In which we learn a little from our enemies and meet a woman with a thing for speaking in poetry. Oh, and the plot REALLY starts to begin. Or something.
All chapters up to this point had all been written while was down (Yeah, we all remember that...) But I didn't want to release them all at once. I really should update my other stories or I'll have rabid angry reviewers all over me X.X
Chasing The Truth
By FlikFreak
Chapter Four: The Cavern of Remembrance
Beat wound up being stuffed in a chair across the room while Aerith tended to Rhyme. Yuffie, meanwhile, was going through several books, and Kairi stayed next to Beat to keep him the least bit company.
"Aerith said she's just overwhelmed," She reminded him. "We can't disturb her too much or she'll get worse instead of better."
"Can't I at least talk to her?" Beat grumbled, doing his best to pull a façade over his worry. "She's my sister, yo. I'm never ganna forgive myself if she dies." Again, he added as a bitter afterthought.
"If I knew the problem more specifically," Aerith began as she stood, "Then I'd be able to treat it. Resting is the only thing that will help her at all right now."
Beat made a fist. "Can't you do something?" he demanded.
"There's no worse treatment than the wrong treatment," Yuffie said from behind the book she was examining. "Aerith knows what she's doing, Beat. We'll probably know something by the time the others get back." She paused. "Where'd they head off to, anyway? Weren't they meeting someone?"
"The ambassador and the two newcomers," Aerith replied, rummaging in the cabinet for a few phials. "Leon mentioned something about a cave earlier, too."
"Do you think they finally found something in there?" Yuffie asked, looking up from her book.
Aerith nodded. "It's possible, but I hope not. The heartless in there are more powerful than even the ones we fought in the war, so whatever's hidden there must be more powerful than even that…"
After a while, Sora had a hard time believing that this area was only a cave. There were several pipes blowing steam here and there, actual doors rather than stone passageways, and in the back the place was practically a hallway of white stone, which they were currently making their way through. "What'd you say this place was called?" He asked.
"The Cavern of Remembrance," Zidane said. "I'm not sure why it's called that. The ambassador told me that's what it was named, though."
Riku remained silent, intently examining the walls. "Doesn't this remind you of something?" he muttered to Sora.
Sora shrugged. "Kinda. I'm feeling a bit of déjà vu, now that you mention it."
Shiki hugged Mr. Mew close and Neku stayed by her side, ready to defend her out of what must have been habit. Sora winced inwardly when he remembered that even though Neku's actions indicated he was ready for a fight, he was completely defenseless unless he could throw a good punch. Psyches wouldn't work here, and though he had the heart for it, Neku was no keybearer. I sure wish there was something I could do.
Maybe there is.
Sora nearly froze in is tracks, startled by the voice. Wha…Roxas?
There is something you can do, Sora…
Like what? I can't just…
"Here we go," Zidane announced suddenly, jolting Sora from his thoughts. "It's right past this door." And with that, he wasted no time pushing the said door open.
Beyond was an even more amazing sight than the so-called cavern itself. Sora felt like he had walked right into the Rising Falls again – a place he hadn't been to for ages. Situated in the room was a large white platform that the stairs in front of him descended to, in the center of which seemed to be a computer much akin to the one Sora had seen in the mansion basement in Twilight Town. "Whoa…"
"That's what we thought, too," Zidane said, chuckling. "Come on. They're waiting down by the computer."
The group walked down the stairs, their footsteps echoing louder than they probably should have. There, standing next to the computer, were two individuals. One of them was dressed in red, a long lance gripped in her hand. Underneath her pointed red hat, Sora could see a rodent-like muzzle; and a long, whip-like tail swished behind her. Her face was unreadable, and she regarded Sora with suspicion and respect. She must be the ambassador that we heard about, Sora thought, turning his gaze to the other stranger.
The woman next to the red-clad stranger was…surprising. While she wasn't quite as short as Chip and Dale were, Sora was rather amazed at how petite this woman was. She only came up roughly three inches above his knees. She had long, pointed ears and blonde hair tied to the sides by large blue ribbons. The petite woman also wore a striped green robe and matching trousers, as well as a pair of what appeared to be clogs. I wonder where she's from.
"You certainly took your time, Squall," The stranger in red said.
"It's Leon," Leon corrected her. "We had a slight emergency, but it's being taken care of."
"It's nice to meet you, lady ambassador," Shiki said, bowing politely to the taller of the strangers.
The woman in red stared blankly for a moment before returning the gesture. "It's wonderful to meet you too, young lady, but I'm afraid you are mistaken. She is the ambassador, not me."
Riku, Sora, Neku and Shiki all gawked and stared blankly at the tiny woman crossing her arms at them. She sighed and shook her head. "My identity as ambassador must come as a surprise to those of you whom assume authority by size…"
"This is Lady Shantotto," Leon introduced, gesturing to the small woman, "And this is Freya." The woman in red nodded in compliance. "They, along with Zidane, have told us about a new threat we've been facing."
"A small group of criminals known as the Zoners has been tormenting Radiant Garden for the past few days," Freya explained. "They've often been seen here in the Cavern of Remembrance, but lately they have hardly shown themselves."
"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, here," Shantotto interrupted. "Would you mind introducing these people to me, dear?"
Freya sighed. "Right. Of course."
Leon bowed politely. "My name is Leon," he said. "This is Sora, Riku, Neku, and Shiki."
"Neku, you say?" Shantotto echoed, approaching the boy by a few steps and looking him over. "Ah, our search is no more; you were just the one we were looking for."
All eyes turned to Neku, whom twitched nervously and put a hand on his headphones for a moment. "Me?" he echoed. "Why?"
"Now that you mention it," Zidane began, "Didn't you say something about some kid from Shibuya, Leon?"
Leon shrugged. "Just passing the message from Sora. He did talk about him being…"
Sora nodded, knowing that Leon had referred to a small conversation he had had after sealing Shibuya's keyhole. During the battle with Minamimoto, he had improvised and tossed the keyblade to Neku. In any normal circumstance a tactic like that wouldn't work and he'd avoid it knowingly, but adrenalin had blocked off any common sense, and Neku ended up handling the keyblade without problems. Through that, Sora had begun to wonder if Neku had the heart of a keybearer himself. "Yeah. I did. He's been chased by those Dusks, too. Ring any bells?"
Shantotto crossed her arms. "Just as I thought. I knew at first sight that this Neku was the answer to our current plight."
"What does all this have to do with me?" Neku asked, puzzled. "I'm not even from here."
The woman quirked an eyebrow at him. Oddly enough, the gesture was enough to silence everyone into submission. "You're their number one target to capture, although, I believe you're all familiar with someone named Xsoh."
They remembered Xsoh, all right. The moment that he and Neku had defeated Minamimoto's heartless – and they weren't in the best of shape afterward – Xsoh had immediately launched his own attack, and it was only by the grace of Shibuya's music that they were able to survive. "How does Xsoh have a connection to all this?"
"He was a Zoner," Freya said. "But he must be gone now, judging by the way you put it."
"The Zoners want something to do with this computer," Zidane explained, gesturing to the mess of screens next to them. "It used to belong to Ansem, and that fact alone means that them getting a hold of it is bad news for everyone."
"We haven't been able to get in," Freya continued, "Which is probably a good thing. Cid's running a few scans with Tron to get an idea on what's in here without breaking through the firewall. The problem is that no one can even figure out how turn it on."
"Why not?" Riku asked. "Isn't there some sort of power button somewhere?"
"I'm sure that the honorable Ansem the Wise wouldn't give anyone his data and thus spell out our demise," Shantotto pointed out.
Freya nodded. "She's right; that'd be too easy. There's probably some other hidden way to turn it on. In the meantime, the Zoners seem content with running around and causing trouble."
"Sounds like a job I'm going to get stuck with again," Sora sighed. "Do you know anything else about them?"
"Other than the fact that they're all Nobodies and that they seriously want something with this computer that will most likely bring chaos and destruction to the entire universe and beyond?" Zidane said, quirking an eyebrow. "Nothing whatsoever."
"Nobodies," Shiki echoed. "Those Dusk things are Nobodies, right?"
Riku nodded. "The most common type there is. Not really all that tough, but in a crowd they're no pushovers."
"We had a crowd of them on us alright," Neku commented. "And some guy was ordering them around. We couldn't see him."
"Bet you anything it was a Zoner," Zidane said, crossing his arms.
"Which means the Zoners are after Neku," Sora concluded. "But why?"
Shantotto rubbed her head. "We don't have all of the facts with us quite yet; for now, taking them down is our safety's best bet."
Does she always talk in rhyme? Sora wondered, trying not to stare at Shantotto. Neku was already doing it for him, and he was doing quite a good job at it, too.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Riku said. "Let's head back to headquarters. This place is starting to make my head hurt."
Sora agreed wholeheartedly, and the group headed out the way they had come in. As they headed up the stairs, however, the keyblade master felt a pang of pain behind his eyes and he paused, bringing one hand up to his face to ease the pain. Neku hesitated, staring at him warily. "You okay, Sora?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine."
Neku didn't seem sure, but they headed on and followed the group anyway.
Hanekoma swore and nearly crushed his coffee cup into his fist. Neku had vanished without a trace; what's more he had taken his three friends and the other three players with him. Their escape wasn't the cause of his disgruntlement, however; it was the fact that nobodies had appeared in out in the open RG for everyone to see.
"They're specifically targeting Neku," Joshua stated. "Do you think I should have a mission sent out to eradicate them?"
"No," Hanekoma replied. "Those monsters were in the RG, Joshua. There haven't been any signs of them since everyone left, either."
Joshua smirked. "Clever boy, that Sora, taking their target and any potential hostages off of the planet entirely." He sat up in his chair and sipped at his cappuccino. "But what about that Rhyme girl? She didn't look very well to do when she left."
"She came in contact with something she didn't have," Hanekoma stated simply. "There was a very strong resonance there."
The composer's interest was caught. "Oh?"
"Long story short," Hanekoma began, "That resonance put her in a state of shock, and not just any. It'll take her a while to recover and adjust."
"I see," Joshua replied, sipping again before speaking. "Do you think that resonance could have been…?"
Hanekoma shrugged, standing and making some more coffee. "Maybe, maybe not. It's possible. After all, the keyblade is capable of a lot of things that aren't known yet. Mainly, it's the power in someone's heart given form, and power isn't always brute force. Sora may not be the hero the ones a decade ago were, but he's got about a strong heart as they had."
"Strong enough to…?" Joshua let his voice trail off again, his eyes lost in thought.
Knowing what Joshua was going to say, Hanekoma laughed. "Probably. After all, if he had enough imagination to call on The Music, I'm sure a little resonance is cakewalk for him."
Joshua smiled and returned to his cappuccino with nothing more to say on the subject.
The walk back to the headquarters was a silent one. Leon, Freya, Zidane and Shantotto split from them at the postern and headed for the lab in the castle, leaving Sora and Riku to take Neku and Shiki back to the headquarters. Neku was anxious, his worry for Rhyme returning. He was almost afraid to enter the door when they finally reached it.
Inside, Yuffie had stuffed her nose in a book while Beat and Kairi waited near a chair on the opposite side of the room. Aerith was currently tending to Rhyme, kneeling next to her bed with a small tray.
"We're back," Sora called softly. "Everything okay in here?"
"Rhyme's resting," Yuffie said. "She's fine so far."
Neku bit his lip and made his way closer to the bed to see what the woman was doing. She had a small bowl of steaming water in front of her, where she was currently squeezing out a wet rag. After pulling off Rhyme's beanie hat and setting it aside, she also moved a bit of the girl's hair aside and placed the folded rag on her forehead. As though noticing Neku behind her without turning around, Aerith spoke. "She was a little cold earlier," she explained. "I doubt whatever she's going through will harm her permanently or kill her, but I'm doing what I can to keep any symptoms down so that she'll stay comfortable."
"You can't treat her?" Shiki asked, weaving her fingers together in worry.
"Can't treat someone if you don't know what's wrong with them," Riku pointed out.
"What he said," Yuffie piped up without looking away from her book.
Sora walked forward shyly. "Did you try a cure spell?" He suggested. "It might help."
"She has no injuries," Aerith said, "Nor any loss of energy. It just looks like she's in shock or something similar, but I've never dealt with this before. I'm staring to think it's not even physical."
The keyblade master looked away, scowling. Neku knew it wasn't from anger; Sora wasn't the type to let that happen to him. It was helpessness. Neku himself had felt it from time to time. It was the hardest thing for anyone to feel, knowing that even if they could save a world, saving a single life could be so much harder to do. Even though Rhyme's life wasn't at stake, whatever was wrong with her was strongly bothering the keyblade master.
"Well?" Shiki began. "What now?"
Sora sighed. "We're going to have to find some more information on the Zoners. They're after Ansem's other computer, and I don't think they're going to use whatever's in there to help anyone but themselves. Plus, they're after Neku, too, and if they want him alive it can't be good."
Neku agreed with Sora. Wanting someone dead meant they were a threat to them. Wanting someone alive, on the other hand, meant they were of use to them, and he didn't quite feel like being used against his friends again. No, he didn't feel like being used again at all. The Reaper's Game was bad enough, for something this big to be targeting him…something where more than just Shibuya was at stake…
"Looks like we're on the job again, then," Riku said, smirking.
After a moment of contemplation, Neku stepped forward, hands clenched into fists and visage stern. "I'm coming with you," he said. "I want to know why the Zoners are after me."
"Are you nuts?" Yuffie exclaimed, slamming her book shut. "You don't even have a weapon!"
Neku crossed his arms indignantly. "Give me a sword and I'll learn," he replied. "I'm not a baby. I can fend for myself."
Kairi stood. "If Riku and Sora are going, I am too."
Yuffie sighed and rubbed her head. "Why do I get the feeling that this was set up beforehand?"
"Maybe it was," Sora blurted out before twisting his face from smugness to disappointment. "Stop it, Roxas."
"Well," Riku began, "Let's go. Chip and Dale should have the Excalibur finished up by now. If not, we can just borrow something else for a trip or two."
"And make sure we have enough fuel for this trip," Kairi added before turning to Neku. "Are you sure you're okay with this, Neku? I'm sorry we had to drag you away from Shibuya like this, but …"
Neku took a deep breath, clenching his fists. He wasn't all that happy with it, no; but he knew that there was a reason this had happened to him, and it wasn't a waste, either. Something had also happened to Rhyme, and Aerith was just the person to treat her. To add to that, Neku himself was an important piece in the newest puzzle Sora was stuck solving. Who exactly were the Zoners, why did they want this Ansem person's computer, and why were they after him? He swallowed. "I want to. I want answers."
"Don't say we didn't warn you," Yuffie commented, going right back to her book.
"I'm going, too," Shiki said. "I'm not going to sit here and let Neku go out on his own and get hurt again."
Knowing what the seamstress was referring to, Neku winced. "Shiki, this isn't like-"
"You aren't changing my mind," the girl replied sternly. "I'm going with you and that's that."
"Give it up, Neku," Riku said, grinning. "Looks like she's coming along whether you want her to or not."
Neku sighed. This was yet another time that someone had come along and refused to be left behind, and like those other times there was absolutely nothing he could do to convince them to do otherwise. "Shiki…"
Shiki put her hands on her hips. "What?"
He looked away, rubbing his arm absently and hoped his face wasn't red. "Don't screw up."
The seamstress smiled, hugging Mr. Mew closely. "I won't."
With one negotiation out of the way, Neku turned to his only other (conscious) friend in the room. "Beat, I know you can kick some ass if you have to. Take care of everyone here, got it?"
Beat finally looked up from his sister and gave Neku a friendly smirk. "No problem. I can handle anything, yo."
"We'll do everything we can for Rhyme," Aerith said. "Please be careful, Sora."
Sora nodded. "It'll be okay, Aerith. I'll check in every now and then with Cid."
"Speaking of which," Neku said, stepping forward. "You can reach Hanekoma, right?"
Aerith nodded. "Yes, we can."
Neku felt his heart leap with joy, and a smile rose up on his face. "Can you tell him we're safe?" He asked. "If it's not too much trouble, that is."
"Of course," the woman replied, smiling back. "Cid's the only one that knows how to work contacts, so I'll have him send the message the moment he gets back from the lab."
"Thanks," Neku said.
"We'll contact you if anything comes up," Yuffie said, waving cheerfully. "Whether it's Rhyme or anything else. Make sure you check in every now and then!"
"We will," Kairi replied. "You guys be careful, too."
"Good luck!"
With one final wave, Sora turned and headed out the door, with Neku, Shiki, Riku and Kairi following. The moment they stepped outside, Neku paused to stare at the sky for a moment. It's still more open than the Shibuya sky, he thought. It's kinda eerie, after living in the city all my life, but it's still really beautiful.
"It is, isn't it?"
Neku spun around. There, standing nearby, was a familiar ghostly figure. He blinked. "Roxas?"
The figure stared back at him, quirking an eyebrow. "Again? Why does everyone keep calling me Roxas? Yeesh, now I know how Sora must have felt…"
The music-loving teenager blinked, rubbing his eyes and examining the ghost more closely. He did indeed resemble Roxas, but there were some minor differences. For one, his outfit was changed rather slightly. His vest was half-white and half-black with the left sleeve covered by an elegantly shaped metal shoulder pad. His pants, though slightly smaller in size, remained relatively the same, and his tennis shoes were more armored boots than anything. The boy also looked slightly older overall, and there was a familiar aura glowing around him. Neku narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"Who indeed?" the stranger teased, grinning. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you; I'm not a Zoner. I just wanted to see what you looked like, that's all."
"That's an odd reason to show up anywhere unannounced," Neku commented.
The stranger shrugged. "Why not? Where I'm from, you're the 'talk of the town,' you might say. I couldn't resist coming to see you in person."
"Neku, who are you talking to?"
Neku glanced at Sora and the others, who were staring at him strangely. He opened his mouth to explain, snapping his gaze back to the stranger…
…who wasn't there.
Aerith (Final Fantasy VII)
Freya (Final Fantasy IX)
Shantotto (Final Fantasy XI; Dissidia Final Fantasy)
