I'm not going to be near a computer all day tomorrow, so chapter forty - five is up early. Thank you Dracula X and Eddie Camp for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Forty - Five: Choices to Make
Trevor looked up to the half - moon hovering in the sky. He stifled a sigh at the sight. "It'll just keep getting darker," he murmured.
"It does that every month," another Light Army Keyblader commented dryly. "I don't see why you're making a big deal about it now."
Trevor blinked, surprised that his quiet comment had been overheard. He lowered his head to look at the Keyblader. "I'm just…making an observation," he informed him.
The Keyblader snorted, not looking convinced. Another spoke up hesitantly. "Um…general? You have been acting kind of…well, off lately."
Trevor's blue eyes narrowed. "Off? Really?"
"Yes," another Keyblader commented. "Ever since that incident with the girl at the town where the Knight attacked."
Trevor snorted. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"Right," remarked another, rolling her eyes.
Trevor felt a wave of indignation, and snapped, "There's nothing wrong, so back off!"
The other Keybladers gave him odd looks. His statement had clearly proven him wrong, but they knew better than to argue with him.
An inhuman cry suddenly rent the night, causing all to jump. "What was that?" one Keyblader exclaimed.
"Probably some animal," another commented.
"That's not the sound of any animal I've ever heard."
Trevor said nothing, keeping his eyes on the sky above. He saw a shadow flit quickly across the faint light of the moon. He frowned, nervousness setting in. Was it just a bird, or…?
An explosion suddenly sounded nearby, the force knocking all the Keybladers off their feet. There were several startled exclamations, but they were all drowned out by one overwhelming cry. Trevor swallowed hard, finally able to put a name to that sound. "Run."
"What?" one of the Keybladers asked him in shock.
He jumped to his feet. "It's the Knight! Run!"
A second explosion ensured that any Keyblader who was thinking about ignoring the order obeyed. They scampered to their feet, dashing madly to get away from the monster and its attacks. All Trevor could think of was that the monster had noticed their presence, and taken the opportunity to attack. Why? What did we ever do to it? he thought bitterly, though a small part of his mind informed him that he was being foolish.
The explosions continued behind them, though their creator didn't seem to be coming after them. The Keybladers, however, continued running until the scene and the Knight were far behind them.
For a few moments, Trevor and a couple of the other Keybladers huddled around in a small, confused group, panting. "What the hell?" one finally muttered. "Why'd it come after us?"
"I…don't really think it did," another replied. "At least…not intentionally."
"Just random violence," another muttered.
Trevor was looking off into the distance, in the direction of where the Knight had been. "Sir?"
"What?" he asked, looking back at who had spoken.
The Keyblader looked hesitant. "Shouldn't we go and find the others?"
Trevor steeled himself, ignoring the annoyance he felt that a lower ranked Keyblader was suggesting his course of action. "Yeah," he growled, and stalked off into the forest.
Mala stared up at the top of her tent. She could tell from the lightening color of the fabric that morning had arrived, and she suppressed a sigh. Silver will want us up soon, she thought forlornly.
Not that she'd gotten any sleep, anyways; the entire night, she'd been plagued by vague dreams and troubling thoughts.
She slowly closed her eyes. What happens now? That had been the major thing that had kept her up. Did she stay in the Silver Fang, even though she wasn't sure she was completely against the Keybladers, or did she leave, and return to the unrewarding life she'd led for the past sixteen years?
"Mala?"
She sat up abruptly at the sound of the voice. "Riun?" she asked in surprise as the boy entered her tent.
He looked as if he'd been crying for a long time, though it seemed to have stopped. "Mala…I don't know what to do…" he whimpered.
Mala instantly felt a jolt of guilt. I was worrying about myself, and I didn't even stop to think how it would effect Riun. She knew the boy would take it a lot harder than she did.
But that didn't mean she had an answer for him. She looked away, unsure of what to say.
Riun seemed to pick up on this. "You don't know either, do you?"
"I-" she started to protest, then stopped. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. There was no point to lying now. "No, Riun. I don't."
She didn't look at him as he left, though she knew he must've had a look of disappointment on his face.
It wasn't much later that she heard Silver shouting outside her tent. "Mala! Let's go!" Mala obeyed silently, slowly pushing her way out of the tent. She wasn't surprised that the Silver Fang leader hadn't stayed to make sure she'd followed orders; she seemed like a woman who expected compliance without question.
Mala looked nervously around the camp, wondering what to do. She frowned. I haven't really been here when everything is normal, she thought, chewing her lip. Still, there were those few days before the failed attempt at raiding the Dark Army stronghold…
Of course, she'd had Gillick to show her around then. She winced. It just seems…so much emptier with him gone, she thought gloomily. But she could still remember him showing her where to get breakfast, and she walked in the general direction of the Silver Fang who was serving it for the morning.
She ate alone, and in silence. No table here; the warriors simply sat down wherever they wanted. She looked for Riun, but couldn't find him in the crowd. Resigned, she let her gaze travel over the other members of the Silver Fang. Some looked normal, but others looked as if they were uncomfortable and nervous. Probably from yesterday, she thought, wincing. Even though most of them hadn't known Gillick very well, they would still feel uncomfortable knowing there had been a Keyblader in their midst.
"Well, what's the matter with you?"
Mala looked up in surprise at the voice. "Oh…hi, Allia," she said, looking away.
The assassin snorted. "What? You aren't concerned I'm going to kill you?"
Mala lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Well…we saved you, right?"
Allia snorted. "You naïve little girl." But she did nothing but sit down beside her. Mala glanced across at her, feeling uncomfortable, and wondering why she was out with her wounds still unhealed. The assassin obviously guessed her train of thought. "I snuck out; I've been cooped up too long. I prefer to have my freedom."
"Oh," Mala muttered. "So…I guess that means…your leaving?"
Allia snorted. "Be good for you, wouldn't it? But no, I can't; at least, not yet. Not well enough. And, actually, I might stick around even after they heal." Mala looked at her in surprise, and she chuckled. "I think I like the idea of someone fighting the Keybladers. They've gotten a bit drunk on their power."
"They aren't bad!" Mala protested before she could stop herself. She immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, glancing around in case anyone had heard. To her relief, it appeared no one had.
Allia was giving her a sideways look. "Oh? So why are you here, then?"
Mala looked down, feeling almost mute. "Because…I didn't know where else to go," she finally managed to force out, though her voice was almost a whisper.
Allia returned her gaze forward. "I'd search for the answer, but I'm guessing it's not anywhere near here," she commented dryly. "And I'm fairly sure it has something to do with Gillick." Mala flinched, and the assassin grinned in response. "Interesting that, even though he was a Keyblader, I felt no excess of dark and light from him."
"What?" Mala asked in surprise.
Allia didn't answer her question; instead, her face turned suddenly harsh. "Stop moping around," she told her coldly. "Life's tough, so deal with it. Crying won't help you." She got up abruptly and walked away.
Mala looked after her, eyes wide with surprise. Where did that come from? she wondered. She was so nice, and then she was so…not. She shook her head. But it doesn't help me; I still don't know what to do.
Mala spent the remainder of the day going through the motions under Silver's harsh ridicule, grappling with what she wanted to do in her mind.
She returned, still confused, to her tent at the end of the day, hardly believing she'd made it through. When she pushed her way through the entrance flap, however, she was startled to see someone already there waiting for her. "Riun? What are you doing here?"
The young boy looked up, his eyes unusually subdued. "I know what I'm going to do, Mala."
"You do?" Mala asked, surprised.
Riun nodded. "Yeah. I'm…going to stay here."
The thief couldn't help her exclamation of surprise. "What?"
Riun looked down, obviously suddenly uncertain about what he'd said. "W-well, I can't go after Gillick…not yet. But I really want to. So I'm going to stay here and train." He lifted his head, a smile suddenly on his lips. "Then when I get better, I can go and find him!"
Mala gave him a curious look. "But I thought you only followed Gillick to 'learn how to be a hero.'"
Riun nodded. "Well, yeah."
"If you go through all this training, though, you'll already be a hero…or at least have the ability to be one."
Riun looked puzzled for a moment, then shrugged it off. "Then Gillick and I will just be heroes together!" he proclaimed. He hurried out of the tent, a grin still on his face, and called back, "See you!"
Mala watched him go, eyes flickering. Is it really that simple? she wondered. Then she shook her head, denying the thought. No…he probably spent a lot of time thinking about it. But…what does it mean I should do?
She closed her eyes, remembering the reason she'd come to the Silver Fang in the first place; because, without the Keybladers to hold onto, the only other person she knew was Gillick. But why come back at all? she wondered. She trusted Gillick, even if she didn't always like him, but…after she lost faith in the Keybladers, why didn't she just leave?
Because I want to be more than a thief.
The realization hit her like a hard punch to the stomach; it left her startled and breathless for a few moments, but she soon recovered. I think I knew it all along, she commented silently. So…does that mean I stay here? But how could she do that, if she didn't believe in what she was fighting for?
Then she remembered what Gillick had revealed, and all he'd done for her in the past. He wasn't always the nicest person, but…there still seemed to be something about him that she could trust, despite the fact that he'd lied. And even though he did…I don't think he deserves this, she decided. Maybe he'd told lies before, but she believed him now, and knew that the Silver Fang's cause was what he wanted to fight for more than anything.
Mala lifted her head, determination suddenly flaring in her blue eyes. I'll stay with the Silver Fang, she decided. And then, when I get stronger, I'll go with Riun to find Gillick…and then we'll bring him back to where he belongs.
There's the end of chapter forty - five. Please review?