This is chapter fifty - eight. Thank you scrawlx1012 for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Fifty - Eight: Understanding

Silver felt surprise lance through her as Gillick sheathed his sword and walked away. He's…what…? Her mind was still trying to grasp exactly what had happened.

"Well, I guess it might be a good idea to get someone who can heal, hm?" Allia commented, jolting her out of her shocked thoughts.

"That…would be helpful," Silver agreed, her voice faint from loss of blood. She heard someone snort, then the sound of footsteps receding.

Her green eyes slid closed. She kept trying to understand what had happened, to comprehend why Gillick did what he did. However, at the moment, she was feeling lightheaded, and thinking wasn't coming too easily.

In the end, she allowed herself to fall into a comfortable unconsciousness.

Mala kept her gaze fixed on the place where Gillick had left through. He's really that determined to protect us, then? she wondered. Then she smiled slightly. I think he wants to fight the Keybladers as much as Silver does; he's just too stubborn to admit it. Still, it was nice to believe he really cared for her and Riun.

She couldn't help thinking of how he'd been when she'd first met him. The two of them had fought constantly over their conflicting ideals, but somehow, in the end, they'd become companions who trusted each other completely. It's strange, sometimes, how these things happen.

Her head whipped around at the sound of footsteps returning. Allia appeared first, followed by one of the Silver Fang's mages. The mage briskly walked over to Silver and examined her wounds, then checked her pulse, remaining still for a few moments before giving a decisive nod. "Right. Well, her heart rate's a bit slow, but the wounds aren't too bad, as far as I can tell. Nothing life threatening, in any case; the bleeding's about stopped, actually. But to prevent infection…" The three observers watched in awe as the mage cast a Curaga spell, causing the wounds to close up neatly, the only trace that they'd ever existed the blood that splotched the clothes and skin of the Silver Fang's leader. "She'll could still be a bit light headed when she wakes up, but other than that, she should be fine." She hoisted the woman onto her back, nodded to the three observers, then headed off.

The trio stood in awkward silence for several moments before Riun interjected. "See? Gillick's a good guy."

"Was that comment directed at me?" Allia hissed, glaring at the young boy.

Riun flinched, then hid it with a pout and crossed his arms across his chest. "You told Silver," he accused.

"Obviously," Allia commented. "She's my leader, and Gillick was banished; I'm supposed to report things like him sneaking around."

"But he's not bad!" Riun protested.

Feeling awkward, Mala reached down and grabbed Riun's arm. "Come on, Riun; let's go."

"But-" Riun protested, but was cut off by Allia.

"The two of you could get in trouble for this; you know that, yes?"

Mala stopped short. She took a deep, shaky breath. "Y-yeah."

"And you're Ok with that?" Allia questioned.

The thief closed her blue eyes, silently wondering about that herself. She silently admitted to herself that she felt resentful of the fact that Gillick had brought this upon her. And yet… "I-I don't like it," she stammered, "but…well, I trust Gillick."

Allia was silent for a few moments, then heaved a sigh. "Well…I suppose you know him better than I do," she muttered grudgingly. "But, for the record, I still don't trust him."

Mala wasn't surprised, but didn't say so aloud. Instead, she started walking again, dragging Riun away from the assassin and back to the Silver Fang camp.

Senn found himself growing restless. He'd watched Gillick's battle with Silver through the boy's sword, and knew that the Silver Fang leader may have a change of heart because of the experience.

That, however, was not what was troubling him.

The man trailed his fingers through the water that sat stagnant in a basin that rose to his waist. The images within broke, disappearing into the glowing depths of the pool. He withdrew his hand and stared at his fingers absently. Things are coming to a head, he thought bleakly. After all, the Armies knew about the X - blade again, and were attempting to find a way to forge it. He'd be far less concerned if no one knew the secret besides himself. But, unfortunately, that was not the case, as Silver had proved.

No…it was never the case, he reminded himself quickly. He closed his eyes, remembering those he had left behind long ago. I wonder…what has happened to them now. If there are even any left.

Then he shook his head. No…that information is irrelevant right now. Regardless of whether or not any or still alive, it does little to change the matters of the present. He sighed heavily, folding his hands behind his back and looking to the stone ceiling above his head. And we have many of them, indeed.

Silently, he couldn't help wondering how many of those problems…were caused by him.

Gillick leaned back against a tree, wincing as the action tugged on his wounds. They'd stopped bleeding after he'd applied some pressure to them, but he lacked the bandages to cover them up. Damn…Curaga would've been good, he thought, grimacing. However, he wasn't willing to use that just to satisfy his own discomfort. He finger his tattered clothing and scowled. Hmph…at this rate, I'll need to get new clothes. The thought didn't really appeal to him, but it was preferable to wearing rags.

He looked up to the night sky, watching the full moon as it hovered high above him and wondering what would happen now. He snorted. That fight with Silver probably didn't do any good, he thought with a sneer. But hopefully it didn't make things worse, either.

…He had a feeling he wouldn't get that wish.

He snorted, narrowing his amber eyes. So…what now? He was surprised at how disappointed he felt that he might not be able to help the Silver Fang any more. What the hell? I was only helping to protect Mala and Riun; I can do that anyways, without their knowing.

Or was there another reason? Was his anger against the Keybladers rising up, making him want to side with those who'd abandoned him?

He ignored the thoughts that suggested that.

Gillick looked away. He could feel tiredness dragging at him, and rubbed his temples as a headache started to form. Just sitting here wondering is getting me nowhere, he thought irritably. He pushed off from the tree, knowing that he wouldn't get much sleep that night, despite how tired he was. Might as well do something productive instead, he thought grimly.

He thought he knew just what he could do. See what the Keybladers are doing at night. Even if he couldn't get the information to the Silver Fang, he'd find a way to use it…somehow.

Silver's eyes snapped open to darkness. She glanced around her, briefly wondering why she was in her tent before realizing that she must've been carried back their after her fight with Gillick.

At the reminder of Gillick, she felt her body stiffen. "I'm…taking a leap of faith." The words echoed through her mind, reverberating until it made her skull hurt. Her mind kept screeching the question 'why' at her, and she lay still on the mat beneath her, frowning as she tried to figure it out.

He said he'd wanted to protect Mala and Riun. She wasn't sure how much she believed about that, and yet…It seems like a possible explanation for letting me live.

Then her lips curled in disgust as a new thought struck her. Or letting me live was just a ploy to earn my trust. When I'm not looking, he'll stab me in the back with that Keyblade of his. After all, he hadn't hesitated to attack her earlier; why should he hesitate now?

But would he really do something so against his nature for the sake of some small ploy? It had looked extremely difficult for him to return his sword to his sheath without ramming it through her. Harder acts have been performed for someone's plans, she reminded herself, though she couldn't completely crush the flicker of doubt.

"I am not a Keyblader, and I didn't miss."

She tried to close her mind off from the words. Shut up. He is a Keyblader. There's no possible way he could actually be on our side. There's just…no possible way…

The doubt was still there, though. It was beginning to annoy her.

Her lips twisted and her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about the situation. Keybladers…they were once like everyone else, weren't they? She thought, green eyes glimmering. Once upon a time…I wanted to be a Keyblader, didn't I? She closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift into the memory.

"Mom, who are they?"

The woman looked down at her young daughter with kind, sad eyes. "They're Keybladers, Silver."

The young Silver turned her wide green eyes to the people who were parading through their town. "What are Keybladers?"

Her mother seemed hesitant to answer. Eventually, she replied in a slow, hushed voice, "The Keybladers…are warriors that have been chosen by a powerful weapon called the Keyblade, based on the strength of their hearts."

"Really?" Silver asked, impressed. She peered through the legs of the adults in front of her, thinking, I bet I could be a Keyblader.

Her mother nodded, her eyes shadowed. As if guessing her thoughts, she added, "I wouldn't start thinking too much about them, little one; the Light and the Darkness have been fighting for a long time."

Silver frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means that the Keybladers don't get along," her father interjected, a stern look on his face.

"You could be a bit more gentle about it," her mother huffed.

Her father shot her a sidelong look. "Just because you-"

"Can I be a Keyblader?" Silver interrupted, almost completely oblivious to her parent's conversation. At the surprised looks they shot her, she added, "I don't want to be fighting everybody all the time, though, so I don't think I'd be the Light or the Darkness."

Her mother's face held an odd expression. "That's…a nice sentiment," she said slowly. Her father made a disgruntled sound, but did nothing else. The woman shot him a look, then bent down and turned her daughter to face her. "Listen to me, little one; be wary of the Keybladers. I've…well, I know about how they work." She reached up and touched the corner of the old notebook that peeked out of her jacket pocket, a nervous expression on her face.

Silver frowned. "Ok," she agreed. Inwardly, though, she was still determined to find a way to be a Keyblader.

Silver drew herself out of the memory with a sigh. Funny how I ended up fighting all the time, anyways, she thought. And how drastically my wishes changed. Remembering the notebook, she sought it out, opening it up and scanning the pages, thought she hardly needed to; she'd read over it many times before.

She'd never really understood how her mother had gotten the book; it seemed very old, and was filled with information about the Keybladers. She sighed heavily. Perhaps it's why they killed her, she thought, her eyes narrowed. They wanted the information. As far as she was concerned, though, it was no excuse.

Her mind flashed to several odd occurrences that had happened with her mother and Keybladers. They'd seemed to be familiar with her, though it hadn't mattered much to her at the time; after all, she'd been very young. And yet…all those moments led up to one uncomfortable solution. She stiffened, pushing the thought away. No…there's no way she was a Keyblader. She lived with me and Father, after all. It's not possible.

But she couldn't extinguish that flicker of doubt.

That's the end of chapter fifty - eight. Review?