Note: The black coat theory in this chapter is true. It's in a cutscene in Re:CoM if you don't believe me.

Chasing The Truth

By FlikFreak

Chapter Seven: The Zoners


It was a long walk back to the Usual Spot with an unconscious Neku to carry, but Sora did it without complaining. Neku wasn't quite in the state that Rhyme was, though he had been knocked unconscious by something, he was still breathing and wasn't pale.

Entering the Usual Spot was a bit of an occasion. Riku had taken to leaning against the wall while Kairi, Shiki, and Olette had spread themselves out among the couch and chair. Upon seeing Sora, Pence and Hayner enter with an unconscious Neku, they stood immediately. "What happened?!" Riku demanded.

"We found them at the mansion," Pence said. "This guy was passed out when we got there."

Kairi and Shiki evacuated the couch and placed Neku on it. Hayner rolled his shoulder a bit. "He's a lot heavier than he looks," he muttered. "Sora, you sure you don't know what happened?"

Sora sighed. "I was going to show him the mansion when my head started to hurt. The rest of it is just a big blank."

"You mean you don't remember?" Kairi asked, concerned. When Sora shook her head, she sighed. "Well, at least you're all right. What about Neku?"

"He was out when I came to," Sora replied, "So I'm not sure what hit him…but I think he's okay. I don't think anyone attacked us."

"Who is he?" Olette asked.

Sora nearly slapped his own head. Duh, we drag a stranger in and we haven't even introduced him yet. "His name is Neku Sakuraba," he began. "I met him when I had to visit a place called Shibuya."

"So he's Neku," the girl said. Shiki nodded, giving Sora a wave of relief; the seamstress had probably explained enough for him while he was gone. Awkward somehow, but convenient. At least be could skip introductions for once, even if all he ever did was say 'I'm Sora' and leave it at that most of the time.

There was a low groan and Neku finally opened his eyes. Sora let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and smiled. "Morning, Neku."

Neku grumbled something about the time and sat up, staring at everyone in turn as though they would suddenly lash out and attack him. After a few moments of silence, he swiveled in his seat and moved his feet from the cushion to the floor. "What was that…?"

"We found you passed out in front of the old mansion," Pence explained. "Do you remember anything about what happened?"

"…not really," Neku replied, seeming hesitant. "Sora was telling me about the place and then I just sort of passed out."

Riku didn't seem entirely convinced, but he remained silent. Shaking off a sudden feeling of premonition, Sora swallowed. "You feeling alright, Neku?"

Neku furrowed his eyebrows, then nodded. "Actually, I feel fine." He glanced around. "Who are these people?"

Okay, maybe we didn't skip all the introductions. "These guys are Hayner, Pence, and Olette. They're some of the Twilight Town locals." Sora turned to the said locals. "Guys, this is Neku Sakuraba."

"We know," Hayner pointed out dryly. "You told us that when he was still unconscious."

Olette crossed her arms. "Hayner, he's trying to be polite."

"Hang on," Pence interrupted. "Didn't we meet someone yesterday that was looking for Neku?"

Immediately the keybearers and Players were at attention. "Someone was looking for me?" Neku repeated.

Pence nodded eagerly. "Yeah. He was wearing a black coat, and he had some weird mask on his head."

"And he sure was in a hurry," Hayner added. "He said something about a cave and a computer. Last time we saw him he took off for the station."

"Think it was a Zoner?" Sora asked Riku.

The silver-haired boy shook his head. "Can't be sure. We haven't seen or heard from any Zoners since we heard about them, aside from Xsoh."

"Is something wrong?" Olette asked, concerned.

Sora took a deep breath, pondering how to explain this without spilling too many details that were better left unknown. "There's a group of people called Zoners controlling the nobodies nowadays," he stated. "They're after Neku for some reason, but we aren't sure why. They've also been causing a lot of trouble, so we're tracking them down to get rid of them." He crossed his arms. "The only problem is we weren't sure where to start. All we know for sure is that they're after a really powerful computer that used to belong to a well-known scientist."

"I'm guessing that if they get a hold of the data," Pence began, "Then it means bad news for all of us?"

"That would be an understatement," Riku commented, "But something like that, yeah."

"It doesn't explain why they want Neku," Kairi added, "But as far as we can tell so far, they don't even know how to turn it on."

"I wouldn't give them a chance to if I were you," Hayner said, taking a seat on top of a table. "If I were in your shoes I'd get rid of them all before they could even figure out how."

"That's the plan," Sora replied. "If one of them was seen around here, then we're on the right track."

"So let's go find him," Neku said. "If he's the guy that tried to mess with Shibuya, then I've got a serious bone to pick with him."

Shiki winced. "Don't be so reckless, Neku. We still hardly know who or what they are."

Neku crossed his arms. "Then we'll find out. Besides, if they want me alive, they wouldn't dare hurt me."

"Good point," Shiki sighed, "But they might knock you out and drag you wherever they want. It doesn't hurt to be careful."

"We'd better go check it out either way," Riku said sternly. "The fewer people hurt by these guys, the better."

Kairi and Shiki stood, heading out the door along with Riku and Sora. The brunette, however, paused and glanced back at Neku to wave him along when he caught the former proxy staring at something. When he looked closer, he could see what it was.

There was a cut across the back of his hand.


"Find anything, Cid?"

The engineer grumbled at his computer screen. "Not much, Leon. Apparently the data in that computer has something to do with Organization XIII. Other than that, Tron isn't picking up anything."

The data is extremely complex, Tron replied. Even more so than the data on this computer alone.

"So it is a supercomputer," Leon concluded, crossing his arms. "If the Zoners find a way to turn it on, then we're toast."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zidane replied, stepping in and looking rather pleased with himself.

Cid was somewhat frustrated at the sight of the monkey-boy, but didn't show it. "You again. Find anything?"

Zidane nodded. "Yep. It looks like the computer there is as functional as any other. It's not that they don't know how to turn it on; it's that they can't turn it on."

"Why not?" Leon asked.

"Search me," Zidane replied, shrugging. "The Ambassador was taking another look around and that's basically the conclusion she came to. There was proably more; you know I'm not fluent in Shantotto-speak."

"Then I suggest you bring her to the headquarters," Cid said, standing up. "Tron, can ya keep scanning for me? And lemme know if you find anything."

Certainly, Mr. Highwind.

Cid nodded. "Right. Now, then, go get the ambassador and let's head to HQ pronto. If we can get a hold of Sora and the others, I'd like them to know what's goin' on."


The station plaza was rather empty compared to nearly everywhere else in Twilight Town. Neku saw no one near, but in spite of that fact he felt a chilling sensation around him, and remained on guard.

"A black coat means Organization XIII," Sora muttered, "But I wiped them out a while ago."

"But the king and Riku wore black coats once," Kairi pointed out. "Maybe it's something different."

"Why did they wear those black coats, anyway?" Shiki asked. "I mean, couldn't they be a bit more…I dunno, original?"

"The black cloak basically shields them from being devoured by darkness," Riku explained. "Even Nobodies can't rule the darkness. If someone is able to sense your presence, the cloaks can stop that, too."

Shiki hummed thoughtfully. "That's pretty useful."

"Where'd you hear that?" Sora asked.

Riku's expression stiffened a bit. "DiZ told me a long time ago when he gave me mine."

Neku furrowed his eyebrows in thought. If those coats had the ability to protect one from darkness or stop other nobodies from sensing them, then there was no doubt that the one wearing it was trying to shield himself from darkness…or maybe he was trying to hide himself from the Zoners. Neku couldn't be sure until he saw with his own eyes.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to show himself."

All five of them stiffened at the sound. The voice was unfamiliar, and just as menacing. Sora clenched his fists. "Zoners," he hissed.

Riku drew his keyblade. "Show yourselves, you cowards!"

They did. First was a tall figure in a black cloak. And then another one, slightly more muscular but shorter. Another one, quite thin. And a fourth, whom could have only been a child.

"Black cloaks?" Neku commented. "Not earning points for originality, are we? Even if it does serve as protection..."

Remembered Dream flashed into existence in Sora's grip. "Now we finish this!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, dear boy," Said the slimmest one. "You don't have nearly the power to take us on."

"And look!" The shortest one said, pointing to Neku. "The proxy! Just what we were looking for!"

Neku's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who're you calling a proxy?!" He demanded, pulling his sword out of his belt.

The tallest sighed. "Such a pity. Here I thought we could convince you…"

The shortest one laughed humorlessly. "Oh, come on. You know how stubborn Neku is."

"I'm right here, you idiots," Neku grumbled.

"Correct," the slimmest one said. "We are impolite. Shouldn't we at least introduce ourselves to these brave young people?"

The most muscular nodded. "We should, indeed. We are the Zoners, a group of five only seeking to find a few lost friends of ours."

"Five?" Riku echoed, his keyblade still ready to strike. "Did you lose your ability to count when you lost your hearts? I only see four of you."

The shortest sighed. "Well, there were five of us until you went and killed Xsoh. Not that he was all that helpful or anything. Just a little test of ours to see if Neku here was worth our trouble, and goodie for us, he is."

"You said you're looking for lost friends," Shiki began. "Who?"

"Other Nobodies, of course," the muscular one said. "Ones that were going to get their hearts back."

Sora was obviously holding back a laugh. "Hate to break it to you, but Organization XIII is gone."

The muscular one crossed his arms. "Not as gone as you may perceive, boy."

The tallest took a few steps forward. "Now, Sakuraba, if you'll just come with us like we so kindly-"

"Don't!"

All eyes spun to another figure in black. Unlike the others, his stance wasn't confident. He seemed afraid, the way he kept his distance. He also wore a black cloak, his hood pulled down roughly with a bit of his face showing. Though Neku didn't know the boy, there was something strikingly familiar about not his appearance, but his voice…

The shortest of the Zoners scowled, backing away. "Traitorous little…"

It clicked in Neku's mind. This boy was the stranger that Pence had mentioned. He rested his sword. "Who-"

"If you go with them, they'll kill you!" The stranger insisted. "You can't believe them!"

"That's enough!" the short Zoner cried. "If you know what's good for you, then you'll-"

The tallest waved him down. "Zarxilt, that's enough. We're leaving." With that, he vanished in a swirl of black. The muscular one followed without a word.

The slimmest sighed. "Such a short meeting…I was hoping to perhaps do a bit of…enticement." And he vanished.

Zarxilt, the shortest of them, harrumphed and crossed his arms. "You may be lucky today, Neku, but don't get cocky." And he left.

Thankful that the area was now clear, Neku turned to the stranger that had intervened, only to find that he was gone as quickly as he came. He furrowed his eyebrows. True hero style, he commented with a hint of humor. He shows up to save the day and leaves faster than he arrived.

Keyblades vanished and arms crossed in contemplation. "Why are they after Organization XIII?" Sora wondered. "Every last one of them has been killed aside from Roxas."

"You took them all on yourself?" Shiki asked, eyes wide.

Riku shook his head. "No. Sora did take on most of them, but I had my fair share of fighting the Organization. Axel turned traitor, killing a few other members and then sacrificing himself to help Sora into their stronghold. Roxas only survived because he called it quits and merged back with Sora."

"Axel was the only one Roxas ever liked," Sora said, biting his lip and looking away. "They were best friends."

"What now, though?" Kairi asked. "We're right back to where we started."

"But at least we know what they look like," Riku pointed out. "And we not only know one of their names, but they've also got their own traitor."

"Speaking of which," Neku interrupted, "Don't you think that guy was kinda…familiar?"

Shiki crossed her arms. "I couldn't see most of his face, but I could have sworn I heard his voice somewhere before."

"Not the guy that attacked us at Udagawa," Sora said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "But if the Zoners wanted Neku alive, why would they kill him afterward?"

Neku rolled his eyes. "Knowing how things worked in the UG in Shibuya, they probably use what they've got for all it's worth and dispose of what they no longer need, people included."

Sora's face darkened with anger. "Like they tried to do to me," he muttered quietly. He had apparently not meant it to be heard, but Neku picked it up clearly.

"They're an odd group, though," Kairi said. "One of them had to be at least twelve or something."

"Don't let his age fool you."

Will the surprises never end? Neku wondered as they turned around to once again find the 'traitor' from before standing behind them. He felt like throwing a round of Twenty Questions at the stranger, but instead decided to stand warily in case he was mistaken. "Can't you decide whether you're going to leave or stay?"

"Zarxilt may look like a kid," the traitor continued, ignoring Neku's comment, "But he's not, trust me. Even as a Somebody he looked like that, and he only kept up the kiddy act to trick everyone. He just keeps it up as a Nobody so his façade won't fall apart."

"Where is he now?" Riku demanded.

The traitor shrugged. "No clue. They're probably going to cause a little bit of mayhem and panic to lure you in, though, so it'll be easy enough for you to track them."

"You mean they're baiting us," Sora corrected.

"Whichever."

Kairi stood her ground. "Why are you telling us all this? Aren't you a Zoner, too?"

Scoffing, the traitor crossed his arms. "They're no friends of mine. They only wanted to use me the same way they want to use Neku. I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly fond of being anyone's tool."

"Neither am I," Neku agreed.

"Hold it," Shiki interrupted, stepping forward. "Why are you helping us?"

"Who knows?" the traitor replied. "Maybe I'm just interested to see what you decide to do." And with that, he vanished without a trace, once again leaving Neku's questions unanswered.


I thought you said you were to awaken him.

I did. It doesn't always happen right away. Even if it did work, there's no guarantee it'll happen. There's always some sort of interference that could postpone it.

But he passed the trial, didn't he? Surely that means he is ready.

Just give it time. Sit back and enjoy the show, if you know what I mean.

Don't you plan to step in eventually? If Neku proves to not be enough for what the Zoners are after, you know what their next target will be.

I know.

And there's the girl as well. Will she…?

She'll be fine. If all goes well, she'll be on her feet in no time. You're seeing to that, aren't you?

No. Aerith is doing a fine job looking after her, but the girl must recover on her own. I am, however, keeping an eye on her progress.

What was it that made that happen to her, anyway? That Hanekoma guy said that she had 'come in contact with something she didn't possess.' What do you think it was?

You haven't figured it out yet? It's so simple…


Shorter chapter...but eh. Character meeting time!

Characters met:

Hayner (Kingdom Hearts II)
Pence (Kingdom Hearts II)
Olette (Kingdom Hearts II)
The Traitor (Chasing The Truth/???)

Zoners:

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