This is chapter four. Thank you Flightfoot, KeybladeMaster97, Burai Stelar, Silverking32, UmmeiNinja, Graphicsnerd, and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Four: Angel of Death
Much as he disliked the idea, Gillick returned to the small town the next morning. I'm already sick of being around people, he thought as he walked through the streets. He saw the marks of the fight from the night before littering the area. In the end, the Keybladers from the Dark Army had driven the ones from the Light Army off. However, bodies and blood still filled the town. He looked at the dejected people as they cleaned up their home, and hoped desperately that he'd be out of there soon.
He found a bulletin board that was mostly intact on the side of a building. He scanned it over and narrowed his eyes in frustration. "No wanted posters," he growled. How was he supposed to earn munny like this? Resignedly, he walked into the building, wondering if maybe they'd forgotten to put one up, or if someone needed mercenary work done.
"I have no time to talk," a man told him quickly as he entered through the threshold. He hurried over to him, trying to shoo him off. "I need to clean up around here."
Gillick didn't budge. "This won't take long."
The man looked like he was about to argue, then, seeing the other's amber eyes, hesitated. "Your eyes…"
"What about them?" Gillick asked, said orbs flashing dangerously.
"They're…" he cut himself off abruptly, noticing the warning that glittered in the golden depths. He shook himself. "Yes, well, I guess I can spare a few moments. How can I assist you?"
"I'm a mercenary, of a sort," he informed the other, reaching a hand up to touch the hilt of his sword for emphasis. He saw the man shrink back, and he added in exasperation, "No, I'm not here to kill you. I wanted to know if there was anyone around here who had work I could take on."
"Uh, w-well…" the man trailed off, looking flustered. "The Keybladers take care of most things, I guess, but…"
"But…?"
The man looked nervous. "There is…this one." He hurried to the back, leaving Gillick impatiently waiting until he returned with a sheet of paper. He handed it to him, saying, "No one's been able to take her out yet."
Gillick looked at the poster that he now held in his hands. "'Silver?'" he asked, reading the name listed below the picture of a woman with boyish blond hair and green eyes.
"She's been causing lots of problems, I hear. However, it's difficult to even find her, let alone fight her. No one who's tried to catch her has ever returned, so we took the poster down." The man's eyes glittered nervously. "Are you sure…?"
"Yes." He folded the paper and slipped it into his munny pouch.
As he began to leave, he heard the voice of the man behind him calling, "Wait! Your eyes…they're gold…"
He hesitated briefly at the doorway. They didn't used to be, he thought, remembering their former blue sheen and feeling his heart begin to grow heavy. He tried to shake it off quickly. Rule number one: trust will be the end of you. Remember what happened before?
He walked out the door without a second glance.
Mala found that she couldn't sleep that night. She frowned, looking up to the sky, the only light provided by the full moon. She'd heard about what had happened at a town not too far off the night before. Since their's was under the protection of the Light Army, now…The Dark Army might come back to retaliate. She absently touched the bow and quiver of arrows that rested beside her, her back pressed to the side of the building she sat against.
Suddenly, she saw something flit across the moon. She immediately grabbed her bow and jumped to her feet, eyes narrowed. She stood there, tensed, for a few moments, ready for something to jump out at her. When nothing happened, she relaxed, giving a half-laugh, half-sigh. "You're seeing things, Mala. There's nothing to worry-"
A high pitched scream cut her off mid sentence.
"…about," she finished slowly. She swallowed hard, listening for any other cries as she slowly reached down and picked up her quiver, slipping it over her head and one shoulder. There was an eerie silence that spanned a few moments. Then another scream rent the night air.
Against her better judgment, Mala ran out into the streets. More cries could be heard now, but she couldn't see what the cause of them was. She immediately pulled an arrow out of her quiver, stringing it on her bow as she stared warily into the darkness. I really wish I could see something, she thought.
The screams were getting closer. She took a few steps backwards reflexively. She figured it was probably a good idea to head back into the alley and make her way away from the screams. Then she saw a shadow, a blue glow attached to it. And suddenly, she seemed to cease thinking.
"Sir!"
Trevor was in panic. He found the leader of the Light Army already walking towards him. "I heard the screams. Is it the Dark Army?"
Trevor swallowed hard. "Worse. It's…"
The other man's eyes widened. He knew exactly what he was talking about. "The Knight," he whispered. Trevor gave a shaky nod. "Don your armor, quickly. There's no time to waste; not with an enemy like this one."
"Sir, have you ever fought the Knight before?" Trevor asked as he slammed the panel that would release his armor.
"Once," the other replied, his own armor appearing in a burst of light. "It's a merciless bastard. Be ready."
Trevor nodded heavily. Then they both summoned their Keyblades, and raced out to face their enemy.
Mala's hand shook as she held her weapon. The shadow was coming towards her, and she had no doubts that she was its next victim. Focus. Try not to panic. She lifted her bow, firing her arrow towards the small patch of glowing blue. The shadow easily twisted away. She quickly pulled out another arrow, firing it, and finding the speed of the shadow still superior to her arrows. She tried shooting three at once, taking a few paces back as she did so. She assumed the shadow wouldn't be able to dodge them. She was wrong, as she watched it jump over her projectiles.
By now, it was too close to do anything. She stumbled backwards, watching as the shadow and its glowing blue lunged for her…
"Firaga!"
The giant ball of fire slammed into the shadow, sending it flying backwards. Mala glanced over her shoulder, and saw several Keybladers - covered fully by armor - running towards her and the shadow, Keyblades ready. One stopped beside her. "Are you Ok?"
She recognized the voice of the general called Trevor. "Just shaken," she replied. Then she looked to the shadow. Some of the flames from the Firaga spell had spilled onto the street, lighting flammable objects and casting the town in an orange glow. "What is that?"
"A monster that we call the Knight," Trevor replied. Both looked to the former shadow. It was easy to see why it was called the Knight; almost its entire body was covered in armor. The glow, Mala saw, was coming from an exposed area on its left arm. The flames cast it in a lurid glow. "No one knows where it came from, but we do know that, wherever it appears, death and destruction are sure to follow."
"Trevor, we need your help!" another Keyblader barked.
He turned his hidden eyes to look at her. "You have to get out of here! Now!" Then he raced off to help his comrades.
Mala, at first, had no intention of following that order; she wasn't thrilled with the idea of people telling her what to do. Then the Knight looked at her. She froze, feeling like a piece of potential prey being eyed by a predator. Twin lights flashed in the tinted glass of its helmet. She shivered. Were those its…eyes?
Then Keybladers swarmed the Knight, and she was set free from its trance. She was overcome by inexplicable fear, and she fled. She hated herself for it, but she couldn't stop. She ran out of the town's boundaries and far beyond. All she knew…was that she had to get away from that thing.
Trevor couldn't help the fear he felt at the sight of the creature known only as the Knight. Until now, he'd only heard stories of it. It came in the night without warning, destroying towns and killing anyone it came into contact with. Sometimes there were people who were lucky enough to get away. More often there weren't. He'd always thought it was just a myth, until now. Until now.
The Keybladers were converging on the beast quickly. He took a steadying breath. Relax. It doesn't matter how strong it's said to be. All of us together can take it…right? But he couldn't help thinking of the genuine fear he'd seen in his leader's eyes; something he'd never seen before. He may have escaped the Knight once, but it had left a lasting impact on him.
Trevor tried to swallow his fear, lunging forward to join in with the fray. The Knight was striking at the Keybladers around it, the sounds coming from its helmet sounding human and yet, and the same time…not. He lifted his Keyblade to slash it across the upper arm, the only part of the creature that was unarmored.
His attempt was met with a blow to the midsection. He gasped as the air was forced out of him and he was sent flying backwards. He skidded through the dirt, gasping for breath. What power, he thought, pushing himself back up.
He looked to where the Knight still stood amidst the flickering flames. It lifted its hand, and a ball of fire shot from it, exploding and sending sparks flying. The ball itself had collided with a Keyblader; it tore the armor apart and seared the warrior's flesh, causing a bloodcurdling cry to rise from the man. "It can use magic?" he gasped, eyes wide as he looked at the monster still attacking his comrades.
"Guess we know why it's feared," another Keyblader commented as she jumped back in surprise, along with the rest of the Keybladers. Her voice was grim.
The Knight, now that the Keybladers had backed off a bit, moved swiftly out of the light of the fire back into the shadows. From them, it fired spell after spell after spell, only coming back into the light of the flames for a few brief seconds. The ones that it chose to strike never stood a chance. "How do we stop that thing?" Trevor gasped, unable to pinpoint the Knight and fearing what may happen if he did. A Thunder spell burst from the shadows, and two Keybladers scrambled away from the magic. The monster stepped out from its dark hiding place, hungry flames licking at its armor. The Knight lifted its helmeted head and let out an inhuman roar.
Then he saw the Light Army's leader dash forward. While the monster seemed to be reveling in its gory triumph, the Keyblader took advantage of the distraction, Keyblade lashing out to collide with the armored chest of the Knight. The roar cut off abruptly, sounding almost choked, and the Knight stumbled backwards. Trevor gaped. "He…he hit him." Then, a grin spread across his face, and he whooped, "He hit him!"
And he wasn't stopping with one blow. The man strung together a barrage of strikes, pounding at the Knight's armor but, though denting it, never managing to break through. The Knight, caught off guard, could only endure the hits.
The leader of the Light Army paused for only a split second in his combo to catch his breath. Then he swung again.
However, it appeared a split second was all the Knight needed. The monster lashed out both arms, grabbing the Keyblade as it swung for him. Two pairs of unseen eyes glared at each other as the two struggled. Then the Knight lifted one hand, firing a Blizzard spell at the Keyblader. Then man gasped as he was sent flying, Keyblade wrenched out of his hand. The Knight tossed the weapon aside, stalking towards the fallen man.
Trevor knew his leader wouldn't recover in time. "Sir!" he cried in alarm, dashing forward. Fire cloaked his Keyblade, and he lifted the weapon to strike the Knight. A clang sounded as it slashed across the monster's armored back.
He barely had time to blink before it had swung around. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground in shock and fear, Keyblade clattering uselessly beside him. He stared at the Knight as it loomed over him. He shook, sure it was about to deal the final blow.
Then he saw something he didn't expect. He heard something that sounded like metal grating against metal, and from the monster's back, he saw wings with black feathers grow. The Knight gave one last snarl, then sprang into the night air, dark broken wings carrying it away until it was no more than a shadow in the sky.
Trevor tore his helmet off after it had left. He gasped in the air as the flames around him began to die. He couldn't stop the shivering that wracked his body. And he couldn't help wondering how he'd survived.
And there's the end of chapter four. Please review?