This is chapter thirty - two. Thank you Eddie Camp for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Thirty - Two: Silver

Silver looked behind her and surveyed her warriors. All looked worn from traveling, but a determined look glittered in their eyes. She gave a small nod of approval. She prided the Silver Fang warriors as being able to move quickly and quietly, leaving little trace of their presence behind.

"Miss Silver, will we be setting up camp soon?"

The blond woman looked to the man who'd spoken. "Yes," she confirmed. "From there, we'll be scouting the immediate area."

The man nodded. "Of course, Miss Silver."

She turned to begin heading out once more, but paused on reflection and added, "If you see any of them, please contact me before attacking."

The man seemed surprised by this. "Do you even need to say that, Miss Silver? We would never do something like that."

Silver snorted. "You might not," she conceded, "and many other of our older members, but the newer ones can be too rash for my liking." She gave him a pointed look. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid."

The man nodded an affirmative. "Yes, Miss Silver."

The Silver Fang continued walking, and Silver's mind was filled with a grim determination. This was the path that she had to take, and she wasn't about to let herself make a mistake.

"Come on, Gillick, please?"

Gillick's eye twitched. "I already said no, Riun."

"But-"

"NO!"

Mala snorted, rolling her eyes at them. "You could at least attempt to teach him a little," she suggested to Gillick.

He shot her an amber-eyed glare. "If you think so, you do it."

Her blue eyes flared in response. "I don't know anything about magic!"

"Then shut up."

Similar conversations had been going on throughout the majority of the day. Riun, who desperately wanted to learn more magic than the Fire and Fira spells he already knew, had initiated things by asking Gillick about it. Gillick had declined, Mala had prodded him to be a good teacher, and so on.

It was wearing on Gillick's last nerve.

Added to the annoyance of Riun's pestering was the fact that they still hadn't found Silver. If he weren't reluctantly traveling with two other people, he wouldn't have minded this fact so much. As it was, he felt he could hardly hear himself think.

"Are you two keeping your eyes open for Silver?" he asked Riun and Mala.

"Of course," Mala informed him, sounding offended.

"Um…" Riun trailed off, looking awkward.

"Yeah, I thought not," Gillick growled at Riun's answer.

A rustling in the bushes nearby caught his attention. He reached over his shoulder and jerked his sword out of its scabbard just in time to block a sword strike from a person jumping from his hiding spot. He forced the man - or rather boy - back, slashing at his sword arm. The boy let out a yelp of surprise and pain as the flat of Gillick's blade rapped his wrist, causing him to lose his weapon. He scrambled for the item, but Mala quickly planted a foot on it.

Gillick pointed his sword at the boy's head. "Get off the ground," he ordered.

The boy slowly stood, eyes blazing, and spat at Gillick's feet. "Bastard."

"I'm not the one attacking people for no reason."

Mala couldn't seem to resist commenting. "Well…"

"Shut up, Mala." He gave her a glare. "I won't kill someone without a good reason." He turned his amber eyes towards the boy. "But you've given me a pretty damn good reason to. So tell me," here he moved his blade towards the boy's chest, touching it against his shirt and pressing slightly, "why shouldn't I kill you?"

Mala looked as uncomfortable as the boy. "Gillick…"

He twisted the blade. "Well?"

The boy swallowed hard but, to his credit, didn't back down. "What do you want with Miss Silver?"

Gillick's eyes pricked at the name. "'Miss Silver'?" he questioned.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "You were talking about finding 'Silver.'" He paled suddenly. "Were you not looking for a person?"

"Oh, we're looking for a person," Gillick informed him, hope fluttering in his chest. "Now…tell me where she is."

His gaze immediately hardened again. "I'm not going to tell you anything."

"Oh, really?" Gillick pressed a little harder. The boy winced, and a few splotches of red began to appear on his shirt.

Suddenly something hit his blade, knocking it away and almost out of his hand. A sword landed, point-first, in the ground a few feet away. The distraction gave the boy enough time to scramble away. "I don't appreciate having my warriors threatened," a voice informed him.

Gillick whipped around towards the sound. A woman appeared from the undergrowth, a second sword clasped in her left hand. His eyes widened in recognition. "Silver."

"So you've heard of me," the woman said, her words validating the statement.

"There's a bounty on your head," he growled, pointing his blade towards her. "I intend to collect it."

Silver quirked an eyebrow. "Really?" she questioned. "Many before you have said the same, but all have failed. What makes you different?"

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. "Maybe I'm better than any who've come before."

Silver didn't looked convinced. "If you insist on fighting me, then I'll fight." She took a few paces forward.

"Wait, Miss Silver!" the boy protested.

She looked back towards him, her eyes hard. "I thought it was known not to attack anyone without my permission."

"But…he was…!"

She ignored the boy's protests. "If he wants to die," she growled, "then I'll give him the honor of falling to my blade."

Gillick snorted. "We'll see."

The two didn't wait to lunge towards each other, causing their three observers to hurry to the side in nervous surprise. Their blades collided in a flurry of sparks. Gillick pressed down hard, hoping to overpower his opponent. Silver, however, slipped to the side, allowing Gillick to stumble forward. However, he was able to turn this to his advantage; instead of resisting it, he fell into it, surprising Silver when her blade slashed through thin air. He fell to the ground, but rolled over and back to his feet quickly.

This time, the two eyed each other carefully, hardly moving, both watching for the moment to strike.

Gillick, eventually, got fed up with waiting and lunged forward again. He feinted to the right before going sharply left. Silver was just barely able to block his sword with her own. She pushed her weapon hard against his, causing his blade to be jerked away while at the same time causing her to fall. As she did, however, she kicked out her legs, knocking Gillick's out from under him. Clever, he thought as he found himself spitting out dirt. Silver had already regained her footing and was preparing to land an over-head strike on his currently unprotected back. He was able to roll onto his back and block her sword with his own, kicking her in the stomach to force her away.

Gillick rolled back to his feet as Silver was pushing herself back to hers. The lunged for each other at the same moment. Their blades connected briefly before parting, only to clash again. Both sides were growing increasingly frustrated as their attacks were blocked time and time again, neither seeming to be able to get an inch on the other. Finally, the two jumped apart, panting and glaring at each other.

A tense silence permeated the air for a few moments. Finally, Gillick commented, "Not bad."

"Not bad yourself," Silver conceded.

"I'm curious, though," Gillick continued. "You're good, but not good enough to have beaten every group of bounty hunters or warriors that's come your way."

He expected her to take offense at his comment, but instead she surprised him by smiling. "No, I'm not. But since we're so evenly matched, I guess the same could be said for you, hm?"

He seethed at her response, which he figured showed on his face. "How did you do it?" he spat at her. "Explain yourself!"

"I don't have to explain anything to you," she responded tartly. Before he could come up with a response, she'd retrieved her other sword from nearby and lunged towards him.

He cursed under his breath and mentally kicked himself for not realizing that she'd maneuvered herself towards her second sword. He blocked the strike of one of her swords, and tried to slip away from the other, but wasn't completely able to do so, and the weapon tore through fabric and flesh. He grimaced as his blood dripped down his side, and jumped back several paces. She continued at him, putting him on the defensive with her dual blades. The barrage of attacks made it difficult to form any sort of plan of counter-attack; it made it difficult to simply defend.

The fact that he'd been forced into the defensive was making him frustrated. He dropped to the ground, tangling his legs in hers to throw her off balance. She stumbled, though she managed to stay upright. However, it was enough; in seconds Gillick had regained his footing and had lashed out his sword in a powerful upward slash. She stumbled a few paces backwards, narrowly avoiding the blow. He struck quickly, bringing the sword back down. Still off balance, Silver's block was messy and easily broken through, though it saved her from being cut open. However, it did cause her to lose her sword.

A surge of triumph pulsed through Gillick. He lunged forward, intending to finish things. However, by that time, Silver had recovered enough to counter. She ducked beneath his blade, rolling to the side. Gillick whipped around quickly, seeing her grab her second sword and return to her feet. Triumph turned to frustration, and he lunged forward. She brought her twin blades up in an X, catching his weapon in the gap between the two weapons.

The two stood there struggling against each other for a few moments. Then, Silver asked, "Tell me, why did you decided to collect the bounty on my head?"

"I need munny," Gillick responded simply.

Silver's eyes narrowed. "That's it, then? Just another petty reason."

Gillick's amber eyes narrowed. "Shut up!" he growled. "I don't need your input!"

The two jumped apart again. Gillick glared at her, then shouted a question across the space. "Why ask, anyways? Who cares why I want you dead?"

She snorted. "I always like to know the motives of my opponent."

Well, two can play at that game. "Fine," he growled, "then answer this; why do you have a bounty on your head?"

Silver's green eyes flared, and she stood up straighter. "Because," she answered, "I'm doing something no one else dares to do."

"Really? And what's that?" Gillick scoffed.

"Fight against the Keybladers."

The words hit Gillick like a hammer blow. His amber eyes widened in shock, and, slowly, he said, "What did you say?"

Silver stared back at him calmly, as if she'd expected this response. "It's unbelievable, isn't it, that someone should want to destroy the 'noble Keybladers.'" She spat out the words with loathing.

Gillick shook his head slowly, relaxing his stance. "No, it's not." And he sheathed his sword.

It was Silver's turn to be surprised. "What are you…?"

"The Keybladers don't care about anyone but themselves," Gillick growled. His anger flared at his memories of the time he spent in the Armies. "They may start out Ok, but the Keyblade corrupts them. They blind people with light or deceive them with darkness." Gillick looked at her, a determination flaring inside him. "I don't like them, but I've mostly stayed out of their business. But…" He trailed off, then began again. "But if more than one person fights them, if more than one person isn't blinded, then…maybe there is hope."

That's the end of chapter thirty - two. Please review?