Those of you that can find the FF12 quote in here win cookies. Also, STUFF HAPPENS.
Chasing The Truth
By FlikFreak
Chapter Five: En Route To Adventure
Perfect! They're headed for just the place I can use.
Really? Think you can pull it off there without interference?
Yes. It'll take a bit of manipulation on my part, but in the end I should be able to do it.
I thought you said you hated using him like this.
I do, but I know what'll come out of it. If Sora was right, then Neku is the answer to the problem with those Organization wannabes. All we need is the right setup so we're not interrupted…
Ah, I think I know where you're going with this.
Right. Let's get to work.
The plan had been set. Sora, Riku, Kairi and Neku were to head out once they restocked on supplies in the marketplace. While Kairi headed off to look for medicines, Sora remembered that Neku couldn't quite defend himself and made for a weapon rack. Neku was staring at the merchandise with great interest as well as confusion ("How the hell does anyone fight with just a shield?").
"Sora," Riku began, elbowing his friend, "You forgot one important detail about this mission."
Sora glanced up from the sword he was examining. "What's that?"
"We don't know where we're supposed to start."
"Oh," the brunette replied, going right back to his browsing. "Maybe we could hit Twilight Town…see if Hayner or the others know anything."
"Twilight Town?" Shiki asked, momentarily glancing away from a few outfits she was looking at.
"It's a small city relatively close to the darkness," Kairi explained, examining what appeared to be a potion bottle. "Normally a place like that is dangerous, but Twilight Town is really safe. There's a portal there that leads to the Organization's castle, but…" She glanced up. "I don't know, Sora, is it still there?"
Sora shrugged, pulling a sword out of a rack and examining it closely. "I haven't checked since we defeated Xemnas."
"For everyone's sake, we'd better hope it's gone," Riku said, leaning against a wall.
After a few moments of contemplation, Sora pulled a sword out of the rack. It was rather simple: a brass handle and a moderately long shaft. He quirked an eyebrow at it and moved it up and down in his hands. Yep, lightweight. He tossed it at Neku. "Catch!"
Neku looked up just in time to catch the weapon in his hands. "What's this for?"
"If you're going to be coming with us," Sora explained, "You'll need a way to defend yourself. Who knows if those Nobodies will show up again?"
"Or the Zoners," Riku added.
"I know," Neku replied, "But…a sword? I've always used psyches."
"No psyches here, though," Shiki pointed out.
"You'll get the hang of it," Kairi reassured him, gathering another few potions in her basket. "Besides, you said so earlier that you'd learn."
"Easier said than done," Neku mumbled, staring at the sword skeptically but eventually shrugging in acceptance.
Riku stood, making his way over to Sora and Neku. "Once we finish up here, we'll be leaving for Twilight Town. If you want to take another look around, this'll be your last chance for a while."
Neku bit his lip and looked away. Sora winced, knowing what was going through the boy's head. Quietly, he walked over and put a hand on Neku's shoulder, causing the boy to look back at him. "It's Shibuya," Sora began, "Right?"
"My mom doesn't know where I am," Neku said. "And we left without notice. People are going to be searching everywhere. And then there are those monsters that were after me…" He shut his eyes, looking away again. "I want to go back, tell my mom I'm fine, but if I do those things, those…nobodies…" Neku sighed, walking away a few steps. "If I go along with you, will Shibuya be safe?"
Sora nodded uneasily. "I can't make any guarantees, but if these Zoner guys are behind what happened at Udagawa, then getting rid of them will clear up this mess. Plus, if they're aiming for you, then not being on Shibuya would keep it safe…at least until they're gone."
Hearing this, Neku clenched his fists. "Anyone who messes with Shibuya messes with me," he growled. "I'll rip my face off and never listen to music again before I let anyone hurt my world."
"That's the spirit," Sora cheered, before suddenly rubbing his chin in contemplation. "Although, I've never quite heard it that way before."
"Sure sounds like you though, Neku," Shiki said with an odd smile.
"It works," Riku said, grinning. "I did the same thing, Sora…although, it wasn't for the islands, and it didn't exactly involve removing my face."
Sora shuddered, remembering how Riku had endured becoming Xehanort's Heartless to keep him safe while he slept and recovered his memories. He swallowed. "Come on. Let's go pay for our stuff and get going."
After forking over several thousand munny for medicine and Neku's sword, the group headed into the Gummi Port. Unlike the one in Shibuya, the one in Hollow Bastion was enormous, even larger than the one in Disney Castle. Neku fell silent upon entry while Sora headed on up to the boarding balcony. "Chip! Dale! We're back!"
The chipmunks jumped up onto the rail, their aprons stained with soot and their hands in a salute. "Welcome back, Capt'n Sora!"
"He's not a captain," Chip corrected his companion.
"I'm still having a hard time believing these two are mechanics," Neku commented.
"They're mechanics?" Shiki asked, eyes wide in wonder. Sora had to repress a chuckle; his first reaction had been that, too, long ago when he was in Traverse Town.
"Well, you could go and get Cid," Chip began, "But he's busy in the lab right now."
"Important stuff," Dale added.
"Yup, yup."
"Top priority."
"So, whacha need?"
"Is the Excalibur fixed up yet?" Riku asked. "We need to head to Twilight Town."
Dale scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, y'see, she's got a few blocks missing, one of the engines is shorted out, the windshield is beyond all hope, some of the cannons are bent in half…"
"Out of commission?" Kairi asked, wincing.
"It'll take a week," Chip lamented. "We can get you a replacement, though. Any specifications?"
Sora crossed his arms, looking upward for a moment. "We need a five-seater. Something fast, but with enough firepower to keep enemy ships off our trail in case they decide to stalk us."
"And cargo room," Kairi added.
"And cargo room," Sora amended.
The chipmunks fell silent in thought for a moment before waving the group up the stairs. "We have an option for ya," Dale said slowly as he scampered up the railing. "There's a spare we usually keep for the others to use, but they'll be busy around here for a while so you can use it."
Sora grinned, following. "Sounds good to me."
"It won't be nearly as good as Excalibur was," Chip informed them, "But until she's all fixed up again we can pull out a few spares we usually use when the Committee needs to get somewhere."
"But they're all in Cid's shop for repairs," Kairi stated. "What can you get us?"
Chip cleared his throat. "Well, the only thing we can get you right now is the Falcon."
"The Falcon?" Riku echoed, wincing. "All skiff; no ship…"
"She runs very smoothly," Dale insisted, "And, uh…she's all we've got for ya at the moment."
"It'll work for now," Sora stated. "Get us on board."
"He's a slippery one, that Sakuraba boy…why him, though? We could just use Sora…"
"That would have been an idea," the leader stated, "But Neku has precisely what we're looking for. It is only thanks to our late member Xsoh that we know about his power."
"Member? Don't you mean puppet? You did just use him as some sort of twisted power gauge. Besides, the keyblade master wasn't even the one that finished him off. He did himself in."
"Enough. Neku is our main focus and priority, but if he's going to be difficult we'll have to take other measures. Why not use many instead of just one?"
"Neku would be far more convenient for us to have. If it weren't for that blasted ambassador, we probably could have used-"
"It is of no importance now. We must find another way to bring him to us. He and the keybearers are undoubtedly searching for us. We'll just return the favor."
"Does that mean we'll be visiting them?"
"Of course it does," the shortest of the group said, crossing his arms. "After all, the rest of us should at least know what our opposition looks like."
"That's just like you, Zarxilt. Trying to use the only eye you have left to its fullest before you lose it, too."
The short one rolled his eye. "We plenty enough to deal with without your accusations. Need I remind you of what our escapee did?"
"Well, he would have been perfect if you had made him less accurate in the personality department."
The leader slammed his fist on his armrest loudly. "If I hear one more argument out of either of you I will personally see to it that you fall to the keyblade's rage. Now then, all of you prepare to leave at once, and when we get there, none of you are to capture the boy unless I order otherwise."
"Why not? Isn't he vital to our plans?"
"He is. Taunt him if you wish, but don't bring him in yet. I would like to see what he plans to do first…"
"Ah, yes. Him…"
Lift off was a lot smoother than when they left Shibuya, Neku noticed…probably because they hadn't been in such a hurry. The chair was also a lot more comfortable than the floor would ever be, and there was a strange satisfaction he got from watching the stars soar by. "How far away is Twilight Town?" he asked.
"Not all that far," Sora replied. "Enjoying the view, I guess?"
"It's amazing," Neku replied, barely hearing Sora's question. He had been too stunned to appreciate it before, but now that he could look without distractions, the sky was truly a beautiful sight. Countless stars dotted the black abyss, and every here and there were small clouds of color weaving their way through the universe. It was more like a painting than reality.
"Do you see this every time you go from world to world?" Shiki asked, just as amazed – if not more – than Neku.
Sora nodded. "Yep. I thought it was amazing when I first saw it, too."
"And each star you see is another world," Kairi explained. "It's incredible just looking at it."
"All of those stars are other worlds?" Shiki repeated, gawking.
"Every last one," Sora replied, his voice suddenly sad. "When the heartless were still running around like before, the stars were blinking out one by one. The sky was just really empty compared to the way it is now."
"We're almost there," Kairi interrupted, pointing forward.
Neku leaned forward in his seat to see a bright, round shape approaching them. He couldn't make much of anything out just yet other than some slightly varying landscapes. "That's Twilight Town?" he asked. "It looks kinda…small."
"It's not quiet as big as Shibuya," Sora admitted. "A lot of worlds out there are pretty tiny, like Traverse Town, but places like the Pride Lands are huge."
"That's because you have a different perspective when you're in the Pride Lands," Riku pointed out vaguely.
Sora put on a rather effective pouting face. "You weren't the one that had to fight the Groundshaker, Riku. You've got no room to talk."
"Groundshaker?" Neku asked. "What's that?"
"Remember the place where we fought Pi-Face and Xsoh?" Sora asked. When Neku nodded, Sora lifted an eyebrow in what was probably amusement. "Imagine a heartless that big."
Neku's eyes widened. "Geez! They can get that huge?"
Sora shuddered. "Hopefully not any bigger. Every step that thing took shoved me off balance…and it was way too fast for its size. I swear, that should be against the laws of physics."
Riku rolled his eyes playfully. "Sora, it's a Heartless. It doesn't care about the laws of physics."
"Do Nobodies get that big?" Neku asked, swallowing nervously.
"Only one has," Sora replied. "It was slightly bigger than that Darkside we fought in Shibuya, and roughly twice as powerful."
"I don't remember one like that," Riku said. "You sure one exists? Or doesn't exist, in a Nobody's case…"
"Roxas fought it," Sora explained. The matter was dropped.
Kairi stood. "Landing time. Does Twilight Town have a port, Sora?"
Sora shook his head. "No. We always went into orbit. Only time I didn't was when I first woke up here."
Neku blinked. Woke up? What, did someone kidnap him in his sleep? He sure talks about it casually…
The keybearer flipped a few settings on the control panel and unbuckled his seatbelt, standing. "Ready to head on down, you two?"
Neku nodded quietly. "Yeah. As ready as I'll ever be at any rate."
"Same here," Shiki replied, keeping her stuffed animal close. In spite of her words, she was obviously nervous.
"Don't worry," Sora reassured him, flipping one last switch. "Twilight Town is really safe as long as you don't jump off the clock tower or anything."
In the back of the cockpit, a large, swirling portal similar to the one that Neku had seen in the alleyway appeared. He stared at it suspiciously. "We have to go through that?" He asked.
"You catch on pretty quick," Riku commented, heading into the swirling light without a word. He vanished in a quick flash.
Kairi approached, patting Shiki on the shoulder and smiling. "Just walk through and you'll be fine."
Neku took Shiki's hand, keeping her close as he strode through the portal. The relatively bright cockpit of the Falcon vanished in a flash of bright white light, and as he stepped forward again he found himself in a large, open square nestled among numerous buildings. In the center of the square was a small booth-type shop like the ones in Radiant Garden, and a train ran along the tracks in town. On various billboards were fliers advertising sales, lost and found, something called Struggle, job offers, and a notice that the forest was off limits past curfew. The sky seemed trapped in perpetual sunset, something that Neku never really got to see much in Shibuya. At least not like this. It was amazing.
Sora appeared behind him, grinning. "Neku, Shiki, welcome to Twilight Town."
Upon hearing Sora, Neku finally understood how the town got its name. He did notice, however, one thing that was majorly different about this place from Radiant Garden and Shibuya. "It's really…um…"
"Quiet," Shiki finished.
Kairi nodded. "Every world is different," she explained. "Some more than others."
Sora nodded. "Some are jungles, some are deserts, and one of them is mostly wasteland. One of them is entirely underwater."
Neku blinked. "Underwater? How do you breathe?"
The keyblade master laughed. "That's a story for another time," he said, turning back to the scenery. "This is the Tram Common. Looks like I misfired our landing a little. I tried to get us in the train station."
"That's not 'a little,' Sora," Riku commented dryly. "The station is on the other side of town entirely."
"Hey, I tried!" Sora protested, fists clenched. "At least I didn't land us right off the edge of Yen Sid's tower!"
Neku ignored their small argument, staring at the sky. He could make out a few stars appearing, and the edge of the clouds had a slight orange tint. He couldn't help but smile; in all his life in Shibuya he'd never seen it.
"It's nice, isn't it?"
For a moment Neku was startled at the voice, expecting to see the ghost again. Standing nearby was none other than Roxas, a smile on his face and his eyes gazing upward. Neku nodded. "Yeah…I've never seen anything like this before."
"All Nobodies are born in Twilight Town," Roxas said quietly so that the others wouldn't overhear, though Shiki had and was making her way over. "Organization XIII kept a close eye on the place and recruited any of them that showed up. Their stronghold is near here." He paused, biting his lip. "A while ago, Sora had lost his memories, and was sleeping here to recover them. While that was happening, I was here in Twilight Town, trying not to get taken back to the Organization…"
"So you know the people here?" Shiki asked.
Roxas laughed bitterly. "I know them, but they don't know me. Not really." He grinned. "I'm still glad I got to meet them all, though. When I was finally back with Sora and he had to leave…" The nobody looked away sheepishly. "I couldn't help it. I got a bit overwhelmed because I thought I'd never see them again."
"But you did see them again," Shiki said, smiling warmly. "Didn't you?"
"Yeah," Roxas replied. "Even though they didn't get to see me. I'm…kinda happy."
And then Roxas vanished without a word. Neku and Shiki blinked; normally when Roxas vanished there would be a blue glow surrounding him. That's odd, the former proxy commented. Maybe there's something wrong or…?
"We should head to the Usual Spot first," Kairi stated. "Hayner and the others are probably wondering about us."
"Probably," Sora said, seeming a bit distracted.
Neku glanced at the key bearer; the brunette was staring at the sky, his eyes lost in thought. First Roxas, now Sora? Weird. Why do I get the feeling that something fishy is going on here…? Conversation started up again, and he abandoned the issue. He could ask Sora later.
"Hayner?" Shiki asked.
Riku nodded. "Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Sora met them the first time he came here, but the last time he saw them was before he headed off to face off against the Organization."
"Which was roughly a year ago," Kairi added.
Neku whistled lowly. "No kidding. They probably think you're dead by now."
Kairi smiled. "I doubt it. Hey, Sora, you coming or not?"
Sora paused, staring at the sky for a moment. There was an oddly distant look in his eyes, like he was barely paying attention. Riku waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "Hellooooo? Earth to Sora?" When the boy didn't respond, Riku sighed and started pulling on his friend's ear. "Wake up! It's time to go to school!"
With a yelp, Sora jerked back into reality. "Wha?!"
"Nice to have you back in the land of the living," Neku commented, somewhat amused. I wonder if he spaces out like this often.
Sora rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry…kinda got spacey there…what were we doing?"
"We were going to go meet up with Hayner and the gang," Kairi said. "You coming or not?"
The keyblade master furrowed his eyebrows. "Actually," he began, "Could you come with me, Neku? I want to show you something. Alone."
Riku blinked. "You feeling okay, Sora? The others are…"
"Yeah," the brunette replied, more slowly than normal. "Meet me at the station or something. I won't take long."
"If you say so," Riku replied, leaving with Shiki and Kairi in tow.
Once the group had left, Sora waved Neku to follow him. "This way."
Neku stared suspiciously. It wasn't like Sora to act like this. "What exactly are you going to show me?"
"It's in the forest," Sora replied. "You'll see."
There was a bad feeling in the pit of Neku's stomach, but he followed anyway. He knew he could trust Sora. They made their way past the square and toward the back of the small district, where there was a large chunk of wall missing. He stared blankly; hadn't anyone been bothered to repair it?
They ducked into the broken wall and entered a small wood on the other side. Neku noted that this must be the forest that the notice on the billboard must have referred to. The mass of leaves and limbs above blocked out what little sun there was, leaving not much light to navigate with. There was a thick blanket grass on the ground, sometimes interrupted by a large tree root. Sora stepped lightly about, his stance stiff and his eyes alert. Neku tilted his head curiously; what could possibly be out here?
They finally finished weaving their way through the trees and stepped out into a large courtyard, where Neku got his answer. There was a large stone wall with an closed iron gate in front of it, beyond which was an enormous mansion. Several broken pillars lined the way to the front door…not that they'd be heading there. The gate was locked. "What is this place?" Neku asked.
"The old mansion," Sora explained. "The locals think it's haunted. Before I had merged back with Roxas, he was in an alternate Twilight Town that you can get to from this mansion." He sighed. "It was a simulation more than anything. Everything he went through was fake. He hated it…he even hated me for a while, because I was the reason he was there…" He fell silent.
Neku furrowed his eyebrows. "How could you be the reason anyone was sent in there?"
Sora still didn't respond. There was an eerie feeling in the air all of the sudden, and Neku knew something was wrong. He rubbed his arms, noticing that the temperature in the air was dropping, and Neku felt as though someone was watching him. He began to back away. "Sora…?"
"Finally. We're alone."
Neku's eyes widened considerably. He knew that voice. It was the same dual voice he had heard in his dream. He spun around to leave, only to find that he was repelled from the only exit by a force field. Scowling, he turned back around and took a battle-ready stance. "What the hell is going on?!"
Sora, or rather his body, turned around. Neku's mind screamed in recognition when he noticed that the boy's eyes were glowing the same pale blue as he had seen in his dream. "Neku Sakuraba."
"Get back!" Neku threatened, reaching for his sword. "I'm warning you, I'm not helpless…"
"I'm not your enemy," Sora said.
"Then let go of Sora!"
Sora's head shook regretfully. "I can't. I need a catalyst for this. I didn't want to use Sora, but he's the only one strong enough."
Neku's eyes narrowed, unconvinced that this…stranger was an ally. "What do you need to possess him for?" He demanded. "You say you're not my enemy, but are you his?"
"No. I'm just trying to help."
There was a sincere tone in the voice, and Neku knew he wasn't lying. He rested his hand and stood, still wary in case it was a trick. "Help? How?"
"The power that sleeps within you," Sora stated vaguely. He summoned Remembered Dream into his hand, pointing it directly at Neku. "It is time it became unlocked."
The dream! The dream! Run! Get away! Anything could happen! Save yourself!
It happened in slow motion. Neku began running forward, hoping to snap Sora from his daze by tackling him. Golden light gathered at the tip of the keyblade. Just as Neku began to leap forward, the light erupted into a narrow beam, striking Neku directly in the center of his chest. The former proxy was thrown backward. He choked, gagged, and gasped for air as his vision began fading. Sora finally jerked out of his trance and fell to his hands and knees, panting heavily. Neku expected to hit the ground just as his vision faded, but his senses began to play with his mind and perception of reality. The grass beneath his feet rippled like water, and he fell through the ground into an endless black abyss.
His body went numb.
Okay...this chapter is two percent better. But from here on out, things are going to get pretty chaotic for our favorite proxy.
May edit this chapter...iunno...hope you guys like it.
