Chapter 51 - The winds of change

"That was rather entertaining my Knight. I hope you prepare for the trials ahead. Because I'll be sending a storm your way. Trials much more powerful than the white dragon." I heard my goddess whisper into my ear.

I felt this warmth rise in my chest. It was relieving to feel something. After feeling like I was floating in this endless sea of darkness. Suddenly a blue light shined in the void. And that warmth I felt spread all over my body. Then the area around me was consumed by the azure gleam, and then. I could see the underside of a bed?

I groaned, even after coming back to life my body still ached.

"Ah come on! That's so cheap!" I heard Zack groan.

I slowly sat up and rubbed the back of my head. My body still felt a bit cold, but I was getting warmth back in my hands again. I looked around, and I could see I was in my room. I blinked a few times. I was laying back on a folded-down futon. Above me was the top part of a bunk bed.

"Games are just simple strategy and reaction time. No different from a real fight." I heard Leo retort from above.

"Says the guy who ran off the map a hundred times!"

"And now that same guy is kicking your butt. Wonder what that says about you?"

I looked over, and I could see a big flat screen T.V. . And behind it was a huge window that was overlooking the city. My eyes then panned over to Zack, who was sitting in a fancy looking wheely chair. He looked rather agitated. I looked over to the screen again, and I could see they were playing smash bros. I never played it before, but I watched Zack play it at some tournaments he went to at our school.

"Shut up! This is my first time playing in months!"

"And I've never played a game before."

"Could you be a little quieter?" I yawned out.

"Shut it loser!" zack yelped.

I groaned.

"Aren't you the one being beat by a guy who has never seen a controller before?"

"No years of experience can make up for that neanderthal brain of his," Leo sighed.

I chuckled.

"To think I came here out of goodwill for you, and you wake up roasting me!"

"I would've been better off waking up to peace and quiet. Not yelling and salt," I yawned.

I heard some movement from up above. Then I saw Leo drop down from atop the bed. He stood in front of me in shorts and a white T-shirt. He kind of looked like a normal kid now.

"Stryder, is this the right bed?" Leo asked.

I blinked a couple of times and looked over my bed. Yeah, this was the couch bunk bed I wanted.

"Well yeah, I'm not used to sleeping in beds. Couches are just more comfortable for me."

"But why not just get a couch?"

"It was for you." I yawned out.

"F-for me? Why?"

"Well, you said you wanted to stay right? I figured it would be best if you stayed somewhere comfortable."

"Told ya lizard breath!" Zack chuckled.

Leo squinted his eyes at me. It was like he wanted to argue, but he didn't say a thing.

"Thank you," Leo mumbled out.

I gave him a smile and nodded.

"Of course, by the way. Where is everyone else at?" I asked.

"Preparing to head out. They decided to stock up on supplies before they left." Leo said.

"Woah what? Are they leaving already?"

Zack got up and walked over to me, holding out a note in his hand.

"They wanted to catch dinner with us first before they left. So don't freak out, you can still say goodbye," Zack replied.

I took the note from him and nodded.

"And Annual?"

"She's back with Arthurs guys. Getting some tests done to see how she's been handling her newfound freedom. Maybe even getting her out of the chair soon." I smiled, and this warmth filled my chest.

"That's great news! Think she'll be able to come to the dinner?"

"Probably, the doc says she's doing pretty good." Zack chimed.

I nodded and looked back down at the note.

"So, who's this from?" I asked as I opened it up.

"Since you've sapped the sex appeal away from me. You've got a couple of gifts."

"It's from Elizabeth." Leo sighed. "And Valentina brought some breakfast for us."

"Which was fire! If she wasn't the devil incarnate I'd try and scoop her up."

"Too bad she actually has common sense huh?" Leo muttered.

"You wanna go Lizard breath!" Zack hollered.

I smiled and rolled my eyes, continuing to open the folded piece of paper.

Dear Stryder, I wanted to tell you this in person. But as it stands right now, you've been asleep for a couple of hours. And by the time you wake up, it might be time for us to leave. So I didn't want our last few hours together to be sappy. So I'll put all the sap here! I just wanted to thank you for not giving up on me. I've never had someone believe in me before. And from how you fought, I could tell you meant it. You really have changed me, and I intend on atoning for my sins. I'm going back to bury the bodies properly. Then help fix my home town, and show someone else the kindness you showed me. Spreading the good name of the Alley of justice! Keep on being the light in the darkness. And if you ever doubt yourself, remember you saved me.- Love Elizabeth.

I stared at the words in silence. It almost felt like I was still in a dream. You saved me. She really said you saved me. I saw something drip onto the paper. It took me a second before I realized it was my tears. Then more started to drip down. I saved someone! I really saved someone! I quickly wiped my eyes. Trying to not cry more, but the tears just kept coming. I smiled happily as I set the letter down.

"Dude weird, why are you smiling and crying…?" Zack mumbled.

"I-its nothing," I sniffled out.

I looked over to Leo and I gave him a confident smile.

"Leo, I don't think I ever said this. But I appreciate you believing in me."

His eyes grew wide for a moment. But he didn't say anything. He just leaned down to the ground and grabbed something. I looked over, and I could see a brown bag in his hand. He picked it up and handed it to me.

"And I appreciate you taking me in," He replied.

I took the bag from him, and the sweet smell of breakfast came over me. I reached in and took out a wrapped up small bowl. There was a sunny side up egg, sausages, and some rice under it all. And there was a note taped onto the side of the bowl.

Hoping you feel better soon! I'll grab your homework for you! - Val

"Dude you gotta let me have a sausage!" Zack cried.

He ran over to me and sat down with a beggars' eye.

"What!? No way I'm starving!"

"Come on! I bought you a whole game system!"

"I never asked for that!"

…

I looked over the cryptic gate that held the everlasting resting places. It was weird. I didn���t feel nervous this time around. In fact, I was excited to see mom. I looked up, and I could see the inviting blue sky. I took a breath and smiled. Welp, it has been a while, mom.

It didn't take long before I found her grave. I smiled at the old familiar stone. I walked over and dusted the leaves and dirt off of it. Then I sat down, resting some blue flowers at the foot of the stone.

"Hey, mom I'm sorry I hadn't visited in a while. I've been pretty busy since the last time I came. But I know that's no real excuse. I've got a whole lot to talk about. For starters, Lux has a boyfriend! I don't know if she's been here or not. But I think he's a really good guy. If I'm being honest. I kind of look up to the guy myself. Oh, oh and you'll never guess! I've actually gotten really popular with girls lately. I still get nervous, but I've gotten better." I chuckled a bit.

Then I just kept talking to her, I told her about everything. All the pain, all the tears, and even all the laughs. I don't know why, but I was hesitant to talk about dad. I danced around saying it out loud. I somehow felt like I was gonna disappoint her by saying it. But after I ran out of stuff to say, that was all that was left. I felt the wind pick up as my heart began to race just thinking about it.

I took a breath and clenched my fist. I did nothing wrong moving. I needed to remember that.

"Mom, I'm doing it now. I've become the hero I always wanted to be. And with that, I've also learned a lot. People believe in me, and they're relying on me. I can't keep holding myself back and hating myself. I can't move forward if I'm always looking back. So I decided to move out. I love dad, but he was toxic. And I needed to get away from that. I know you wouldn't want me to be miserable. I don't want to keep being miserable."

I stood up and looked over her gravestone. The wind blowing again as I took another breath.

"I love you mom, and I'm gonna keep going. And never look back again. I'm gonna save people, and learn to have a little fun. For now, I gotta run. But I'll be back though."

I gave her stone another smile and turned from it. It felt like a weight had just been lifted from me. I wasn't feeling guilty anymore, no I felt strong. Leaving was the right decision. It was a decision I needed to make, for me.