In which Rhyme is doing well, Zarxilt is a jerk, and Neku does not like warp drive.

Chasing The Truth

By FlikFreak

Chapter Eight: Warped


Rhyme wasn't sure where she was. Every so often she'd open her eyes and see someone taking care of her like her mother would when she was ill, but she'd drift off just as quickly and she'd be in that white void again. It was endless, and all she did was float there, wondering where she was and how she got there. It didn't bother her all that much; she was more relaxed than anything…and exhausted, for some unknown reason.

But this time, things were different. She knew someone was watching her…someone other than the pretty lady with the brown hair. "Who's there…?"

Don't worry. You're going to be okay.

"Huh…?"

There was a strong resonance that you ran into earlier. You may not have felt it, but it sent you into a deep shock. Don't worry, though. You'll be fine after a little more rest.

The voice wasn't entirely familiar to Rhyme, but it reminded her of a mother's: concerned and calm. She knew that whoever this voice was, she could trust it. But all of this sleeping and not a single dream…just white. Unending white.

Rhyme knew why. Her brother had told her later after they were out of the Reaper's Game. Her entry fee had been her dreams, and since she had been erased at one point, that entry fee was gone forever and, according to Hanekoma, she should have lost her right to exist. But she didn't…she had come back.

It had been thanks to Joshua, she believed. Joshua wasn't a bad person…he was selfish and bratty, yes, but not evil. She never got a real chance to thank him. The only time she had was when she had been waiting eagerly for Neku and Sora to return from battling Minamimoto, and both had come back in bad shape. Once again, she had to thank Joshua for something…he had allowed her to use her psyches somehow, and there was an old cure pin she had saved that she used to heal Sora with when he had come back.

You remember that well, don't you?

If she had the energy to nod, she would have. "Yeah. Neku told me that they were both hurt pretty bad, but Sora had healed Neku instead of himself. Neku didn't tell me, but I think if I hadn't helped Sora that time…"

You are not far from the truth. But you know you rescued Roxas as well as Sora.

"…yeah."

And now, Sora is returning the favor.

"What…? But I…"

You should sleep for now, Rhyme. You still haven't recovered.

"When can I…?"

Don't worry. You will know when the time comes. For now, rest.

The voice faded but the presence remained. Rhyme drifted into the light once more, feeling oddly calm and at peace.


Sora gave a short gasp and flinched noticeably, placing a tight hand on his chest for a moment. He earned some very concerned looks from the other four currently in the cockpit with him, but it couldn't be helped. After a few seconds of his heart racing, he lowered his hand and pressed his back against his seat. "I'm okay."

"Sure hope so," Riku commented, returning to staring out the window. The ship was currently on a slow orbit around Twilight Town for the time being while they sent a message to the Restoration Committee, so all they could do was wait for a transmission back.

"Where are we going next?" Shiki asked. "Are there other cities out there?"

"None quite like Twilight Town," Kairi said. "Every world is different."

Sora nodded in agreement. "The Zoners may be able to block out their tracks, but other nobodies can't, so we'll probably go to where there's the largest amount of nobodies. Chances are, that'll be where all the trouble is." He gave a backward glance at the proxy. "By the way, Neku. Can you swim?"

Neku blinked in surprise. "Yeah, more or less. Why?"

"No reason."

The former proxy didn't seem to believe him, but Kairi interrupted any speculation Neku would have done. "Hey, guys! We're getting a transmission from Radiant Garden!"

His face lighting up with excitement, Sora flipped on the transmission. A large screen appeared in front of the windshield, and several familiar faces appeared: Leon, Yuffie, and Shantotto. Though he was rather disgruntled that Cid had not shown, Sora was delighted to see his friends all the same. "Hey guys!"

"Hey, Sora!" Yuffie cheerfully greeted him. "How was Twilight Town?"

"We ran into the Zoners," Riku said. "They didn't seem to want to stick around, though. Looks like they've got a traitor in their midst, too."

Sora swallowed hard. "How's…how's Rhyme?"

Yuffie's gleeful expression quickly faded. "She's woken up a few times, but Aerith said she never stayed awake for more than a few seconds. There's still a bit of recovery to do, but she's doing fine."

"Still asleep," Neku muttered. "How much longer…?"

"Beat won't leave her side," the young ninja continued. "The only time he voluntarily goes more than three feet from her is when Aerith needs to tend to her. He'll even sleep with his head on the bed and the rest of him in a chair or something."

Shiki gave a hint of a smile. "That's Beat for you."

"She is doing well," Leon said. "No cold, no fever, and she's not as pale anymore. Aerith said that she'll be back to her old self again pretty soon."

Sora let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."

"We picked up some information on the Zoners," Leon continued. "Namely, the computer they're after."

"Did you figure out how to turn it on?" Kairi asked.

Leon shook his head. "No. Cid says it's perfectly operational, but the thing is that they're incapable of working it for now.

Neku blinked. "Weird. What'd they do, forget to plug it in?"

Shantotto chose now to speak. "I doubt the matter would ever be that simple, my boy; that computer makes the one in the lab just a toy."

Leon nodded in agreement. "She's right. Turning it on is a lot more complicated, and it looks like they already know how to do that."

The tiny ambassador crossed her arms. "Even so, their plans are missing one vital force."

"What's that?" Shiki asked.

"What they're looking for now is a power source."

"A power source," Sora echoed. "So, if they can't get something to run that machine, then we won't have to worry about them being a threat?"

Hearing Sora's suggestion, the ambassador sighed, shaking her head in disdain. "I wouldn't be so sure, wielder of the key; you already know that they can control the nobodies."

Riku groaned. "There's that too, huh…but where do they intend to get that power source of theirs? I doubt it'll take electricity alone to start up that computer."

"And it still doesn't explain why they're after Neku," Yuffie added. "Do they see him as a threat or something?"

"Probably," Neku replied, shrugging. "After all that mess I went through to keep Shibuya in one piece, I sure hope I'd be a threat to someone trying to run whatever machine that is."

Shantotto shook her head. "You're not quite a threat to them, Neku, you see; though when allied with that fact I really must agree."

Neku sighed. "Good to know I'm of use then. As much as I hate to play hero, being worthless just doesn't rub well with me."

"We've seen a really high concentration of nobodies in Agrabah," Leon stated. "You might want to go check it out. It might be a Zoner's doing."

"We're on it," Sora replied. "Look after Rhyme, okay?"

Leon nodded. "We will. Take care of things, Sora." With that, the transmission ended.

Neku sighed and lean back in his chair. "Another world?" He asked.

Kairi nodded. "Agrabah's bigger than Twilight Town, though. Doesn't help that most of it is desert."

"Sand, sand and more sand," Riku added. "But there's some civilization there. A city, a palace…a few ruins." He counted off his fingers. "I miss anything?"

"The Cave of Wonders," Sora added with a shudder. After having fought the lion head to enter the cave, plus all of the traps within, he didn't particularly feel that the place could be easily forgotten.

"You've been there before?" Shiki asked, her voice full of wonder.

Kairi giggled. "Sora's been nearly everywhere. Haven't you?"

Sora grinned with pride. "A dying savannah, the bottom of the ocean, a huge jungle, a pirate ship…" he paused. "…twice. Plus I went to the world of the heartless…not sure that place still exists, though."

"It probably does," Riku said. "I doubt it's nearly as big as before, though."

"The heartless have their own world?" Neku wondered. "Does it have a keyhole?"

"No," Sora replied sternly, repressing a shudder. "Basically, that place was where bits and pieces of lost worlds would go and gather. The world was basically one giant heartless. I really don't want to have to go there again…"

"Are giant whales considered worlds?" Shiki asked.

Sora blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because I can see one headed for us."

Riku glanced out the window to be sure, and his eyes widened. "Sora. Warp. Now."

Not a word was said as Sora rapidly jerked the Falcon out of its orbiting state and sped out of the vicinity of the all-too-familiar Monstro. "Everyone buckle in!" He cried as the engines roared loudly. "We're going to warp out of here!"

Monstro was faster than the Falcon; that Sora knew. Just as the great whale would have clamped his jaws over the ship, however, the stars in the sky became long streaks and they sped out of harm's way. The force of the warp pressed Sora firmly to the back of his seat as the sky in front of him became a huge flash of white. Over the sound of the engines, he could hear Neku screaming something – he thought he heard a foul word at some point – and Shiki was just screaming incoherently.

After a little while, the ship slowed to a halt, and the group found themselves somewhere far away from Monstro. Neku spoke in between breaths, his expression a cross between pure anger and utter shock. "What…the hell…was that…supposed…to do?"

"It's called a warp," Riku explained. "The Falcon isn't nearly as fast as Monstro, so we had to warp out of the area."

"We're not entirely sure how it works," Sora added. "I asked Cid about it and he went on forever…used a lot of big words…"

"Are we safe?" Shiki asked, also gasping for breath.

Kairi nodded. "We should be for now. Where'd you stop us at, Sora?"

Grinning, Sora pointed forward to a familiar-looking beige planet. "Looks like we're near Agrabah," he said. "You all ready to land?"

"I wouldn't chance Monstro coming back," Kairi said. "Don't you think leaving the ship unattended is a bad idea?"

Sora bit his lip. "Good point."

"I'll stay back and keep an eye out," Riku said. "You know how to reach me if anything happens."

"If you say so," Sora replied, reaching for the portal switch. "All right, everyone. Get ready to land."


How's she doing?

She's got plenty of questions, but she's content with letting them go unanswered for now. What about Neku?

Still hasn't activated, given the fact that we last met only…oh, less than a few hours ago?

That's not funny.

All I did was unlock it. It has to awaken on its own like usual.

Like with Sora?

Yeah…but I kinda doubt it'll take a world vanishing before his very eyes to do the job.

Of course not. The worlds are relatively safe. However, if he doesn't fully awaken soon, then things may get a bit…messy.

Should I go in again?

No. We have no more need of you using Sora as such. However, a small push in the right direction could be of some help.


"Your outburst could have cost us our lives."

"What lives do we have to waste? We're Nobodies, Meyxours. We don't even exist."

"He has a point, although I'd rather not fade away before I have the chance to discern the boy's aptitudes. If it weren't for Xen-"

"We are not to mention his name. He is the Traitor, and no one else."

"Right. Of course."

"Aw, I so wanted to play with them…"

"You'll have your chance, Zarxilt. Once we bring him to the cavern, we'll see if our suspicions are correct. If he is below par, or once we are done with him, you will get to play with him all you like."

Zarxilt grinned, summoning a small glimmering sphere of white energy in his hand. "I look forward to it …"


Nyahaha, another cliffie. And time to update the Zoners list.

Zoners:

The Deceptive Evoker, Meyxours (Chasing The Truth/???)
The Elegant Reaper (Chasing The Truth/???)
The Fallen Prince, Zarxilt (Chasing The Truth/???)
The Ruthless Emperor (Chasing The Truth/???)