Looking For Group

Part 27

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Charles repeated this over and over as he pulled out a knife from his back pocket to cut the zip ties.

"I never wanted this," he said. "I didn't want to hurt anyone. I never meant for it to go this far."

He cut Twilight's binds. It should've been relief, but the moment his arms swung free and blood circulated back in, a fresh wave of pain followed as well. He slumped forward, his head swimming. Goddess. He was going to vomit, he was going to vomit, he was going to vomit.

A hand pressed against his forehead. Twilight blinked and saw Wild kneeling in front of him. He didn't even notice when Charles cut Wild's bonds. "Hey, hey, you okay? Please talk to me."

He struggled to keep his stomach down. He promised his belly it could empty itself later, just please keep calm till then. "I'm... awake..." He said. "I may... need some... help... standing..."

"I can help him up," said Charles.

Wild smacked his helping hands away. "You stay the fuck away from him! You're the reason we're in this mess!"

"I know. I'm trying to help now."

"How about you take your help and shove it up your-!"

"Wild...!" Twilight snapped. "Not... now..."

Wild gritted his teeth but he let it go. Instead he grasped Twilight's good arm and placed it over his shoulder.

"Let me help him," Charles said again.

"I can carry him-!"

"I can't hold the sword. You can."

There was tired acceptance in his voice when he said that. Wild looked up at him, and the two shared something between them. Charles knew he was not a Hero. He was never going to be a Hero. It didn't matter if he died doing the right thing, it was not his destiny to hold that sword. He understood that.

Wild was still clearly fighting it. Even now, this was not a responsibility he wanted.

"Charles..." Twilight said. "Give me... the sword."

Wild blanched. "You can't carry it in your condition!"

Using the Ninja Turtles blanket, Charles gently lifted the sword up and brought it over. He laid it down upon Twilight's lap. Twilight laid his good hand on the hilt, his hand trembling as he went to grip it.

"Stop," Wild said. "You can't hold it. Let... let me, okay? I can hold it."

He grasped the hilt, tried to tug it away. Twilight held firm. Wild pulled harder, lifting the sword up.

"This sword..." Twilight began. "Is not... a weapon..."

"What?" Wild said. "What are you talking about?"

Twilight's chest rose and fell heavily. He had to make Wild understand otherwise they will never leave this place alive. "It's not... a weapon," he repeated. "It's... not a gift... it's a... burden."

"Twi, man, please, we don't have time for this-"

"If you... want this... fucking sword... you have to... be willing... to carry... that burden. Otherwise... you will... crumble under... its weight."

For a moment, Wild's hand loosened on the hilt. He stared at Twilight, stared at the bruises on his face. The blood on his jaw. The sweat pouring down his forehead. Wild's gaze traveled down to Twilight's broken arm. It hanged uselessly, and thanks to Kohga's kicks, it had swelled to twice its size, turning it into a fat, bloody sausage.

Wild then looked to his own left hand. The burn scars overlapped each other, making his skin look reptilian. Wild once told Twilight he had to put lotion on the burns every morning otherwise they dried out. On hot, humid days they ached and itched terribly. During his first year of recovery, Wild would waken in the middle of the night, gasping in pain, the nurses having to hold his right hand down to prevent him from trying to scratch the healing skin off.

"I'm tired... of feeling like a victim," Wild said. He raised his eyes back to Twilight, his grip tightening back on the hilt. "I'm tired of being afraid of the unknown. If taking this sword means I never get to feel like that again, if I can prevent anyone else feeling like that... then yes, I want this fucking sword."

Twilight asked him, "Do you... promise to... protect Hyrule?"

"Yes."

"To protect... your princess?"

"Yes."

"In the... name of... her Goddess?"

"Yes!"

Twilight released his hold. Wild stepped away. He brought the sword to his chest.

"I swear it," he said.