.:Mask of the Vigilante | Haunted Guardian:. {5:A Possible Sidekick?}

Dusk


I pulled back the bowstring, closing an eye and hoped that I could give the Black Knight some help. I fired, and it landed right beside one of the girls' foot. The corpulent villain and his feline minions turned, hissing. I grinned, quickly hiding myself.

So the Black Knight was tied down, eh?

I heard the man give an order and heard the approach of one of the cat-suited women. Quietly, I dropped down from the branch and slipped to another tree. Again I shot. Again I got their attention. This time, the Black Knight's, too.

The girl the man had sent came warily now, but I soundlessly ran around the playground to the other side. I climbed a third tree, preparing to fire my third arrow. But this time, it wouldn't be a distraction. I was planning to aim at the ropes that tied the Black Knight down.

Slowly, I drew back . . . and released.

The Black Knight was the only one to react. My arrow had struck the ropes that tied him, and he turned his head over his shoulder. He saw his freed hands, then looked up in my direction.

I wasn't sure if he could see me clearly. I placed a finger on my lips.

His head turned abruptly as the second cat girl leaned her body against his, playfully licking his lips. Disgusted, he struggled to get his head away. She had not noticed my arrow.

Yet.

Time for the final hidden attack.

The first girl had vanished into the trees that I had first been in and had not returned. Her short employer began shaking his head impatiently.

Smirking, I fired an arrow next to his foot. He jumped and shrieked. His eyes suddenly filled with fury as he turned, searching the trees intently. The first girl had finally returned and was given another order to investigate my current location. The second girl decided to join in. The man watched as the felines entered the dark trees, me looking down patiently.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," purred the first.

"Don't keep us waiting," drawled the second. "Puuuuuuuurrrsha needs a ."

Pirsha, upon hearing this, hissed, "I already have my . I found him first, Kitty."

Kitty tossed back her hair, the cat ears on her head unmoving. "So? He likes me more."

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does! I've already kissed him."

"Liar!"

Then out of nowhere, they began swiping their paws at each other. I watched with bored eyes as they attempted to pull the other's hair out. I sighed, then jumped down from the branch on which I had been sitting and grinned at them.

"Can I join?" I asked.

They stopped in mid-fight and stared at me. Their eyes widened as I charged.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few minutes later, the Black Knight entered the woods where I was, sitting on a branch, one leg dangling down. His black feathered wings disappeared into his back, and my eyes watched in amazement.

He came to a halt after seeing the felines sprawled below the tree to my left. I watched as he approached them. He squatted and tilted his head to the side, lifting one of their heads with his hand under her chin.

No, they were not dead. I just knocked them unconscious.

"Nice work," he mumbled. Supposedly he knew I was still here. "Are you going to reveal yourself to me?"

I waited.

"I hope you're still here," he said. " 'Cause I'd hate to realize that I'm talking to the air."

I smirked. Finally, I grasped my bow and jumped down. He had not noticed, since he had not turned.

"Are you there?" he called.

"Yes," I answered.

He jerked his head upward, then looking over his shoulder, stood. He then frowned. "I thought you were a guy," he muttered.

I tried not to take offense. Did I appear like a guy? "I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

His gaze steadily held mine. "Who are you?"

I tilted my head. "Your thanks isn't necessary, then."

He remained silent. His face was grave. I couldn't understand why.

"Dusk," I said. "I am Dusk."

He still did not reply.

"I will not convince you of anything but the fact that I'm on your side," I declared solemnly. "But I can understand why you won't trust me."

After no reply, I turned to go back to the clearing to retrieve my arrows. When there, I discovered that the large man was tied up to one of the poles that held the swings, right where the Black Knight had sat.

The man looked up from under his eyebrows and shuddered, his eyes expanding. I stood there, staring down at him curiously for a moment. I searched for my arrows, but they were gone.

Strange. Where were they?

"Looking for these?"

I turned. There stood the Black Knight with four of my arrows in one hand. I looked at him carefully.

"Yes," I responded slowly.

He held them to me. He stood several feet away, but didn't think it wise to walk straight up to him. I reached out a hand, and willed the wind to carry them to me, a little magic I had picked up when I had first emerged as vigilante.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as my arrows flew across the distance separating us into my awaiting hand. He appeared to have seen magic before.

I returned my worthy arrows into their quiver, eyes still with the male hero's. It was strange how his golden eyes did not hold me captivated. I had sensed some odd sensation when Midnight had experienced it, but why couldn't I receive the same feeling? I could feel Midnight's spirit stirring within me. Her discomfort was slightly amusing.

"Why did you help me?" he asked.

The tied man was watching him. I shot him a sideways glance before concentrating my eyes on the Black Knight again. "Again, I'm on your side. I wish to help."

He raised his eyebrow. "Sidekick?"

I smiled. "Perhaps."

He frowned. "I think not."

My smile disappeared. "Trust me not, then."

I turned to leave the clearing. After walking about ten feet away from him, he called, "Just stay out of my way, Dusk. I can manage by myself."

I gritted my teeth unknowingly. Why was he so mean?

Without looking back, I returned, "Later, you'll by thinking twice." With that said, I let myself fall from sight, pondering on how much irony I had been through.

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Midnight


When I got home, I found it was nine at night. So I changed and transformed and joined the family downstairs. Saria noticed my return and grinned.

"Hey, Midnight," she said. "Check this out."

She pointed to the TV screen where everyone else was staring at. And immediately, I saw Dusk speaking with the Black Knight.

Someone had been video recording us! And they even aired it on the news!

Mariene, Carlotte, and George were very confused.

"But . . . how?" squeaked Carlotte. "How could Dusk be here? Why isn't she in Santyago?"

Saria and I exchanged secret glances.

"That's not fair!" cried Mariene. "She's going to steal him away from me!"

"Uh, Mariene," mumbled Saria. "First of all, you have a boyfriend, Ryan. And second of all, the Black Knight doesn't even know you."

Mariene glared at her. "So?" Saria rolled her eyes.

"Look," said George. "Maybe Dusk decided to come here to help the Black Knight. Maybe everything back in Santyago has gotten better."

Saria looked at me but remained silent.

"Perhaps," I said.

Later that night, I stood on my balcony, my hair taking on its dark violet color under the moonlight. All I thought about was the Black Knight.

Why had he been so mean? Besides the fact that he should be suspicious, I hadn't expected something like that. I had expected at least a thank you of some sort. Why did he reject my offer of being his partner?

Was it me? Or was something wrong?

I sighed. Or was I suppose to earn his trust?

He had told me to stay out of his way, so I will. I will just have to fight crime before he doest, that's all.

Was he thinking a bit of rivalry might spice things up?

A spark of an idea went through my head.

Seeking a bit of a challenge, are we? I couldn't blame him. I mean, it all seemed to come easy to him. Well, except for tonight when he had been bound. He could've found his own way to free himself. Every superhero eventually does.

I had never regarded Dusk as a superhero. She was simply a warrior whose spirit had been revived within me, as my grandmother had said. She had been a warrior once, I'm certain, and her memory was as blank as an empty diary.

Ever since I was little, way before I had discovered I held Dusk within me, I always had a sense that there existed another world beside my own. I couldn't really understand this feeling, but it was always there. And when I learned about Dusk, it just deepened this belief. I had always thought I was crazy, but you couldn't be crazy if what you were thinking about was actually real.

Dusk had come from another world. I just knew it. She didn't belong here. She never did.

I propped an elbow on the wooden railing that bordered my balcony and set my chin on the palm of my hand. Where did you come from, Dusk? I asked inwardly.

I felt a slight disturbance within my own being as Dusk received the question. But she was unable to answer.

In one second, I left the mystery of Dusk's past wander to the back of my mind as I thought about the Black Knight again.

Maybe he wanted some rivalry to make things a little more fun. Maybe if I showed him that I could match his ability, he would accept me as a partner, someone who could be trusted. If he accepted my help, the city of Hupperis would welcome me. I would be on top of fame once again. Well, not me, but Dusk. Though, I'd be even prouder to hold such an awesome secret.

I smiled for a moment. Until I thought of his mood. His serious and contemptuous mood. Who would want to work with that kind of attitude?

My shoulders sagged a bit as I gave up trying to find ways to get on the Black Knight's good side.

What was the point? I was dealing with a stubborn boy.

Boys and their turfs. Psh.