice say as I whipped around, only to see my 'brother' standing there. I felt the ice freeze back in place as I growled at him, letting my eyes go cold and I glared at him fiercely. As he took a step in our direction, dragging something behind him, he gave me a grin as he said, "And here I thought you said that going after our present versions is shameful."
"I didn't kill him though," I snarled. "I know that my revenge can't be attained unless I get to watch the light in your eyes fade out of existence."
"Why are you here, Timara?" he asked, ignoring what I had to say.
I pulled out the Keys I stole from Lucy and dangled them where my 'brother' could see them. "I came to give you these," I said before tossing the pouch to him. "Now leave Fairy Tail alone."
He placed the Keys in his pocket before dragging the shape up to his side. "Now I have all the Keys I needed to open the Eclipse Gate and unleash all of the Dragons upon this world," he said as he stood up what he was dragging around. I saw that it was a girl with light blue hair and I finally recognized her just as she opened her eyes.
"Rogue!" she screamed, trying to run to the man that was sitting behind me only to be yanked back in place.
"Yukino!" this era's Rogue yelled as he tried to move to her, but I grabbed him by the back of the collar.
"Don't," I said softly, keeping my eyes on my 'brother' ahead of me while the one on the ground gazed up at me sadly. "Trust me, you aren't going to get any sympathy from him."
"Is that me?" he asked before his gaze hardened. "I don't care who he is. If he hurt Yukino, I'll kill him myself."
"Get in line," I growled. "I'm the one who gets to kill him first."
"Is my little monster finally figuring out what feelings are like?" my Rogue cackled as he watched us. "You seem awfully cozy with him. All it took was a fight. This is rather shocking." He threw Yukino forward and pulled something from his pocket. "I don't need her anymore. I already have her set of Keys. Now all that's left is to go to Crocus and wait for when the sun and moon are to intersect, which should happen in a few days."
"Just know one thing," I told him. "I will be there when you open the Eclipse Gate and I will be waiting to destroy your dream by killing off the Dragons that pass through before killing you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
With that, he disappeared into the night without another word. The rage was back within me and I felt it burning its way through my body, making me shake uncontrollably as I looked at the spot where he had previously been standing. I tilted my head back to look up at the night sky and then screamed as loud as I possibly could, letting out all of my frustration and hatred all at once. When I was finally out of breath, I turned to look at Yukino and Rogue, the one keeping her head buried in his chest while he kept his gaze locked on me. He didn't say anything but had a sad expression on his face. I heard shouts and voices approaching, so I nodded in acknowledgement to him before disappearing as well and not looking back.