Here's chapter fifteen. Thank you Kamen Rider Ebon, caitlinkeitorin, Oishii Hanashi, Eddie Camp, Silverking32, and Draconet for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Fifteen: Get Away

Though he wasn't sure how much he should trust Mala, Gillick wasn't going to waste an opportunity to escape. He tried to dash along the line of cells and out of the dungeons, but found that the action hurt him. He groaned, leaning down and clutching his side. Shit. On top of his previous injuries, he also had to deal with the ones he'd gotten from the Keybladers. This was likely to end badly.

"You're not going to get out alone," Mala warned from behind him.

He knew that. He'd never admit to it, though. "How do you know?" he snapped back, struggling upright and staggering a few paces forward. Walking caused him to ache, but it was bearable. That was a small relief.

"Well, firstly, because you're injured. Secondly, because you don't know your way around here. And thirdly, because I'm not sure how much you know about being concealed."

"I know enough to get out," he hissed.

Mala gave an exasperated sigh as he continued to limp forward. Suddenly, he felt something slip beneath his right arm and lift up, taking some of his own weight. "You're very hard to help."

"What are you doing?" Gillick hissed at Mala.

"What did I just say?" the girl responded in frustration.

"I can do it myself!" he snapped, jerking away from her. He winced as it aggravated the still-sensitive wounds once more.

"Fine!" Mala snapped, frustration finally causing her to give up on him. "But when you get caught again, don't blame me!" He snorted, continuing forward, as she called after him, "Trevor would be pretty upset if anything happened to you."

He froze. "Yeah, right," he responded quietly. "He doesn't…need me." With that, he left the thief behind.

When he emerged into the hallway, he immediately looked around for any sign of Keybladers. When everything appeared to be clear, he slipped into the open, trying to stay in the shadows of the hall to avoid detection should anyone come. He felt a twinge of annoyance at being forced to crawl along at a snail's pace, but if he wanted to keep his wounds from acting up again, he couldn't afford to go faster. A part of him knew that he'd be better off if he'd accepted Mala's help. The greater part of him told him that trusting her was a dangerous bet, and he was better off on his own.

He stopped as he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked around quickly for an escape route. There! On the other side of the hallway was a door. He started forward quickly, only for pain to lance through him. He gasped involuntarily and staggered.

"Did you hear that?" a voice asked.

Knowing he'd never make it now, he forced himself backwards into the small shadows of the wall. He knew they wouldn't hide him, but he had no other choice. Maybe…if he curled himself up small enough, they wouldn't notice him. …It was a slim hope.

"Where are you guys going?"

Gillick lifted his head in surprise at the voice. Mala!

"We were just heading back to the barracks when we heard a noise," another voice replied. "We were just going to check it out."

"Oh, you heard that?" Mala replied. "That was me scuffling with the prisoner. He's escaped!"

Anger flared inside him. That back-stabbing bitch.

"What?" a voice cried in alarm.

"Yeah, he went that way!" Mala responded.

"Thanks, kid. We owe you one."

Gillick pushed himself to his feet, clenching his fists and tensing. He didn't have his sword, but he could still fight them with his fists…or at least try to. He was surprised, though, when he heard the sound of their rapid footsteps fading instead of growing.

Around the corner appeared the form of Mala. She frowned at him. "Still think you don't need my help?"

"You told him I got out!" he growled quietly, his mind grappling with the fact that she hadn't sent them towards him.

"Ok, that may not have been my brightest move," she admitted, "but it did get them running off." Her blue eyes narrowed at him. "And I don't think you're getting anywhere without your sword."

His amber eyes flashed with surprise. "Do you know where they have it?"

She snorted, and turned away. "Maybe."

His eyes narrowed. "What will it take for you to tell me?"

She sighed, turning back around to face him once more. "It'll take your trust," Mala responded. She extended a hand towards him.

Gillick looked from the hand back to her. "That may be more than I have to give," he responded quietly. Still, he needed his sword. He took her hand.

She smiled, shook his hand once, and let go. "Good, then let's go."

Mala headed off down the halls, and he followed behind. She set a fast pace, and he tried to keep up. However, the action aggravated his wounds, and he was finally forced to hiss, "Slow down! I can't move fast right now, remember?"

She halted and glanced back at him, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "Right. Sorry, forgot." He accepted her apology with a snort, and the two continued forward at a slower pace.

From the way she was twitching, Gillick could tell the young thief was as annoyed at having to move slow as he was. So both were relieved when they finally reached the room where his weapon was. "Here we are," Mala declared quietly.

Gillick tried the door, and his breath hissed out between his teeth in frustration. "Locked." And it didn't matter how much he wanted to get his sword back, he would not summon his Keyblade to unlock the door.

Mala sighed behind him. "Let me through." She pushed past him, slipping her lock picks into the lock and twisting them around until a click sounded. She opened the door, and turned to look at him with a smug smile on her face. "See? Aren't you happy you accepted my help now?" He ignored the comment, instead pushing past her into the room. It didn't take long for him to find his unique weapon and reattach it to his back.

When he turned to face her, she said, "Ok, now to get you out of here."

"You've done enough," he responded. "I can get myself out."

She crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Because that went so well the last time. Besides, now they're looking for you."

"And who's fault was that?" Still, she had a point. "Fine."

She led him out into the hall, and the duo crept quietly down the corridors. Occasionally, a Keyblader would pass by, and Mala would either push him into an unlocked room or push him against the wall and use her body to hide him, inevitably causing him pain.

Eventually, though, her tactics backfired on her. When they heard a group of Keybladers coming quickly towards them, Mala quickly opened a door and shoved him inside. He leaned against the door, listening.

"What- The prisoner!"

He realized too late he should've been listening to what was in the room.

Gillick whipped his head around and saw a Keyblader staring at him in surprise. He rapped a fist urgently against the door. The Keyblader had summoned her Keyblade and he had begun to draw his sword before the door open and he was jerked out. He pushed the door quickly shut behind him as Mala hissed, "What was with the knocking on the door? You nearly gave yourself away!"

"There was a person in that room!" he growled back.

"…Oh."

Gillick could feel the person pushing on the door. Swallowing his pride, he whispered to Mala, "Could you…help me? I can't…move fast enough to get away on my own right now."

Surprise flared in her eyes at his admittance, but she nodded. She twisted one of her lock picks into the lock on the door, then lent him her support and the two hurried down the hall. "That should give us a little time, at least," she muttered.

By now, they were nearing the back entrance, and there were more Keybladers to sneak by. Worse yet, word was getting around that Gillick had escaped. Mala kept him pressed up close to the wall, trying to shield him with her body as best she could. With so many Keybladers around, however, he knew it couldn't be much longer before he was noticed. "We're going to get caught."

"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Mala responded.

The two had made it to the large, open area before the gate to the back entrance. His eyes scanned the area, before finally lighting upon a cart. Goods come in on the carts, he remembered, and then the carts are sent back out. "Hey," he whispered to the thief girl.

"What?" she hissed back.

"…Thanks." He felt her grip on him loosen, caught slightly off guard, and he jerked away. He thought he could hear her making a quiet protest, but ignored it. Instead, he crept towards the cart, managing to slip inside without being noticed.

The cart was already empty, to his relief. It wasn't long before it jerked forward. Gillick leaned back against the wall of the vessel. It wouldn't be long now, and he could leave the memory of this ill-fated mission behind.

Mala shook her head in wonder as she watched the black-haired boy slip towards the cart and go inside. He's lucky no one saw him, she thought, rolling her eyes. She questioned the intelligence of setting him free. However, she'd been doing it for Trevor's sake, not for his. She exhaled heavily. Speaking of Trevor, I should probably find him. She didn't know how he'd react to the news that his brother had escaped, but she figured he needed to know.

She headed back down the hallways, her usual cautiousness still in place, but the added wariness she'd had to have when smuggling Gillick out gone. After a few twists and turns she opened a door, and screwed up her face when she saw it was the wrong one. Maybe I need to do some more exploring, she thought with a sigh, going down different hallways and opening different doors in the hopes that she'd find the barracks that Trevor was in.

Thankfully, he found her first. "Mala!" She sighed when relief when she saw the boy heading towards her, and waved in greeting. "Where've you been?"

"Lost," she replied. It was a half truth. "Apparently I don't know this place as well as I thought."

Trevor's blue gaze bored into her. "Did you know Gillick escaped?"

"Oh, so that's what all the fuss is about?" She shrugged innocently.

Trevor opened his mouth, as if about to question her, but was interrupted by another Keyblader. "Sir," he panted, "Master Tollun is here, at the front gate. He wishes to see you." Trevor looked at him, then nodded. He headed off and Mala, not knowing what else to do, decided to follow him.

When they arrived at the front gate, they found a man with black hair and a stubble of beard was waiting. Armor gleamed on one shoulder, and his silver eyes glittered with light. "Master Tollun," Trevor said, bowing with respect. Mala quickly followed his example.

"Trevor," Tollun replied. Slowly, the young Keyblader and thief erected themselves. "What's this I here about your brother escaping?"

"I don't know," Trevor admitted truthfully. "I just found out about it myself."

Tollun cocked one eyebrow. "You wouldn't have let him go, would you?"

"Of course not, sir!" Trevor protested in alarm. "I'd never betray the Light Army!"

Tollun heaved a sigh. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. You've always proved yourself loyal. Still-"

He was cut off by the sound of a ruckus outside the gate. He frowned, turning and heading towards the entrance, with Trevor and Mala following more slowly behind. "What's going on out here?" he demanded, thrusting the door open.

Mala gasped in surprise. Before them stood two Keybladers, weapons pointed towards a young boy sitting on a Chocobo. A young boy that was very familiar. "Riun!"

There's the end of chapter fifteen. Review?