The dark clouds in the sky seem to be looming over the battlefield. Staring down at us like it was plotting something sinister. I was starting to wonder if the clouds had just consumed Zack now. With everything going on it wouldn't surprise me if nature itself became my foe.

I was still way too exhausted to move around. I didn't realize it till now, but I had a lot of cuts all over my body. I sighed. I really let that feeling consume me again. But I have to admit, it felt great. To just let go, to fight without a single thought. No worrying about saving innocent people, no if I die everyone else dies too schtick. I was able to just be free. It was like, like a bird leaving the cage. I hadn't felt this since my martial arts days. I smiled some and looked over to Elizabeth.

She was soundly asleep against my hoodie. Her ember locks laying against her face. I was grateful my hunger for fighting was actually useful. I hated it though. How can someone who wants to be a hero crave for combat like that?

I looked over my shirtless body and sighed at all of the cuts. I had my T-shirt ripped and wrapped around the cutlasses stab wound. After a while of pressure, I was lucky my cut stopped bleeding. I wonder if the body modifications included my healing factor too…

"Mmmm."

I heard Elizabeth groan as she slowly sat up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her gaze landed on me, and I gave her a smile.

"Hey, you rest okay?" I asked.

She blinked a few times, her eyes looking me up and down.

"Mmm, what a delectable soigh." She hummed.

She sat up and bit on her lower lip. Her eyes were looking at me like I was a piece of meat. I blinked a few times.

"U-ummm Elizabeth, you okay?" I mumbled out.

But it was like she couldn't even hear me. Her eyes glimmered as she continued to look me over. She moved on all fours and slowly crawled over to me. My eyes trailing over her and her long flaring locks that cascaded down from her shoulders. And I could feel my face slowly becoming hot.

She was inches from me now. Her eyes staring intensely into mine. And my brain had suddenly just shut down. She reached out and rested her hand on my chest. Slowly sliding her soft yet callused fingers down to my stomach. Which sent shivers down my spine.

"Damn, yah raylly ahh built loike huhcules." She mumbled.

My body felt warm, I could feel myself leaning into her. She was warm, breathtaking, and she was enjoying me like this. I felt confident, strong even. I wanted her, I wanted her closer to me. But just as her charm was about to drag me under, Annuals face came into my mind, and then Valentinas.

I slowly reached down and grabbed Elizabeth's hand, then moved her back from me. I took a breath and refocused myself.

"Elizabeth stop, you need to focus on resting right now." I said firmly.

Her eyes grew wide, she didn't say a word. She just slowly sat back and looked me over skeptically. Then she huffed.

"Hey thiies is suppose tao be moy draym! haow daeh yah reject me! isn't that aguynst the rules aw somethin!?" She whined.

I immediately started to chuckle as she said that. It hurt a bit to laugh, but it felt really good to do it. The tension, the stress, it all just faded.

"Liz, you just responded. This isn't a dream." I said between laughs.

I could see her cheeks flush a heavy red shade. She quickly looked away from me and groaned.

"Oh moy gawsh Oy diied nawt just do thaht.."

"Don't worry about it. How are you feeling? Is everything fixed?" I asked.

Her eyes glanced back over to me, and then her ship. She seemed to be analyzing everything.

"Yayh, everything buh' moy shiiep! What's the biieg idea anywhy weeth yah bein shuhtless! Oy thaw' yah knoights hahd mawdesty!?" She said with a chuckle. "Nawt that Oy'm cawmplinein."

I rolled my eyes and stretched a bit.

"You're the one who stabbed me in the shoulder."

"And yah threw a spayuh through moy hot!"

I looked down to the wooden deck. My heart racing a bit as I remembered the fight. I seriously let that feeling consume me...

"I'm sorry, I kind of lost it back there." I mumbled as I continued to look away from her. "But my goddess would've been mad if I didn't go all out."

The strange thing is. I didn't know if I was trying to convince her or myself with that last statement.

"Nao wohroys, raylly Oy cahn't blyme yah faw gaowin ooll eow'. Oy was the idiot who ran in. If Oy'd just wited a leettle lawngah…"

I took a breath and tried to relax. Feeling guilty wasn't gonna fix anything here. I needed focus. The fight wasn't truly over yet.

"Liz, let me ask you, are you a necromancer?" I blurted out.

Her eyes grew wide, she went to open her mouth but she stopped. It was clear I caught her off guard. That was all the proof I needed.

"Shahp as oolwhys Oy say. Oy guess an undayd ahmy is a dayd geeve awhy though." She said as she forced a laugh.

Her eyes drifted away from mine. She was nervous.

"Liz, let me ask you. And I'm going to just be blunt about it. Did you kill people and make them apart of your army?" I asked.

I could see her bite her lip as she let out a heavy breath. Then she pushed a smile back on her face and turned toward me.

"What! of coahss nawt! those weah just some bahg of bones Oy found!" She chuckled, but she wouldn't look my way.

"Elizabeth, I won't look at you any differently if you tell me the truth. But if you don't, I can't trust you."

I could see her smile slowly begin to fade away, her eyes glancing up at me. She seemed to jump as she met mine. Then quickly back away again. She chewed on her lip a bit roughly, and then growled.

“Liar!” She roared.

She turned back toward me quickly. Her hair flying in her face as she glared at me. Looking like a fiery grudge. She got up and leaped at me. Her blade seemed to fly up from out of nowhere and land in her hands. I jumped back, but I was still too drained. I stumbled and fell and she landed right on top of me, thrusting her blade down at me. I quickly grabbed the bare blade with my hand. And I was surprised as to how weak the thrust had been. I looked back into her eyes. I could see tears streaming down from her face. Her tears and my blood were dropping down onto my chest like rain.

“Moy hahnds ahh red! And sao ahh yours! Sao stawp actin loike yoah bettah thahn me! stawp praetendin t' be a hero!” She roared at me.

But I could see it in her eyes, I could see the hurt. I firmly grasped the blade and slowly sat up. I could feel the pressure from her easing up more.

“My hands are red, as dark as they come. I killed my mom, I left Annual all alone in a bed to die, I held Lux back from enjoying her life.” I sat up to her and looked her in the eyes. Her whole body trembled as I did. “ I’m also terrified of crowds, and I overthink things way too much. And I spent the majority of my life wasting my mother’s sacrifice. I know I’m worthless. But even so, I want to change. I want to become a man worthy of that title. Someone who can really be worth calling a hero. I don’t know what happened in your past, and I’m not gonna pretend like I do. But your past doesn’t define who you are. Those hurts, those mistakes you made. They don’t determine who you will become.”

I could hear the rattling of the blade as her body shook. Her eyes were wide peering intensely into mine.

Then, she dropped her sword and really started to ball. And I immediately pulled her into me and hugged her.

“Oy keelled thaem strydah! Oy'm oolraydy a mawnstah! it's too luyte!" She cried.

She lifted her fist and started punching my chest.

“No it's no-” I started to say before she cut me off with another angry yell and a punch.

“yaes, ih' is!"

“Liz, your future isn't something that's already set. It's something you're making right here, right now.”

I felt her body tremble again, and she just fell into me. And started balling.

“I daon't, Oy daon't want t' do thiies anymoah! Oy daon't want t' hyte myself anymoah. Oy daon't!”

I ran my fingers through her hair and nodded.

“You don’t have to, you can change. I believe in you.” I whispered to her.

…

It was a little while before she stopped crying. My blood had ran down and stained her clothes and my pants. But I didn’t really pay too much attention to it. I was more worried about her. She sniffled a bit and turned over in my arms. She looked me over with puffy red eyes. She looked like a kid who just got in trouble. It was kind of cute.

“Oy'm gawnna taell yah a storay, okay?” She mumbled out.

I nodded and relaxed some for her.

“I’m all ears.” I hummed.

“Whaen Oy was abeow' taen, moy dahd laeft me and moy mawm. And soon aftah he laeft, Oy naotusd moy mawm's maentahl styte decloinin. Gaowin daown t' the point wheah we lawst ahh heowse, and could barely affoahd food. Sao, Oy becuyme a thief." she sighed. "The fuhst toime Oy keelled someone, was whaen a rawbberay waent wrawng." she held up her hand to her face, and then rested it back in her lap "O- Oy puyneecked and Oy ended up stahbbin hiiem. Even naow Oy steell remembah haow ih' faelt stahbbin intao hiies chaest.”

“I’m sorry Liz..” I mumbled.

“Daon't be, fyte gawt me bahck. Whaen Oy gawt bahck home, Oy found moy mawm on the floor. She had tyken too many peells and...she deedn't myke ih'. Sao faw the fuhst toime, Oy was raylly alone. And Oy hahd t' suhvoive. and strydah, Oy- Oy had t' do sao many theengs t' leeve. It's nawt just moy hahnds, moy whole bawdy is feelth..” She sniffled out.

“Don’t ever say that again,” I replied immediately. “Don’t ever speak so poorly of someone I hold so dear to me. I like you just the way you are. Your beautiful, and a joy to be around. You always put a smile on my face. And like I said before, I don’t look at you any different.”

“Oy deedn't believe a rayl hero could exeest. Oy deedn't buy that yah raylly faw' faw whaht yah weah foightin faw. Oy thaw' yah weah just fuyke. Oy intaended t' come heah and exploih' a phony, buh' sayin yah aftah yah faw' isuybaella and the stohoys yoah seestah tawld me abeow' yah graowin up, and sayin yah at school tuh-die, and sayin yah weeth yoah dahd. Oy couldn't daeny ih' anymoah. shahk tooth shaowed me the veedeo of yah foightin stone, ih' was ooll the proof he nayded faw yah bein genuine. Oy deedn't buy ih' though, honestly, Oy hyted yah whaen Oy fuhst maeh' yah. Oy thaw' if Oy faw' yah and gawt close t' yah, mybee Oy could prove thaht yaw nao bettah thahn me. Prove thaht thiies wohld is just full of liahs, thieves, and muhderahs, just loike me. That the wohld is just full of despaeh and dahkness and the only thing yah have in loife is yoahsself. Buh' thaen yah tawld me abeow' yoah loife, yah myde yoahsself vulnahable. Thaen Oy stahted t' fohl in love weeth who yah weah. yah raylly weah, moy hero."