Hey Arnold! The Maximum Curly Saga Chapter 68: Man Loves, God Kills, Part 4, a hey arnold fanfic

CHAPTER 68: MAN LOVES, GOD KILLS, PART 4

The city of Hellwood has left its irremovable mark on many of those unfortunate enough to live in it, but none so much has felt it as Arnold Shortman.

Once, he was a boy that was simply a helper; one that desired only to better the lives of others with no regard for himself. He had strayed from that path only once from the loss of people deeply personal to him, but he had found his way back to that path with the help of the Green Eyes and a man named Luz.

Reborn as a supernatural creature known as a Spirit Master, he had taken the name of the Green Eye, in honor of the same tribe and people that gave him a home to grow and nourish himself back to mental health. Returning to his home, he took back to the role of a helper, in a way that he never before thought possible.

During this time, he had rebuilt his relationships with his friends, family, and soulmate, finally putting his life back together and in order. Having a new and fresh life ahead of him, gaining a new purpose and role to fulfill, Arnold had found his own sense of peace at last.

But it all only fell downhill from there.

Facing the return of his archnemesis, The Freak, the aforementioned villain had taken away everything that he had fought so hard to build up; destroying it all piece by piece until everything he knew had completely unravelled into an unrecognizable and unsalvageable mess.

His friends are all either gone, crippled, burned out, or dead.

His entire family has died in his arms.

His childhood home has burned to ash.

His soulmate he has chased away and forsaken.

He has claimed to have been alone and without any semblance of familiarity to lean on, but never before now has he felt a total sense of complete and utter loss. Falling victim to the hands of the Crusaders, the holy knights of God's Country, hours ago following a battle, he was left to their mercy and will.

Having no idea nor care for what laid in store for him now, Arnold, waking from his state of unconsciousness, found his answer.

Opening his eyes, he found himself elevated from the ground, coming into view of the inside of a church. Trying to move his arms and legs, he found not only was he not able to move his limbs, but felt a sense of sharp, stinging pain from both his hands and his feet.

Looking around to see why this was so, Arnold found that he was nailed to a crucifix, with his hands and feet nailed to the cross. Looking down, he also took much greater and heavier notice that he was completely naked; his attire of the Green Eye gone as well as his weapons.

His pain and confusion has established themselves deep into his mind from this scenario, but his troubles were simply starting to begin.

Looking to his front again, he was met with a face he knew all too well, and knew better than he had cared to know when he looked what laid behind the face. Before him was Lila Sawyer, keeping up her new persona of 'Saint Lila', still dressed within her robe and stole and keeping up a neverending facade of a smile.

"Hey Arnold." Saint Lila said.

"Lila." Arnold said.

"Saint Lila is what my people refer to me by, but you, my lord, may call me anything you desire. With hope, I desire that one thing you might call me is 'wife'."

"Lila... My parents. You killed them. You had them killed."

Saint Lila seemed to show a sliver of remorse in her face, mostly stemming from the potential of upsetting her supposed master and potential husband. The discomfort, however, left as quickly as it came; her face returning to its smile and her eyes looking back upon him.

"Yes... but they are in heaven now, far from all the mortal affairs of man and with god now. Besides, they are of no use now. Mary and Joseph had done well to bring you up the first time, but it is your name we pray to, not theirs. Now, we can be together as it was meant to be, as the lord your father planned when he made this world." Saint Lila said.

Walking up to him on the cross, she slowly ran her hand across his thighs, seeking to stimulate him to arousal.

"And, for fear of the sins of lust and covet, I have waited patiently for this moment. Now, the lord has rewarded me for my patience." Saint Lila said.

Turning his head away from her actions, Arnold felt too much disgust with Saint Lila to even look upon her, grunting in anger while doing so.

"Look at yourself, Lila. You're a monster. Why don't you see that?" Arnold asked.

"A monster, my lord?" Saint Lila asked.

"You molested and raped a little boy. You killed his mother. You made people kill each other for your own twisted religion. You contributed to this nightmare."

"I did it all in your name. I did it to serve you. To honor you."

"No, you didn't. You did this to feed into your own little delusion. You should feel ashamed of yourself for what you've become. There's no honor in what you do."

"The lord god has brought this world into existence and planned its entirety; its beginning and its end. He has given each and every one of us a purpose to fulfill. He created all of us according to his will. If I kill, if I rape, if I hurt, then it is my nature. If am a monster, then it is my nature. But I am faithful to god and to you. I devote my life to you. What I do, I do for you. Is that not honorable? To be the creature that you made me?"

"Lila, you got it wrong. I'm not Jesus. I'm no messiah. I never was. All I wanted to do was to help people. I tried to help you... and... despite what you've done... I still will try to help you if you let me."

"You will help me, lord. I know you will help me."

Removing her stole, Saint Lila subsequently removed her robe, making herself nude as he was before her. His initial glance towards her denuded body was one that he would make in passing, but seeing what was on Saint Lila's body would disturb him enough to look further.

Her vulva was heavily scarred, with no traces of outer labia or her clitoris remaining. Seeing him staring at her mutilated anatomy, she spread her it for him to see.

"Do you like what you see, my lord?" Saint Lila asked.

"Dear god... Lila, what did you do to yourself? Arnold asked.

"My angel had offered to take away the images of my father at last, and he did. No longer do I feel his touch, how he liked to have my body, and I still can serve you as a wife. After all, I was made for your pleasure, not the other way around."

Continuing to rub his legs, Saint Lila tried to coax an erection out of him, but found no rewards in her efforts made.

"What is the matter, my lord? Do you not find me desireable?" Saint Lila asked.

"I don't want you anymore, Lila. What happened between us that night, that was a mistake. The biggest mistake of my life. What we had as kids was just puppy love, nothing more and nothing less. I should've let you go when you left. I don't know why I didn't." Arnold said.

"Because you are a man, and you are meant to have a woman. Regardless what you might think of me or yourself, I am still a woman... and you are still a man."

Opening her mouth to accept his member, Saint Lila let it slide between her lips, enclosing them around its girth. Applying suction against the organ, she slowly moved her head back and forth across it. Tasting the flesh against her tongue, savoring the flavor of skin in her mouth, she let out aroused moans in her own pleasure.

Saint Lila began to feel what remained of her own genitals start to become aroused, dripping its contents to the floor, but her own efforts on Arnold had borne no results. Despite hearing her erotic moans and feeling the warmth and wetness of her mouth around his own nerve endings, his own anger and disgust towards Saint Lila made him disregard the physical sensations completely.

"What's wrong, my lord? Surely you don't face impotence?" Saint Lila asked.

"I told you, Lila. I don't want you." Arnold said.

"But I want you. I've dedicated my life to you. I've given you all my worship. I've studied the bible from front to back, many times over. I've given you all my prayers. I'm all yours."

Taking back to her act of fellatio, Saint Lila began stroking Arnold's penis as it was in her mouth, giving all the stimulation that she could offer the organ. Her efforts moved from enthusiasm to dedication to exaggeration, but all to no avail as the member still did not harden itself.

"Why won't you want me?! I give you all my body and soul and my entirety, now, I beckon you, lord, have me!" Saint Lila said.

"You've got it wrong, Lila. I'm not the second coming. I'm not what you're looking for." Arnold said.

"Is that so? Tell me, then, what are you if you are not the savior? How did you know of my acts with Joey? Where I lived? Why have you always been one to bring peace to others? How do you explain your miracles?"

"Years ago, I went to a place called San Lorenzo. You remember, the class all went there before you left, during that field trip. I went back some time after that, and the Green Eyes took me in. They gave me... abilities that other people don't have. I can feel your emotions just as you feel them. That's how I knew what you did with Joey and where you lived. I've always been one to be peaceful because of how I first lost my parents, and I didn't want anyone else to suffer, either. I'm not Jesus. I'm just the Green Eye. But I was supposed to be an ideal for being better. I've failed that time and time again. I failed my friends, I failed my parents, and I failed Helga. But I don't want to fail anyone else again. Please, Lila. I might not love you anymore, but you were still the first person I loved, and I still want to help you. Stop this. Let's just go and get out of here."

For just one moment in his speech, Lila seemed to step out of her persona of Saint Lila, moving just an inch into the direction of sanity and reason once again. Carefully contemplating on his words, she felt a sense of uncertainty about herself and her mission; questioning the many deaths that had she had caused and facilitated, and where she had led herself in her own life up to this moment.

Then, the moment of skepticism had passed on; her devotion to her religion taking hold of her mind again. The one moment of uncertainty and self-introspection began to whittle away at the barely-stable mind that she still possessed, leaving her to cling back onto it like a child seeking shelter in a parent.

Turning her head with a smile, Saint Lila began to laugh off Arnold's speech.

"You truly almost had me, my lord. I thank you for the chance to strengthen my faith. Or... perhaps it is not me that questions my faith. Perhaps it is you. I know how your first steps towards dying for us were met with fear and uncertainty; contemplating leaving it all behind for a life of your own. Allow me to help you reinstill that faith." Saint Lila said.

Stepping over to the altar of the church, she retrieved a spear from the podium, reapproaching Arnold with the weapon in her hands. Realizing what she was intending to do with the weapon, Arnold began quivering in fear, turning his head away and closing his eyes before the spear had been made use of.

"'But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, the brake not his legs, but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water came out immediately'!" Saint Lila quoted.

Thrusting the spear through his side just as she concluded the quote, Saint Lila shoved the weapon in one side and out through the other, impaling straight through Arnold. Contrary to the quoted bible verse, there was no water that came from his body, but blood poured out in numerous supply.

Screaming as the blood loss began making its effect on his body, exuberant amounts of blood leaving him as barely much remained from his previous battles, Arnold felt his body weakening under the absence of fluids in it. Groaning softly and weakly, he called out once again for the one person he desired to be with him on his deathbed.

"Helga..." Arnold groaned.

Wishing for a place warmer and more comforting than a place of dying, a portion of what remained of Arnold's blood moved to his loins, finally giving the genitals the state of arousal that Saint Lila desired. Taking notice of his erect state, she approached the hardening member at last, feeling its thickness in her hands.

"At last. I knew this was simply a test. Well, my lord, the only test that shall remain now is how much you will have of me before you are satisfied." Saint Lila said.

Turning around and leaning her buttocks against his member, Saint Lila kept her hold on his phallus, positioning it against her mutilated opening to insert it inside. Leaning herself back, pressing her buttocks against his crotch, she took in the entirety of his organ inside her own.

Bucking her hips against his, she vigorously ran herself up and down his shaft, intent on bringing him to orgasm to inseminate her womb. Bleeding out and slowly dying from his fatal wound, Arnold barely felt notice of the warm flesh around his own; his consciousness slowly decaying and fading.

As such, he does not feel his own ejaculation, but his orgasm was more than noticed by Saint Lila, who retracted herself from him to feel his seed inside her. Placing her hand up to her leaking hole, she allowed some semen to drip into her hand, bringing it back up to her mouth and licking it up.

Kneeling before Arnold on the cross, she left herself on her knees, closing her hands in prayer to him. Meditating on her thoughts of him and feeling his sperm swim in her belly, she feels the presence of her god inside her at last, feeling touched by the power that she wished for in her life.

Finding the peace she desired at last, Saint Lila smiled in joy.

Feeling the last remnants of blood start to leave his body, as well as the chemical release of orgasm ease at his mind, Arnold knew that his own end was coming soon. Closing his eyes, he hides himself away from the world, knowing that he has failed it with his death.

But, ultimately, he feels as though the death he receives now is not one that is unwarranted. Remembering all the mistakes and regrets he has made, how many people he has hurt when he was meant to protect and love them, he knows that he is not worthy of the people he had in his life, that he is not worthy of saving Hellwood...

...and, in his last breath, he knows he was never worthy of being the Green Eye.

Arnold Shortman is dead.

Far away from any events of violence in such a large scale, the Lloyd Manor houses a smaller skirmish between two parties, but one of far less significance in the grander scheme of Hellwood. One of these two parties is the infamous Lars Rodriguez, and the other is the burnout former superhero Sid.

Previously, the two had, for reasons and by forces too complex for either of their minds to comprehend, anally copulated in a romantic fashion for the entire span of preceeding night. Earlier this morning, following the end of the Green Eye's influence to attempt peace in Hellwood, they had come to the realization of what they had done with one another...

...and, while one is more than comfortable as to what happened, the other is not.

As usual to Lars' vulgar nature, he wore a t-shirt that was a parody of the famous 'I3NY' logo, with the abbreviation of New York City changed to 'BJs' in reference to his undying love of receiving fellatio, with the heart symbol replaced with an open mouth with its tongue hanging out to illustrate the joke.

While he is more than happy to share his sexual exploits, the one that Sid wishes to discuss with him is the last thing he wishes to put his mind to.

"Look, it was just a one-time thing, okay? I was horny and needed a hole to cum in, you just happened to be there. It doesn't mean anything." Lars said.

"It meant something to me! I actually felt like we had something there!" Sid pleaded.

"Stop saying that! I ain't fuckin' gay!"

"Neither am I! I still like girls, but... you're different. I just... feel comfortable with you, man."

"Because I give you whatever fix you need to make the Brown Eye not kill me."

"You gave me something else I needed, too!"

"Listen, White Boy, there's nothing there. It's like... fucking your cellmate. Sure, you're not gay and you totally want pussy, but there's no way you can get any where you are. So you gotta make do with ass and pretend it's a chick's ass. It doesn't mean anything, but it sure as hell means that I ain't gay."

"But that's not what-"

Before the two unofficial lovers could continue their argument, they were interrupted by the entrance with a third individual. The entering new party was recognized by Sid as Helga Pataki, even in the attire of Baise-Moi, but Lars, never previously having met her, did not recognize her, nor did she know him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Lars and Helga asked in unison.

"Uh, Helga, this is Lars, my-" Sid began to say.

Not wishing for their prior consummation to be heard by anyone else, Lars discreetly put a finger to his mouth, then extended it outwards to make a phallic image. Taking his other hand and holding it in a flat, blade-like position, he extended it down to the finger, closing it back in his hand as the other hand ran past it. Recognizing the specific threat that Lars was giving him, Sid swallowed his urge to say anything but...

"...friend. Lars, this is Helga, Arnold's fiancee." Sid said.

Hearing the explanation, Lars looked back at Helga, eyeballing her up and down. Taking notice of her leather skinsuit, he began contemplating his own ideas about her.

"Damn. He likes some freaky women, huh? Care to show me how you handle a whip?" Lars asked.

Scowling at the vulgar suggestion Lars made, Helga moved past him to Sid, hoping he would hear her pleas for help.

"Sid. Listen. I need your help. I fucked up. Like, really, really fucked up. Arnold's in-" Helga began to say.

"Uh, Helga, can you hold that thought real quick?" Sid asked.

Turning to his side, Sid, jittering in anxiety began screaming loudly for no apparent reason, much to Helga's confusion. Done with his outburst, he returned to Helga.

"Sorry about that. Lars, can I have some more weed, please?" Sid asked.

Walking back to Sid, Lars gave him a marijuana cigarette, lighting the joint for him to smoke. Taking in a deep inhalation of the smoke, he held it in, slowly letting it out to calm himself. His jitters and shakes began to dissipate, bringing him the relief he desired, but the entire spectacle left Helga hopelessly confused to what she was seeing.

"Uh... I'm just gonna ask... WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! Are you seriously getting high at a time like this?!" Helga shouted.

"Basically, White Boy here is Charlie Sheen. He doesn't function anymore unless you give him the right fix. This morning, I had to give him a line of coke, now I gotta give him some weed to bring him back down. If I don't give him what he needs, your boyfriend'll kick my ass. Speaking of which, where is he? I haven't seen him all day." Lars said.

"Saint Lila has him. I need your help to get him back." Helga said.

"Hold it. 'Saint Lila has him'? As in, he's captured and can't fight his own way out?"

"And... he could be dying."

Looking to each other in fear, Lars and Sid mutually and silently agreed to decline; both backing away from Helga.

"Well, sorry. Sucks to be you." Lars said.

"Yeah. It was nice knowing him." Sid said.

"Wait, what? You're not going to help him?" Helga asked.

"No." Lars and Sid said in unison.

"What?! Why not?! How many times has he helped you? Kept you going this far? And you won't do the same for him?!"

"Listen, lady. If you said pedo-bitch has him and he's dying, then we're all fucked anyway. He's in the middle of a place that's basically the angry, homicidal love child of Mississippi and Saudi Arabia, completely populated by religious fanatics that'll kill us all before we make it two feet towards wherever the hell Arnold is, which we don't know. We barely made it out of the Aryan Nation with him helping us, and one guy died in the process. I might be lucky as hell when it comes to surviving death, but even I know not to push my luck. I'm sorry, but your boyfriend's dead. There's nothing we can do, even if we wanted to." Lars said.

Realizing that she had no help on her side, Helga let out an angry grunt, dismissing the refusal of the two to help her.

"I have to do something. Even if it means I die." Helga said.

Turning back and leaving the room, Helga set out to achieve her goal of saving Arnold on her own, whether she had any chance of succeeding or not. Annoyed and angered as she was with the cowardice of Lars and Sid, on some level, she welcomed the chance to do such a rescue on her own, hoping she could prove herself worthy to Arnold once again, in hopes that he would love her again.

Left alone once again, Lars and Sid moved back to their previous topic of conversation, much to the disapproval of Lars himself.

"But I really think we'd be happy together if-" Sid began to say.

"NO." Lars said.

In his lonely place of dying, Arnold hung his head upon the cross; his body having given out its last breaths. There is no more will or desire left in his body, no drive to survive, and no strength to go on. As his soul slowly departed from his body, leaving his pain and suffering behind, he moved on with a sense of regret, leaving his soul unable to find paradise or damnation.

In a state of limbo inside the physical world yet separate from it, he soon realizes that he is not alone in this realm. Standing before him was the one man he could still lean on, the one person who had, years ago, brought him out of a state of depression and loss that left him unable to move on, and returned to do the job again.

"Hello, child." Luz said.

"Luz... It's over... I failed..." Arnold said.

"No, child. You have not failed. Your story is not yet over. There is much for you to do; much for you to make right."

"But I keep doing wrong, Luz. I've hurt so many people. I don't want to do this anymore. I have nothing left to fight for. I just want to go to sleep."

"You still have the people of Hillwood to fight for. You still have Helga to fight for. Even if you do not believe in them, they still believe in you."

"No... Helga and I... I ruined it... She ruined it... We both ruined it... We burned that bridge and there's no coming back."

"A bridge can be rebuilt again and again and again no matter how many times it is broken down. Likewise, a trust can be rebuilt, between friend, lover, or neighbor. You need but make the effort."

"I don't want to anymore. I just want to go to sleep."

"No. I will not permit it."

"Please, Luz... Let me die... I've had enough already... How much longer to I have to suffer for before you're happy?"

"It is not your suffering that gives me joy, Arnold. It is that you live that gives me joy, and the nature of life is comprised of suffering and joy. That is a truth whether we accept the bad or reject it. It is the cost of being mortal."

"But I don't want it anymore. I just want to go to sleep."

"No. Beat your heart."

"I don't want to."

Holding a staff in his hand, Luz hit it to the ground, the impact seeming to send a pulse through Arnold's heart.

"Beat your heart! Come, now! Pump your blood! Course it through!" Luz said.

"I don't want to!" Arnold said.

"Beat your heart! Get it pumping! Beat your heart!"

Luz stomped his staff down again, once again sending a pulse through Arnold's heart, sending blood moving through his veins.

"Beat your heart! Start it again! Beat!" Luz commanded.

Stomping his staff down again, Luz's motion made Arnold's heart give out another beat. This time, rather than give out only one pulse, it began to beat on its own.

"Good. Now, breathe in." Luz said.

"I can't!" Arnold said.

"Yes, you can! Breathe in! Take in oxygen! Your blood needs to move it to your brain! Breathe in!"

Arnold's body began to take its first breath again, slowly coming back to life with its lungs taking in air.

"Good. Now, breathe out! Make room for your next breath!" Luz commanded.

"Stop, Luz! I don't want to live! I don't want to be born!" Arnold said.

"No one asks to be born, Arnold. We simply are born, just as simply as we die. That is the flow of life. It must happen. Just as you must be born."

"But I don't want to!"

"And why not? Do you fear further failure? Do you fear things will be worse?"

"Yes! I'm tired of all the pain and suffering. The world's so painful and cold, I want to be here where it's warm!"

"Do you find content in death? As if you are free from your pains and your troubles?"

"Yes! I just keep hurting everyone around me! They all keep dying! I don't want to watch them die anymore! I don't want them to leave me anymore!"

"Like Helga has left you?"

"Yes!"

"Wrong, child. Helga has still not left you. She fights for you now, as we speak. She puts herself through pain for you."

"What?"

"Watch."

Turning away from Arnold, Luz opened a view in the realm of limbo, giving them both a chance to see Helga in action.

Outside of the building called St. Viksten's Catholic Church, the capital of God's Country, dozens of Crusaders stood outside the church, guarding the entrance to ensure no one would make their way inside. Despite the church being closed off from any other citizen of God's Country, the entire populace all gathered around anyways; all hoping for the chance to lay their hands on the chance to see the second coming for themselves.

The Crusaders made strong efforts to keep the citizens back, ensuring that Saint Lila was not disturbed by any outside force. Even at the risk of death itself, the citizens of God's Country still tried to press through the guards, desperate to gain access inside the church for the opportunity to see him.

"Please, let us in! We deserve to see the second coming!" One citizen said.

"No one will see the messiah until the holy Saint Lila has had her audience with him! That goes for us and you!" A Crusader shouted.

"No! I must see the-"

The fight between the Crusader and citizen was cut short by the sound of a horse neighing in the air, catching the attention of both of those fighting and many others who caught ear of the noise. Those who went quiet to hear it again drove others to stop and quiet down; all listening carefully to the night air.

Once again, the neigh was heard, as well as the approach of the figure that had brought the noise to their ears.

[Soundtrack Cue: The Cure - Lovesong]

Approaching in on a white steed, Helga held a sword in her hand, preparing herself to fight through the numerous guards and other enemies to make her way to Arnold. In her eyes is a piercing, haunted drive that will not settle for anything less than success; failure not being an option for this woman.

The approach of the woman on the horse brought the Crusaders to attention at an instant, drawing their swords and rushing to their enemy, disregarding the task of holding others back from the church to focus on the more pressing target. When they rush to attack their target, however, they find that she is far more formidable than they had estimated upon her arrival.

Charging to clash with the coming enemy, the Crusaders' swords were met with the sword of Helga Pataki slashing back at them, cutting through armor into flesh. Slashing her way through enemy Crusaders standing in her path to the St. Viksten's Church, she continued on to her goal, letting no one stand in her way.

Her dedication to saving her soulmate did not let her be stopped by a simple collection of enemies, making their efforts to stop her little more than obstacles in her path. Preparing her sword once again, she continued forward, ready to fight her way through her enemies.

Continuing to slash and hack away at the Crusaders, Helga still proved herself to be a capable fighter against the enemies standing in her way, regardless of the growing opposition that stood before her. Realizing how much of an uncontainable threat she was becoming, the Crusaders began condensing themselves outside the entrance of the church, preventing her entry inside.

Urging her horse to continue on, Helga led the stallion to leap above the blockade of Crusaders, giving it the order to head through the barricade set before her. The horse, obeying its rider's order, charged a collection of energy into its legs, expunging them into a leap above the heads of the Crusaders standing between her and the church.

Finally getting one step closer to her goal, Helga's horse landed just outside the entrance of the church. However, with her arrival, the remainder of the Crusaders had rounded themselves up both in front of the church's entrance, as well as around the horse itself.

Getting herself surrounded by enemies is no spot of luck for Helga Pataki nor any aide in obtaining her goal, but she does not let it stop her. Urging on her horse again, she made the steed start to go into a frenzy, kicking at any Crusader unfortunate and unlucky enough to be near its legs.

Though many Crusaders were courageous enough to try to run towards Helga and make their attempts on her life, their attempts were as foolhardy as they were brave; only resulting in their bodies being met with steel hooves colliding into their chests and bellies, putting all fight out of them.

Jumping off her horse to let it continue to run wild on her enemies alone, Helga readied her sword to strike through any more Crusaders still standing between her and Arnold. Blocking away strikes and delivering strikes of her own, she let the drive burning deep in her soul to reach Arnold push her on; pushing herself past pain and fatigue for the more important part of herself that laid inside the church.

Years ago, as a girl, she had a dream not too dissimilar from what she experiences now: Fighting through enemy after enemy to save the man she loved from a madwoman hellbent on making him hers in her own delusion, making her way in what might as well have been a castle, just as it was in her dreams.

They say that such fantasies of young girls are juvenile and never come true for those who dream them. What would they have to say to a spectacle like this?

[Soundtrack Cue End]

Watching Helga fight on as she fought for him, Arnold, seeing the tenacity and dedication in her fighting, realized something truly important that he never thought that he would have the knowledge of again so long as he lived, something that finally sparked a drive of life in his soul:

Despite all his wrongs, Helga still loved him.

Having no words to speak regarding the matter of which he was seeing, Luz spoke his own to Arnold, advising him on what to do next.

"So, you see now. She fights for you. She lives for you. Will you live for her?" Luz asked.

Thinking carefully on what he had seen, Arnold contemplated the information he was given, still not sure what to do next. Having called himself out for the guilt he felt for factoring in the deaths of his friends and family, wishing to finally be dead and away from all his troubles, he could finally find his departure from the world and no longer have to fret over mortal concerns any longer.

But, seeing Helga push herself on, he could not bring himself to give that answer. To ponder what would happen if she were to see him dead... is something he cannot picture or ever even fathom. He knows that she is the final person that he has, and cannot afford to lose her again.

He knows he can never afford to lose her.

"I want to live." Arnold said.

"Do you, child?" Luz asked.

"Yes... I want to live. I want it."

"Do you truly want life? Despite how horrible, how dark, how cruel it all is?"

"Yes! I want it! The despair, the darkness, the fighting, the death! If that's life, I don't care! I want it back! It's dark, but it's mine!"

"Good! Believe in yourself once again! Believe in something greater! Breathe in! Heal your wounds! Seal them up! Beat that heart! Set back your bones! There is a dragon that lives in all of us, Arnold; a monster that seeks to drag us back down to death and the dark and cold place. Slay it! Come out stronger! LIVE!"

Arnold's body felt a pulse of a beat run through its veins, moving blood. His lungs take in oxygen, moving it to his blood and through his body.

"YES! I WANT THE PAIN!" Arnold shouted.

Arnold's body began to slowly heal itself; the blood coursing to the wounds clotting and closing up their holes. The loss of blood has stopped and more takes its place.

"I WANT THE FEAR!" Arnold shouted.

Oxygen slowly began making its way into the brain, giving it the fuel it needed to carry on bodily functions and motor skills. The nerve endings feel the connection return.

"I WANT THE RAGE!" Arnold shouted.

The muscles start to feel an awakening; ready to move and carry on its body again. They twitch ever so slightly under their reanimation.

"I WANT THE DESPAIR!" Arnold shouted.

The organs began to reconstruct and function once again. The endocrine system began pumping hormones back into the brain, giving it the chemicals to run it.

"I WANT THE JOY!" Arnold shouted.

Tissue and skin start to awaken again, remembering the sense of touch start to return. One final jolt of adrenaline reached the brain, giving the final hit it needed.

"I WANT TO LIVE!" Arnold shouted.

Arnold's body opened its eyes once again, his soul having returned to its home and his life returning to him at last. Pulling against the hold of the cross, Arnold ripped his hands through the nails that held them in place, as well as his feet, the latter landing him on the floor. As Saint Lila lifted her head up from prayer, she was given a sight that she would never forget for the rest of her life: The man she killed standing before her.

Arnold lives again.

Reaching to the spear embedded in his body, Arnold slowly began pulling it out, his efforts stopped by only the pain of removing the weapon from his side. Keeping his grip against it tight, he continued to pull against the spear, guiding it through the horizontal wound in his body.

Working it through himself, Arnold finally freed the spear from its place in his body, retrieving the weapon for himself. Grabbing the bladed end of the weapon, he drove the spear down to his knee, snapping the blade off and converting the lethal spear into a non-lethal staff.

Giving the staff a spin, Arnold held it towards Saint Lila, preparing himself for a fight with her.

Realizing that she would have no chance against a fight with him, Saint Lila rushed to the doors of the church, swinging them open to call on help from the Crusaders. Even though most were preoccupied from the task of fighting Helga, the pleas of Saint Lila caught and overrided their attention.

"CRUSADERS! SAVE ME! THE MESSIAH HAS GONE MAD!" Saint Lila shouted.

Baffled to hear the reasoning for her cry for help, the Crusaders stared at her in confusion; unable to process the request.

"Uh... Saint Lila, is the messiah not our-" One Crusader stammered.

"DO NOT QUESTION MY AUTHORITY! SAVE ME! I NEED YOUR HELP!" Saint Lila shouted.

As the Crusaders began flooding into the church, Saint Lila began running up the steps to the top of the building, searching for a refuge away from the battle with many Crusaders running after her. Armed with his compromised staff and wearing naught to protect himself but the skin on his bones, Arnold approached them, readying his weapon in hand to attack.

Running to the first target in his path, he threw his staff up in the air, catching the oncoming sword of the Crusader. Moving his staff to the side, he threw a bashing blow onto the enemy's head, following it with a stab at his stomach, knocking the enemy to the ground.

Moving onto the next target, he fought against another Crusader, thrusting his sword forward gain a stab into his gut. Turning to the side, Arnold caught the sword between himself and the staff, spinning the staff to both pull away the weapon and bash the Crusader in the shoulder, making him lose the sword. Jumping into the air, he threw a heel kick to his chest, following with a spinning roundhouse kick to his face.

Downing the Crusader, he moved onto the next one, coming into contact with another slash from the enemy. The cut from his blade managed to slice his staff in half, leaving him with two billy clubs to work with against the enemy. Moving the next slash away with one, Arnold followed by moving behind the Crusader and bludgeoning him in the groin, sending him down for the count.

Gaining a clear access to the stairs, Arnold began making his way for it, but not before having one last interest keep him back from the task of stopping Saint Lila. Helga, still facing off against the Crusaders on her own, became captive by the enemies; restrained by two as one more prepared his sword to cut her down.

Unable to allow that event from unfolding, Arnold ran towards the scene, jumping and throwing a kick to the face of her would-be executer. Thrusting his billy clubs to the faces of the Crusaders holding her back, their faces protected by their helmets, he knocked both down and out of the fight.

With Helga free and safe, he instantly ran to her arms, with Helga herself doing the same, savoring the feel of each other for one moment before returning to the fight.

"You came back for me." Arnold said.

"I had to. I love you." Helga said.

Holding her head to hers, Arnold gave her a kiss, which Helga met back in full with her tasting him as he tasted her.

"Stay here. I'll handle Lila." Arnold said.

Moving to the stairs to at last confront the leader of God's Country, Arnold was met with a Crusader on the first floor of the steps, heading back down to attack. Jumping off the side of the stairs to the ground level again, he evaded the strike, allowing the enemy to come to him.

As the Crusader made his way back to him, Arnold began leaving the enemy behind by throwing his billy clubs up to the first floor and grabbing hold of the edge, climbing his way up and bypassing the enemy. However, upon making his way up to the floor, he found another Crusader lying in wait for him, holding his sword at the ready as the prior Crusader headed back towards him.

Rolling down to the floor, Arnold dodged the second Crusader's sword, retrieving his billy clubs in the process. Keeping his low stance on the floor, he threw a hit to the enemy's knee, making him kneel from loss of balance. Keeping his opponent's head at a strategic position, Arnold spun in the air, throwing a downward double kick to his head, putting him to the floor.

As the first Crusader made his way back up the stairs, he threw a slash of his sword to Arnold ducking under it to leave his sword to be embedded into the wall. Standing back up, Arnold stepped on his foot, subsequently pushing him back while keeping his foot down. The action caused the Crusader's shin to snap like a dry twig, leaving him screaming in pain.

After downing the Crusader, Arnold continued his way up the steps, coming into contact with 2 more Crusaders waiting for him. Throwing one of his billy clubs to one Crusader, he focused on the second, allowing himself the leisure of taking on one target at a time.

Jumping onto the second Crusader, he bashed his remaining billy club into the back of his neck. Propping himself up and gripping his head using his knees, and throwing himself down to the floor, he sent his enemy falling to the ground with him, landing his face onto the floor while Arnold landed on his back.

As the first Crusader came to and began attacking his opponent again, sending his sword down to him as he laid on the floor, Arnold rolled to his side, evading the strike. Standing himself up, he kicked himself off the wall, throwing another kick to the Crusader's face.

Knocking the Crusader back, Arnold moved back up against the wall, giving himself room to make his next strike. Running back up to the Crusader, he jumped and brought up his knees, knocking him back with all his body weight. Unable to stand against the force, the Crusader fell back and crashed through the guardrail of the floor, falling to the ground level and collapsing on his back; all will left from his body.

Having defeated the Crusaders standing against him and Saint Lila, Arnold continued his way upwards, intent on reaching that final opponent that still remained in the task of destroying God's Country. Just before reaching the top floor, he still found one more enemy in his way, the Crusader that he knew personally from the past:

Herbie Grossman.

Choosing to eschew his helmet for the opportunity to fight Arnold face-to-face, he held his sword up, ready to battle against the football head.

Having already attempted reason with the enemy before Arnold did not waste any time or breath on trying again. Instead, he raised his billy club to Herbie, preparing to meet his sword with his own weapon. Running up the stairs to reach him, Arnold threw a strike of his billy club, driving it to collide with Herbie's sword.

More dedicated than his comrades to the cause, having no purpose left in his life but the Crusaders and God's Country, Herbie proved to be a much deadlier opponent than the previous Crusaders. More aggressive in his strikes, pushing further back against Arnold to keep him away, he used all his might to ensure that his target would not make his way to Saint Lila.

Looking into the burning eyes of Herbie Grossman, Arnold saw a firey might that carried the intent of murder, darkened with a touch of death glossing over it. The image in his eyes was a far cry from the gentle family man that he once knew, and the memory of the man he used to be was no help in the battle.

As such, he had no need for the thought. Brushing it out of his mind, he returned his focus back to fighting Herbie, trying to make his way past him and up the stairs.

Noticing the imminent approach of Arnold Shortman, Saint Lila, up on the top floor of the church, quickly scanned around her to try and calculate a way to defend herself from the oncoming attacker. In search of smaller objects of interest that could lead to her protection, her eyes were led to one larger, more noticable one: The church's bell, hanging from the ceiling.

Taking out a revolver, she fired a bullet at the rope hanging it up, severing the one thing keeping it from the pull of gravity. Catching up with gravity once again, the bell began falling straight down; the stairways being the one thing in its path to the ground below, and the target of Saint Lila.

As Arnold and Herbie battled at opposite ends, the two found their battle cut short with the sound of a large falling object ringing in their ears. Both stopped to look up at what approached the two, with Herbie the quicker one to realize that the falling bell was coming down, and he was directly in its path.

Before able to move himself to safety, the bell took with it Herbie Grossman, as well as a large chunk of the stairway. Moving to the edge of the broken stairway, Arnold looked down to witness the fate of his enemy; the decision becoming regret in seconds of watching.

Feeling the bell press down against his stomach during the descent, Herbie screamed in terror, fearing the inevitable death that was inevitable now as it would soon be painful. Realizing that his life was finally coming to an end, and in an abrupt and horrible way, his faith in his god disappears.

When the bell hit the ground, it does not simply crush into the floor, but also cuts through the belly and organs of Herbie Grossman. His body was severed in half; his groin and legs on one side twitching for life, and his brain, lungs, heart, and other vital organs inside, keeping him alive just long enough to comprehend and prolong his slow and agonizing fate.

Feeling the remnants of his body try to carry out his life, Herbie's efforts to live only made his death all the worse; continuing to live only to face the suffering of having his body severed and unable to come back together. Choking on blood in his last breaths, he looks to the new surroundings he is given.

Trapped under the church bell, his surroundings are nothing but darkness. He had hoped that his passing into the afterlife would come with a light that would take him away to paradise in reward for all his services, but he does not receive it. Instead, he only continues to die in darkness, slowly and painfully returning to it.

And he knows he will still never see his family again.

Herbie Grossman is dead.

The grizzly sight of Herbie's death is an image that Arnold is ill-prepared to watch, much less feel with his empathic mind. However, even with the sight as horrid as it is, he knows that there exists the greater threat of Saint Lila ahead, and no more opponents in the way of reaching her.

Turning away from the scene of death, he made his way up the stairs, reaching the roof at last.

Upon reaching the rooftop, the first thing in his sight was a gun pointed straight at him, aimed by the barely-clothed Saint Lila. Firing a shot towards him, her bullet was evaded by Arnold; ducking down and out of the way of the bullet. Taking aim towards him and pulling the trigger once again, Saint Lila repeated the attack.

Firing bullet after bullet towards him, none of Saint Lila's shots managed to land in her target, but that did not blind Arnold from the importance of disarming her from firing any longer. Throwing his billy club towards her, his own projectile knocked the revolver out of her hand, leaving her without a weapon of her own.

Jumping up into the air as he ran towards her, Arnold threw a kick to Saint Lila's chest, knocking her back to the ground. Left on the floor with no weapon to defend herself, and having Arnold loom over her with his fists at the ready, she knew that there was no more she could do by way of directly attacking him, so she sought to reason with him instead.

"Why are you attacking your own servants, lord? We live only to serve you. I live only to serve you." Saint Lila said.

"I told you. I'm not your messiah. You've got it all wrong. You're trying to find some missing piece of yourself with something that won't give it to you, and you made me part of it." Arnold said.

"But you were meant to be our salvation."

"No. You thought I was your salvation. You've been so obsessed over trying to find someone who could help you, and you latched onto me, blending me into your own mythology you created for your religion. I'm not what you made me in your mind."

Saint Lila drifted into her mind to find her next words, searching for apologetics to rationalize her beliefs.

"But... But I've brought so many people here. People were looking for salvation, and I gave it to them. Even if you don't believe in yourself, they all believe in you." Saint Lila said.

"Then maybe you don't understand what kind of damage you've really done. Let me show you." Arnold said.

Placing his hands on her head, Arnold fed Saint Lila a mental transmission of all the pain in Hellwood, making himself a metaphysical antenna to the emotions that flooded the astral plane of the island. With all the mental energy directed into Saint Lila's mind, she was given a full taste as to what her order and rule has done to people.

What she experiences is something to horrible for her own words to describe.

Feeling the deaths of many innocents all around her, people starving to death, people killed by others, people dying from the elements; she is given more than enough an image of the amount of lives lost in this hellscape. Feeling the suffering of all others, those either fortunate enough to have survived or unfortunate enough to still be alive, she knows that there are others that envy the dead and their release.

The imagery she receives is horrible and haunting, but is still not enough to sway her. Still staying firm in her beliefs, Saint Lila did not budge from her religion.

"Enough of your tests! You are the father, son, and holy ghost, you know my loyalty to you! How many days and nights of my mortal life I've given to you in prayer, speaking only to you, reading your word and memorizing every sentence of it! I've taught the word to all my flock, guiding them to you! What more do I have to do to prove myself worthy to you? What more must I do to prove that you are truly the messiah?" Saint Lila asked.

Realizing that his own attempts at reasoning with her would not work, Arnold instead tried for an argument on her grounds, using her own text against her.

"So you've been teaching the bible to people, trying to keep them loyal to god?" Arnold asked.

"Yes. Have I proved myself worthy from it?" Saint Lila asked.

"No."

Shocked to hear Arnold bluntly put her down, Saint Lila inquired further, seeking the validation she needed.

"What?" Saint Lila asked.

"1 Timothy 2:11-14: 'Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, not to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.' 1 Corinthians 14:34-35: 'Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.' You go on and on about how loyal you are to your faith, but you don't follow your own holy book. Don't you see how it's all for nothing?" Arnold asked.

Hearing the verses quotes back at her, highlighting the blind spots in her own religious faith, Saint Lila was given at last a dose of reality coming to her head following all her days of preaching and fanaticism. In her moment of self-introspection, she felt her faith and devotion replaced with a sense of nihilism, caring no longer for her religion nor her god.

With that last thought travelling through her head, Saint Lila is no more.

"You're right. I haven't been faithful. I've gotten it all wrong." Lila said.

"So what do you want to do now?" Arnold asked.

Lila's gaze darted briefly to her fallen revolver, then back to Arnold. Understanding her intention, Arnold dashed to the gun to pick it up, but found himself too late to do so. Retrieving her revolver, Lila pointed it at Arnold, causing him to step back in caution lest he receive a bullet.

Then, Lila turned the gun on herself, pointing it to her head.

"NO!" Arnold shouted.

Feeling his own complex feelings drive his body forward, Arnold reached out to try to stop her from ending her own life; his body moving faster than his mind and soul could reason or allow any reaction of their choosing. But, despite the speed which Arnold ran with, giving it all his willpower, his help came to late.

Lila pulled the trigger.

The gun clicks empty. Arnold and Lila both realize that she is still alive, both having opposite reactions to the news. Arnold, relieved to see her alive, threw her arms around her in a hug. Lila, having no more care for her own life, saw this moment as one of disappointment.

"Lila. Listen to me. Don't do this to yourself. Don't die. I've already seen so many people die. I can't watch you die, too." Arnold said.

"I've done so wrong and hurt so many... for nothing. This is what I deserve." Lila said.

"No. No one ever deserves to die for what they do. I'll help you get the help you need. I'll do whatever it takes to help you."

"Arnold... Why would you waste your time on that? You know I can't be helped."

"Because it's what I'm supposed to do... and... because... I still care about you."

"Even after all I've done to you? How many of your friends and family I've killed?"

"Even after that. I can't let you die, too. That would make it all worse."

Allowing herself a moment longer in his arms, Lila took one last taste of comfort with him, trying to imagine what being in such a place would feel like for eternity. She hopes that what lies beyond for her is something close to what she feels, but, deep down, she does not truly want it; not deserving it.

Giving one gentle kiss on Arnold's cheek, Lila stepped out of his hold, letting his hand slowly slip out of hers as she stepped away. Moving to the edge of the floor, standing above a steep fall to the ground, she looked down at the abyss that waited for her, then back to Arnold; her eyes full of tears.

Suddenly realizing what Lila was about to do, Arnold stopped in his tracks for but a moment, letting his fear of what she would do getting to his mind. Extending her arms out to the air, Lila leaned back against the open space, allowing herself to gravitate towards it and let physics do their work.

As she leaned back, Arnold reached out for her hand one last time, gripping it in his own, preventing her fall from coming at last. Lila, having no desire to live, made no attempts to hold onto his hand. Instead, she let herself slowly slip out of his grip, trying to let herself fall.

Before falling at last, she spoke one last goodbye to Arnold.

"You truly are the messiah." Lila said.

Slipping out of his hold, she fell.

[Soundtrack Cue: Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)]

Letting herself fall to the ground, Lila embraced her fate, keeping her arms spread open and her eyes looking to the ground in anticipation. The fall makes her heart beat faster, adrenaline start to course through her body as fight-or-flight kicks in, but her body unable to do anything to prevent her fate.