Standing his ground

Hey… it's me… you know the one who was taken away and split apart from his loved ones. Yeah that's me Dante or at least I think it is. You're probably wondering why I'm referring to myself this way. Well, I don't know what to believe anymore. I remember in the beginning I was told that the government wanted me dead and that they wanted something inside of me for cloning but all of that was nothing but a lie. Just like my life… everything I was told was a straight up lie. You're about to hear what I had to go through in the soul custody of my so-called "mother" and I must warn you it can get really really triggering… but Fuck it on with the story I guess.

I was still at the same house I found myself in at the end of the last volume. Rose was still out and I was on the couch in total pain wishing it would stop sometime soon. Although it wasn't as bad as before I was able to at least stand and walk around at a paste. Two hours had already passed and Rose was still nowhere to be found. I decided to get up and look around the house at some point but there wasn't anything much to look at but a picture of Rose with dad. They looked so happy together, almost inseparable actually. I couldn't help but tear up. Thinking about how happy mom was back then and comparing her to how she is now made me really emotional. In fact now it's all I can think about. I keep looking at that picture and wonder how things would be if he was here. Donny would have never become a Rogue, Rose would still be an Owl and wouldn't be killing others, and I would be living a regular life back home with Twilight, Rip and the others. I just didn't understand why things had to turn out this way when they didn't have to… in the middle of my emotional mini rant Rose arrived with something in her hand. She sat down next to me and handed me an orb. I was really confused because I've never seen anything like it. The orb was pure white and a little small. I turned to Rose as she held my hand.

Rose~ This is an ancient artifact that our ancestors passed down for generations. Whether it was used for good or evil depended on who had possession of it and as you know back then we were mostly evil. Ever since the Owls turned over a new leaf, this orb was protected all day and everyday. How it worked was if someone was able to use the orb in any way possible it meant they were able to reach their full strength in a blink of an eye. This orb isn't something to play around with; hundreds of people have been too greedy with the orb's power and suffered the consequences because of it. There was only one consequence though… which was death.

Dante~ Death!?

Rose~ Yup, of course it's not easy to control the orb's power so of course every chance they got to take it they took the opportunity. This is by far a really dangerous artifact to just take. You have to know what you're putting yourself into before you just try to control it.

Dante~ Why are you handing me this?

Rose~ Because I want to see if you can control its power. If you can control it then you can tap into your inner Rogue as you take control of the orb. You'll be able to multiply the rate of your transformation.

Dante~ Let me get this straight. You want me to not only tame one of the deadliest artifacts in the world, but you also want me to tap into my inner self as I tap into that deadly power just to make me into a Rogue ten times faster?

Rose~ At this point it's the fastest way to turn you into a Rogue. It may be the most dangerous but it'll be worth it in the end.

Dante~ What if something happens?

Rose~ I'll make sure nothing happens because if anything or anyone is gonna harm or kill you it's me if you cross the line… Do you understand me?

Dante~ Y-yes I understand you… so what do I do with it?

Rose~ First off, focus on the orb's power and fill the orb with nothing but dark energy. If you're able to fill it with your dark energy then that shows us that your inner Rogue has fully awakened.

Dante~ I don't have any more energy, remember?

Rose~ Your Rogue energy Dante. You may not be a complete Rogue yet but that energy is still in you because you have my DNA in you. I became a Rogue well before I was pregnant with you which was nine months before you were born. Your father was killed the night after we found out I was pregnant which was the same night I secretly became a Rogue.

Dante~ That day when you abandoned Donny… believe it or not I remember it now. I didn't understand what was going on because I was just a baby. All I heard was screaming and things breaking…

Rose~ Donny fought with me because he didn't want to leave but I forced him to leave anyway because at the time I cared so much about him. I didn't want him to be anything like me. I never told him I became a Rogue because I knew he would want to as well after he found out about the death of his father. As you can see that didn't stop him from making his own decisions.

Dante~ 18 years went by and we finally met and he

hated me with a burning passion. We pissed him off so much he revealed himself as a Rogue… he was stopped and hospitalized and I soon found out about my true self. What does all of this have to do with the orb?

Rose~ You're already a Rogue, you have Rogue energy inside of you just like your brother. You just haven't unlocked it yet and your Owl energy did a great job keeping it in check along with the necklace I gave you.

Dante~ Wait then what's all that energy that consumes my mind bursts out when I'm mad?

Rose~ All of those times when your power overwhelmed you was your Night Owl energy saying "I might just snap if you push me any further" it's a way to let others know bad things will happen if something or someone doesn't stop messing with you so it's best they stop before "it" wakes up.

Dante~ That's why Donny was scared of me at the time… he knew exactly what was happening.

Rose~ You had many chances to become a Rogue but you were always stopped. Now is your chance to tap into it and fill that orb with your dark energy the second you unlock your inner self is the second you become a Rogue.

Dante~ I thought you were gonna make me turn into a Rogue through a blood ritual. What happened to that?

Rose~ It didn't work out like I expected as you saw yourself. That's why I want you to fill the orb with your dark power because if you can fill it with your dark Rogue energy and make it dark then that's when we'll know that you've become my Rogue son. It's like I said before I took you I can make you into a Rogue myself. I'll be back in a few minutes and if that orb isn't being filled with your energy you know what happens.

Rose left the room heading upstairs for some unknown reason. After she was gone I tried my best to tap into my inner Rouge but I couldn't do it. I tried everything I could think of but nothing worked and that's when I realized… I'm afraid to go through with this. Soon Rose came back with a knife and placed it on the table. The knife was hot pink with Roses' name engraved onto it also had a sharp and kinda long blade. It was almost like looking at a kitchen knife but made for killing. She then watched me as I tried to fill the orb with my dark energy but I failed multiple times in front of her. She grabbed the orb out of my hands and slowly set it on the table in front of us. She then laid back onto the couch with her legs crossed then looked at me and began to speak in a condescending tone. At that point I knew that she knew why exactly I couldn't go through with it.

Rose~ What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of the orb?

Dante~ N-no…

Rose~ Are you afraid of me?

Dante~........

Rose~ I'll take that as a yes. Are you also afraid of losing someone close to you? Don't sit there and be quiet because trust me I'll smack the truth out of you.

Dante~ Y-yes… I'm afraid of you… and losing my friends, my brother, and… Twilight…

Rose~ Dante look I'm not gonna hurt you for not being able to let go of the things you are scared to lose. I know how it feels trust me, why do you think you're here? Tell me why are you afraid to lose them?

Dante~ Because… I've been there for them for a long time now and they've been there for me… it's not fair for me to have to let them go all because things went the way they didn't have to go.

Rose~ Are you saying it's my fault that this has all happened? Trust me I know it's my fault. Do I care that it's my fault? No, not one bit. I don't care if you think it's unfair this is how I wanted things to go so this is how they are gonna go. Now Dante, I don't want to force you to leave everyone you love behind but believe me when I say and I'll quote "I will force you to let it all go if you don't". I'm not gonna hurt you but I do know how I can make you forget everyone without putting a single hand on you. Even though nothing really phases me anymore this way will hurt me more than it will hurt you because it means you'll forget about me as well and I want you to keep those good memories you and I had. The choice is yours so choose wisely.

I looked at Rose and then I looked at the orb. I teared up and grabbed the orb in total anger. I made sure the orb was palmed in my hands as I held it with a crazy firm grip. I looked away from the orb with tears in my eyes as I remembered all the great times I had with my friends for the last time.

Dante~ Donny… Rip… Twilight… Jamie… everyone… I'm sorry… but I don't have a choice…

I concentrated on one thing and one thing only at that moment and that was the orb itself. I felt a dark but powerful feeling deep inside me. It was almost as if it wanted to let me know that it was there and is there to stay. But after I finally let go of myself and everyone I ever cared about the orb turned pitch black with a shimmering star like light inside of it. I handed the orb to Rose then she looked at me and held my hand once again.

Rose~ Dante… Congratulations, You're transformation is now complete. You were able to unlock your inner Rogue and set it free. You're a Rogue just like your mother. How does it feel to be a Rogue?

Dante~ Dark… empty… cold… heavy… almost like there's no purpose to be one but to kill others and stab them in the back…

Rose~ Just like how I felt when I became a Rogue. Now since you're an official Rogue you have a job to do.

Dante~ What is that job exactly?

Rose~ As a new Rogue you have to kill your first victim of course. It's in our blood to kill others.

Dante~ Why do I need to kill anyone? It's not like anyone has done anything to us.

Rose~ As a Rogue yourself you have a role to play. Us Rogues have to kill the ones we hate the most for revenge purposes. It's in our nature you'll understand sooner or later.

Dante~ Even if I had a choice, who would I kill?

Rose~ I think I know who and trust me you'll love who it is.

Dante~ Who is it?

Rose~ You'll see, for now you need to get ready. Here go put this on you'll need it.

Dante~ What is this exactly?

Rose~ It's kinda like the clothes you wear already but more arrow dynamic. It's to fit the Rogue aesthetic you know?

Dante~ For someone who's quote on quote "savage" you sure are a weird one.

Rose~ Dante go put it on before I show you savage.

Dante~ Fine I'll go put it on.

I left the room and made my way back to the room I was first in to put on my new outfit. The outfit fit pretty well on me. I mean it didn't hug too much and it wasn't too loose either. I walked back to the living room in my new outfit to show Rose how it looked. I turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees for her at least three times, clockwise and counterclockwise before she made her decision on if it looks great on me or not.

Rose~ It looks great, think of this as your uniform from now on because you'll be glad I made you wear that. Considering the jobs I have for you, the outfit is only part of what you need.

Dante~ *sigh* Just explain why I need this in the first place.

Rose~ Number one don't tell me what to do and number two this is to help reduce the amount of weight on you. Us Rogues aren't the best with stealth so we have to do what it takes to stay discreet. It's why you don't see Rogues like me and Donny wear loose clothing. You could get away with it before because Owls are more skilled when it comes to stealth and being more nocturnal. You're no longer an Owl so your ability in stealth is pretty much gone unless you can grow that skill but that takes who knows how long.

Dante~ That's kinda like what Donny told me. Are you gonna show me who I'm gonna kill?

Rose~ Not right now that would ruin the surprise. Follow me to the basement. There's something I have to give you.

Dante~ What the hell is in a basement that's so important? Oh well like she said "follow her".

I followed my mother into the surprisingly clean basement. Whatever this house was it had to have been built recently or the basement wouldn't have been this clean I'll tell you that. Rose reached into an unlocked chest pulling out a small purple glowing box. She opened the box in front of me revealing a purple knife with my name on it.

Dante~ Is this...mine?

Rose~ Yup… I had this designed specifically for you while you and Donny were looking for me. I had this made as a bowie knife because I thought it would fit your style.

Dante~ Why is it glowing?

Rose~ It's enchanted just like the necklace I gave you long ago and speaking of which.

Dante~ This… this is actually amazing… wait why are you being so nice?

Rose~ I can be the nicest person in the world… until someone crosses me. Which is me saying don't cross me or I'll probably kill you.

Dante~ Ummmm… Yes ma'am I won't…

Rose~ Good! Let's go, it's time for you to get your very first kill of your life. Keep that knife safe on you, there should be a little pouch for it attached to your uniform.

Dante~ Alright, so where are we going?

Rose~ A place you wouldn't expect. Hold my hand and I'll show you.

I grabbed Roses' Hand and we disappeared then reappeared in front of a house. I was in total shock about what just happened. I was speechless trying to understand how she could Night travel and she wasn't even an Owl.

Dante~ Wait… no way we can't ignore this.

Rose~ Ignore what?

Dante~ You just fucking night traveled like it was nothing but you're not even an Owl. What's going on here?

Rose~ Donny doesn't know everything about us Rogues. Even he has a lot to learn.

Dante~ Nobody ever fails to surprise me.

Rose~ Be quiet and follow me around this house.

Rose and I quietly but quickly made our way around the house and climbed the walls onto a balcony. The room was dark and we could hear snoring from outside. We knew this person was asleep whoever he or she was. Rose night traveled us into the room and slowly uncovered the person's face from the covers and my heart skips ten whole beats. I couldn't believe who I had to kill, I just couldn't. He was my height with blue eyes and hair. This was the one who always pushed me to the edge. This was none other than Flash Sentry himself. I took a few steps back before Rose grabbed me by the shoulder stopping me from moving.

Rose~ Dante there is no way you're scared to kill him. After everything he did and put you through he deserves it. Not to mention Twilight, remember how he treated her?

Dante~ I do… I do remember…but it's not like I hate him though.

Rose~ All those times you wanted to do something to him but were stopped because you felt like it wasn't right to do so. Now you have the chance and nothing or nobody will or can stop you. Pull out your knife… hold it firmly… then jab it through his heart… do it… or I'll do it myself and you don't want me to kill him for you. You know what happens when you don't get the job done.

Dante~ His… heart… no… I can't… I won't…

Rose~ Don't make me take that knife and kill you with it instead of him. This is your last chance… kill him or I'm going to kill you.

I grabbed my knife from it's pouch and held onto it with a tight grip. I slowly raised the knife in the air then closed my eyes. I hesitated at first causing Rose to nearly lunge at me to kill me for not doing what I was told but before she could I reacted. I opened my eyes and looked at the knife. I saw that… I ended up missing his heart… but still the blanket was covered in his blood. I saw Flash awake and in total fear. His eyes and skin color soon turned pale. That was when I knew I killed him. I was traumatized by what I saw, so much to the point where I didn't have anything to say. I took the knife out of Flash's body and was about to put it back in my pouch until Rose quickly grabbed my wrist.

Dante~ The deed is done. What do you want me to do now?

Rose~ Take the bloody knife… and lick it.

Dante~ What…!?

Rose~ Lick the damn blood. It's your first kill, it's tradition for Rogues to lick the blood of their very first victim.

Dante~ To hell with your sick and disgusting tradition. I don't care what you do to me, I'm not gonna lick the knife. There's nothing you can do about that.

Rose~ Oh really? I guess you don't want to live. Hey maybe after i kill you I'll go after that pathetic little girl you were scared to lose.

Dante~ You better not lay a finger on Twilight…

Rose~ What are you going to do about it? You'll be dead so it's not like you can stop me.

Dante~ .......

Rose~ That's what I thought. This is the last time I'm going to say it. Lick… the damn… knife.

At that point I didn't have a choice but to do what she said. I lifted the knife up to my mouth and slowly licked the blood from the beginning to the end of the knife. I put the knife back in it's pouch then collapsed to my knees. Rose then placed her hand on my shoulder again and night traveled us back to our house. She looks at me with the biggest smile anyone could ever see on her face. Meanwhile I cried my eyes out until she managed to calm me down.

Rose~ Hey, it's ok Dante. This is your destiny. To become a Rogue and live like one. It's all gonna be ok I promise.

Dante~ Do you not know what just happened!? I just killed someone… and lick their blood off the same knife I killed them with. I could taste it… I could taste the fear… the sadness… it was like I could taste his soul. Not just any soul, a soul that was crying out for help… I could have helped him, but instead I killed him. I put him out of his misery and I can't reverse it. What do I do…?

Rose~ What you need to do is what you do. Get over it, it's one kill and I still have plenty more for you.

Dante~ How can you be so calm about this!? You just made your own son kill someone against their own will. Aren't you even a tad bit sad about it?

Rose~ No, I'm happy that my son got his first kill and you were able to describe how his blood tasted. Not a lot of Rogues can do that. Normally we just enjoy the taste of our victims and think about how we can kill the next victim.

Dante~ You might as well eat them if you love the way they taste so much.

Rose~ Rogues are killers, not cannibals. Anyway I'll let you have the rest of the day to yourself. I'm gonna go out and kill someone. Go clean yourself up, you've got a big day tomorrow. Goodbye Dante I'll see you later.

Rose left the house leaving me by myself to freshen up. I made my way to the bathroom to wash all the blood off my hands. After washing my hands I picked out an outfit in my room and went with it. I decided to wear a loose extra large t-shirt and long basketball shorts. It was becoming night so I had to decide on something I could wear while I slept during the night. After I chose what I was going to wear I took a relaxing hot shower, brushed my teeth and placed my bloody clothing in the washer. An hour has gone by already and Rose is nowhere to be found. I decided to call it a night and go to sleep because I figured since I was done for today that I could rest, which makes sense. It didn't take long at all for me to get into bed and fall asleep. I was tired and went through a lot in just one day of my "new life". That night I had a dream that didn't seem like a regular dream. You remember that vision I had? You know, the vision I had when I was trying to find out if my destiny was to be a Rogue or an Owl. Yeah well this dream felt like a continuation of the vision I had but didn't involve my past vision at least I think. I saw myself standing silently in front of a purple and glimmering casket. All I did was place one hand on the casket and it slowly but surely opened on its own. Of course things like this happen in a dream but that's not important. What's important was the reason it opened in the first place. After quote on quote "I" was able to see what or who was in it my heart nearly stopped beating entirely. You're probably thinking that I now know who was in the casket but the thing is at the time I still didn't know. What happened was I saw myself see who was in the casket but I didn't see who was in the casket myself. When I saw my dream self collapse on the floor I woke up in total fear and curiosity. I screamed at the top of my lungs then started breathing heavily. My vision was blurry and my throat felt like it was closing. I was lucky because little did I know that Rose was home at the time and she ran into my room trying to comfort me. She wrapped her arms around me giving me a hug speaking in a really soft voice.

Rose~ Hey, hey it's me. It's Rose… You're ok, you're safe in mother's arms.

Dante~ .......

Rose~ What happened? Bad dream?

Dante~ It felt way too unusual to be a dream…

Rose~ What exactly happened?

Dante~ I… I was standing in front of a casket and… I saw myself see what or who was in it…

Rose~ What was in it?

Dante~ I DON'T KNOW! I saw myself see what was in it but I never got to see what was in the casket… after I saw myself see what was in it I saw myself collapse. It was then I woke up completely scared and curious of what was in it.

Rose~ Without a doubt this wasn't a dream. This had to be a vision.

Dante~ I don't want it to be a vision… because that means someone I care about could die in the future… I don't want anyone to die… I'm scared.

Rose~ It's ok to be scared. I know I was scared sometime ago.

Dante~ When?

Rose~ When… when I became a Rogue… I was scared of how you would think of me and scared that you wouldn't ever consider me to be your mother after what I put you through. But being a Rogue meant I had to make a sacrifice… which meant I had to leave you behind. But now that I have you… I'm willing to be there for you… even if you don't want me there. Even though I always have the urge to kill you whenever you make me mad… part of me doesn't want to but if I have to I will. I'm sorry that's just how they are…

Dante~ They don't have to be. You can reform yourself just like Donny and we can be a family again.

Rose~ There's no turning back now. I'm already too far in the deep end. If I stop all of this I'll get taken away and killed for everything I've done.

Dante~ Mom… as long as I live on this earth whether I'm far away or two feet away from you I'll always love my mother. Even if you think I don't love you I'll always love you.

Rose~ I'll always love you too… you might want to get back to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow. Goodnight if you need me just yell out my name.

Dante~ I will, goodnight… mom.

Rose~ Goodnight Dante.

Rose left the room and I went back to sleep. Luckily I didn't end up having another bad dream. It was bad enough I had to go through the trouble of a bad dream giving me a wake up panic attack. Still I was curious about what was in that casket. I'll never know until that day comes I guess. That's if that day will actually come. It was nice that Rose showed me her soft side that night but when I woke up the next morning it was all business with her from that point. She demanded this, she demanded that and I made sure I did everything I could to not piss her off. I knew what would happen if I did and for a while I made sure I didn't make her mad until it was time for me to go through with my next kill…

Rose~ Alright Dante, you've been doing pretty good today and now it's time for your next kill. Do you have your knife with you?

Dante~ Yeah… it's in its pouch.

Rose~ Great! Here's the address along with the description and head out.

Dante~ Wait you're not coming with me?

Rose~ You're a grown Rogue you can go out and kill someone without your other in the way. Can you?

Dante~ Ummm… yeah definitely.

Rose~ Good, the second the kill is secured head right back to this house. Also one last thing, leave a sign that let's others know it was you.

Dante~ Isn't the point of this to be discreet?

Rose~ Yeah but Rogues don't really know what discreet means when we kill people. We want others to know that we're out there somewhere and that we can strike at any given moment.

Dante~ I guess that makes sense. I do have a lot of questions but I guess I can see why we would want to be known. Alright I'm out of here I'll try to get back here before midnight.

I left the house and made my way straight to the address. Surprisingly enough the target lived close to my old neighborhood. The neighborhood was more high end than my old neighborhood but still. I wondered who it was I was actually killing tonight. I found the house I was looking for and easily made my way inside. You would think these people would spring for a better security system than just a dog that can easily be tamed or killed. They just better be glad I wasn't going to kill a defenseless dog. Anyway I read the description of the target and immediately started looking upstairs. The first room I walked into happened to be the targets room which made my job easier. I didn't want to kill an innocent person but I didn't have a choice. I found the target sleeping in her bed and I could tell she was out cold because of her sleeping position. She didn't even have the entire blanket covering her luckily she had clothes on because that would have been a problem by itself. The room was dark but not completely dim so I was still able to see what was around me. I started to grab for my knife and I saw something that caught my complete attention. It was a picture of the target with Rarity. I stepped back in confusion wondering why she was with Rarity at one point. Then I found something that answered all of my questions. I found a piece of paper on the wall that was well decorated. I read the paper and found out who exactly I was supposed to kill.

Dante~ "To the greatest little sister in all of the world. You are the star of any show. From your older and loving sister… Rarity." There's no way…

Sweetie belle~ Hello… who's there…?

Dante~ Shit… I need to get out of here…

Sweetie belle~ Speak up! I'm not gonna ask again!

I grabbed a pencil off the table and a piece of paper. I wrote a random note and slowly walked towards her leaving the note on the table. I hesitated at first but I turned on a little light next to her revealing who I was to the girl.

Dante~ I'm someone you've never met before but was a close friend of your sister.

Sweetie belle~ You do look familiar but I've never met you before. Hey where is my sister anyway?

Dante~ She's somewhere with her friends. She's safe, I can promise you that. Anyway I have to go…

Sweetie belle~ Wait! Can you at least stay and talk for a bit?

Dante~ Ummm… yeah I got time.

Sweetie belle~ So how did you get in my house anyway?

Dante~ A guard dog is not a good way to keep your home secure. I suggest a system that makes a lot of noise when triggered.

Sweetie belle~ Yeah my mom hates alarms though. She doesn't like to be woken up in the middle of the night. It just surprises me because you got here so quietly mom would have caught you before you made it to my room.

Dante~ Wow, she sounds really strict and alert.

Sweetie belle~ Yeah but she can be really nice but like all parents they have a limit you don't want to cross.

Dante~ Believe me I know…

Sweetie belle~ Huh?

Dante~.......

Sweetie belle~ Hey… what's the real reason you're here? I know as a kid I don't really understand much but I know this doesn't happen every night.

Dante~ It's a long story…

Sweetie Belle~ Well can you start off by telling me your name?

Dante~ *sigh* My name… My name is Dante.

Sweetie Belle~ Dante? That's a cool name. My name is Sweetie Belle. Are you by any chance someone with any powers?

Dante~ Yes actually, I'm what people call a Rogue. A Rogue is an ex Night Owl which is a completely different species.

Sweetie Belle~ My sister has powers and they're cool. She gets them through this magic she calls the magic of friendship. How do you get your power?

Dante~ .......

Sweetie Belle~ It's ok you can tell me.

Dante~ Well… us Rogues aren't the nicest of people. We get our power from seeking revenge on others and… killing them…

Sweetie Belle~ ........

Dante~ Yeah… I'm pretty sure you can connect the dots…

Sweetie Belle slaps me really hard for a little kid.

Sweetie Belle~ You were gonna kill me!

Dante~ Yes but not by choice… my mother sent me here to kill you. I didn't want to do it but I have no choice… it's either I kill you or she kills me…

Sweetie Belle~ Why would she kill you?

Dante~ Because she went through thick and thin to get what she wants… and if I don't give her what she wants now then I'm nothing to her… I'm sorry but I have to kill you even though I don't want to…

Sweetie Belle~ *sigh* Dante… I understand… you want to make your mother happy and the only way she can be happy is if I'm not alive. Go ahead… kill me… do it for her…

Dante~ Sweetie Belle…

Sweetie Belle lays in bed and tucks herself in. I slowly grabbed my knife gripping it firmly then raised it in the air. I was about to kill her but I remembered how Rose felt when she lost dad, How Holly felt when she lost her dad, and how Twilight, Rip, Donny and everyone else felt when they lost me. I couldn't live knowing I killed Rarity's little sister… I took the knife and threw it across the room away from Sweetie Belle and I. It was then I fell to my knees in tears.

Dante~ No… this isn't right… I won't do it… I JUST WON'T! Sweetie Belle I have to go, I'm not gonna kill you… I don't care what Rose does to me. You're more important than Roses' so-called "wants" and I'm not gonna let Rose manipulate me. Goodnight Sweetie Belle and sleep tight.

Sweetie Belle~ But what if she comes after me? I won't be able to defend myself.

Dante~ I promise you… I won't let her. Also I want you to have this… You don't know this but I had to use this to kill someone and I deeply regret it… if she does end up coming after you use it against her.

Sweetie Belle~ You mean, you killed someone with this?

Dante~ Sadly yes I did, but I want you to promise me that you will keep that knife safe and if you feel like someone is more deserving of it than you are then pass it down to them.

Sweetie Belle~ I promise I'll keep it safe. You have my word.

Dante~ Thank you and if Rarity somehow finds out I was here, tell her my life is about to get fucked up the second I get back home to Rose… and I want you to look her in the eyes and quote every word I said. Make sure you keep that knife safe.

I gave Sweetie Belle my knife. Even though she was a kid she would need it more than me. I left the house and headed back to Rose. I was a bit scared but I knew what I was about to go through for possibly the rest of my life was better than killing innocent others. I made it back home and immediately sat down next to Rose on the couch. She could tell something was up but didn't try to hide it.

Rose~ So you know huh?

Dante~ Yup…

Rose~ How did it go and where's your knife?

Dante~ I gave her the knife… because I spared her.

Rose~ You what…?

Dante~ I… spared… her!

Rose~ Where is this attitude coming from?

Dante~ It's coming from me of course. You may have made me become a Rogue but I still stand by my morals. I'm not gonna kill anyone… you hear me!? I'm… not… killing… anyone and that's that. I'm not gonna let you control me.

Rose~ So what I'm hearing is… You're defying me.

Dante~ Yes… Yes I am…

Rose~ You know what's going to happen… don't you?

Dante~ I'm ready for it. I want to see you try.

Rose picks up her knife and holds it against my neck. I look her in the eyes in sheer confidence and bring the knife to my neck a little closer to my neck.

Dante~ Do it, I dare you. You said you were gonna kill me. I'm ready for it.

Rose~ Ugh! Damn you Dante… damn you…

Dante~ Do it bitch.

Rose hesitates to cut my throat like I thought she would. She dropped the knife instead and brutally beat me until she grew tired. I wasn't unconscious but I could barely move or open my eyes. With the little consciousness I had I said four words to let her know that I'm not putting up with her for as long as I live.

Dante~ You… don't… own… me…

Rose~ You're right I don't own you, but… I run you.

Rose gets one good hit on me and knocks me out. It's been a while since that night and Rose pretty much forgot about being a loving and caring mother. She always makes me do small things but every night when she tells me to go out and kill someone I refuse. Every night I get brutally beaten and abused by her all because I'm standing my ground. To be honest I deserve it because after killing Flash I could never forgive myself… and to think this is only a fraction of what I had to go through. I just hope everyone else at home is doing better than me and figuring out a way that they can save me from my mother's harmful and her emotionally and physically abusive ways.