A Shadow's Light

Follow thy darkness, betray thy light!

NOTE: Yes, I own that poem in chapter " The secret of Yin and Yang ". I created it off the top of my mind and it completely belongs to me. Please ask me for permission before using it, as well as if you do, give me some credit for the creation. It would also be nice to be linked to where you used it.

Other than that, enjoy this chapter. Sorry it took so long to actually update, I had a lot of things happening. But, here you go!

Sting awoke from what he once thought was his death bed, sitting up as the speed of sound and breathing heavily as if waking from a nightmare. His eyes were blurry and his throat was cracked and dry. As his head cleared, he blinked a few times to adjust his vision before glancing around.

" Lector..? " He croaked out, " Are you there? Answer me, please. " His eyes darted around at the ground at over in the distance. His eyes widened. The smell, it was intoxicating. He felt sick, immediately clamping his hand over his mouth.

Blood.

It was real. All of it. Lector was gone. Frosch is absolutely mad and Rogue.. he's...

" Right here. " The all-too-familiar voice rang from behind, subliminally laughing at him. " Did you miss me that much? " Sting turned around with a small gasp, coming inches from eyes that displayed vibrant bloodlust.

" .. Rogue? " Sting questioned, stabilizing his voice with difficult as he stared into the eyes of his companion's murderer, slowly coming to the realization. " Where did you take Lector? "

" Lector? "

" Don't play games with me, Rogue. You know very well who Lector is. " He snarled at him, feeling a new confidence burn in his body, deeply returning his heavy breathing.

Rogue let out a sadistic snicker, leaning towards him with narrowed eyes. " Listen here boy, remember who you're speaking to. Yes, I know who Lector is and no, I don't know where the dead kitty ran off to. " He paused momentarily, letting it sink in before ruffling Sting's hair, " Oh, and don't forget. You're already in a game, isn't this just fun? "

After the little exclamation of veal, Rogue gave him a soft smile that, for a second, reflected sadness. He turned and before Sting could protest, he vanished.

Alone, once again, Sting let out a cry of frustration. His hands gripped his hair tightly and he crouched down into nothing. The alleyway drifted, a cold wind slicing at his skin painfully before dying down into a gentle breeze.

Ever so slowly he stood up, not refraining the tears from falling as he trudged out of the alleyway, calming down his breathing. His tears blinded his vision with a blurry filter, having to be wiped away once or twice with a sniffle.

It felt like hours as he walked along the roads of silence, followed by his own shadow, his shoes crunching at the pavement and being the only evidence of sound. Sting glanced around, his head slightly tilting back effortlessly.

His shoulders shrugged relentlessly, trailing his eyes back to the concrete ground, laughing softly as the rain began to finally fall. His blonde hair fell over his face and covered it from view, his laugh slowly turning into sobs.

He's gone now, forever. I promised.. I'd always be there for you, Lector. Always. I lied to you, I've failed you. There's nothing I can do now; I have lost all of you. Lector, Frosch, Rogue.. Please, forgive me..

Sting dropped to the ground, scraping his knees slightly against the rocky path and planting his hands against it. His tears soiled up again, dropping to the ground like salty drops of water as the rain pelted his back.

As much as he restricted his voice from screaming out, his chest aching with pain; feeling his heart beat at his ribcage. The rain drenching his halfly torn clothes and pressing it against his wounded skin, irritating him to the most.

But he ignored it. The rain. The pain. The game. He ignored it all. His hands clenched into fists as he hung his head in absolutely failure.

From a distance, Rogue stood in a direct line to him, feeling his emotions as he too, was attacked by the rain. His red eyes darkened with distraught as they hooded halfway, inhaling a sharp breath and did what he thought he would never do..

.. Rogue turned and walked away from his friend when he was needed the most, his footsteps drowned out by the drumming of rain and thus, his entrance and exit was not noticed in the least by Sting.

Rogue's voice, however, lingered throughout the street, hushed and quiet. His emotions were hidden, sadness and guilt replaced with maliciousness and hostility. Sting hid his face in his hands, muffling his voice with the rain as the words burned into his mind.

" Until then will thy game be done.. "