Here's chapter fifty - three! Thank you Eddie Camp and caitlinkeitorin for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Fifty - Three: Choosing to Fight

Silver stood abruptly at Mala's exclamation. "What?"

"The Light Army knows about the X - blade," Mala repeated, breathless.

For a few brief moments, panic was alight in the woman's eyes. It was gone so quickly, however, that Mala wondered if she might have imagined it. "How do you know this? Where did you hear it from?"

"Gillick told me," she replied without thinking, and then immediately wished she hadn't.

Silver's eyes darkened instantly. "Gillick? Where did you see him?"

Mala drew back, wondering how she could cover up her mistake. "I just…ran into him in the woods."

"Oh, really?" Silver commented sarcastically. "And I suppose he just happened to tell you about the Light Army?" Mala remained silent, knowing that nothing she said would convince the Silver Fang leader. "So what really happened, Mala? Where did you see Gillick?"

She shifted her weight, looking away. "I did run into him in the woods," she began.

"And…?"

"And then I took him to watch Riun train-"

"What?" Silver yelped.

"-and then he told me that the Light Army knew information that could be dangerous," she finished, ignoring Silver's interruption.

"Information that could be dangerous," Silver repeated quietly. She snorted, closing her eyes. "How do you know the information is about the X - blade, hmm? How do you even know he was telling the truth?"

Mala frowned, thinking it over. Then, she replied honestly, "I trust him."

Silver's eyes snapped open again, their green depths blazing. "Why? He lied to you about being a Keyblader, so why wouldn't he lie to you about this?" Mala quailed under the Silver Fang leader's anger, but gathered her courage and continued, "I don't know why I trust him, I just do. Besides, why would he lie about something like that?"

"Because he's a Keyblader," Silver replied instantly. "Because he's angry at us, and would love to do anything he could to get back at us."

You don't know that! But Mala found she no longer had to will to keep arguing with the woman before her. Bowing her head, she turned to walk out of the tent.

"Mala."

She looked up, hoping Silver was suddenly willing to listen to her. She was disappointed when the woman said, "Let me know if you see Gillick around here again; I'll get some warriors to send him on his way."

Swallowing her disappointment, Mala replied quietly, "Yes, ma'am."

Gillick trudged silently through the woods, though he didn't get very far from where he'd seen Riun practicing his magic and from where he'd talked to Mala. He was still thinking about what he'd said. Silently, he cursed himself. Idiot. Didn't you want to avoid getting caught up in this shit again? Obviously, though, he couldn't change what had already been done.

He slowed to a stop and closed his eyes. I don't have to get into this anymore, he reminded himself. One slip up isn't going to change that.

Or would it? After all, he'd just revealed important information about the Light Army to the Silver Fang. So what? he growled angrily at himself. The Armies already hate me anyways.

Gillick snorted, finding himself once again contemplating leaving to some part of the world where Keybladers didn't exist; it'd be nice to return to such a place, after having dealt with the annoyance of being in his home the previous few months. He exhaled slowly. Maybe that's what I'll do, then.

He started forward again, hardly paying attention to where he was going. The town that suddenly appeared before him, however, caught him off guard. "What the hell?" he exclaimed aloud, jerking his head up and blinking amber eyes in surprise.

A person walking past afforded him a curious glance. "What's your issue?"

Gillick glared at him. "Nothing."

The person seemed put off by his tone, and hurried away. Gillick watched him go, then snorted and turned away. He was sick of people. "Where are you going mister?" a voice asked, and suddenly he felt someone tugging on the leg of his pants.

Looking down, he saw a little boy looking up at him with wide eyes. "Away," he responded, trying to tug himself free.

The boy clung tighter to his pants. "Why?"

"Why does it matter?" Gillick hissed, frustrated and tugging harder.

To his dismay, the boy wrapped his arms and legs tightly around Gillick's leg and seemed to refuse to budge. "Because I want to know."

One of Gillick's eyes twitched as he looked at the child. Why do little kids always choose to follow me? The boy, because of his behavior, reminded him irresistibly of Riun. He pushed the thought aside, responding, "Tough luck."

He began to walk forward, and heard the kid say, "I'm not going to let go until you tell me."

"I can still walk with you on my leg," Gillick retorted. He went several paces and, when it appeared the kid really did intend to cling to his leg until he talked to him, stopped and asked, "Why the hell do you want to know?"

The kid's eyes widened. "You said a bad word."

"No shit, really?" came the reply, causing the boy's eyes to go wider than he'd thought possible. "Answer the question, or get off."

The kid remained on his leg, but answered, "Because you seem upset."

Gillick didn't know how to respond to that, so he instead replied, "You're still on my leg."

"But you said answer or get off."

Gillick's eye twitched again. Smart ass. "Just get off," he commanded, shaking his leg in the hope of dislodging him.

"No! Not until you answer!" the kid replied, clutching the older boy's leg even harder.

"This isn't funny, kid!"

"What's going on here?"

Gillick looked up, his leg still uplifted from his attempt to dislodge the child, to see a woman standing before him with her hands on her hips, another small boy hiding behind her legs. Immediately realizing how stupid he looked, he placed his leg firmly on the ground and asked, "This kid yours?"

"Yes," the woman responded, sounding angry, "and I'd appreciate you not treating him in such a way."

"Then tell him to get off my leg!" Gillick snapped, angry at her tone and his situation.

The second boy cowered behind the woman's legs, and her expression hardened. "I understand you being angry," she commented, "but you don't have to be mean about it."

"Just get him off," Gillick sighed, exasperated.

The woman continued to glare at him a few moments more before she turned her gaze to the boy, who flinched beneath her gaze. "And what exactly do you think you're doing, Jaden?"

The boy seemed to draw into himself, replying quietly, "He looked upset, so I wanted to know why."

His mother sighed, looking frustrated. "Well, no wonder he's upset; it's probably a personal matter."

Jaden looked away. "I just wanted to help," he muttered, though Gillick noticed he still hadn't freed his leg.

"I know," his mother responded, "but not everyone is willing to admit when they need help."

Gillick seethed at her words. "I don't need anything!" he spat.

The woman returned her attention to him, eyebrows raising. "Oh, really? Then why are you so defensive about it?"

Realizing he didn't have a good answer to that question, he responded with, "It's none of your business!"

"Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?" Jaden questioned.

"I don't have a girlfriend, and why are you still on my leg?"

He saw the woman move out of the corner of his eye, and whipped around, but wasn't quick enough to block to fist that hit his cheek and sent him sprawling backwards. He landed on the ground with a thud, the kid releasing his leg in the same instant. "What the hell?" he hissed, pushing himself up and rubbing his cheek.

The woman was glaring down at him. "Is there something wrong with you?" she asked scathingly. "Is that why you insist on being mean to a child?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Gillick replied, the usual anger that would lace his response missing. He removed his hand from his cheek, adding, "It's the rest of the world that has the problem."

The woman made a disgusted noise. "'It's the rest of the world that has a problem'," she mimicked. "Do you realize how narcissistic that sounds?"

He was about to argue when he realized she was right. He curled his fingers into the grass beneath them, replying, "It doesn't help when no one stops to understand."

The woman looked surprised at his remark, and for a moment, he regretted saying anything. What the hell is wrong with me today? He was brought out of his thoughts when the woman said slowly, "You're a warrior, aren't you? That's why you wear that sword on your back."

"Yeah," Gillick answered slowly, wondering where this was going.

"How is it that you know what to fight for?"

For a moment, Gillick was rendered speechless by her question. Finally, he managed to stutter out, "What?"

"Every warrior has something they fight for," the woman replied quietly. "That's why they pick up a weapon. So how do you know what to fight for?"

Gillick laughed humorlessly. "I don't anymore."

"Well, maybe that's why no one understands." When he gave her a quizzical look, she continued, "How can you expect other people to understand something about you that you don't even understand yourself?" His eyes widened at her remark, and she turned away, gathering her two children close to her. "Just something to think about."

"I guess," Gillick conceded, standing.

"Oh, and about your eyes." Gillick looked at her curiously, said eyes glimmering curiously as she continued. "That isn't natural, is it?"

"…No."

"It reminds me of the eyes of some of the Keybladers I see, every now and again." She turned and gave him a pointed look. "You aren't…armor - less, are you?" Gillick didn't answer verbally, instead turning and walking away. That, however, was answer enough.

The sun began to set as he walked slowly onward, his mind grappling with the woman's words. 'How can you expect other people to understand something about you that you don't even understand yourself?' The words, at first, had shocked him; now they made him angry, but also made him stop and reflect. No matter how infuriating her words were, he recognized the ring of truth in them. What am I trying to get them to understand? Gillick wondered, frowning. What is it about myself that I don't understand?

The first thought that popped into his head was of Senn's admonishments about not accepting that he was a Keyblader. He pushed it roughly aside. No. I. Will. Not. Use. The. Keyblade.

The second thought, however, brought him up short. It was an image of Mala and Riun. What…? Why are they…? He thought about what he'd told Mala, and watching Riun practice magic, and felt his body tense as the startling realization started to creep over him. No. This isn't good. Did he actually…care for them? Was he an idiot? You've seen what caring can do, he reminded himself scathingly. You remember what happened with Trevor, don't you? But the fact remained that he seemed to wish for the safety of those two, if no one else.

He snorted, looking to the darkening sky. I don't really give a shit about the Silver Fang, he decided firmly, but I let myself get too close to those two. I don't think…I could just let them die now.

And then a second realization hit him, producing a grim smile. "I'm a fool," he commented aloud. "I'm already too far into this…to back out now."

For two years, he'd been running away from the Armies, complaining about the horrors of what the Keyblade could do.

Now he realized that he was already too involved in this to escape, and if he really wanted anyone to understand his point of view…he'd have to be willing to fight for it.

That's the end of chapter fifty - three. Gillick is just so wonderful with kids, isn't he? Reviews are always welcome!