Here's chapter sixty - three. Thank you Draconet, caitlinkeitorin, and Eddie Camp for reviewing last chapter!

Chapter Sixty - Three: Tarnished Silver

Riun blinked innocent blue eyes up at the Silver Fang warrior. "Do you know where Mala is?"

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No, kid, I don't know where your friend is."

"Ok…" Riun's shoulders slumped, and he turned and headed further into the Silver Fang camp. He'd been asking all morning, but no one seemed to know where the thief was. Gillick's the Knight…and Mala's missing… The thoughts made him lonelier than ever.

It was still a shock to him that Gillick - the person he admired more than anyone - was the Knight. He knew he should be sad, scared, mad, even, but instead he simply felt…cold. He didn't know what to think anymore…

"What's got you so upset?" a voice asked.

Riun looked up at the sound. He immediately shied away when he saw the owner. "N-nothing…" he stuttered, trying to hurry away.

Allia raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You still don't like me, do you? If I'm remembering correctly, I was the one caught on fire, not you."

Riun squirmed uncomfortably. "But…" He didn't know how to explain; every time he saw the assassin, he saw himself setting her on fire. He didn't like he because of that, but he didn't know why.

Allia sighed, shaking her head. "You are a strange kid." As she left, Riun felt something, however small it was: relief.

Trevor looked out across the field to the destroyed camp. "That's it, then?" he asked the Keyblader beside him. There was little doubt in his mind that it was, but he wanted to check.

The Keyblader nodded. "Yes, sir; that's the Silver Fang's camp."

Trevor reached slowly for the panel on his shoulder, but hesitated before touching it. Is this…really the right thing to do? No one was even really sure what the X - blade did; they just knew it had a massive amount of power. So what would happen if it was created? Or worse, what if the Dark Army stole it?

"Sir? Is everything alright?"

The question returned Trevor to reality. What am I thinking? he wondered, horrified. How can I question Master Tollun like that? "Yes. Everything's fine," he said, trying to convince himself as much as the others. He slammed the panel on his shoulder, his armor flashing onto his body. Standing, he commanded, "Let's go."

Silver walked through the wreckage of the camp, watching her warriors as they struggled to rebuild it, and occasionally joining in and letting the mind - numbing work clear her head. However, more often than not, she was thinking.

She turned her green eyes briefly towards the sky. Strange to think that Gillick was the Knight. The fact still came as somewhat as a shock, though she knew it didn't affect her nearly as much as it did Mala and Riun. She didn't know the boy personally, after all. She leveled her gaze at the horizon. Well, I hope things work out. She'd never been fond of the word 'hope'; it never got anyone anywhere unless acted upon. And yet, now it was all she could do: hope and pray.

With her eyes on the horizon, she spotted the shapes first. She narrowed her eyes briefly before they widened in alarm. "Silver Fang! To arms!" The warriors around her stopped what they were doing to look at her in surprise, then followed her gaze. They immediately rushed away to get their weapons.

Silver jerked both swords out of their scabbards and raced towards the approaching mob, calling out her warning as she passed other Silver Fang warriors. As she drew closer to the group, she realized what they were. Keybladers, she thought, eyes narrowing. How'd they find us? Her thoughts immediately flashed to Gillick. But a quiet voice in the back of her mind asked, Why would he tell the Keybladers? He just destroyed your camp as the Knight.

It was a question she had no answer to, and no time to figure out one.

She watched as a fire ball flew towards her. She ducked under it, still running, and slammed one sword into the armored stomach of an oncoming Keyblader. That armor could be a problem, she thought, green eyes slitted. Her lack of armor would make her more vulnerable, and theirs would protect them. She also knew that, unfortunately, their armor was charmed; it wouldn't slow down their movements.

But that didn't mean that she couldn't be faster.

She whipped both blades out, holding them parallel to each other. One clanged off the Keyblade, the other off an armored shoulder. She quickly brought her blades back, swiping them across the direction they had come. She felt a flash of satisfaction as the shoulder plate wobbled.

Silver heard movement behind her, and acted on instinct. She drew one sword behind her and lifted it to block, the other swinging simultaneously at the Keyblader she'd formerly been attacking. A burst of fire exploded against her sword, heating up the metal of the blade, though her weapon kept the magical projectile from hitting her. To give herself more room to fight, she dropped low and spun in a circle, twin swords out to force her enemies back. When she returned to her feet she jumped up into the air, drawing her swords above her head and holding them close to each other. She brought them down on top of the Keyblader she'd attacked first. He wasn't quite quick enough to block the blow, and her weapons clanged against his helmet, breaking the glass of his helmet. She drew both weapons sharply to either side and kicked off his chest, flipping over backwards as the Keyblader stumbled backwards. She let her feet slam into the second Keyblader, pushing off of him and spinning in midair to hit him with one of her weapons, bringing to other sword behind her in case she needed to block a surprise blow. She returned to the ground and crouched low, swords held at the ready.

By now, most of the Silver Fang warriors had responded, and were fighting as hard as they could against the Keybladers. Magic, arrows, spears, maces, swords, daggers, axes, hammers; an assortment of weapons riddled the battlefield that was once the Silver Fang's camp. Silver felt a sense of irony at that. Twice within the span of a few days…

Then more Keybladers converged on her, and she was forced to return her mind to the task at hand.

Riun looked at the Keybladers with wide, scared eyes. W-we're being attacked? He pulled in close to himself, hiding in the shadow of a broken tent. His previous inhibitions about fighting against Keybladers returned, stronger than ever.

He didn't want to fight the Keybladers.

He wanted Mala back. He wanted Gillick back.

He wanted to go home.

Finally, after almost a full day of feeling nothing, he felt his heart begin to break. He brought his legs up close to him and leaned his forehead against them, tears running down his face and quiet, hiccupping sobs escaping him. This wasn't what he thought and adventure was going to be like; he thought it'd be exciting, and fun, and he'd get to be a hero. But he'd watched people get hurt and die; he'd witness the attack of a monster, which had turned out to be his hero; he'd nearly died. "I don't want to do this anymore," he whispered, words hardly audible between his sobs. "I want to go home."

A voice broke into his despair. "What the hell are you doing?" He heard a cry of agony nearby and lifted his head abruptly. He was just in time to watch a Keyblader fall, dead, before him. Standing where the Keyblader once had was Allia. Riun looked at the body, horrified, as Allia snapped, "You can't just sit there crying! All that'll do is get you killed." He felt a jolt of fear at that, but instead of moving out, he pulled himself tighter. Allia sighed in frustration. "Listen, I can't read your mind; I don't know what's going through that head of yours. But now's not the time to be weeping, hun."

Someone appeared behind her, and she quickly whipped around, slashing at her with a knife. The Keyblader let out a cry of pain and alarm as the knife pierced the glass of her visor. Allia pulled it out quickly, a grin on her face as she slipped away and disappeared into the shadows.

I…I have to… Riun was still feeling shocked and sick as he stared at the convulsing woman before him. He turned his eyes away, looking at his hands. "Fire," he whispered, watching as a small ball appeared in the palms of his hands. He stared at it absently for several moments, blue eyes sad.

Then he watched as another Keyblader drew close to him. Instinctively, he lifted his hands with a small cry, the ball of fire flying from them towards the Keyblader. It hit him on the chest, heating up the armor but doing little to slow him down. Desperate, he called upon another spell. "Fira!" The larger fireball hit the Keyblader square on, this one slowing him down some more.

Then what Allia had been saying really sank in. He couldn't stay there anymore; it wasn't safe to stay still. He ran from his hiding place, out into the battlefield.

Trevor slashed at a Silver Fang warrior, coating his blade in fire. He watched as she fell beneath his weapon, then quickly swung his sword around to block another warrior's magic. This is ridiculous, he thought, narrowing his eyes behind his visor. Where in the world would the information be? His best guess was with their leader; however, so far, he hadn't even caught a glimpse of her.

He felt his eyes begin to burn, and panic flashed through him. No…I can't let myself use that power! He clutched at his head, though he knew that wouldn't help keep the power of the Light at bay. His breathing started to come in quick gasps, and he silently berated himself. Calm down. Don't let it make you too strong…

Something ran into his leg, and he acted on instinct, swinging his Keyblade downwards. He heard a yelp before fire exploded around his weapon and touched his armor. Startled, he looked down and saw a boy, not far from where he was standing. The boy looked slightly familiar, but he couldn't place where he might have seen him before…

He heard something behind him, and reacted on instinct. He dragged his Keyblade around, the weapon blocking a strike from a long, deadly looking dagger. Its owner was a hooded woman; he could just make out a half smile, half snarl in the shadowed features of her face. "Do you normally attack children?" she taunted as she jumped backwards, landing in the dirt. This woman, however, he recognized. That's the assassin we sent after Gillick!

"I'll fight anyone who's a threat to the Light Army," he responded, standing taller. Silently, though, he wondered if that was still true. No! It has to be! He shook his head, brandishing his Keyblade. "And what about you?" he snapped. "Weren't you supposed to be…hunting down Gillick?" The words caught in his throat, but he remained standing tall.

"I changed my mind," she retorted. She tilted her head to one side. "You're a general, yes?" She snorted. "They obviously don't have high standards in the Light Army."

Trevor tightened his grip on the hilt of his Keyblade. "Shut up," he hissed quietly, then lunged forward.

Riun looked on in surprise. That was the second time Allia had saved him. But…she's not nice… he thought, watching as she ducked beneath the Keyblader's weapon and shifted to the side, cutting upwards to try and slip her blade between two pieces of the armor. The Keyblader shifted slightly, causing the plates of metal to fold tightly together to prevent entry.

Riun's mind, however, changed the scene into one where he saw Allia, attacking his friends again, just before she went into flames with his magic. Fear pulsed through him, and he stumbled backwards. He looked on in horror at Allia's burning body, listening to her scream. He covered his ears. N-no…

Someone hit him, and he fell forward into the dirt. Whoever had collided with him obviously paid him no notice and kept going. He lifted his head, looking helplessly at the assassin who was trying her best to find a weakness in the Keyblade general's armor. Watching her, and remembering how she'd saved him, he realized something.

He wasn't afraid of Allia.

But then why do I feel scared around her? He couldn't come up with an answer, and with the rush of battle, there wasn't time. He knew that, no matter his feelings, there was something he had to do…for the sake of his friends.

He needed to become a hero. He needed to fight. And lifting his hands, inhaling deeply, he shouted, "Fira!"

Trevor hardly heard the commanded spell over the roar of battle. He whipped around, but wasn't quick enough this time to block the spell. The fireball slammed into him, causing him to stumble backwards. Though his armor protected him from the magic, the lingering heat on the metal was causing him to sweat.

Apparently, the woman he'd been fighting noticed this. "Keep firing, Riun!" she called, an odd note of glee in her voice. The boy, Riun, nodded quickly and shouted out another, "Fire!"

Damn it. "Blizzara!" he countered, the ice flying from the tip of his Keyblade to collide with the fire, the two cancelling each other out. Fearing what the assassin was doing behind him, he called out, "Aeroga!" A wall of wind erupted around him.

Then a voice hissed near his hidden ear, "Nice try."

Sudden panic ceased him at the close proximity of the voice, and his hold on the power he'd kept bottle up inside him slipped. Light flashed around him in waves, forcing the woman away and clearing an area around him.

For a few seconds he stood still, allowing the power to fill him. Where there was once panic, there was now calm. He looked at the assassin with burning silver eyes. He could do it. He could defeat her, and anyone else who stood in his way. He would easily be able to find this 'Silver' woman and take the information on the X - blade.

No! He gasped at the idea. Too much power…he didn't want to be stronger than Master Tollun…what if he was? What then? Fear pulsed through him at the thought. He couldn't lead. He couldn't be abandoned. He grasped at his head with both hands, Keyblade disappearing. He groaned slightly, he's knees shaking as he tried to control the Light that pulsed through him, his eyes constantly flickering between blue and a bright, unearthly shade of silver.

Allia looked at the Keyblader in confusion. What was going on? She could feel intense Light radiating from him; it was what had forced her away. But was it hurting him, too?

Then she shrugged. Far be it from her to question a gift when it was given. She could kill him now, she knew, since he was distracted. However, she figured that, in a game of war, it was better to have bargaining chips. What better than a general. Grinning, she called to Riun, "Do it now! Hit him with some Fira spells!"

The boy looked uncomfortable at that. "But that's unfair…"

"We don't have time to play fair," Allia retorted. "Just fire!" The adrenaline that rushed through her created an odd sort of glee. "And I do mean fire."

Riun looked at her, wide - eyed, then slowly lifted his hands and pointed them towards the Keyblader. "Fira!" he shouted, the blazing ball flying to strike the armor. Again and again he shot the spell, causing the armor on the Keyblader to heat up. The general cried out in agony, though Allia wasn't sure whether it was from the intense heat or the Light he seemed to be fighting.

Regardless, it was time to end this. She slipped a knife from her cloak, and tore the cloth off itself. Wrapping the fabric around a hand, she hurried towards the general, using it to tear his helmet off his head without burning her hand. Allowing the protective item to fall to the ground, she ran the tip of the small knife across his cheek, drawing a ling of blood. She leaned in close to the boy's ear, whispering, "Oh, don't worry; I don't want you dead yet. The poison on this little blade will just keep you paralyzed for a while. Quite useful, don't you think." She flashed a toothy smile as the Keyblader groaned. "By the way, you're a bit younger than I expected."

Silver skidded backwards, her chest heaving. Her wounds stung, blood still flowing from them. How are we so outnumbered? she wondered, looking across the battlefield and noticing how few Silver Fang seemed to be fighting compared to the Keybladers. Then a grim thought struck her. Or maybe we're just outmatched.

The idea, thought plausible, wasn't pleasant. She didn't want to dwell on it, especially not in the middle of the fight.

She brought her swords up, blocking a strike from a Keyblader by catching her weapon between the two crossed blades. With fatigue weighing her limbs, she knew she didn't have the strength to push the swords away, and so instead slid to the side and swiped a sword out at the Keyblader's leg. Apparently, the armor had already been weakened; it broke at her strike, allowing her the draw a shallow red line across the flesh. She hit the woman with the flat of a blade, hoping to force her backwards. Instinct kicked in, and she spun in a circle with her swords out, hoping to keep herself from being converged on again.

It appeared, though, that her efforts were failing. The Keybladers had found their target, and they weren't letting up. A sense of impending doom settled over her. There were too many; she couldn't fight them all. Resignation filled her heart. Well, she thought, if I'm going to die…I might was well die fighting.

She kicked out a foot with a cry, forcing a Keyblade back, then spun in the air, swords spinning with her to cut any who got to close. She blocked a weapon with the flat of one blade, then made a wide, low sweep with the other.

She felt metal cut through her back, and she let out a cry of pain. Crouching to try and make a smaller target, she made two quick jabs at the legs of a Keyblader, then rolled over herself and jabbed the tip of one sword into the ground. She used the hilt to pull herself up and flip over, kicking a Keyblader hard in the chest and stabbing her remaining sword through the glass visor. She pulled it out and jumped back, retrieving her second sword.

Silver felt another blade cut open her cheek to the bone. She let out a hiss of pain as blood sprayed from the wound, and lashed out immediately at her attacker. Her swords found a weak spot in the armor, piercing it and stabbing into the chest of her attacker. She swung back quickly, second sword blocking a blow.

Then a blade cut across the back of her knee, severing the tendons. She gasped as her leg gave out on her, and she practically fell to the ground, her sword jerked free of the Keyblader's chest in the process. The body fell on top of her, and she used it as a shield while she tried to right herself.

Silver could feel her mother's book pressed tightly against her chest, carefully hidden. I wonder…will they search my body when I die? Most likely. They would find the book, and all would be lost. Her green eyes narrowed and her heart hardened. No…I will not let them have it! She brought a sword towards her chest, placing the point so that she could feel it pressing slightly against the book. Silently, she steeled herself. I will die…and take the information with me. She prepared to stab her weapon forward.

However, it was a Keyblade that pierced her chest first…and on the wrong side. She gasped as pain filled her. The Keyblade was pulled out with a squelching sound, and blood burbled in her mouth. Breathing was suddenly very painful. There was a part of her that knew she had to stab her sword, had to now, but she couldn't convince her limbs to cooperate. Her hearing was fading in and out, good one moment, dim the next. Spots flickered before her eyes, and she was unable to blind them away. Only one coherent thought crossed her mind: Everyone…I'm sorry…

Then she fell to the ground, her lifeless body stained red with her own blood.

Trevor twitched, trying to move, but the assassin had spoken true; the poison had paralyzed him. He was helpless.

Then he heard voices raised in triumph. "We have the information! We have the information!" He felt a flash of relief. Good. Now someone will get me out of this mess, and we can get back to the Light Army.

He felt a jolt of surprise as the Keybladers raced away, past him, leaving him behind. Wait! he wanted to call after them. What were they doing? How could they leave the general behind? Why…wasn't anyone helping him?

All these question rose to his mind…however, he was unable to ask a single one of them.

That's the end of chapter sixty - three. So…how you liking these longer chapters? Feel free to tell me what you think!