June, 2020: Warning: Unedited. Low quality.

COUNTING STARS

Chapter 11: Vigilante

Friday, October 27

"Who the hell're you?!" the officer shouts over the commotion, ducking behind his car as a string of bullets soars overhead.

"A friend," I grunt in response, taking cover beside him, pulling the hood further over my head. Screams echo throughout the street as pedestrians scurry away in mobs, searching for safety.

"Why are you wearing that outfit?"

I whip my head in his direction to glare at him. "Does that really matter right now?!"

The man shakes his head, turning to peek over the edge of the car. More gunfire rings out, and the officer is forced to return to cover. "Still," he grimaces while clutching his right shoulder, "y-you look… familiar…"

I roll my eyes, looking behind the car for myself. The assailants are still there, bearing heavy artillery as they cower behind an overturned Ford truck. I take a good look at each of them, eyes widening. One of them, I recognize easily as Onox. The other four—two taking the offensive and the others taking the defensive—are clearly inhuman. Monsters.

Scaly beasts, wearing brown, ripped cloaks to mask their reptilian faces and bodies. Giant lizards, they seem.

One of them spots me, yelps in an annoyingly high-pitched voice, and points his rifle. I immediately dart back down as the creature fires, and I exhale in relief.

I look over at the cop next to me. "Be warned, they have thick body armor—" I stop. "Hey!" I shout, noticing the blood spill down the man's chest and pool down onto the pavement. "We need a medic over here! Now!"

Someone rushes over to us urgently, careful not to be in the enemy's line of sight, and kneels next to the cop, wrapping up his shoulder with a tourniquet. "We just need to keep pressure on it," he tells the officer, who nods weakly.

The medic turns to me. "Thank you—" A look of recognition flashes across his face. "Say, aren't you that guy who escaped the police a few weeks ago?!"

I blink at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now quit wasting time and get this man to the hospital!"

"Right, right," he says, waving to someone else, who quickly brings a gurney. Still, he eyes me peculiarly. I ignore it.

"Gods," says the new guy, helping the other medic hoist the injured man onto the gurney, "this is getting out of hand."

A police helicopter soars overhead, prompting the shooters to turn their heads—just the diversion I need.

"I'm going out there," I assert.

"Won't you need a weapon?" a medic asks.

I shake my head. "No need."

With a quick breath of preparation, I vault over the hood of the car as the helicopter sends a torrent of bullets toward the assailants. One of which, a lizard, wails in pain as a shell penetrates its scaly exterior and buries into his heart. The rest take cover, save for Onox, who aims his enormous rifle at the vehicle.

I increase my speed, getting closer and closer, knowing that when Onox pulls that trigger everyone on the streets would be in danger as the heli would be sure to spiral to the ground—

Bang! Bang bang bang bang bang!

I look skyward to see the aircraft bank drastically to the east, descending rapidly; Onox must've shot the pilot through the windshield. The propellers skid along the side of skyscraper until they snap off, and the helicopter collides with the wall and plummets down to the ground.

The policemen stationed below scramble out of the downed heli's path, nearly crushed as it slams into the street, erupting into flames and tossing debris in their wake.

With a disappointed huff, I narrow my eyes and charge. The remaining lizard on the forefront doesn't recognize me until it's too late; I vault over the Ford and land on the reptile, yanking its neck to the right until it snaps audibly.

"You!" barks Onox, turning toward me.

I grin smugly, then lunge at him, golden light spilling out of my clenched fist. I wind my right arm back, then purposely swing over his head. Onox ducks easily, prompting me to follow up with a high kick to the side of his face.

With a grunt, Onox recoils to the left, frantically firing his gun without aiming. I yelp, dodging the stray bullets, and take a couple steps back. He uprights himself, aiming his massive gun at me again.

I run. The spray of bullets follows after me as I duck begins the defensive barricade the assailants had constructed. A lizard wails in pain as the thick bullets penetrate its scaly exterior before collapsing on the pavement in front of me.

As I cower behind the barricade, the final lizard whirls around and fixes its beady yellow eyes on me. It rears its head back, spewing flames out of its fanged maw, and prepares to charge—before a familiar halberd thrusts through its chest, pointing straight at me.

The weapon is wrested from the dead monster's body, and a black boot kicks it to the ground. In its place stands Dark, attired in his blackened jumpsuit. "Got your back," he calls.

I nod my thanks shortly, dutifully. I briefly peek over the barricade, seeing Onox hiding from police fire. A few officers point in Dark's direction, appearing confused. I look back over at my doppelganger, but he's already gone.

I guess we aren't in this as a team.

Onox raises his gun over the Ford truck and fires several rounds toward me as a warning, then looks back over the truck. I dart out of my hiding spot, but he whirls back around. Onox snarls and charges, baring his teeth, gun aimed up. He pulls the trigger; I prepare to evade.

Nothing comes out. He stops, squints, and swears audibly, running to his stash of clips behind him.

I smirk, sprinting to beat him there. He hastily bends down to grab another, but not before I reach him. My leg swoops up and kicks the heavy weapon to the left, knocking it out of his grasp.

The gun clatters on the pavement and skids out toward the barricades. The officers notice and begin to proceed toward the two of us, but I raise a hand, halting them.

Like a group of puppies following their mother's lead, they obey, simply stopping to view from afar.

The whole world seems to be watching as we square off in the middle of the wreckage. "I guess this is it, Hero," growls the large man, raising his arms outward.

I nod shortly.

"You hear that?" he asks rhetorically, raising a finger. Faint sirens sound off somewhere in the distance, and the officers start to mumble with confusion. Onox smiles wickedly. "That's the sound of your failure. This was all a diversion. You failed, Hero."

I lower my gaze to the ground as Onox takes a few steps forward. "I did my part, and there's no use trying to escape now." He huffs. "Arrest me."

Damn it all. I should have known this was a diversion; is Onox stupid enough to put himself out in the open in such an extreme manner? Of course not. I failed.

I meet his dark eyes, and scoff. "Arresting you isn't my job." Summoning all leftover strength into my right fist, I throw a devastating right hook and connect with his face. His eyes roll to the back of his head, and he cripples to the ground, grimacing. I tower over him now, our roles reversed, and smirk. "But kicking your ass is."

I force myself to walk away, leaving Onox to the police. But as I turn my head, I'm being followed.

Reporters, pedestrians, and policemen are running toward me. To interview, thank, or arrest me?—I'm not sure.

So I run.

After a mile or so, I lose them in a crowd of curious people being walled off by caution tape, and break off into an alley. I hastily disrobe and adorn my casual clothes, stuffing my jumpsuit haphazardly into my pack.

"Call Shad," I order my cell phone. It dials up his number.

"Link?" says the familiar voice of the detective. "Are you alright? I saw what happened at the—"

"I'm fine, Onox is down. What else happened, though? I heard it was all a diversion."

"You're not gonna like it, Link."

I palm my face and sigh. "Have I liked anything you've told me?"

"Ghirahim and Vaati escaped," he tells me with a tone of desperation. "A couple of Dragmire's goons busted them out of the Tri County Jail."

I close my eyes and put a palm to my face in defeat. "…I'm sorry. I should have known."

"And what if you didn't stop Onox, then?" Shad asks rhetorically. "Countless casualties. It isn't your fault."

"I'll bring them back. Goodbye, Shad." So I hang up, exiting the alley, striding briskly toward downtown.

Back in the alley, a small spider scuffles along the pavement, settling comfortably on a discarded rag, before being crushed by a black, high-heeled boot.

"Ticket, please," says the clerk gruffly, her eyes glazing in boredom.

I quickly hand her the required slip, tapping my foot eagerly. She looks at it, nods, and hands it back to me after stamping it lazily.

"You're a little late."

"I don't hear any music playing," I reply with a shrug, hurrying toward the concert hall.

The clerk rolls her eyes as I disappear behind the door.

I glance at my ticket, looking for the seat number, and notice that it's row one, seat twenty. Wow, Mikau got us some nice seats. I hastily make my way through the dimly-lit room, ignoring the dirty looks I get for occasionally halting to look at my ticket, and finally locate my seat.

Next to Zelda. Yeah, he totally planned that out.

"Sorry I'm late," I murmur to her, taking a seat. "I ran into a little traffic."

Zelda scoffs, showing me her phone screen. "Did this 'traffic' involve you getting attacked by any gang lords?" I squint at the bright screen in the dark concert hall, reading the headline: 'Massive shootout on Fourth Avenue causes four-mile backup; Vigilante known as 'Hero' saves the day'.

I shrug hopelessly, giving her a little smile. "Not gang lords, no."

"Link, you're here!" hollers Pipit, sitting in the seat beside mine, next to Karane.

What, is Mikau playing matchmaker or something?

"Yep," I respond with a grin.

"Gods, I was hoping you'd get here. I was surrounded by too much estrogen," he jeers, lightly elbowing Karane and sending her a smirk.

She rolls her eyes. "Like you aren't always around girls, anyway."

"But tonight, I'm sitting by the best girl."

I settle into my seat as Karane's eyebrows raise.

Pipit throws his arm around my shoulder, not breaking eye contact with Karane. "…Link."

I glare at him while Karane hits his leg. "Real funny," she glowers.

Zelda taps on my shoulder lightly. I turn. "Yes?"

She leans closer, keeping her voice low: "Are you okay?"

My heart beats a little faster at her sudden closeness. "Yeah, of course."

She gives me a look of concern and skepticism.

"I was careful. I'm not hurt," I assure with a small nod.

She sighs quietly. "At least tell me what all happened."

I notice, to Zelda's left, Sheik is peeking over, squinting peculiarly. "Later," I tell her discreetly. "People are listening."

The faint light that barely illuminated the room dims to complete black, and the mumbling of the crowd dies down as they eagerly await what's next.

"Castle Town…" booms a familiar voice into the microphone. "We are…" White lights shoot up from the stage, and four figures standing side by side are contrasting dark shadows. "Morpha!" They throw their arms up as a spotlight aims at their faces, and the crowd erupts into cheers at the sight of the band.

"MIKAAAAAUUUUUU!" Pipit screams obnoxiously, whipping his head back and forth. Next to him, Karane stifles a giggle and shoves his shoulder.

"They're hopeless," I say loudly over the commotion to Zelda, who also is looking at them. She smiles and nods in agreement.

"Welcome, everybody!" Mikau announces as the crowd is roaring. "First off I'd like to thank y'all who bought our debut album—but without further ado, let's get this going!"

"They're like, right in front of us!" Midna says excitedly, reaching toward Japas's shoe.

"Just like at school!" Sheik replies with mimicked enthusiasm. Midna glares.

"Alright," Mikau shouts, "this first song goes out to my good pal, Tidbit."

Pipit's smile is wiped clean off his face. "YOU SON OF A—"

"Woo!" Mikau shouts, prompting Japas to begin his guitar solo. The familiar rhythm of the Red Hot Chili Peppers fills the room and drowns out Pipit's profanity, as the crowd cheers.

A chill runs down my spine; at first I think it's due to the sheer awesomeness of my friend's situation right now. But I get a strong tingling sensation in my right hand. I'm fairly certain I'm being watched.

I ignore the thought, assuring myself I'm just excited for my friend. So I focus on that instead.

Our group of friends dances, screams, and cheers for Mikau's budding success as Pipit stands rigidly, arms folded over his chest. It will be interesting to see what he does for revenge.

But the more interesting thing currently is Mikau's success—despite the fallout with Lulu. Maybe they'll reunite eventually. But it looks like Mikau's doing just fine without her. And for that I am proud of him.

"You listened… to the orders… from the man in green," grumbles Chief Auru, leaning forward with his arms resting on the table. "Why did you not rush the assailant when you saw he was alone and disarmed?"

The man before him squirms under his superior's scrutiny. "It looked like Hero could handle it, sir. I didn't want to interfere."

"Captain," Auru sighs, running his hands through his slicked-back, gray hair, "your job is to interfere. You're an officer."

The man merely looks down in shame. "I'm sorry."

Auru dismisses the captain's pathetic apology with a wave of his hand. "Did you at least get a lead on greeny?"

"He goes by Hero, I think I said." He gave a slow nod. "His voice was distinguishably a young man's when he called for a medic for the downed officer."

"Hm." The chief stroked his dark stubble with his thumb. "Keep looking. He seems to get involved with our skirmishes with those gang members. Could be a possible motive, yes?"

The inferior officer squints up at his boss, questioning meekly, "…Motive for what, exactly?"

"For interfering with the duties of the police, and refusing cooperation," Auru drawls out slowly, indicating that the captain should have known.

"Respectfully, sir… other than being a little stubborn, I don't see an issue with him."

Auru fixates his stern gaze on the jittering officer and scoffs. "A little stubborn? He ignored the law. If everyone was 'a little stubborn,' the world would be damn near chaos." He shakes his head and sighs. "That perspective won't get you anywhere with me, captain. Maybe you oughtta change it."

"Yes, sir. I meant no disrespect."

As Auru nears the exit of the conference room, my eyes widen and I wrench myself away from peeking through the window. I whip out my cell phone and pretend to be texting as Auru walks by, a frown plastered on his wrinkled forehead.

I think he bought it.

"Don't think I couldn't see you that whole time, Mr. Gaiden," he calls without turning his head to look at me.

Never mind, then.

I pocket my phone and hurry after him. "I'm sorry, chief," I stress. "But I just had to know what happened today."

"Watch the news."

"Can't afford cable, sir."

Auru stops to meet my eyes. "Well that's unfortunate, kid," he says without any pity, "but you eavesdropped on confidential information. I normally wouldn't forgive that."

I crack a smile. "But…?"

"That's not what I—Please, Mr. Gaiden, leave me to my work now. Detective Shad should be in his office." And with that, he turns and leaves.

"Okay," I mumble, but he doesn't hear.

"Link," calls Shad from behind me. I turn. "In here." His head pokes out from the door as he beckons me to his office before ducking back inside.

Once I've joined him, he motions for me to sit. "Link, I don't know what you're doing here at such an hour." He points to the clock that reads eleven o'clock PM.

"Could say the same for you. You're going to work yourself to death."

He restlessly runs a hand through his curly red hair. "You want my help, don't you? This is for your case." A sigh. "Although…I'm truly sorry Ghirahim and Vaati could not be held."

I nod my thanks without meeting his eyes, but think back to the deal I struck with Cia. If Vaati isn't killed for betraying the M.O.D., then I'll have a valuable ally. Ghirahim is the only real threat in today's unfortunate happenings, but what's one more target. It shouldn't be an issue.

Hey, look at that, my optimism is coming back.

"Don't worry, Shad," I assure. "I'll find Ghirahim."

He narrows his eyebrows. "…And Vaati."

"…Huh? Oh, yeah." I nod quickly. "Him too."

Shad squints, pauses, then leans forward on his arms as they rest on the table. "Link—I'm a detective."

"I'm aware."

"And you're acting strangely."

I fake confusion. "Don't know why you'd think that."

"I'm trained to note this behavior and question it."

"Description of a detective, correct." I nod again.

"Is there something regarding Vaati you aren't telling me?"

"Pfft," I scoff. "No."

He doesn't budge.

I blink, faking innocence. "…You don't believe me."

"I'm a detective."

"I see your badge, you know. It's literally right in front of me."

Shad shakes his head, defeated. "Fine. Don't tell me. Remember that I'm only trying to help."

I sigh mentally. The thing is, Shad, I can't tell you. Letting the authorities know I've struck a deal with a gang lord will not only put Hero higher up on the wanted list, but I could be forced to bring in Cia too early. And right now, as she made clear, I need her resources.

"How exactly did they escape?" I ask suddenly, hoping to change the subject.

He runs a hand through his curly hair and adjusts his spectacles. "We found footage of that bald goon of Dragmire's. Everyone at the station was so occupied with the siege that he was able to slip in and out unnoticed."

I squint. "In and out? With two convicted gang members?"

"He wore a police uniform. The bastard must've gotten it at Party City, for all we know. Like I said, we didn't notice."

"And there were no guards where Vaati and Ghirahim were held?"

Shad nods slowly. "There were. Baldy just told 'em to get lost—said he was going to interrogate them. Got the guards to unlock the doors even, the bastard." He gives a frustrated scoff. "Some officers we've got."

"No kidding." I sigh.

"Unrelated," Shad begins, raising a finger, "but fairly important—where were you this afternoon, after your run-in with Onox?"

"At my friend's concert," I drawl out slowly, squinting, confused. "Why?"

Shad's eyes gradually widen. "…Was it Morpha's concert?"

I narrow my eyebrows suspiciously. "Um… If you want an autograph or something, I'll see what I can do—"

"No, no," he interrupts hastily, fixing me with a serious look. My body grows rigid. "Link… there was an assassin present at the concert."

Saturday, October 28

"Wow, you actually have a cell phone?"

"Yeah!" Dark's constantly-excited voice replies. "It's awesome! I can talk to you from my house!"

I squint. "You don't have a house."

"Remember that dumpster we had a sleepover in?"

"I thought you were renting it—" I cut myself off, noticing how pointless this must sound. "Dark, how can you even afford a cell phone?"

He hums as he thinks up an answer. "I guess I can't really afford it with money. I'm paying for it with—how do I put this delicately?—intercourse."

"That wasn't delicate."

"Neither was the intercourse."

I palm my face, exasperated. "So I have a lot to tell you—"

"Sweet!" he exclaims. "Story time!"

"—But I really need you to focus, okay?"

"Mmhmm. Focused."

"First of all, I'd like to thank you for saving my ass from that lizard thing."

"Anytime. You and I are partners, dude—We're like the Splash Brothers."

"You know I'm a Celtics fan, Dark," I say. "But why did you just abandon me right after?"

"Okay. Think of it this way: you're Steph Curry, I'm Klay Thompson. Together we're the Splash Brothers, but you're the franchise. If I reveal myself to the world, then you won't be the city's lone superstar—the lone hero."

I squint. "The world already knows Klay Thompson exists though."

"I was trying to make an analogy you'd understand."

"How did you learn so much about basketball anyway?" I ask.

"I called Talo."

"I swear I'm going to take that phone away from you," I grumble. "How in the world did you get Talo's number? Or mine, for that matter?"

"Intercourse."

"Dammit, Dark."

I can tell he's grinning, even though I can't see him. He enjoys getting under my skin, for some reason. "What else did you want to tell me?" he asks, suddenly becoming more serious.

"I was nearly assassinated last night."

No reply comes.

I wait. "…Dark."

"I—I—" he sputters, sounding baffled. "Link, I should've been there with you—I'm sorry!"

"What could you have done?" I ask him. "For all we know, that was one of the M.O.D. and they could've taken you out as well."

"I'm sorry," he mumbles nonetheless. "…I promise I won't abandon you. We're a team."

"But what about your thing with me being the franchise?"

"I'll be stealthy—invisible. Believe me, you won't be alone in this."

"It's not a big deal, Dark—"

"You could've died!"

"That's an average Monday for me," I retort.

"How did you even avoid the assassination, anyway?"

"Shad said if I had been jumping or moving around any less, the killer would've had a clear shot on me."

"So I guess you can thank Michael for that."

I squint. "Mikau."

"Ugh—you know I'm bad at names," he whines. "But I'm gonna have to learn your friends' names better, that's for sure!"

"What? Why?" I ask. "…Dark?"

He had hung up.

Dammit, I wonder what he meant by that.

Monday, October 30

So this is what he meant.

"What's up, friends of Link!" exclaims, of course, none other than Dark Nyton.

Naturally, everyone's heads swivel back and forth between me and Dark—save for those who have seen him, being Sheik, Mikau, and Pipit.

I rest my face in my palms, expecting the absolute worst out of this situation.

"…Link," begins Zelda slowly, "do you… have a brother?"