I'm going to be gone tomorrow, so…chapter twenty - five is up early. Thank you kiyohunter, Eddie Camp, and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Twenty - Five: Trauma

Riun shivered. That was the Knight? He understood why people were afraid of it.

He looked around frantically for Mala. He was shaking, scared. "Mala!" he called as Keybladers fled around him, steadily falling to the attacks of the Knight. "Mala!" his voice quivered, and tears streaked down his face.

The Knight suddenly took to the sky, flying off into the night. Riun fell to the ground, crying.

"Riun!"

He lifted his head at the sound of his name. "Mala!" he cried, scrambling up and running towards her.

She embraced him in a hug. "You scared the crap out of me," she breathed, shaking as badly as the boy was.

"I-I was s-s-so scared, and confused, a-and…" he trailed off, unable to stave off his terror long enough to form a coherent response.

"It's Ok," the girl replied. He looked up at her. "Come on, let's find somewhere to hide out for the rest of the night."

He clung close to Mala, still shaken and still crying. She'd saved him; he admired her for that. But he couldn't help wishing that Gillick had been there.

Light Army Keybladers poured out of the fortress in the mountains, racing towards a village that was under attack. Nearby, Dark Army Keybladers watched with gleaming eyes. "How long do you think Xuren's distraction will last?" one hissed.

Another shrugged. "Doesn't matter, so long as we have time to find something useful." The three other Keybladers murmured agreement, and the four-some opened Dark Corridors and stepped through them.

Inside the Light Army fortress, it was bright. The dark Keybladers sneered in disgust at the sight, but made no comment about it. "Where first?" one hissed.

"Split up," another replied. "If you find anything useful, open a Dark Corridor and take it back to Master Viril."

Only one looked wary about this plan. "Are you sure it's a good idea to use the Dark Corridors so heavily? They do come with a price, you know."

The one who had spoken prior nodded. "But we don't exactly have much choice here."

"…Fair point."

With that, the four Keybladers split up and ranged throughout the Light Army base.

After a few hours of searching, all quickly grew tired. Then, one found a locked door. She frowned. I wonder…what's in here? She summoned her Keyblade and used it to open the lock. She slipped inside, looking around.

It looked like some sort of office/bedroom. It was in neat order, and was illuminated by many spheres of light. She had no doubt as to who it belonged to. Tollun. There was sure to be something interesting in here.

And it wasn't long before she found it. An old book, lying on the Light Army leader's desk, which detailed information about a weapon called the X-blade. She grinned. This'll work. With that, she escaped through a Dark Corridor, taking the book with her.

Xuren saw the Light Army Keybladers by the glowing balls of light they sent in front of them. He grinned wickedly. This'd be fun.

"Master Xuren!"

He whipped around to glare at one of his Keybladers. "What?" he snarled.

The Keyblader looked bloody and tired. He frowned. Surely no Light Army Keybladers had already been here…? "Master Xuren, we need to retreat!"

"What?" Xuren barked, fury apparent in his tone.

"The other two groups," the Keyblader panted, "met with trouble."

"And you think that's enough for us to leave?" Xuren scoffed.

"Master Xuren, think about it," a Keyblader from his group said quietly. "If too many of our Keybladers have been injured, we'll simply end up loosing lives. Hopefully, we attacked a village far enough away to give the others time to find something."

Xuren muttered something under his breath, looking to the pitch black sky. "Fine," he growled, and disappeared into darkness.

Mala led Riun through the streets as the sun began to rise, trying to calm both her nerves and his. Many buildings were destroyed; she could see bodies between the boards and stones, with some spilling out into the streets. Some were caused by the Dark Army Keybladers, she knew; but most, she also knew, were caused by the Knight.

She stopped as she heard something that sounded like a groan. She hesitated, looking at the fallen building beside her. Was someone alive in there.

"Mala?" Riun whimpered, pressing closer to her side.

"Shh," she whispered, listening hard. The groan came again, along with a slight shifting of boards. Her eyes flew wide with surprise. "Someone in there's still alive!" And, without thinking, she launched herself at the collapsed pile of wood.

She shifted the top boards, which were already splintered into several pieces, making her job easier - she'd never really been particularly strong, physically speaking. When the boards fell away, an arm and a head of black hair were revealed. A familiar sword was lying near the hand, still half-hidden by the wood.

Mala froze. But…but this was…

"Gillick!"

Riun, who had hung back, now hurried forward. He stared at his hero in horror, then turned his eyes to Mala. "What happened to him?"

"The Knight…or the Dark Army…" she replied quietly, her eyes still wide with shock.

Riun whimpered, and fell to the ground.

Mala shifted a few more broken boards. It wasn't much, but it was enough to pull the boy out from the wreckage. His sword was much easier to retrieve. Then she looked at the damage.

Gillick was scratched and cut up on various parts of his body. He had a cut on his left arm that looked deep and was still oozing a little blood. There was a long gash on his right leg, though, thankfully, that wound wasn't deep. She looked at the wrecked house. "The falling building must have knocked him unconscious," she muttered quietly.

"The Light Army! They're here!"

Mala's head whipped around to see Keybladers beginning to file into town. I guess it's time for us to go, she thought, disheartened. She looked down, first at Riun, then at Gillick. She sighed. She wasn't fond of Gillick, but…she'd already gotten him out of the Light Army fortress. She didn't want to think that all her efforts to free him had been a waste. She picked up his sword and slipped it into his sheath. Then, hauling him onto her back with a grunt, she led Riun into an alley.

The first thing Gillick noticed when he came back to consciousness was the pain. He groaned, trying to sit up. His head spun, and he felt a throbbing in his arm and leg. What happened?

"Finally, you're awake!"

Gillick whipped his head around - effectively making it spin more - to see Mala watching him. "What are you doing here?" he hissed, attempting to stand up and finding himself too dizzy.

"We needed shelter for the night," Mala replied with a shrug.

"Fine," Gillick snarled, rolling his eyes. "Then what am I doing here?"

"We…found you unconscious in a collapsed building."

Amber eyes blinked in surprise. "A…collapsed building?"

Mala nodded. "Mind telling me what happened." She glanced to her side. Gillick followed her gaze to see a sleeping Riun. "You can tell him when he wakes up."

Gillick's gaze shifted back to the thief girl. What had happened, exactly? He frowned, closing his eyes and trying to think. He remembered coming into town…and going into an alley…and then, everything was blank. He put a hand on his head. "I don't know." he muttered.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Mala exclaimed, jumping up.

He glared at her. "I mean 'I don't know.' I remember coming here and going into an alley, but after that…" he trailed off, feeling confusion eat at him.

Mala sighed, sitting back down. "You must've hit your head when the building collapsed," she muttered. "That has to be why you don't remember."

Gillick shifted through his memories, trying to force his way through and see if anything was still there.

"Wait."

Mala looked up in surprise, and he narrowed his eyes in concentration as he tried to thin back to the event.

"There's…something…" he trailed off, trying to get a better picture of it. "It's kind of hazy, but…there's a figure. A familiar one. It's a stocky figure, covered with armor, with large black wings…" An image was beginning to form…glowing eyes, an angry snarl, a blood-red background.

Then a sharp pain stabbed his head. The image flickered and began breaking up. He let out a cry of pain, clutching at his head. "Gillick!" Mala cried in alarm. But the boy couldn't hear her.

He had already passed out.

Mala looked at Gillick in horror as he fell unconscious once more. What…had just happened? Had trying to remember been too much for him? It seemed likely; after all, it'd sounded like he'd been trying to describe the Knight, but the image wasn't quite right. The Knight, after all, was a slim creature, able to move fast but concealing incredible power.

She walked over to him and bent down. She'd always considered the warrior tough, if nothing else. So, seeing him like this was an odd thing.

She glanced back towards Riun. At least he's still asleep. Then she turned back to Gillick and wondered what to do.

The Light Army Keybladers were swarming outside. She'd managed to get them into a small, run-down building, but knew Gillick would have to be awake before they had much chance at escaping. After that, though…

She sighed. She didn't know if Gillick would agree. She, personally, didn't like the idea. Riun would probably be thrilled.

She would ask Gillick if she and Riun could go with him.

Even though she found she was still a but intimidated by the boy, Mala knew it'd be better for all of them if they worked together. Gillick was strong, but he was still injured; even more so now because of the incident with the Knight and the Dark Army. Whether he liked it our not, he'd need help. And, after the terrifying attack the night before, Mala knew that she wasn't going to be enough the keep Riun safe. If they worked together, they'd be able to survive. They'd just try and look past each other's differences.

…Easier said than done.

And that's the end of chapter twenty - five. Reviews are awesome.