Here's chapter thirty - four. Thank you explosivebagel for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Thirty - Four: Opening Blind Eyes
Mala headed hurriedly away from the Silver Fang's encampment. She felt uncomfortable and oddly depressed, but, at the same time, freer than she'd felt in a long time. It was going to be strange, not having Gillick around; even if she still wasn't overly fond of him, she'd gained more respect for him since they'd teamed up. And she'd miss Riun terribly. But she wasn't willing to stay and fight for people who were against Keybladers.
Alone, she felt all the caution she felt as a thief creeping back. She took lighter steps, careful not to make a sound, and kept all her senses alert. Alone, I'm no longer safe, she reminded herself quietly. I need to make sure I stay focused.
Mala took a deep breath as she continue, trying to force all thoughts of her lost companions out of her mind. I have to find the Light Army. Nothing else matters now. Just get back to the Light Army. She felt as if her heart grew slightly lighter at the thought of seeing Trevor again.
…But only slightly.
The Knight's black wings blocked out the faint light of the moon as it descended from the sky. It touched ground in a spray of dust, its broken feathers receding back into its armor. It remained hunched over for a few moments, the power within it pulsing with almost uncontrollable force.
It was time to release some of it.
The Knight snarled furiously, jerking upright and releasing a massive shockwave of fire. Screeches of pain and shock resounded around the town, along with frantic questions.
"What's happening?"
"Are we being attacked?"
"The Keybladers! The Keybladers will help us!"
But there were no Keybladers there that night.
The Knight hurried around the town, magic flying from its clawed gauntlets to strike at anything it came near. It was a blur, hidden in darkness except for the glowing blue on the upper part of its left arm.
It stopped abruptly, a growl pulsing from within its helm. However, there was nothing left of the town, nor its inhabitants. The monster looked around, its eerie eyes flashing behind its tinted glass visor. For a few moments, the orbs seemed to take on something that appeared more…human. Then it was gone, and the Knight was in the air, its broken wings carrying it off into the darkness.
Trevor stared at the dismantled town in horror. "What…happened here?"
A Keyblader behind him, far older than he was, stared at the carnage with a grim expression. "There's only one thing I've ever heard of that could cause this destruction, and that's the Knight."
Trevor shook his head, feeling sick. He and the Keybladers with him had been sent to the town by Tollun to search for information on the X-blade. However, it appeared they'd arrived too late. "We should've come earlier."
The older Keyblader shook his head. "It may have been no good." He said no more, though, as he headed out into the destroyed town. Summoning his courage, Trevor followed.
His sense of horror only grew as he continued through the town. Bodies littered the streets; if they were lucky, they were still whole. Buildings had been collapsed, and, on a few occasions, there were small fires still eating up the wood. It appeared, as he continued to walk, that no one had escaped…not with their lives, at least.
Then he saw someone standing in the middle of the broken village. Thank God, someone survived, Trevor thought, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as he hurried towards the person. As he drew closer, however, he felt a sense of surprise wash over him, mixing with his relief. "Mala!"
The girl turned to look at him, eyes wide with the same horror he felt. "Trevor," she whispered, "what happened here?"
He skidded to a halt before her, blinking in surprise. "You don't know?"
She shook her head. "I just got here…"
She looked as if she were about ready to flee. Trevor rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Well, I'm just glad you're Ok."
She looked up at him, her blue eyes still flickering uneasily, though she appeared reassured. "Thanks."
"Where did you go?" he asked her. "I was worried the Dark Army had gotten you."
Mala looked uncertain for several moments. Eventually, she responded, "I…I got scared. I ran. I wasn't sure I was cut out for…for fighting for the Light Army." She took a deep breath. "But now I am. I was looking for you, actually, so…" She cut herself off, not appearing as if she could consider what had happened to the village a good thing.
Trevor nodded, a smile on his lips. "We'd be glad to have you back."
"That's not your decision to make."
Trevor froze at the voice. Slowly, he turned to look at one of the other Keybladers. "I-I know, but-"
"But what?" the Keyblader taunted. "Are you saying you'd defy Master Tollun?"
Trevor's heart lurched. "No! Never!" What would Master Tollun do if he thought his student was betraying him? Would he kick him out of the Light Army? Would he become armor-less like Gillick? What would he be worth if he could never use the Keyblade again?
"Trevor?"
He turned back to Mala at the sound of her voice. He forced a smile at her. "Don't worry; I'll talk to Master Tollun, and soon we'll have everything figured out."
Mala walked around with Trevor and helped him look through the wreckage of the town. She felt sick at the prospect of digging past dead bodies, and asked to keep her mind off the subject, "What are we looking for, again?"
"Information on the X-blade," Trevor responded. He sounded a little impatient; however, considering the attitude of his brother, Mala hardly cared.
"Right," she muttered, continuing to shift through the wreckage. She swallowed the bile in her mouth and instead tried to focus her mind on something else.
What it focused on was Trevor's reaction to the idea of going against Tollun's orders. She was puzzled by it; surely Tollun would understand? And, if not, it wasn't like he'd do something bad to the boy…would he?
Trevor is only strong when he has someone else to lean on.
Gillick's words echoed through her mind. She shook her head, trying to deny the thoughts. Trevor is strong without any help. Yet she couldn't help the niggling doubt that said that Gillick was right; that Trevor needed someone to help him and, without it, he'd lose his strength.
"Would you look at this?" Mala lifted her head at the sound of one of the other Keyblader's voices. He was looking disgustedly around the ruined town. "The Knight sure picked a bad time to attack. Couldn't he have waited until we'd checked this place out for information on the X-blade first?"
"Yeah," another added. "Who cares what happens after? But now if there was any information here, it's as good as gone."
Mala frowned at them. She didn't like the fact that they were talking as if the people who had lived in the village didn't matter. She looked to Trevor, hoping he would speak up. His blue eyes were shadowed. "It's not just information on the X-blade that was lost."
"Yeah, we know," one of the Keybladers sighed. "Still…"
Trevor sighed. "I know."
Mala watched the other Keybladers go, narrowing her eyes as they paid no regard to the bodies of the people who lost their lives. "What's wrong with them?" she whispered. "Are they really Keybladers?"
Trevor obviously heard her quiet remark, because he turned to look at her with a frown on his face. "Of course they are. What makes you say that?"
"They…weren't exactly being…well, caring," she commented, not sure of how to respond.
Trevor shrugged, looking away. "Well, we have important business to do. They probably just wanted to focus more on looking for information on the X-blade. They'll care more latter."
"…Right." Mala couldn't manage to convince herself that was true, no matter how much she tried.
Trevor seemed to sense this. "You know," he commented as he worked beside her, "the X-blade will allow us to defeat the Dark Army once and for all. It's important that we can find it."
"Well…yeah, that makes sense…" Mala trailed off as her hand brushed against something yielding. She jerked the appendage back and took a few steps away, unnerved.
Trevor's head jerked up at the sound of something moving in the bushes. "Who's there?" he hissed, summoning his Keyblade. Mala watched warily, her hand slowly reaching behind her for her bow.
A shape suddenly erupted from the bushes. Trevor lifted his Keyblade, blocking the attack and sending the attacker flying. Mala turned to look at the assailant before blinking in surprise. It was a kid, about twelve or thirteen, with armor…and a Keyblade. Trevor looked unimpressed, aiming his weapon towards the boy. "What are you doing here? Are you from the Dark Army?"
The boy glared at him before spitting at his feet. "Dang right, scum. And I'm going to spill the blood of my first enemy." He lunged forward again, swinging a Keyblade that seemed too big for him.
Trevor blocked the blow and sent the boy sprawling in the dirt. He hesitated, conflict in his eyes, before taking a deep breath. "For the Light Army," he whispered.
The rational part of Mala's brain realized what he was about to do. But she wanted to ignore that part of her brain. Trevor wouldn't, he couldn't. He wasn't like Gillick…
But her hopes didn't change reality. Trevor's Keyblade stabbed down towards the younger Keyblader's chest, impaling him. The boy gave a choked gasp before falling still. Trevor jerked his Keyblade out of the corpse, causing crimson blood to spill from the new wound.
Mala was too shocked and horrified to do anything at first. She made several attempts to speak before finally managing, "What did you do?"
Trevor looked at her, his blue eyes dark with regret. "He was a Dark Army Keyblader; all Dark Army Keybladers have to go." He took a shuddering breath before adding, "No matter how young they are."
Mala shook her head, trying to comprehend what she'd just seen. "But…but he was just a kid!"
"And no less dangerous because of it," Trevor retorted. "He would grow, and he would become a threat. That can't happen." Mala's shocked mind translated the subtext for her: In the world of Keybladers, there could be no mercy. "There are probably more of them hanging around," Trevor added forlornly, looking towards the bushes. "I'd better warn the others."
He started to leave, then paused when he realized his companion wasn't following him. "Mala?" he asked, turning to look at her.
She shook her head, tears finally stinging her eyes. "You…you can't…I mean…"
Trevor gave a quiet sigh. "Mala, the Dark Army Keybladers are evil. It's terrible that they can get children so young, but they can't be allowed to live."
But Riun supported the Dark Army, Mala thought, tears slipping down her cheeks. He's not evil; I know he's not evil. She looked at the dead kid, and imagined it had been Riun instead of him. Would Trevor have shone mercy to a friend of hers, even if he supported the Dark Army?
…She remembered her own convictions about the Dark Army. But…to kill a kid…
"Mala?" Trevor asked again, sounding worried.
She acted on the instincts she had as a thief; she fled. She heard Trevor calling out behind her, but didn't stop. She ran until her lungs were about to burst before finally stopping. She fell against a tree, defeated sobs shaking her body. I thought Keybladers were supposed to be good! The Light Army, at least, was supposed to be! That's what I believed my entire life. But…they didn't care about the people…and Trevor… She cut off her thoughts abruptly, sinking to the ground. I'm so confused! What's real, what's not? Are they good, are they bad, what…I don't know anymore!
She heard Gillick's words echo through her mind once more: Take my advice and let him go. She heard them repeated over and over again in her mind as her world fell down around her.
Well, that's the end of chapter thirty - four. Please review?