Looking For Group

Part 21

The waiting room of the hospital stunk like piss. Some poor kid earlier had an accident, and while the staff was cleaning it up swiftly, the smell burned Twilight's sensitive nose. He kept his complaints to himself as he sat, waiting for updates on Rhoam.

He kept checking his phone. Wild should've been out of class by now and he still hadn't called Twilight back. Perhaps the kid just forgot to turn his phone back on. Maybe he was at work and wasn't allowed phones.

"Still nothing?" Warriors asked.

"Zilch," Twilight said, putting his cell away. "There's a million and ten perfectly good reasons why he hasn't responded but I can't help but feel something's gone wrong."

"Trust your instincts. You should go. Sky and I can handle this."

"Not yet. I want to see this through."

They waited some more. They watched an entire episode of Spongebob on the lobby television and debated what the secret formula was. Sky and Sun raided a nearby vending machine and the group sat on the floor eating their weight in chocolate and fizzy drinks.

By the time Warriors finished off his fourth candy bar, Flora finally came out from the back areas. Her eyes were red from all the crying she's done today.

"My father will be alright," she said, sniffling. "The doctors had to put him in a medical coma, so he's resting now. But... the damage was quite extensive. They'll need to find a donor for skin and... they don't know how long it'll be before he can hold a pencil again."

"Flora," Sun said. "I'm so sorry this happened, we should've stopped it."

She shook her head. "He's always been like this. Always believing he's right. Question is will he have learned his lesson once he wakes up?" She turned to Twilight. "Despite his bullheadedness, I can't leave him. Not now."

"I understand," said Twilight. "You've waited three years, what's a couple of more hours?"

"I'm assuming you're all going back home, then?"

"I'm staying here," said Sun. She laid a gentle hand on Flora's shoulder. "While we wait for your father to awaken, I can walk you through the duties of a princess."

"I'm staying as well," said Sky. "I'll stand guard."

Warriors groaned. "Looks like I should stay too. Darn it, was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I guess I'll go get some actual food and make sleeping arrangements."

Twilight nodded. "Then it's settled. We have our jobs. I'll go get Wild and come back."

"Not yet," said Flora. "I still need to do one more thing."

She turned to Sky. "Give me the sword."

Standing in a lobby hospital wasn't exactly the most prestigious environment for this. They all have been wearing their clothes for nearly twelve hours now. Sky had chocolate stains on his shirt. Warriors was sporting a five o'clock shadow. Twilight desperately wanted to brush his teeth. Though they were exhausted and in desperate need of a nap, the Heroes went down on one knee. Sky held out the sword to Flora.

Flora didn't hesitate. She grasped the hilt and pulled the sword out in a quick smooth motion. There was a brief moment of surprise on her face like she expected to be wrong, then grinned in triumph. She held the sacred blade up high as the Heroes bowed their heads in reverence.

"I think that settles it," she said. She turned to Twilight, holding the sword to him. "Take this and bring me my knight."

"As you wish, princess," said Twilight.

***

"Arriving now at... Hyrule University Park."

At the sound of the train conductor's voice, Twilight blinked out of his light doze. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes. His micro nap was not enough to lessen the exhaustion he was feeling. He hadn't eaten a full meal in hours. Maybe on the way to Wild's place he could grab something from McTingles. He grimaced at that idea, already tasting the thick grease on his tongue. Better than nothing he supposed. Twilight yawned, stood up and walked to the train doors.

An old woman sitting nearby gestured to the Master Sword sheathed across Twilight's back and asked, "Ohh, going on an epic adventure?"

"Just finding an old friend," Twilight said.

"Finding old friends are always epic. You have fun now, you hear?"

"I will, thanks."

He stepped off the train. By the now the workday was slowly winding down. All around him were equally tired men and women in business suits, eager to get home. Only a few of them gave Twilight and the sword a curious glance as they all shuffled through the security gates. Once outside Twilight was greeted with a strong wind blowing his hair back.

The sun was setting, painting the skies with streaks of reds and oranges. For a moment he stood there, not thinking, just quietly enjoying the moment.

It ended when his phone dinged several times. Twilight looked at it, expecting updates on Rhoam. The messages were from Legend.

L: We have a problem. That gym owner sold us out. He took pictures of us while we were there and sold them to a gossip mag. Pictures of Wind is all over the damn internet now.

"The fuck...?" Twilight hissed. Legend included links to the online articles.

There were dozens of pictures from low angles. It looked like they were taken by hidden cameras all around the space they were using. There were pictures of the Heroes grappling, of them eating, even of Warriors when he took his sweaty shirt off. Each photo had a caption attached to it, naming who each Hero was, followed by an expansive comment section. But worst of all were definitely the photos of Wind. In all of them he was smiling and laughing, having no idea some deviant was spying on him. Instead of protecting his identity like the Heroes had promised, he was now the internet's new gossip topic.

NEW HERO? Said one title underneath Wind's photo. HOW YOUNG DO THEY RECRUIT?

Twilight gritted his teeth. It didn't matter if they sue the gym owner and this website. Now that the photos were out, they were out forever. This was what Time fought to keep from happening, but thanks to a single idiot, Wind was exposed to the world.

There were also pictures of Wild.

The comment section was sickening. They fetishized his scars, joked how they "wanted to see how far down they go." There were a few comments who admitted they knew Wild from the cafe, who saw him talking to the Heroes. They implied maybe all it took to be a Hero was free food. They also included a link to the article of when he was found on the river bank.

LOCAL BARISTA NEW HERO?

A thick dread settled over Twilight. Unlike Wind, who was faraway on an island with Time to protect him, Wild had no such protection. If those who hurt Wild knew he was still alive and vulnerable...

Forgetting food, Twilight shoved his cellphone back in his pocket and took off in a full sprint towards Wild's apartment.