In which our next destination is decided...but not reached.

Chasing The Truth

By FlikFreak

Chapter Eleven: Contemplations


Zidane was about ready to rip his hair out. "Doesn't anyone know how to work this stupid computer?!" he demanded.

"Ansem the Wise probably did," Freya replied calmly, "But he's long gone…"

"…and no one knows where he went to," Zidane continued with a sigh. "Yeah, I know."

For the first time in a while, Shantotto had nothing to say. She simply stared at the computer with an intent look on her face, and whenever a sound ever came from her it was either due to her footsteps or something that she was very, very quietly muttering to herself. Zidane knew better than to bother her; he had several burn marks to remind himself with. Still, it wasn't like the Tarutaru woman to be so silent.

Whatever was in this computer, it had to be important to be locked away all the way in the deepest depths of the Cavern of Remembrance. Or, Zidane figured, immensely dangerous. He had met that type of situation before. He had suggested destroying the computer earlier, and thus taking away any plan the Zoners would have concocted, but the ambassador quickly admonished him for such an idea. It made sense; the computer probably held valuable data, destructive or life-saving. They couldn't risk destroying something that could probably be worth protecting, even if it did mean stopping the Zoners.

Come to think of it… "What're those Zoners after, anyway?" Zidane asked. "Aside from the computer and Neku, are they really a threat?"

"Anyone willing to harm others to get what they want is a foe," Shantotto said quietly, "Which is why whatever's in here isn't for folks like them to know."

"And not all their motives are clear yet," Freya added. "If we could just figure out what's on here, then we'll know if they are evil or simply misguided."

"That Sakuraba boy…" Shantotto muttered.

Zidane cocked an eyebrow. Shantotto had shown interest in Neku since she first met him. Perhaps it was something about her being a powerful mage that allowed her to discern what exactly it was about the boy that made him special, but she refused to tell them.

Freya crossed her arms. "Zidane, are you familiar with the Chasers?"

He blinked. That question certainly came from out of nowhere. "The Chasers? No, not entirely. Why do you ask?"

"They were a group of three key wielders," Freya explained. "Much of their history is lost, but some say that they were the very first. One of them, unfortunately, fell to darkness, but all of them met nearly the same fate in death."

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Zidane asked.

Shantotto uncrossed her arms. "Ventus."

Zidane tilted his head. "Ven…tus?" he echoed. "I've read about him…seen a few pictures, too. He was a Chaser?"

"He was the youngest," Freya said. "Don't you think he reminds you of someone?"

"Now that you mention it, I knew that déjà vu I felt wasn't just me…"

Unknown to them, a ghostly figure hovered behind them, arms crossed in amusement. With a quick flash of light blue, he vanished.


"Zarxilt."

"Oh, hey Jaxuk. Need help with something? Oh, right, I can just-"

"I'd rather you not do that."

"Oh, fine. Spit it out, then."

"Lord Meyxours has an assignment for you."

The boyish nobody took a small slip of paper from his taller, slimmer brethren and stared at it for a moment. "I get to play with him so quick? This is way too easy."

"Not exactly," Jaxuk replied. "We have suspected that Neku will be heading to wherever there is a high concentration of Nobodies. Therefore…"

Zarxilt grinned playfully. "Oh, I see where you're going with this. You're off to go meet the kid while I set up a surprise party somewhere else, right?"

"You're smarter than you look."

"You bet I am," Zarxilt replied. "I can buy all the time we need." As he turned and walked away, however, he sported a devilish grin.


Is he ever going to wake up?

Relax, already. He's getting there.

Getting there? He's moving slower than a Darkside.

I'm not going to intervene again. At least not the way I had to with Sora.

You mean…you're going to…?

Yep. What other choice is there? Aside from getting another catalyst, that is.

Good point.

How's Rhyme doing?

Her heart has nearly recovered entirely. Aerith knows that she won't wake up on her own, so she's going to request aid.

Sounds about right. You going to make sure she's safe, then?

Yes…a few times one of the Zoners attempted to intrude, but they didn't get very far.

What, you spook them or something?

Actually, no…my magic wasn't the only thing that helped. I think the boy did something as well.

Who, Neku?

No…not Neku. The other one.

But that's impossible! He…

I know. That's why I'm so curious…


"The guy's name is Naxeyv, he stole a shiney rock from some ruins, the place reminds him of somewhere called Dalmasca, and…" Sora glanced upward. "Anything else we figured out?"

"That parrots are capable of intelligent speech and flying rugs can serve as a very effective mode of transportation?" Neku added wryly. Honestly, every world we go to just gets weirder and weirder. Where else has Sora been?

The group was orbiting around Agrabah on the Falcon while their transmission to Radiant Garden was going through, filling in Riku on the details of their visit in the meantime. Shiki was dusting off Mr. Mew and mending one of his torn paws while conversing with them on the state of the desert city. "Whatever he did steal must have been pretty important," the seamstress said. "Otherwise he wouldn't have tied up that bird."

"Good point," Riku said. "But it still doesn't answer what the stone was, or why they still want Neku."

"Are we ever going to get an answer to that?" Neku grumbled.

Sora shrugged. "Eventually," he replied. "Hopefully not at the last second."

"That traitor guy probably knows," Shiki suggested, finishing her business with Mr. Mew and tucking away her needle and thread. "We should ask him next time we see him."

"But we're not sure if we can trust him," Riku pointed out. "For all we know, he doesn't have a clue, either."

"Highwind to Falcon, do you read?"

The screen flickered a bit and Sora opened the transmission fully. "We're here!"

Aerith and Yuffie appeared on screen, looking thoroughly worried. "Sorry we couldn't respond right away." the ninja said. "How was Agrabah?"

Sora shook his head. "No problem. We found one of the Zoners there."

"His name is Naxeyv," Kairi added. "He took a stone from the desert ruins, but we don't know what it is."

"It must've been important if they wanted it," Yuffie grumbled, crossing her arms.

"That's what we think, too," Neku said. "How's Rhyme?"

Aerith bit her lip. "We finally found out what's wrong with her," She said.

Sora practically jumped out of his seat. "Really?!"

"Yes," Aerith replied. "While it's nothing fatal, it's still very serious. I'm still not sure how Rhyme was able to survive, but the only way she'll wake up physically is if I make something for her."

Physically? Neku echoed in his mind. He had a bad feeling about this.

"How's Beat?" Shiki asked.

Yuffie glanced to the side before replying. "He's asleep," She said after a few moments. "He hardly ever goes two inches from her."

Neku smiled. Beat never allowed his sister to go too far from him, especially after the Game. It wasn't hard to picture the skater kneeling next to Rhyme's bed, half-slouched on it because he refused to sleep somewhere else.

"Anything we can do to help?" Kairi asked, concern etched on every inch of her face.

Aerith nodded. "Actually, we were going to contact you about that. Have you ever heard of shoalweed?"

Everyone exchanged glances before Riku replied. "Guess not. What is it?"

"It's a special type of kelp that Aerith needs for her remedy," Yuffie explained. "Right?"

"That's right," Aerith replied. "I would use red moko grass if I could since it's more potent, but that only grows in the Pride Lands now, and thanks to Scar I don't think anyone would find any even if they looked."

Neku saw a furious expression on Sora's face. Whoever this Scar guy was, he must've made Sora pretty mad to give him that kind of look. Neku clenched his fists and looked forward sternly. "Where can we find the shoalweed then?" he asked. "We'll get some for you."

"What about the Zoners?" Shiki interrupted. "I thought you wanted to know why they were hunting you."

"Rhyme needs help," Neku replied sternly. "And that's help we can give, right?"

Riku gave a loud sigh. "I can tell who you've been hanging out too much with," he mumbled.

Sora crossed his arms indignantly. "I'm sitting right here, Riku."

"I know."

Aerith chuckled. "Good to see you're in high spirits," she said. "Shoalweed is somewhat rare and only grows in very deep water."

Neku's hope deflated like a burst water balloon. "In other words it's impossible to get," he groaned. "Now what?"

"Not impossible," Sora replied. "I know a place we might be able to find it, but it's a little ways from here."

"Port Royal?" Kairi suggested.

Sora shook his head. "No, not there. The ocean there is a bit too deep."

That's an odd choice of words, Neku thought, quirking an eyebrow at Sora. Just what is he planning? This stuff grows in deep water, doesn't it? So why not that port?

"I have the other materials I need here at headquarters," Aerith said, "And the rest are probably scattered around in Ansem's Lab or in the stores. Shoalweed is the only ingredient I'm missing."

"No worries," Sora replied, an optimistic smile on his face. "We'll get some for you. Are there any nobody readings?"

Yuffie glanced away for a moment, and shook her head. "Nothing too severe, but keep your eyes peeled. They might show up anywhere at any-"

The transmission was cut short and the signal flickered off. Sora blinked. "That can't be right," he muttered, fumbling around with the control panel. "It's never cut off like that before."

"I think I know why," Riku replied, pointing out the window. "Does the phrase 'back for more' mean anything to you?"

Neku peered out the window to see an enormous blue…shape staring back at them. It was moving closer at a very surprising speed. "What's that?" he asked.

"Monstro!" Kairi cried. "Sora! Get us out of here!"

Sora grunted in frustration. "Piece of junk…warp drive isn't responding!"

Riku spun in his seat and grabbed what looked suspiciously like a steering wheel. "Buckle up everyone! I'm going to see if I can shoot him off!"

"Are you insane?!" Sora cried.

There was a strong lurch and Neku, whom had only begun securing himself, was thrown out of his seat and tumbled to the back of the cockpit. Shiki held on tightly to Mr. Mew as the ship began to twist sideways, and Neku made a near-vain attempt to climb back to his seat. Several flashes of light accompanied more jolts, and a loud, low-pitched moan responded to several crashing sounds. "Direct hit!" Riku said victoriously.

"Don't count on it!" Sora replied. "Here he comes!"

The ship lurched dangerously, and Neku's skull slammed into the wall as his world went black.


I CAME.

I SAW.

I GOT EATEN BY MONSTRO.

And all I got was this lousy fanfiction.

Well, you guys wanted Monstro, and I decided putting him in would be amusing. This isn't one hundred percent how I planned him to come in...but it works, I guess. Never, EVER shoot Monstro. Even if he does feel it underneath all that blubber, he'll still see you as a snack.

And for those of you whom have figured out who each Zoner is (or at least have an idea), no OFFICIAL information will be given out due to story purposes. It would kinda be like Sora knowing Ansem's real identity before the King spills the beans. That sorta thing. So for those of you whom are racking your brains and are dying for me to tell you, I must inform you that my lips are sealed...for now.

Zoners:

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