Here's chapter forty - two. Thank you caitlinkeitorin, Dracula X, Eddie Camp, and Vixro for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Forty - Two: Heart of the Sword
"Who are you?" Silver asked.
At the same moment, Gillick barked, "What are you doing here?"
The man looked first at Silver, then to Gillick. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Then he turned his gaze to Mala. "So, young one, have you managed to overcome your fear?"
Mala blinked in surprise, recognition suddenly flaring in the blue depths of her eyes. "You're the man who talked to me when the Knight was attacking…twice!"
The corners of the man's tips twitched into a smile. "Good to see you remember me."
"Are you going to answer the question or not?" Silver snarled, drawing one of her swords and placing it up against the man's neck. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
The man didn't seem at all fazed by Silver's hostility. "I believe that is two questions, miss," he told her calmly, "but I will answer them both. Who I am is of no importance." Silver seemed less than satisfied with that answer, but remained silent as the man continued. "I came here to check on something."
"Check on what?" Silver asked suspiciously, still not lowering her weapon.
"What'd you mean by 'interference'?" Gillick added.
The man glanced towards him, then returned his gaze to Silver. "What I have to say is not available to all ears."
Silver wasn't moved. "How do you know I can trust you?"
The man's eyes flicked back to Gillick. The boy snorted. Great. The only way I get to hear anything is if I get rid of Silver. "I know him," he told the Silver Fang leader reluctantly. "It's fine."
Silver looked at him through narrowed green eyes, curiosity glittering in their depths, but slowly lowered her weapon. The man nodded. "All but Gillick must leave, please." Slowly, the others began filing away; Silver still had a suspicious look on her face. "Oh, and miss? The one with the sword."
Silver stopped and looked back at him. "Yes?"
"You wouldn't be trying to use that information on the X-blade, would you?"
Silver looked appalled at the idea. "Of course not! I have no interest in using anything at all related to the Keyblade."
The man examined her a moment before nodding. "Good. In that case, be careful on how much information you let out about the weapon."
"Like I haven't been," Silver muttered, stalking away with Allia still slung over her shoulder.
Gillick watched them go, then turned his amber eyes to the man. "What's so secret that they needed to leave?" he questioned. "And what was this 'interference' you needed to check?"
The man sighed, looking at Gillick. "This is about your sword."
Gillick blinked in surprise. "My sword?"
The man nodded. "Yes. I need to warn you, boy, that the weapon you carry has great power; be careful."
Gillick snorted. "Thanks, but I think I can manage."
The man shook his head, pity and regret in his eyes. "You have no idea, child, what will come about if you're not careful." With that, the man turned and began to walk away.
"Wait!" Gillick called after him, following. "What the hell do you mean? And you never said anything about the interference!"
But the man had disappeared, as if into thin air.
Gillick looked around him wildly, surprise glittering in his amber eyes. What power is there in my sword? he wondered, reaching up to touch the hilt of the weapon.
Then he thought of something else, and he felt his blood run cold. I can't think of anything special about the sword, except the ruins. But what about another sword I've wielded? He looked up to where he'd last seen the man. Does he know that I used to be a Keyblader?
Gillick arrived back in the Silver Fang's camp at nightfall, a frown creasing his face. He looked up and saw Silver, Allia, Mala, and Riun staring at him. He snorted in exasperation. "You guys waited for me?"
"What did he want to talk to you about?" Silver asked without preamble.
Gillick's eyes narrowed as he paused to think about how he should answer. What if this led back to him talking about the Keyblade? "Nothing," he informed them, pushing by.
"An awful big deal for nothing, isn't it?" Allia asked.
"Why are you even waiting with them?" he asked the assassin.
She shrugged, wincing at the movement. "You were one of my targets at one point; I guess I can't help but wonder what that man was so interested in you for."
"For nothing important," Gillick retorted. "Just some useless nonsense."
Silver didn't say anything, but Gillick knew he hadn't convinced her. However, he couldn't care less. He continued forward towards his tent without another word.
Why did I ever get involved with people again? he wondered. If I stay here for much longer, they might find out about… No. He wouldn't let himself think about that. He pushed his way into the tent, closing his eyes tightly. They can't know. If they do…what then? Why did he care so much about what they thought of him? He'd never cared before. He'd wanted to hide the fact that he was a Keyblader because he wanted to erase his past, not because he cared about what people thought of him.
Used to be a Keyblader, he corrected silently, wondering why he'd made it seem like he still was one. He clenched his fists to stop them from shaking. I never should've come back. Ever since I did, things have gone wrong.
"Gillick?"
His eyes snapped open as he heard the sound of Mala's voice. "What?" he snapped, in no mood to talk.
"Um…can we come in?"
"No."
He heard a sigh, then the sound of the tent flaps being pushed aside. Gillick rolled his eyes at the fact that they'd ignored him, and turned around to see Mala and Riun standing in the tent. "Since you're going to ignore me," he growled, "what do you want?"
"We want to make sure you're Ok," Riun said, looking up at him with earnest eyes.
"Well, if I'm not, it doesn't really matter, does it?" Gillick responded harshly.
Riun flinched back. Mala frowned at his tone, then looked as if she made an effort to hide it. "Listen, we've been around you enough to know when you're upset."
Gillick turned amber eyes to her blue. "You're point? It's not something you can help me with."
"We might be able to…if you don't let your pride get in the way," Mala informed him dryly.
She seemed to realize too late she'd said the wrong thing. He stepped away from them, looking away. "No. Just leave me be."
By now, she obviously knew better than to argue. She looked at him for a few moments, then turned around and left. Riun reluctantly began to follow. He paused at the entrance, then ran back and wrapped his arms around Gillick in a hug. Stunned, the older boy looked down at him. "Feel better!" Riun told him, releasing him and going after Mala.
Gillick looked after him, amber eyes narrowed. He snorted, a small smile reluctantly curling his lips. Idiots. Then his smile fell as he remembered exactly what he couldn't tell them.
Gillick soon found he was too restless to sleep. He tossed and turned, but couldn't get his mind to slow down enough to attain the oblivion of his dreams. He snorted. Sometimes. He didn't forget that images from his past often cropped up in his dreams. He would drift into an anxious sleep a few times, but would always jerk back awake.
His head jerked up at the sound of something. He stiffened, a shiver running up his spine. That sounded like…a Corridor of Darkness. There was only one thing that could mean…
He grabbed jerked his sword from his scabbard, which was laying beside him, and raced out of his tent.
Apparently, he wasn't the only one to notice the disturbance, since several other Silver Fang warriors came barreling out of their tents, weapons at the ready. But before anyone could shout a warning, Dark Army Keybladers began swarming out of the darkness. Gillick watched as one Silver Fang warrior seemed to be brought down by nothing, and tensed. Better be careful. They could be anywhere.
Luck was what saved him. He stepped to the side, preparing to turn around and look for an enemy to fight, when the Keyblade went whistling just beside him. His amber eyes widened in alarm before he whipped around and impaled the startled and off -balanced Keyblader with his weapon. One down, he thought, but I have a feeling we have a lot more to go.
As Dark Army Keybladers began to converge more openly on the Silver Fang's camp, more of the warriors came pouring out of their tents. Gillick was immediately in the fray, attempting to drown the chaos of his mind with the dance of battle. He slashed a quick three - strike combo to dig himself into the mass, then spun in a circle, sword out, to lash at the people that crowded him. He felt his blade cut through flesh, and felt a flash of triumph.
Then he realized his error and quickly jumped out of the throng. Frustration seethed inside his heart. I can't attack like that because I might hit one of the Silver Fang. Another reason he didn't like being around others. He parried a blow from a Keyblader, amber eyes narrowed. And in this darkness, it'll be hard to tell who's who for everyone.
He kicked out his foot, sending the Keyblader stumbling backwards, then launched forward with a barrage of strikes, attempting to overwhelm his opponent. He had driven the Keyblader down to his knees when he felt something strike his back. He gritted his teeth and whipped around, slashing his sword, then quickly turning back to block an attack by the Keyblader he'd forced down.
A burst of fire was suddenly sent flying into one of the Keybladers. Gillick whipped around and saw Riun, Jish standing close to him. He gave the two a quick nod, then turned his focus back to the Keybladers.
Gillick slipped to the side as one rushed him, sticking out a leg to trip her, before slashing at her back with his sword. He heard the ring of metal against metal, and realized belatedly that she was wearing armor. He cursed under his breath. At least that blow should send her off balance. But he had no time to act on it; more Keybladers were already coming towards him.
He parried a few Keyblade strikes, but was unable to block a blast of darkness that seared his side. He grimaced and swung his sword in a powerful upward arc towards one of the Keyblader's heads. Though the helmet protected the man's head itself, it couldn't stop the force of the blow, which caused his head to whip to the side and break with a sickening crack. Gillick ducked low and dragged his sword down towards the legs of the Keybladers that surrounded him; though it didn't cut them, and didn't have the same power as his last blow, it was enough to knock them off their feet. He quickly jumped back to his and stabbed his sword down through the glass of one of their helmets, hearing the squelch as the person's head was impaled.
But while he was distracted with killing the Keyblader, he was struck from behind by a powerful Keyblade blow. He jerked his sword free, attempting to spin around in time to counter-attack, but wasn't fast enough, and was knocked off balance. His sword was wrenched from his grip at the sudden movement, and, as Keybladers bombarded him, he had no time to retrieve it. Damn it! This is no good! He had to get back to his sword, but was unable to with all the Keybladers surrounding him. He resorted to trying to block blows with his arms and legs, trying to force his opponents back with his body, but quickly felt the sting of this method of fighting. He grimaced. I need to get out of here. Find something, anything better to fight with.
By now, he'd been forced further into the throng. In the darkness and mob of bodies, he wasn't sure exactly where his weapon was. However, at the moment, he would be content with any weapon.
In his search, as he desperately tried to evade and ward off attacks, he saw the faint light of dawn begin to light up the battle field. It was later than I thought, he realized. We'll all be tired, but at least we'll be able to see. He wished now he'd been able to sleep more.
In the light of the rising sun, however, he saw something else: Mala, standing paralyzed in front of a Keyblader. His amber eyes widened. That idiot! He rushed forward without thinking, ignoring the fighting that rage around him and the weapons and magic that brushed against him, stinging, as he hurtled towards the two. She's too scared to move. Why the hell did she come out here? Why didn't she run away like she usually does?
Gillick tackled the Keyblader to the ground, eliciting a cry of surprise from the man. He rolled back to his feet, looking up into Mala's surprised eyes from his position on the ground. "Go! Get out of here!"
She shook her head, blue eyes still wide. "I can't. What about…you and Riun?"
"You obviously aren't helping anyone if you freeze in fear," he hissed scathingly.
He felt something slash him from behind. He let out a cry, trying to whip around and face the Keyblader. "Gillick!" Mala cried in alarm. At the same moment, the twang of an arrow flying from a bow resounded through the air, and the Keyblader let out a cry of pain as the projectile found a weak spot in his armor and sank into his flesh.
Gillick looked back at Mala in surprise. She looked horrified, and he realized fear had governed her actions. But…it was fear for me… The thought made him pause.
He had no time to dwell on this, however, as the Keyblader sent a burst of darkness towards the thief. "Mala!" Gillick cried as she was sent flying backwards and sprawled across the ground.
Then he felt the Keyblader's weapon slice through his skin, and let out a cry of pain. "Now, it's time for you to die," the Keyblader commented.
Gillick looked towards the man with blazing amber eyes. He felt his heart pulse as he watched the Keyblader's weapon raise. He thought he could hear someone call his name, but the sound of his powerful heart beat nearly drowned it out.
I can't die here.
The weapon came down.
I won't!
Gillick lunged upward, power suddenly streaking through him and forming in his hand. Then the sound of metal crashing against metal resounded around him, the light of the dawn glinting off the Keyblade he held in his hand.
That's the end of chapter forty - two. Reviews would be great, please!