This is chapter forty - seven. Thank you The Sacred Rigel, caitlinkeitorin, Dracula X, JapanRules555, explosivebagel, and Eddie Camp for reviewing last chapter!
Chapter Forty - Seven: Investigation
Gillick frowned as he looked down at the quivering body. This was the man he was supposed to kill? He hardly seemed like a threat.
The man was giving him a terrified look from frightened brown eyes. "Please…don't kill me…"
Gillick drew his sword. It didn't matter what he looked like; he'd been hired to kill him, after all. He brought down his sword without saying a word.
Gillick's amber eyes flicked open. He surveyed his position on the ground, briefly wondering why he was there for a few moments before he remembered his fight with Senn. He snorted. Even though he healed my wounds, I was still worn out. He slowly pushed himself up, gripping his sword and slipping it back into its sheath.
He felt troubled by what Senn had said. Why was he so damn determined to give me a lecture about courage? he wondered, eyes narrowed in frustration. What was the point? He had enough courage, didn't he? And it was his choice if he wanted to use the Keyblade, not someone else's. He snorted, standing. I don't know what he thinks he was talking about. And the sword's power? Right…
He looked off into the forest around him, day light beginning to shine down around him. No sense in staying here, he thought, slowly stalking away.
"All right everyone, get up!"
Mala jerked awake at the sound of Silver bellowing a summons. What's going on? she wondered, grabbing her bow and arrows and nervously looking at the tent door. Then she relaxed, realizing that if there had been some sort of fight, she'd have heard it. Still, she felt cautious as she slipped out of her tent and into the main camp.
"Mala!" a voice called the minute she emerged.
"Riun!" she called in way of greeting as the boy dashed up to her. She bent down, asking, "Do you know why Silver's calling us?"
Riun shook his head. "Nope."
Her question was answered before long. "Listen up, warriors of the Silver Fang!" she called out across the assembled group. "The Dark Army found us, not so long ago, and a Keyblader infiltrated our ranks." Mala flinched at the mention of Gillick, and Riun looked sad. "Were it not for that second fact, I would have implement this far sooner. As it is, we can't stay here any longer. The Dark Army is likely to come back soon, this time with reinforcements. It's a miracle they haven't yet."
"So we're breaking camp?" one Silver Fang warrior called out boldly.
Silver fixed the man with an icy green gaze, making him shift uncomfortably. "Yes," she told him. "Now, everyone get to work! I want to be out of here before the sun is much higher in the sky!"
"Yes, ma'am!" a chorus of voices called. Then Mala and Riun were swept into the throng, dragged along to help 'break camp' so that the Silver Fang could be on the move again.
"The Dark Army's up to something," Trevor commented.
The Keyblader beside him glanced over. "Why do you say that?"
Trevor shrugged, blue eyes flickering. "I feel them moving about like ants, busy trying to do…whatever it is they're doing."
The Keyblader looked at him curiously. "You feel them?"
Trevor glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Yes." His tone broached no argument, and the other Keyblader fell silent. Trevor's gaze shifted back forward. His mind felt like it was in a tornado, thoughts spinning around without stopping so he could make sense of them. Chewing his lip, he stood up abruptly and, ignoring his companion's questions of where he was going, stalked further into the forest.
His thought, inevitably, returned to the Dark Army. Should we confront them? he wondered. Then he shook his head. No, Master Tollun didn't under that; we can't act without orders. He frowned, his skin crawling. He could feel the sting of their darkness as they moved, burning him when they grew closer and easing off when they grew further. His eyes burned, and he rubbed them, wondering if he'd gotten something in them. In the midst of these feelings and his musings rose an inexplicable fear. What's going on? he wondered, his body trembling. What's happening to me?
He lifted his head as he felt darkness brush his skin, raising gooseflesh. He expected someone to be there, but saw nothing. He frowned. What is…? Tracking the darkness by its feel, he slipped silently through the trees.
It didn't take him long to find its source. Two Keybladers, one waiting impatiently for the other to catch up. "Hurry!" the first hissed anxiously. "We need to get moving!"
"It's not like the information is going anywhere," the other grumbled.
"It might," growled the first, "and we can't risk losing the chance of obtaining the X-blade."
Trevor stiffened. He knew there was no way they could be talking about the typical Keyblades. Which meant… How do they know about the X-blade? And what information are they trying to get about? He had a sinking feeling he knew.
Not trusting himself to move without alerting the attention of the two Dark Army Keybladers, he remained where he was until they'd left. When they had, he dashed away from his hiding place back to the camp. "General?" one of his Keybladers exclaimed in surprise at his abrupt appearance.
Trevor looked at him. "Send for Master Tollun," he said immediately. "There's something he needs to know."
"You've found what?" Tollun couldn't believe what he was hearing through the magical transmission.
The Keyblader who was using the magic, a masterful mage, reconfirmed the statement. "Trevor has overheard some Dark Army Keybladers talking about the X-blade, Master, and it appears they might know where to find the information of how to obtain it."
Tollun narrowed his silver eyes at the image, then nodded. "Very well. Tell Trevor to proceed how he wishes. I will be there shortly."
"Yes, sir!"
The image flickered out, and Tollun leaned back in his chair. He wondered if it was a smart move to allow the general to move on his own whims; after all, he didn't want to boy to grow to independent. Then he shook the though out of his head. No…he'll always need someone to lean on. Besides, it's rare that I allow him to do as he chooses; I shouldn't have to worry about him growing too strong.
But it would take him a while to get there…unless, of course, he went across the planes of light. He frowned. It's not the same as the Dark Army's Corridors of Darkness, he thought, envying the darkness's easy, if dangerous, method of travel. All higher officials of the Dark Army, and a few of the lower, learned to use the Corridors, so they could travel anywhere instantly, but ran the risk of being swallowed by darkness in the process; it was why gold was a prominent eye color in the Dark Army, and why Viril's eyes had been stained blood red.
The Planes of Light, the light's counterpart for the Corridors of Darkness, were a bit different. Originally, they had probably been widely used, but this died out as using the transportation could often easily lead to insanity or death. The method involved using the magic of the Keyblade to transform each cell of the body into light energy, and shooting to wherever you wanted to go at high speed. It was the reason so few Light Army Keybladers made it to gray eyes, let alone silver.
But Tollun had made sure to master this forbidden technique, though he was loathe to use it. Still, now seemed like an appropriate time.
He stood, summoning his Keyblade and gripping it tightly in his hands. He lifted his Keyblade, intoning quietly, "Open: Planes of Light. Send me to the Prison of the Dark Army where my Keybladers are near."
The entire Keyblade lit up, the glow along the weapon expanding and sliding onto the Keyblade Master's body. When Tollun's entire body was covered, he turned into a flash of light, shooting out the window and across the terrain.
Trevor listened to the Keyblader as she related Tollun's orders with disbelief in his eyes. "He wants me…to do what?"
"Proceed as you see fit," the Keyblader repeated
Trevor swallowed hard, feeling flustered. But Master Tollun, you're the one who gives the orders, not me. How am I supposed to do this?
Then he forced himself to relax. Master Tollun did give you orders, though. It's clear that he wants you to obtain the information in any way necessary. He turned his blue gaze out to where he knew the Dark Army's stronghold rested. "Ok, then. We'll march on their fortress."
He saw his Keybladers start in surprise. He gave them a hard look from blue eyes. "What? Is there a problem?"
One shifted uncomfortably and, looking at his companions, ventured hesitantly, "Sir, there aren't enough of us to compete with a large group of Dark Army Keybladers; we were just a scout group. And you know the stories told of this particular fortress."
"I do," Trevor agreed, "but I believe it's best to draw their forces out, if they dare to confront us, and wait until Master Tollun arrives to give us further orders."
"But, sir-"
"No," Trevor said, cutting the man off quickly. "This is what we're going to do." There were no other protests, and Trevor called out, "Move out!"
"Sir, look down there."
The Keyblader in charge of manning the Dark Army prison looked down over the ramparts at his companion's words. He frowned at first, narrowing his eyes at the approach dots. "What is that, coming towards us?"
"Should I send out scouts to investigate?" the Keyblader suggested, a glint in her eyes.
The Keyblader hesitated a moment, then nodded, a small grin on his face. "Why not send out several, just in case it happens to be those people who tried to invade us earlier or the Light Army?"
The woman's face remained an emotionless blank. "Of course, sir." She was gone in a couple of heartbeats.
The Keyblader looked down, the corners of his lips twitching in their slight upward position. "So, who is so foolish as to challenge us?"
Trevor moved quickly across the field, his Keyblader racing out behind him. He couldn't help thinking of Gillick's attempted infiltration of one of the Light Army strongholds; the event seemed ages ago now. He shook his head. No, this is different. We're distracting them while we wait for Master Tollun to come and lead us. Gillick's attack was just foolish.
But there was something inside the young general, screaming to get out of his heart and pushing him to move faster, to act more recklessly and take risks. What was this thing? It had been tearing at him ever since Mala had left.
He supposed it didn't matter now. All his eyes could see was the Dark Army fortress, and the figures that were quickly emerging from it and racing towards his group. He summoned his Keyblade, gripping it tight in both hands. Now was the moment to fight.
That's the end of chapter forty - seven. Reviews would be great, please?