Rogue Cheney

Rogue Cheney is a character from the Fairy Tail anime and manga.

Rogue is a Mage of Sabertooth, formerly the strongest Guild in Fiore, and a member of its team: the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth. Originally a Dragon Slayer from four hundred years past, Rogue was sent to the future to assist in the destruction of Acnologia. Ashamed of the meaning of his name, as a child, Rogue referred to himself as Ryos.

In the Heroes Coalition fics, Rogue is a member of the Heroes Coalition and is part of the Squad of Excellence.

Appearance
Rogue is a slim young man of average height with rather messy black hair, which almost reaches down to his shoulders, along with some strands pointing upwards on top of his head and a prominent tuft obscuring most of his forehead. His hair is later brushed to the right side of his face covering up his right eye. He has red eyes with slit pupils similar to that of a snake's, like Gajeel Redfox's eyes. Following the battle against the Dragons, Rogue gains a thin scar across the bridge of his nose. During the war against Tartaros, Rogue put his hair up in a ponytail, furthering his overall resemblance to his future self.

Rogue wears a long, black cape reaching down to his feet, with golden edges, a much lighter collar circling his neck, and a prominent, white ribbon hanging down on his chest. Such cape bears a light Sabertooth's symbol on it, almost in correspondence to Rogue's left shoulder. Below it, Rogue seems to wear a plain gray shirt with prominent brown cuffs and what looks like a large metal band circling each of his biceps. From a light sash circling his waist hangs a distinctive, pale blue cloth waistguard, consisting of four long pieces of cloth reaching down below his knees. Each of these pieces is adorned by a large, dark cross with fan-shaped arms. Below such waistguard, Rogue wears a pair of armored boots, which, on the front, bear plates bearing the very same motif which appears on the waistguard.

Following the Grand Magic Games, Rogue wears an outfit extremely similar to the one he wore before, however certain parts are reminiscent of his future self's own clothing, specifically the cloak, which is high collared and held closed at the sternum by a piece of fabric that stretches across his chest and is buttoned to the cloak on either side; it still retains the mark of Sabertooth on the left shoulder. The cloak, though, is like his old one and has a gold-colored trim. In place of the cloth tie he used in his last outfit, Rogue now has an ascot that is tied around his neck, but lies beneath the cloak instead of around it. Additionally, the cross-adorned cloth Rogue wears around his waist now pokes through his waistband, which is wrapped around him one extra time to make room for his katana, which he still carries.

As of the Tartaros-Fairy Tail war, Rogue's attire has changed drastically. He now wears a light-colored leopard-patterned kimono that only covers the right half of his torso, beneath which he wears armor that is light in the chest but dark everywhere else; the neck of the armor coils around his own and fastens there appropriately, and his left arm is left uncovered at the shoulder, exposing his Sabertooth mark. Around his waist is a very long sash that ties on the right side of his body and loops around the left, and holds a design-adorned piece of white fabric in place over the top of his loose, black pants. Around Rogue's left forearm is a black band that has a white ring over the wrist; he completes his outfit with black ankle boots, within which his pants are tucked. His katana is also noticeably absent.

Personality
Rogue is the quieter of the Twin Dragon Slayers. He mostly keeps a calm face and rarely shows any emotions, except for interest in Gajeel.

Although he is part of Sabertooth and one of their five strongest Mages, Rogue seems to question the way their guild handles things, namely failure and weakness, and holds a strong belief on camaraderie. After Yukino lost her match against Kagura and was subsequently humiliated and excommunicated by their Guild Master, he told Sting that despite her failure, she was still their comrade. Sting, whereas, merely brushes off Rogue's comment, suggesting that it's the way their guild works and gave the matter little thought. Rogue does, however, have a softer, caring side. When his Exceed partner, Frosch, started to fret over being excommunicated because of its lack of strength, Rogue smiles and denounces Frosch's fears as just that, promising that it would be okay as long it was with him.

Rogue also seems to lack the sadistic tendencies shared among several of his guildmates. When Lucy was being tortured by Minerva, Rogue did not join in with his teammates' laughter. Rather, Rogue was looking away from the torture with a displeased expression, and he did not jump to Minerva's aid afterwards, unlike his team. He also appears to be unusually kind towards his guild and is very protective of Frosch. He and many of his guildmates were horrified at the "death" of Lector, showing that he cares for his fellow guildmates.

Additionally, like most other Dragon Slayers, Rogue suffers from motion sickness.

Abilities
Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic (Kage no Metsuryū Mahō): A Magic which allows Rogue to transform the physiology of his body into that of the Shadow Dragon; transforming his body into a shadow that cannot be touched by normal means. With this Magic, Rogue is also able to fade himself into shadows to move swiftly, dodging efficiently and making surprise attacks. However, if Rogue is caught while in a tangible form, or by another person in shadow form, he is then vulnerable to attacks. The shadows produced by Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic are able to be utilized in several different ways, allowing for a high level of adaptability; the shadows are able to be released in freeform, as condensed, or even molded into the shape of a weapon, taking on the properties of said chosen shape. As a member of the Third Generation of Dragon Slayers, Rogue learned this form of Magic through two means: by receiving the teachings of a Dragon named Skiadrum and by having Dragon Lacrima implanted into his body.
 * Shadow Dragon's Roar (Eiryū no Hōkō): Rogue's signature Dragon's Roar. Rogue releases a large burst of shadows from his mouth. Because Natsu Dragneel countered this attack with his own Dragon's Roar, its true strength remains unseen.


 * Shadow Dragon's Slash (Eiryū no Zangeki): Rogue covers his arm in shadows and punches his target.


 * Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang: Rogue generates shadows from his hand and uses them to attack the target.


 * Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash (Eiryū no Renjakusen): Rogue turns his body into shadows and then wraps himself around the target, assaulting them with a torrent of shadows generated from his hands


 * Shadow Drive (Shadō Doraibu): A type of Magic-amplification technique used by Rogue that brings out the true power of his Shadow Dragon Slayer abilities, excluding the power boost granted by Dragon Force, yet, at the same time, seemingly enhancing his physical prowess to a degree, particularly his speed. It grants Rogue an aura of shadows that completely cloaks and continuously rises from his body. The technique also obscures Rogue's eyes, leaving only his round, blank irises visible. According to Rogue's fellow Dragon Slayer and partner Sting, Shadow Drive harnesses "the power that kills Dragons", and it indeed allowed the Shadow Dragon Slayer to momentarily overwhelm Gajeel Redfox, who had him completely outmatched beforehand. This state either grants Rogue the ability to perform new spells or makes them stronger, as the Sabertooth Mage has been shown employing several skills only while in said Drive. This technique is very similar to that used by Rogue's fellow Dragon Slayer and partner Sting, the similarly named White Drive.

Dragon Force ( Doragon Fōsu): Being a product of the Third Generation of Dragon Slayers, Rogue is capable of entering the most powerful form of the Dragon Slayer at will, without the need to consume strong, external sources of Magic. Such a feat greatly surprised those who had intimate knowledge of Dragon Slayer Magic. When this state is activated, Rogue body becomes much more akin to an actual Shadow Dragon's, with his whole body becoming covered in an aura of shadows even thicker and darker than that provided by Shadow Drive, and with thick dark intricate scale-like patterns appearing to cover the outer edges of his face, underneath and around his eyes, extending down from the side of his neck and onto the rest of his body. These are shown to be more and more uniform as they get farther from the central portion of his body, which instead bear several scattered, distinct scales, elongated and placed diagonally.
 * White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk (Hakueiryū no Ashiginu): A spell that Rogue was able to use together with Sting, synchronizing his Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic with Sting's White counterpart. The two Dragon Slayers release thin beams of light and shadow from their fingertips respectively, which pierce through their target and heavily damage them

Unison Raid ( Yunizon Reido): An ability which allows two Mages to unite their Magic into a single, combined, stronger attack. Rogue has shown himself to be able to combine his Magic with Sting's, creating powerful spells. Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While always carrying around a sword by his side, Rogue's melee moves shown so far are unarmed ones, and include punches, kicks, and elbows. He employs his Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic to boost his offensive power as well as to outmaneuver opponents, landing enhanced blows from different angulations through the use of the evasive form granted him by Shadow Drive. The latter combination allowed him to fight and even overwhelm Gajeel Redfox for a while, despite ultimately being struck by the opposing Dragon Slayer.
 * Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang (Seieiryū Senga): After releasing a large amount of shadows from his hand, Rogue combines this with Sting's light, releasing a powerful burst of light and shadows at the target.

Enhanced Durability: Rogue possesses good physical resilience, being struck by powerful melee blows from both Gajeel and Natsu and undergoing the latter's Fire Dragon's Wing Attack without suffering substantial injuries, and continuing to fight and even employing some of his best techniques afterwards. He also managed to take Mard Geer's Curse in a non-enhanced state with minor injuries.

Enhanced Speed: Rogue has been shown to possess above average speed, seen when he outmaneuvered Gajeel during their first battle, though, at the time, he had Shadow Drive activated.

Enhanced Endurance: Rogue has shown to possess a high amount of physical endurance, being able to confront two fellow Dragon Slayers at the same time with his partner Sting, being struck by powerful melee blows from both Gajeel and Natsu, all the while showing moderate signs of weariness and, in the end, still having the strength to stand back up and barrage his opponents with powerful Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic Techniques. Even near the end of his battle with Natsu and Gajeel, Rogue proved able to perform a mighty Unison Raid with Sting, and only finally fell after being struck by Natsu's Dragon Slayer's Secret Art.

Enhanced Reflexes: While employing Shadow Drive, Rogue proved limber enough to dodge several of Gajeel's own Iron Dragon Slayer Magic Spells, and, afterwards, effectively counterattacking the Iron Dragon Slayer, who, for a time, was unable to follow his erratic movements.

Equipments

Katana: Rogue carries around a katana, a traditional Japanese sword, on his left hip, with its sheath tucked inside his sash belt. The weapon is fairly simple in appearance, sporting a tsuba whose shape is vaguely reminiscent of a four-leaf clover, and a hilt, wrapped in a traditional, dark tsuka-ito, which seems to get larger near its pommel. The sheath is dark in color.

Trivia

 * In Volume 32's extra content, Mashima provided the battle statistics for 31 of the 40 X791 contestants in the Grand Magic Games. The stats, however, were provided not from Mashima's point-of-view as the author but from the view point of Sorcerer Magazine reporter Jason. Which explains why some stats are missing and why others may be inaccurate.