Here's chapter sixteen. Thank you Kamen Rider Ebon, Silverking32, Eddie Camp, caitlinkeitorin, and Draconet for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Sixteen: Opposing Sides
Riun turned his head at the sound of Mala's voice, eyes glowing with relief. "Mala!"
"You know him?" Trevor asked in surprise.
She nodded. "Yeah. He sort of…idolizes Gillick." Trevor quirked an eyebrow at her statement, but she continued on before he could comment further. "Riun, what are your doing here?"
"Well, Gillick, me, and the Moogles got away," Riun replied, "but then Gillick disappeared! So, the Moogles let me take this Chocobo and ride it to find him." He glared at the Light Army Keybladers. "Then these Light Army jerks told me they captured him."
"Hold your tongue!" Trevor protested.
Mala didn't like what he'd said, either, but didn't comment on it. Instead, she replied, "Gillick's already escaped."
The two guards turned to look at her in surprise. "What?" one exclaimed.
The other one groaned, throwing his hands in the air. "Why are we always the last to know?"
"Get back to work," Tollun ordered. The two looked at each other, then back at Riun. "The boy will come in with us," the leader of the Light Army informed them. They accepted this answer, and stood to the side to allow Riun to pass. The boy stuck his tongue out at them as he rode through on his Chocobo.
"Mala," he asked when they doors had shut, "where'd you go when the Moogle village was being attacked? And why are you with the Light Army? They're bad!"
"What?" she exclaimed in surprise. "The Dark Army's the bad one, hence the name."
"Nu-uh," Riun replied in surprise, eyes growing wide. "The Light Army is. It blinds people."
"Enough." Tollun's voice broke into their fighting. He beckoned to one of the Keybladers hovering around in the open space. "Take this boy to a room. Guard him, but don't do anything to him yet. You'll await my orders, understand?" The Keyblader nodded and bowed, then escorted a nervous-looking Riun out of the room. A few others fell in behind them. Tollun watched them go, silver eyes glowing. Then he fixed his gaze on Mala. "So, who is this, Trevor?"
"Her name is Mala, sir," he replied when she didn't respond. "She's not a Keyblader, but she wants to help us."
She found her voice again. "I've always admired Keybladers." She bowed deeply. "I'll do whatever you ask, sir."
She could feel Tollun's gaze boring into her. She remained in her bow until she felt his gaze shift and heard him say, "Is she trust-worthy?"
"Yes," Trevor replied with a firm nod.
"Even though she talks so comfortably with a supporter for the Dark Army?"
"I didn't know he supported the Dark Army," she protested quickly.
She flinched when Tollun shot her a look, and Trevor added, "He's only a child; he's probably just following what his parents have told him. He'll come around."
Tollun relented with a sigh. "Very well. In any case, I have something important to discuss with you, Trevor."
"Um…should I go?" Mala asked hesitantly.
She didn't really want to; she was too curious, and it felt dangerous to eavesdrop on Keybladers. So she was relieved when Tollun gave her a wry smile. "Oh, if you're as trustworthy as Trevor says you are, then I don't see a problem with you staying." She nodded, a smile passing across her lips, as he continued. "It seems your brother's starting to interfere with our work."
Trevor's eye twitched. "Yes."
Tollun heaved a heavy sigh. "Perhaps it's time we dealt with him."
Two sets of blue eyes widened in shock. "But, sir-"
"I know he's your brother," Tollun interrupted, "but we can't afford to have to deal with him, the Dark Army, and the Knight."
"I'm sure this was just a one time thing," Trevor said quickly, eyes flickering with fear.
"But how do you know that?" Tollun countered. "It's well known that he doesn't like Keybladers, and will kill one without a second thought. He's been left alone because he's mostly stayed out of our way. But now…" The man shook his head. "We can't afford the chance."
Trevor seemed to be struggling with the idea of being the cause of his brother's death. Finally, he seemed to relent. "What do you want me to do?" he whispered, looking defeated.
"Find an assassin," Tollun replied, "and pay him or her to kill him."
"Yes, sir." The young Keyblader slunk away, and Mala followed quickly behind. She couldn't help feeling a small sense of despair herself. Did I save him…just for him to die?
The cart rolled to a stop just as night was beginning to fall. Gillick listened in silence as its driver shuffled around outside. Impatience gnawed at him as full night slowly fell upon the world. It was only after he heard the sound of the rustling stop and snoring replace it that he slipped out of the cart.
He felt a sense of relief to see a small copse of trees nearby. He walked slowly over to it, stopping and sitting down against a tree as soon as he entered. He glanced back at the cart from where he sat. He wanted to ride in the cart until he made it to the next town; it would be easier on him, with his injuries. However, he didn't want to risk being found by sleeping inside of it.
He sighed heavily. His quest to find Silver would have to start again soon. He may be injured, but he was also almost out of munny. He couldn't wait any longer. No more distractions, he decided silently. He pulled out Silver's wanted poster, eyeing the face imprinted on it. I have to focus on my task. With a last glance at both the poster and the cart, he hid the paper away and fell into an uneasy sleep.
Xuren swallowed hard as he stood before Viril. Normally, it was difficult to get the leader of the Dark Army into a rage. However, after he'd had to rescue him from the Light Army after the failed attack on Gillick, he was pissed. Currently, they were in a Dark Army village some distance away from the Light Army village where he'd been captured. Xuren stood still in the middle of the street, with Viril pacing back in forth in from of him, arms folded behind his back and the red of his eyes blazing from beneath his bangs.
Finally, the Dark Army leader stopped in front of him. "What did you think you were doing?" he snapped.
"Getting an edge over the Light Army," Xuren replied, trying to act normal. However, it was difficult with a pair of eerie red eyes boring into him.
"I told you not to fight," Viril growled. "You were too injured. And you blatantly disobeyed my orders!"
"Sorry," Xuren hissed through gritted teeth, amber eyes narrowing as he fell into a half-bow.
"'Sorry' isn't good enough," Viril responded. Xuren flinched. Would he be taken off his duties? That'd be torture. He didn't dare lift his head. Finally, Viril continued, "You shall stay here for a while, and help to guard this village."
He jerked up in surprise. "That's it?"
Those red eyes were still glowing. "Oh, don't worry, you'll still get a true punishment," Viril responded quietly. Then he whipped around and left.
Xuren's shoulders sagged slightly. It wasn't much of a punishment, but guarding the town would be boring. And, if Viril was planning on punishing him more, then when he returned, he'd be in store for much worse.
The moon was high in the sky when the trouble began.
Xuren was sitting on top of a roof, boredom and lack of sleep causing his eyes to droop. Some other Dark Army Keybladers were pacing the streets. His eyes narrowed as he watched them, a sneer curling his lips. Lucky. They got shifts, so none of them were too tired to do their jobs. He didn't figure he'd be lucky enough to get one, considering how angry Viril had been.
The sound of beating wings suddenly echoed in his ears. His head shot up, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed, looking away. Of course it's nothing interesting, he thought sardonically.
Then a burst of fire shot from the sky. He jumped to his feet as a building erupted into flames, screams resounding through the air. In the glow of the fire, he could just make out the shape of something hovering in the air. Yes! He summoned his Keyblade and slid off the side of the building, flinching as he hit the ground. Then he stood up, racing towards the fire with the other Keybladers. The Knight would certainly provide a way to make his night more exciting.
The silhouette of the Knight had disappeared, but the sound of screams indicated that it was still on the prowl. "Put out the fire!" someone cried. Two Keybladers stopped and fired several consecutive Blizzaga spells, the ice melting from the heat of the flames, allowing it to smothering the fire. A few more Keybladers raced into the building, trying to get out any survivors of the blaze.
Xuren was unconcerned with them. His target was the Knight. "Come on out!" he called.
"Are you mad?" a Keyblader nearby hissed at him.
He remembered the fight at the Light Army village, and replied, "We have a score to settle."
He ran towards the sound of the screams. As the screams grew louder, he saw a shadow flitting through the darkness of night, a patch of glowing blue illuminated its path. "You can't hide with a mark like that," Xuren hissed, his eyes filling with a wild light and a manic smile curling his lips. He lifted his Keyblade to strike at the monster as it hovered over a dead body.
He was caught off guard when it whipped around and grabbed his Keyblade with one clawed hand. It swung him around by his weapon, releasing it and sending him flying in the side of a building. He lay there, stunned, for a few moments. The Knight simply looked on.
Xuren's eyes narrowed at the beast. It's mocking me, he thought as it made no move to attack him. He began to struggle back to his feet, eyes glaring yellow fire.
Suddenly the Knight lunged forward. Xuren lifted his Keyblade quickly, shooting a Fire spell from its tip quickly. It hit the beast in the chest. He didn't expect the measly magic to do anything. However, the Knight stopped short, feet skidding in the dust to keep it from continuing forward. The glowing light on its arm seemed to dim a little, and something that sound almost like breathing could be heard from the helmet.
He wasn't going to waste his chance. He lunged forward, trying to strike before the monster could recover.
He wasn't quickly enough. It spun away from him, hitting him in the side with one of its fists. He stumbled, caught off balance, and suddenly found himself being blasted by Blizzard spells. A few hit before he was able to get his Keyblade up in time to block.
Now he was forced onto the defensive. The Knight shot varying forms of magic at him; Fire, Blizzard, Lightning, even Light and Darkness. He was panting by the time the creature finally let up in its assault. The blue glow on its arms grew even duller. What was stranger, though, was that the beast seemed to be breathing heavily, too. He'd always thought this monster was something that could never be worn down.
Then it heaved a massive breath, and summoned an Aero spell around it, charging forward. Xuren was unable to block it. The spell didn't send him flying far, though, as the Knight caught him in its powerful hands. The monster's grip tightened, and he regretted not putting on his armor. As he cried out in pain, he saw a pair of yellow-white eyes flash from within the dark depths of the helmet's visor. Xuren stopped struggling at the sight of them. They reminded him of Viril's eyes, when the leader of the Dark Army had been lecturing him, and had warned him about a punishment still to come.
Suddenly the Knight released him. It hissed as broken black wings spread out from its back. Then it jumped into the night sky, flying away from the scene. And, as Xuren watched it go, he couldn't help wondering if his leader had known that the attack would happen.
So, there's the end of chapter sixteen. What'd you think? Reviews are always welcome!