Dragonfly

     Not five minutes after the battle started, it was over. The battlefield reeked of carnage. The hot, humid night air clung to my skin and made the air in my armor clammy. The moans of the dying rose into a clamor I was terrified to hear. It had been a bloodbath. I felt like throwing up. Everyone on our side had lived, but with Dawn constantly healing anyone who got relatively low, it wasn't hard to imagine why.

     "Oak." I tugged at the red armor that protected him from the river of lava. "Was that really necessary?" I asked.

     "Was what necessary?"

     "Look around! They'll be laying out there for hours, days, even weeks. Broken. Forgotten. Alone. You told me that Shadows are the descendants of the losers of a Great War. You told me they were human. Did they have souls, too?"

     "No." Oak answered. Next to us, a Shadow warrior died, revealing a dark purple soul. I heaved, but nothing came out. "Oh man up! Dragonfly, this is war. Deaths are inevitable."

     "I shouldn't have to! Some of these soldiers were women and children! Did we kill the whole male population?"

     "Hmmm. No. I didn't see Mephiles, Cerberus or the king around."

     "I did!" Songbird yelled. "I killed him."

     "Huh. They must've moved the body."

     "Are you kidding me?!" I yelled. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "This isn't right! This... This makes me sick! We could've done some sort of espionage mission!"

     "This isn't a game of pretend, Dragonfly! People sacrificed their lives for this. We couldn't have avoided this.

    "Or maybe we could've. Maybe you just enjoy seeing these people suffer!"

     "Dragonfly!"

     I fell silent. He wouldn't admit it if he did. But suddenly, I got an idea. "Give me your canteen." I said.

     "What now?" Oak asked. "I'm not giving it to you."

     I thought for a bit, before feinting a high attack, only to swipe his canteen while his head was bent low dodging.

    At first, I ignored his demands to return it, but he grabbed me and spun me around. "I'm just giving these injured soldiers a drink and helping them."

     "Like Hell you are. You're not going anywhere."

     "But...!" He growled in reply.

     I had had enough! "...no." I said quietly.

     "Wait, what?" Oak asked.

     "I said NO!! I'm not going to let you intimidate me into silence anymore! I WILL help these soldiers, and you can't stop me!" I rushed down to them, taking care not to step on anyone, dead or alive. Ash rained from the sky as I helped the first person. He seemed thankful.

     The next soldier I helped had enlisted with his best friend as a teenager and only wished to die next to him. Then, I reminded another soldier (possibly delirious) of her son.

     I learned and sang a lullaby to a young boy, who later died in my arms. A light green soul revealed itself.

      I was determined to help all of the people on the battlefield. When I looked up, the people on the sniper towers were ignoring the orders of Cerberus and saluting me. It took a few hours. When I finally looked back at Oak, Spectre was with them. He pointed to his soul, shocked and relieved tears in his eyes. I looked down and saw a dark green, four-pointed star showing through my red armor. I had received so many compliments, but by the end of the day, I was exhausted. We went home and prepared for a triumphant return. I didn't bother asking what had happened to Spectre. He initiated the conversation.

     "Perseverance."

     "What?"

     "Your soul color. It means perseverance."

     "Oh. So what's my cool special ability?"

     "That actually depends on the person and their fighting style."

     "Oh."

     "Don't worry. It will come to you in its own time. You just gotta wait for it."

     "Spectre?"

     "Yes?"

     "I'm glad you're okay. If you died, I'm not quite sure how everyone else would react. You seem to be the kind of guy who's really hard on himself. I just want you to know: whatever happened in your past, and I will find out if takes the rest of my life, it's gonna be okay. You can leave it behind. And if I had the chance to do it over, I wouldn't so far. I think I'd keep it just like this. All of you have some redeeming quality. I just need to find it. And when I do, I'll never let you go. Everyone is worth it. I promise... I..."

     "It's okay. I know. Seriously, you're making me blush. Let's just call it a day, okay pal?"

      "Okay."

Together, we walked home, not knowing the dangers tomorrow would bring.