Preface
The way Rogue stood facing the other soldiers, she seemed like a completely different person. Her shoulders were drawn tightly back and the black assault rifle she held firmly in her arms refused to sway. The powerful presence she exuded over the entire area was like a wave of anger and lust for battle. She wasn’t just Rogue, Yellow-Eyes anymore. No, she was Rogue, the destroyer of humanity and the savior of its remnants. Tanner pressed a hand into Zaria’s back and snapped her away from her escalating thoughts. He was indicating for her to step up next to their new commander.
“You should be up there,” He whispered into her ear. Rogue turned her head to the side and flashed a crooked smile at her love. In that brief flash of a second, Rogue’s vibrant green eyes transitioned just like Zaria had seen them do countless times before. The soft and beautiful green that was often reserved solely for her was lost in the demonic yellow that her morbid nickname stemmed from. Rogue turned back to face the rows of soldiers armed to the teeth before her. She waited until Zaria stood beside her, and then she spoke. Spoke with a voice hard and full of rage as tendrils of black ink, spider webbed across her flesh. Her voice was one beyond human, vibrating with power and anger at the atrocious acts that had plagued the world.
“You are all here for a reason. To annihilate the man that created all of this! We have stumbled and crawled and starved because of what he has caused! I know that each and every one of you has been subjected to a life of misery and fear! Fear of not knowing whether you or your children will survive to see another day! We have had enough of Seraph’s tyranny while he hides in the shadows like a coward! I have fought beside you, fought for you and I know that you have fought for me in the past and I thank you for that! However I must ask you to fight beside me one last time to finally bring an end to all of this hell! Will you stand beside me my brothers and sisters? Will you follow me, bleed with me, will you die beside me? Because I promise you on all that I am, I will kill that bastard with my own two hands, but I cannot do it alone! If you choose to hide here in your holes and wait for the end to come crashing down around you then fine, I can’t blame you for that. But if you are ready to fight for yourself, your families, your freedom then it’s time to stand the fuck up and rain hell on this son of a bitch!”
Rogue’s fingers were clenched angrily around her assault rifle, but the level of determination and desire in her voice sent a sense of overwhelming pride up through Zaria’s chest. Rogue had been tossing and turning for the last few nights, unable to sleep in fear that her past transgressions would inhibit her ability to appeal to the soldiers. There was silence in the crowd for a brief second before there came a rustle in the front. It was a lone soldier, Virus with his head held high. A mask of solid steel baring a white skull painted on the right half covered his face. Yet solely in the way he stood, Zaria could feel the warmth of the fire burning in his chest and she could see the inferno of pride consuming the last of the fear embedded in his heart and soul.
“Let’s give’m hell!” He roared, raising his assault rifle into the air with fervor. The men and women behind him immediately followed his lead, cheering and screaming their war cries like a pack of wolves preparing to dive fang first into a fresh kill. The roar carried like a wave through the sea of soldiers. There was no way in hell that Seraph could be prepared for these men. These men had nothing else left to lose and a life of misery to take vengeance upon. Zaria grinned wolfishly before tossing her head back and roaring a battle cry of her own that shook the empty heavens above.
