So, here's chapter eight. Thank you Burai Stelar, DaniPotterLovesGod, Eddie Camp, Silverking32, caitlinkeitorin, and Graphicsnerd for reviewing last chapter!

On a somewhat unrelated note, I'm beginning the project of turning Guardian Twin into a manga-type-thing on deviantart, if anyone's interested in reading that.

Chapter Eight: Moogles

"What is he?"

"One of those 'humans', I think, kupo."

"Is he alright?"

"What happened to him?"

The flurry of words came from small, fairy-like creatures with pom-poms bobbing around on their heads. They were staring at the unconscious form of Gillick, who, at this point, was the only human in the town. Any other survivors of Xuren's attack had fled further into the woods.

"We can't leave him here, kupo," one of the creatures said, looking at his companions for support.

"But how would we carry him, kupo?" another asked.

"Work together."

Not all were convinced. "But…take a human, kupo? Back to the village?"

"He might die if we don't, kupo," the one who had spoken first reasoned.

"But…" the protests slowly died, though none seemed comfortable about taking Gillick with them. Slowly, hesitantly, the various creatures that surrounded the unconscious former Keyblader walked towards him and, working together, began to drag him out of the ruins of the town.

"Do you see anything yet?"

Mala suppressed a sigh. "No, not yet," she replied.

Riun had woken up a while ago, and had insisted on walking by himself so he could help look for the 'hero' named Gillick. Mala had decided against telling him that she had no intention of looking for the other teenager and was instead trying to find a way to drive Riun away from searching for him.

So far, it hadn't worked. Riun sighed. "I hope we find him soon. Then he can start training me."

He won't, though. She bit back the words, instead focusing on the sunlight that was shining through the trees up ahead.

"Hey, look at that!"

She was jerked out of her thoughts by Riun's voice. She swung her head around, and saw that he was pointing to something not far off. She blinked in surprise when she saw odd, fairy-like creatures struggling with something through the grass. "What are those things?" she asked, curious despite herself.

"Maybe they know where Gillick is." Walking quickly towards the creatures, Riun called out, "Hey!"

"Riun, wait!" she cried in alarm, heading after him. They didn't know if those creatures were friendly, and she didn't want to antagonize them.

The heads of all the creatures shot up, the pom-poms on their heads bobbing. "Kupo! Run!" Immediately, all the creatures dropped what they were carrying and scattered in various directions.

Mala stopped, blinking in surprise at their sudden departure. "Ok…" Maybe they weren't dangerous, after all.

Riun, who'd reached what the creatures had left behind, stood frozen over it. "M-Mala, come here," he whimpered.

"Something wrong?" she asked as she headed towards him. Almost immediately, though, she realized the reason he looked so pale.

He was standing over the prone form of Gillick.

For a few moments, she thought the boy was dead. Then she saw the faint rise and fall of his chest. However, she didn't fail to notice the dried blood and the gaping wounds across his body. She twisted her mouth into a frown. He wasn't in good shape.

"Where's his sword?" Riun asked, pointing at the empty sheath that was still - miraculously - strapped across his back.

"Probably fell out of his hand when he passed out," Mala replied.

The boy looked in the direction the small fairy creatures had been dragging him from. "I'm going to go find it for him."

"Riun, wait," Male called, trying to stop him before he ran off and got himself into trouble. She was stopped, however, when one of the fairy-creatures slammed into her from behind.

She whipped around in surprise. "What was that for?" she cried in alarm.

The small creature looked up at her, floating on its tiny wings. "Don't mess with us, kupo. I'll lay you out!"

She immediately pulled her bow off her back and got an arrow ready. The creature seemed daunted by this weaponry, and backed off. In turned, she lowered her arrow. "I don't want to hurt you," she said quietly.

Immediately, the other fairy-creatures came out of hiding. "Don't antagonize her, kupo!"

"See? She won't hurt you if you leave her be, kupo!"

She watched the exchange curiously, then slipped her arrow back into her quiver and returned the bow to her back. Then she looked back to Gillick. When he'd fought those goonies off…he'd seemed so strong. Now, even though she didn't really like him much, she found herself feeling…pity for him. "How'd this happen?" she asked quietly, unable to keep from wondering if it was the doing of the Knight.

The fairy-creatures obviously heard her. One flew forward, replying, "We don't know, kupo. We found him lying in a destroyed village, kupo."

"So…you were going to heal him?" Mala asked quietly, thinking what they'd said sounded a lot like the Knight.

The fairy-creature nodded. "It's the right thing to do, kupo."

She nodded slowly. "Right." Slowly, she reached down, and maneuvered Gillick's limp body so that most of his weight was thrown across her back. "I'll help you get him to where you were taking him."

"Thank you, kupo."

"Oh," she added as an afterthought, "can one of you guys go find a young boy named Riun and lead him back here? He went to look for this guy's sword."

"Sure, kupo." One of them flew off back in the direction it had come from.

As the group began walking, Mala asked, "Um, what are you guys, anyways?"

"We are Moogles."

Where are those voices coming from?

Those were Gillick's first thoughts as he first returned to consciousness. Slowly, he blinked open amber eyes. Strange creatures with pom-poms on their heads filled his vision. "What the hell?" he cried in alarm, shooting upwards. He immediately wished he didn't when he felt burning from various points on his body. He bit back a groan of pain and remained upright.

The creatures, who had jerked back in surprise when he'd suddenly sprang up, now floated in closer to him. "We're Moogles, kupo," one informed him, obviously sensing the question was coming. "We found you injured, kupo, and brought you back to our village."

He absently touched the bandages that stretched across his torso. The wounds beneath weren't healed, but the small creatures had obviously made an effort to help him. He gave them curious glances. "Why did you help me?"

"Why not, kupo?"

He didn't have a response for that. He snorted, after a few moments answering instead, "It must've been hard getting me here."

"Actually, we had help, kupo."

In the doorway appeared the form of Mala. His eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was lending a hand," she replied, tossing his shirt and scabbard to him.

"I thought you didn't like me," he responded, his eyes glittering with curiosity.

"I don't," she retorted.

Before Gillick could get out another comment, Riun rushed in. "I have your sword!" He extended said object forward, holding it flat on both palms.

He grabbed the hilt of the object, lifting it up off the palms of the boy's hands. He looked at it, finding, as usual, that there were no mars on it in any way. Then his amber eyes flashed to the boy who'd returned it. "You went to find this?"

Riun nodded vigorously. "Yeah! A hero needs his sword."

Gillick snorted, sliding the weapon back into its scabbard. "Didn't I already tell you I'm not a hero?"

"At least he admits it," Mala muttered.

Riun seemed to be ignoring both of those comments. "It's really cool. Where'd you get it?"

"If I tell you will you go away?"

Riun thought about this for a few moments, then said, "Ok."

"It was a gift." With that, he lay back down and turned so that his back faced the others.

"From who?"

His eye twitched at the sound of Riun's voice. "Didn't you say you'd leave?"

"Oh. Right." He heard the sound of footsteps and wings as the others left the room.

Well, almost all the others. Gillick sighed, feeling Mala still hovering nearby. "Yes?" he asked without turning around.

"You could've said 'thank you'," she growled.

He knew he'd forgotten something. "I could've," he agreed slowly.

She waited a few moments longer, obviously expecting a continuation of that statement. When there wasn't one, she turned and began to head out.

He gave a silent, reluctant sigh. "Hey," he called, glancing over his shoulder. She paused in the doorway, glancing back at him. She annoyed him, but she had helped save his life, so…"Thanks." She was obviously surprised by the fact that he'd thanked her. He snorted, turning his head so that it faced away from her once more. With nothing else to do, he allowed himself to drift into an uneasy sleep.

That night, it seemed, the past would leave him be.

Xuren was fuming when he emerged from the Corridor of Darkness. Pain burned from the new wounds he'd accumulated, but nothing burned more than the blow his pride had taken. He gritted his teeth. When did that bastard get so strong? he wondered, furious.

He limped into the room where he knew the leader of the Dark Army would still be. His leader looked up in surprise when he entered. "What happened? The Knight?" he asked, standing.

Xuren shook his head, his resentment of the former Keyblader still burning through his veins. "Gillick," he growled.

"What?"

He heard his own fury reflected in the voice of his leader. He looked up at the dark Keyblader that stood before him. "When I'm healed, I'll go after him. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget."

"No."

He was surprised by his leader's words. "What?" he hissed, yellow eyes glittering with rage and dismay.

"We will get back at him for interrupting our revenge," the dark Keyblader informed him, "but you aren't going to do it."

"And what about my revenge?" Xuren hissed furiously.

"Those are my orders, Xuren!" the other man snapped. Red eyes suddenly gleamed out from under his long bangs. "Do you dare to question them?"

Slowly, Xuren lowered his head in submission. "No."

"Then you will show the other Keybladers where you struck. They will track Gillick from there." The other Keyblader gave a slow, reluctant nod, then turned and limped out of the room.

The leader of the Dark Army watched him go. Slowly, the bangs fell back over the red of his eyes. It was hard to believe that the one who was now causing him problems had once been his second in command.

That's the end of chapter eight. Yes, more action next chapter. Review, please?