This is chapter ten. Thank you DaniPotterLovesGod, Silverking32, Eddie Camp, and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter.
Chapter Ten: Protect
Gillick's sword met the Keyblade of a Dark Army warrior in a flurry of sparks. The Keyblader's eyes widened in surprise. Gillick gritted his teeth, eyes narrowed, and pushed against the Keyblade. He swiped his sword quickly to the side, forcing the Keyblader back. "Stay back!" he growled.
"Gillick!" Riun exclaimed.
The black-haired warrior glanced behind him. For a moment, the image of Riun changed to an image of Trevor. He shook away the image. "Just stay behind me, kid," he hissed, turning his head back to his opponents.
The fact that he'd jumped in to protect Riun must have surprised them, because they weren't attacking yet. One narrowed his eyes at him. "And here I thought you didn't give a shit if some little kid died."
His amber eyes flared, and he spat back, "Yeah? Well, you thought wrong."
Another snickered. "What's the matter, Gillick?" she sneered. "Growing soft?"
He held his sword with both hands, pointing it towards them. "Attack and you'll see just how 'soft' I am."
"Oh, that sounds like a challenge," one crooned.
"I'll accept it!" With that, one of the Keybladers launched himself forward.
Gillick wasted no time. He ducked just enough to avoid getting hit with a Keyblade, and swung his sword so that its flat hit the man with enough force to send him flying.
It was the catalyst; in a moment, more Keybladers were upon him.
Normally, he'd fall into the familiar rhythm of battle. However, he'd committed himself to protecting Riun; if he moved now, the kid would be killed. This is why I don't usually protect people, he thought with a snort. Still, he wasn't about to run away now.
His sword was a blur through the air, ruins flashing as he parried attacks and tried to land some of his own. He whipped around rapidly, trying to combat opponents on all sides. Eventually, he ended up using more than just his sword to fight. He'd block one blow with the blade, then kick out a foot, forcing a Keyblader back. He spun around, sword stretching out to cut at the incoming Keybladers. He jammed his knee upwards, driving it up beneath one's ribcage and forcing the air out of him. While he was winded he pushed him back with his foot, lashing his left arm out at the same time to slam it into a Keybladers neck, momentarily stopping her breath.
Unable to move very far and outnumbered, however, he was at a disadvantage. He edged backwards, closer towards Riun. "You can get them, Gillick!" Riun cheered.
He snorted. "Don't really need a cheerleader," he growled, "but…thanks, I guess."
His sword continued to fly through the air. He spun it around in his hand, forming a sort of temporary shield with its blur of a blade. Then he flipped it around and used it to impale one of the Keybladers. He braced his foot against her limp body, using it to help him pull the sword out of it and kick it away before swinging the weapon back around and blocking a Keyblade strike.
His luck at avoiding getting hit, however, wouldn't last. While warding off one weapon, he felt the sting of another on his back. Gritting his teeth, he sent the one before him stumbling backwards while kicking out at the one behind him. However, another took advantage of this, knocking him on the back and causing him to stumble forward. He caught himself before he could fall, but was unable to defend himself when another strike landed. He gritted his teeth, raising one hand and grabbing a Keyblade that was coming towards him while lashing his sword out in the opposite direction to block another Keyblade. However, since he was distracted by the two other Keybladers, he was unable to defend himself from a Blizzard spell that hit him in the center of his chest.
The spell was what finally did it. All across his chest, he felt a terrible, burning pain. He gasped, nearly falling to his knees as his eyes grew wide. The wounds from his battle against Xuren had been aggravated; he could see a few traces of blood beginning to appear on his chest.
The Keybladers weren't about to stop because he was injured. In fact, they seemed more than happy to pound at him, mercilessly attacking him with their weapons. He hardly had the chance to fight back. He fell to one knee, breathing hard and trying his best to resist the assault.
"Enough."
The command surprised him. The Keybladers slowly back off, standing in a ragged circle around him and Riun. Viril stepped through one of the gaps in their ranks, his eyes, as usual, concealed. Gillick glared up at him with as much anger as he could muster. The dark Keyblader smirked down at him. "So, your little battle with Xuren left you injured, too?" came the rhetorical question.
Gillick gritted his teeth. "Get the hell out of here, Viril," he growled, clutching at his side with his free hand.
"Or what?" the leader of the Dark Army retorted.
"I'll make you." His words were instantly contradicted when he tried to stand and ended up once more on one knee.
"You're in no condition to do anything of the sort." Gillick's eyes shifted upwards in a furious glare at Viril. "Don't worry; I'll leave, right after I take care of you."
"Don't!"
Both heads turned in surprise at Riun's voice. The nine-year-old rushed forward, standing in front of Gillick with his arms stretched out. Viril snorted in surprise. "What's this?"
"What are you doing?" Gillick growled.
Riun didn't move. "Please don't kill him. He's going to teach me how to be a hero!"
Gillick's eyes widened. That was the wrong thing to say to a man who would kill without hesitating. He looked at Viril, and saw his smirk had curved downwards into a frown. "Really?" he hissed. "I wouldn't be too sure." Then he lifted his Keyblade, the weapon glowing with a dark aura.
Gillick knew immediately what he was doing. He didn't think; he simply acted. He threw his body over Riun's, using it as a shield. He was just quick enough, as the dark magic hit him almost immediately afterwards. He felt more pain lance through him, and he let out a strangled gasp, collapsing in on himself.
Viril seemed as surprised by this action as he was. "You protected him? That's out of character for you." There was a pause, but Gillick knew what the dark man was thinking of during the empty space. "At one time, though, perhaps it would not have been."
"Take your Keybladers and get out of here," he managed to spit out.
"Why, when I can just as easily finish you off now?"
"Wait!" Riun slipped out from under the protection of Gillick's body. "I'm for the Dark Army!"
Gillick closed his eyes tightly. At least Viril would care a little about that. He managed to lift his head, and saw that the leader of the Dark Army had turned his own head to look at the boy. "Really? Then why do you protect him?" He jerked his head in Gillick's direction. Amber eyes narrowed into a furious glare, but he didn't respond aloud.
"Because he's a hero!" Riun exclaimed, causing Gillick to snort in frustration. "He saved my mom and I when the Light Army attacked."
"Really?" Viril sounded skeptical.
Riun nodded, then glanced back at him. "Your for the Dark Army too, right?"
"I am for no army," Gillick responded, eyes blazing with fury at the thought of aligning himself with one of them again.
"What?" Riun exclaimed, obviously surprised.
Viril snorted. "He is our enemy, young one," he insisted. "Do you know what he is?"
"He's a hero," Riun murmured, though he sounded a little more uncertain.
Viril snorted. "No. He's something else. He's-"
What he was about to say was cut short as a Moogle suddenly launched itself at his face. "Get out of our village, kupo!" the little creature ordered.
Red eyes glowed behind the man's long bangs. "What the hell?"
The little Moogle was floating around him. "I'll take care of him, kupo! Look at him, he's terrified!"
He's insane, Gillick thought, slapping one palm to his forehead. Still, he couldn't help but feel some gratitude for the small creature for intervening. He didn't really want anyone knowing that he'd once been a Keyblader.
A noise erupted behind them. He glanced backwards, and saw several Chocobos, Moogles sitting on their backs, come dashing out of the depths of the village. The Dark Army Keybladers scattered, trying to stay out of range of the giant birds. "Climb on, kupo!"
"Ride one of them?" Gillick hissed. He wasn't very found of Chocobos.
"We can't stay here, kupo, and you're still injured."
The Moogle had a point. Riun was already climbing on one. Gillick grabbed the Moogle who was still annoying Viril. "Come on, idiot," he growled, pulling the protesting Moogle away as he climbed onto one of the giant birds with a grimace. The Moogles urged the Chocobos forward, and they dashed out of the village, away into the depths of the forest.
Night has fallen by the time the group stopped. Gillick slipped - well, fell - off the Chocobo he'd been riding, landing on his side with a grimace and a thud. The Moogles got off their own Chocobos, with Riun jumping off, too.
Slowly, Gillick pushed himself into a sitting position. "I'm sorry, but we don't have anything to treat your wounds with right now, kupo," one of the Moogles apologized.
"Didn't I already tell you I was fine?" Gillick growled in response.
Riun was frowning, looking perplexed. "Why did the Dark Army attack the Moogles? They're nice." Gillick opened his mouth to answer, but Riun interrupted with an interpretation of his own. "They must be aligned with the Light Army! That's why. If they knew the Moogles were actually really nice, they would've never attacked!"
"That's-" Gillick stopped himself short when he saw the look on Riun's face. He gave a relenting sigh. "Maybe that's right," he growled, though he knew it wasn't.
Riun smiled with a nod. "Yeah! And maybe that's why they don't like you! Because you fought to protect them."
"Don't think so," Gillick growled, unable to help himself.
"But you're a hero."
His patience snapped. "Quit calling me that!" he snarled, whipping his head around. "I told you already, I'm not a hero!"
Riun blinked, taking a step back in surprise. "But…you protected me," he murmured, much quieter now.
Gillick calmed down a bit, turning his head away from the boy. "That doesn't make me a hero." He didn't turn his head to watch the boy go and huddle up under one of the trees.
"Well, I think I'd agree with you on that one, kupo."
Gillick's eyes shifted at the sound of a Moogle's voice. He snorted, eyes shifting away. "Don't know why he doesn't." There were a few moments of silence before Gillick turned his head and said, "I don't always remember to say it, but I am grateful for you helping me."
The Moogle seemed surprised by his words. "You don't really seem like someone who says 'thank you' often, kupo."
He snorted. "I'm not above offering thanks when someone, on some odd whim, does something nice for me. My mom ingrained that into me."
The Moogle looked at him curiously. "Well, your welcome, then, kupo. And don't worry, kupo; the rest of us will always be willing to help other wielders of the Keyblade who aren't quite so bad." Gillick's eyes widened in surprise and he whipped his head around to look at the small creature. The Moogle laughed. "I'm pretty perceptive, kupo."
Gillick snorted, standing with a wince. "I'm not a Keyblader. Not anymore."
He only staggered a little ways before he found himself leaning heavily against a tree. He sighed, looking up at the moon. As he did, he wondered at his actions earlier, in the village. He knew why he'd protected Riun at first, but when he'd thrown himself over the boy to protect him from Viril…he hadn't been thinking of his brother. And why hadn't he just told him the truth about the Dark Army? His mind, muddled with confusion, couldn't comprehend his actions. He could find no reason for doing the things he had done.
Unbeknownst to him, the Moogle who'd spoken to him before was still watching him. And, as that Moogle had said, he was very perceptive. "I know why you did those things, kupo," he whispered. "Your heart spoke, and you listened to it. But I don't know why you don't do it more often, kupo. If you did, then maybe you really would be a hero."
Well, what do you know? Gillick really does have a heart. Haha, review, please?