This is chapter twenty - two. Sorry this is up a little later than normal, but my internet's been a little...spasmodic. Thank you kiyohunter, Grim Reaper Kid, Draconet, Kamen Rider Ebon, Eddie Camp, and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Twenty - Two: Joining Forces

"Well, I guess that explains that," Mala sighed when Gillick finished reluctantly telling her and Riun about his meeting with the assassin.

He nodded, amber eyes narrowed. "Now that story time is done," he said sarcastically, "I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait!" Mala cried, grabbing his arm as he turned to go.

He simmered with frustration. Whipping back around, he barked at her, "Look, I can't take the kid with me. I have enough to deal with without have to deal with him." He jerked his head towards Riun.

"Yeah, I know, you've explained this already," Mala replied. "But I think all of us would be better off if we stuck together."

He looked at her incredulously for a few moments. Then he turned his head away. "No thanks."

As Gillick jerked his arm away from her grasp, Mala called after him, "Think about it! Riun needs protection. I'd rather not run into problems alone. And you're still injured and will need help, whether you admit it or not."

He froze at her last statement. He gritted his teeth, eyes closing tightly. Help with the assassin…would be good…

No. No, he couldn't do that.

But…he needed to have time to heal if he ever hoped to be able to face that bitch. And, perhaps, staying in a group would help him.

He sighed reluctantly. "If you plan to come with me," he growled, glancing over his shoulder, "then you should know that I don't plan on wandering around aimlessly."

"Didn't figure," Mala replied with a shrug.

Gillick pulled out the wanted poster, passing it to the girl. "This is who I'm after."

He didn't see her expression, but he could feel her surprise. "You're…not going to kill her, are you?"

"We'll see when I find her." He took the poster back. "Still want to come with me?"

There were several moments of silence before she quietly replied, "Yeah."

He nodded. "Then let's go."

"Master Tollun!"

The Keyblade Master looked up at the sound of his name. "Trevor," he said, nodding to the boy as he raced to meet him. "I'm assuming you found something?"

"Yes," Trevor panted, eyes bright. He held up a tattered old book. "Look at this."

Tollun, frowning, took the book from the boy. On the page was depicted a weapon that vaguely resembled a Keyblade. "What is this?" he asked.

"Something called the X-blade, sir."

He quirked an eyebrow at the young general. "Keyblade?"

"Um, well, not like what we wield," Trevor added hastily. "Just read it."

Slowly, Tollun turned his silver eyes back to the pages before him. The handwriting was hard to read, and was faded in some places, but, in the end, he was able to make out this:

The X-blade is a weapon of great power. Though it bears a resemblance to the Keyblades that appear to us, it is of a far greater power. It appeared alongside the gate, and was the key that was able to unlock it a release our keys. Unlike our weapons, it is not a portion of this gate's power, but a power completely separated from it. It is the only known power to truly be able to unlock the gate.

Tollun felt a pulse of excitement. A Keyblade…of greater power than any other Keyblade. This 'X-blade', if it could truly unlock the gate that spawned the other Keyblades, would be the way he could finally destroy the Dark Army. "Good work, young one," he praised Trevor.

The boy beamed, but his smile soon fell. "Sir…is it Ok, if…now I go look for Mala?"

He thought about denying the request. After all, he still needed to learn how to obtain the weapon. However…if he pressed the boy too much, he could eventually rebel, just as his older brother did. Even Trevor had a certain 'neediness' to him, someone could only be pushed so far before they broke. Slowly, he nodded his assent. "But when you're down," he added, "I'll need you to look for more information on this 'X-blade.'"

Trevor nodded, relief shining in his eyes. "Of course, sir!" he cried, scampering off.

Tollun smirked, turning his eyes back to the book. Maybe if he continued reading, he'd find out more about this mysterious X-blade. He carefully flipped the page over, scanning the words scrawled across the paper:

The gate, after being opened by the key, became known as 'Kingdom Hearts', as it seemed as if the hearts of the people had called forth the heart of the world. Likewise, the key became known as the 'X-blade', in representation to the ending of one era and the beginning of another. The various keys that were created by Kingdom Heart's power could only be wielded by those with strong hearts, and became known as 'Keyblades' for obvious reasons.

However, many sought the power of the X-blade for selfish reasons. It was fought over by all, until one day, it disappeared. Since then, we Keybladers have sought a way to bring it back. We believe to have finally found an answer. In order to re-

From there, the words were too smudged for Tollun to read. He blinked in dismay, rapidly flipping through the other pages of the book in search of more information. "No! It can't just end yet!" However, no other information about the X-blade and Kingdom Hearts could be found.

Frustration came over him, and he snapped the ancient book shut. He was so close…and yet so far away.

The assassin sighed. "Well, it appears my prey made better ground than I thought."

She was standing in the road, looking down at the ground. The storm that had raged had made it difficult to see, and she'd ended up following the clearly marked tracks of the horse instead of sticking around to look and see if her quarry were truly riding it. She cursed herself for it later, but was never one to dwell much on the past.

The rain had destroyed most of the tracks, but there were enough faint remains for her to follow them back. And that was what had led her to find an odd area in the road. One that was scuffed up, as if someone had shuffled their feet through the dirt…or hurriedly tried to hide their tracks.

She flipped one of her knives absently in her hand (she made sure to clean the poison from the blades so she didn't accidentally poison herself). "Tricky, tricky," she murmured, smirking. "But not tricky enough."

She quickly followed the boy's trail off into the wilderness. It wouldn't be long…and she'd have found her quarry once more.

And then it was time for the kill.

"So when are you going to teach me how to be a hero?"

"Never. Shut up."

"So…soon?"

"No."

"What are you going to teach me first?"

"Will you just SHUT UP?"

Mala sighed. Gillick's amber eyes shifted her way accusingly. "You don't want to hear this? Then get it through his head that I'm not a hero and that I'm not teaching him anything."

"You know, he really isn't a hero," Mala informed Riun. Then a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, and there was a sinking feeling in his gut. "But, I bet he would teach you something if you bugged him enough."

"Yay!" He ran forward and wrapped his arms around the older boy, a grin on his face.

Gillick shot an angry glare back at his other companion. "I. Hate. You."

"The feeling's mutual," Mala replied, looking amused.

Gillick pried Riun off him and forced him away. Riun wasn't deterred. "Come on! You've got to teach me something!"

"I've got to do nothing."

He suddenly felt the young younger boy wrap his arms and legs around one of his legs. He looked down at him in surprise. "If you don't, then I'll…I'll keep clinging to your legs and never let go!"

Gillick sighed, looking up to the sky. "I can still walk with you on my leg." To prove his point, he continued forward, dragging along the leg with the boy clinging to it.

"Hey!" Mala protested. "You could hurt him!"

"Then tell him to let go," Gillick responded, trying to control his anger.

"Well, you know, if you'd just teach him something-"

"No!" His eye twitched. This 'joining forces' thing could prove to be more trouble than it was worth.

Viril found himself pacing in his throne room. The Keybladers of the Dark Army were feeling restless. They wanted action now, tired of the Light Army's tricks. It was the reason many had decided to try an out and out attack on one if the Light Army's bases. He'd made sure to punish those that had come back, but…he knew that, if he didn't do something, it wouldn't be long before something like this happened again.

"Master Viril, you wanted to see me?"

Viril turned around to look at Xuren. The man's eyes glinted with their usual light. For a few moments, he questioned the wisdom of asking this particular Keyblader to come. And yet… "We have to find a way to take down the Light Army once and for all."

"Obviously." Xuren flashed a white smile.

Viril's eyes flashed behind his bangs, obliterating the smile. "I want you to organize some Dark Army Keybladers to attack a Light Army town and draw their attention."

"Oh, already moving into a battle plan?" Excitement tinged the dark man's voice.

"No." Viril shook his head for emphasis. "I plan on trying to infiltrate their fortress and find out their greatest weakness."

"Spies never worked before."

"We don't have much choice."

Xuren paused for a few moments, his normally manic glee gone. "Understood, sir," he replied, leaving the room.

Viril resumed his pacing. Xuren always like battle; he was best suited for this job. He'd send a different Keyblader to comb through the Dark Army's libraries later. He'd also have to pick out some Keybladers to try and infiltrate the nearest fortress. He didn't have much faith in it working, but, if it did…

Then they'd be one step closer to the fall of the Light Army.

Regardless, he had to do something to satisfying his Keyblader's restlessness. After all, intimidation could only get you so far when you were greatly outnumbered.

That's the end of chapter twenty - two. Reviews would be great!