CHAPTER 9:

Falling, falling down away from the heat and the fire.

Falling down from the window with the glass shimmering around him like ice.

Falling through darkness as if chased by a shadow he couldn't see.

Knave opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling above him. It was made of wooden planks that were criss-crossed by a large beam, blinking his eyes focused on the face of a girl looking down at him. As her features swam into view he managed a weak smile.

"Glad you're safe." He whispered in a weak voice.

Lirael shook her head and smiled down at him. "He's awake!" she called, and then in a softer tone, "You almost didn't make it. Those wounds you took were pretty bad."

"Reno. He went mad, tried to kill you." Knave tried to sit up in bed but failed miserably as the bandages on his side tightened against his chest, winding him. Groaning he slid back down, his head swimming. Where was he?

Easing him back down into a better position, Lirael arranged a pillow behind his head and then tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand. "We couldn't do anything to heal you, so we brought you back to Traverse as quickly as possible. Merlin patched you up with some powerful spells, but it was touch and go for a while back there." She favoured him with another grin before the colour drained from her face, she seemed to be avoiding talking about it, but he had to know.

"What about Reno?" the swordsman asked carefully.

She shook her head. "He escaped us, but we left in the only Gummi Ship, so he must be trapped on the planet. We'll go back and deal with him later, when you're well."

Knave shook his head. "When we were looking for the control centre we found a docking bay with six or seven smaller ships in there. He'll be long gone."

It looked for a moment like Lirael was going to cry, she lent forwards and kissed his forehead lightly, brushing her lips against his warm skin. He felt a great wave of relief that she was safe, after all he had gone through. As she touched him the image of a keyblade flashed through his mind again, just like it had done on the rooftop when they had first met, and back in the alleyway where he had woken up, but he dismissed it. After all, it had only been for the barest of seconds. He wasn't well.

The door opened and Merlin entered bearing a tray laden with cups, behind him trailed Hakujou and the white haired warrior he had heard her call Riku. The winged girl carried a large teapot, which looked full and heavy.

Smiling when she saw his gaze, Hakujou's wings fluttered a little and she perched lightly on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like someone tried to kill me?" Knave countered without missing a beat.

She giggled and winked, "was that the monosyllabic Knave making a joke? My ears deceive me." She stood to give Merlin better access to his bedside, "seriously though, you did well to give us that warning, thanks."

As Merlin checked his pulse and temperature, Riku moved around and took Lirael's hand lightly in his own. She lent into him without thinking and he put his arm around her. Unsure of what to think about the situation, Knave was forced to admit that the two seemed to make a more natural couple than she and Reno had. There had always been something forced about their time together.

"I don't think we've met." Riku lent over him, "my name is Riku."

"I know, saw you on the monitors. I'm Knave," they shook hands.

The two sized each other up. Both were swordsmen and held a considerable amount of skill, but in his present state it was impossible for Knave to tell which was the better man. He hoped that he would never have to find out.

Pressing a firm hand on his shoulder, Merlin pushed him back down and spoon-fed him something that tasted sweet. It didn't require chewing and was easy to swallow, but still he felt like some kind of child to have to be cared for in such a manner.

"I suppose you knew?" He asked Merlin later when the pair of them were alone, "I mean about Riku being on Balamb and how Reno would react?"

The old magician shook his head sadly, "My sight is being clouded by a power greater than my own, I could only see the barest details of that future. I knew only that your adventure would begin in that place and at that time, everything else is new to me."

"Right," Knave had sighed, only half believing him, and fallen asleep again.

"Are you sure about this?" Lirael asked, the Keyblade held lightly in her right hand.

It had been a full week since the incident with Reno and Knave was looking a lot better, but quite why he had arranged to meet her in one of the larger of Merlin's rooms was unknown. All of the furniture had been carefully pushed to one side to make space, though for what she wasn't sure.

"Of course I am sure. Attack me." Knave nodded to her. "I need to know if I am well enough to travel again, and you need some pointers on how to use that thing of yours. If it looks like a sword then it should be used like one."

"Well . . ."

His own sword still in its sheath in his left hand, he motioned for her to begin.

With graceful speed Lirael covered the distance between them and brought her blade around hard. Aiming just off to the left of her friend so that she wouldn't hurt him, but quicker than her eye could follow he drew his sword and parried the attack, flipping the Keyblade out of her hand and catching it with his spare hand.

"You're gripping it too tightly, it should rest comfortably in your grip." He tossed the blade back to her and nodded once. "Again."

This time she went in low, hoping to make him lose his footing, but he stepped to one side and brought his own blade around in a lazy arc that clipped her bottom with the flat of his blade.

"You're going for power when you should be focusing on speed. Your advantage lies in being able to handle that thing faster than my sword, there's almost no weight to it."

"Kick his ass Lirael!" Hakujou called from the opposite side of the room where she and Riku sat observing the lesson. The winged girl was still worried about Knave's injuries and had followed them to keep an eye on him. Despite how he acted, he wasn't anywhere near as strong as he had been yet.

This time Lirael got seven close strokes in before he slid his sword along the length of her blade and twisted it aside idly. The tip of his weapon hovered above her throat for a second before he stepped back and smiled.

She came at him again, finding that whilst his reflexes with the sword appeared to be second nature, she was able to keep him on his toes by manipulating the blade in tighter circles by moving her wrist. The Keyblade arced close to his face and Knave rolled his head away from the blade smoothly before stepping back.

Hakujou applauded, Riku however simply sat and watched in silence.

"Better," the blue haired warrior smiled.

Lirael looked at him, her face serious. "But this isn't what a battle is like. When you fought Reno it wasn't about niceties, you used every weapon at your disposal and didn't pull your blows. Again, and this time for real."

Knave looked confused, "Lirael, I . . ."

But before he could finish that train of thought she attacked, forcing him to parry and step back towards the center of the room to give himself more room. This time she came at him from the side, feigning an attack to his right and instead coming in from the left. He swirled around to meet the blow but was caught in the chest by a low-level spell that had enough force to push him back another step.

"This is what a real battle is like." Riku commented, his eyes not leaving the fighters. "Lirael may be the Keymaster but her magic is also a powerful weapon to command, Knave may be a good swordsman but he can't pull the same tricks. If it came to a straight fight then he'd be in trouble."

Hakujou looked from him to the fighters, not a word passed her lips.

Pushing the advantage, Lirael cast another spell but this time he saw it coming and rolled out of its path, the energy bolt smashing harmlessly into a wall some feet away and sending up a cloud of debris.

Back on his feet in an instant, Knave closed the distance between them that she had worked to hard to create, and drew the combat back into close quarters.

Riku sat up, surprised. He hadn't thought that the swordsman was that skilled, in a matter of seconds he had challenged the odds.

Three powerful strokes sent the Keyblade spinning away onto the floor, and a fourth would have cut her in two had the blade not stopped dead an inch from her nose. The shield she had erected wavered for a second, and she reached up to touch the blade, sending electricity sparking down its length in an attempt to make him drop it, but to her surprise Knave tightened his grip and held on. Lirael looked up into the eyes of her sparing partner and saw for the first time that his expression was glazed and breathing heavy. For the first time since they had begun she realised that he was still wounded.

"Remember," he spoke between gasps, "Magic will only take you so far, and every spell you weave weakens the caster. You could make a barrier around yourself and it would only last as long as you had the energy to keep the magic going, in the end my blade would have cut you down . . . it . . ."

He stepped back and almost slipped over, exhausted.

You shouldn't have done that, he told himself, you're still not well.

But he had wanted to make sure that she could take care of herself, Reno was still out there somewhere and he wasn't going to stop until he got what he was after. Maybe next time there wouldn't be anybody else around to help her out. He could come at any time, from anywhere and snatch her life away unless she was ready.

He felt light-headed, Hakujou was behind him holding him straight.

"I'll be alright, just over did it, that's all." He reassured her.

"Sure you will." She replied as she steered him out of the room, heading towards his bed, she was sure he'd feel better after a little rest.

Watching them go, Riku bent down and picked up his sword. Eyeing the detail on the blade, he tested the weight and read the inscription from which he had taken his name. Knave hadn't used any magic at all over the course of their adventure, even the smallest child could manage a basic casting but he had refrained from anything of that nature.

Yet he held his own against Lirael.

Interesting.