Okay people, yikes. I would have updated earlier, but not only was I in town (dentist and other stuff) but I also had to deal with an internet outage when I came home -.- You know the "Limited or No Connectivity" thing that pops up? That. Though I have to admit, this chapter took longer to write anyway 'cause I got stuck for a bit.
Anywho, I'm back now, so here's a chapter.
Chasing The Truth
By FlikFreak
Chapter Fourteen: Excalibur Returns
If what Aerith said was true, then Rhyme wouldn't be waking up until Neku and the others got back. Beat did his best not to show his anxiety, but it could hardly be helped. He could only keep up the tough act for so long, and he didn't know when his friends would return. For all he knew, that crash they had gotten into could have ended them. If that was true, then he would never see any of them again, and Rhyme would never wake up.
Beat collapsed in a heap, burying his face in the sheets and biting back tears. It was only when he did that he felt something cold and wet nudged his ankle. Looking down, Beat saw a small white dog sitting at his feet, head tilted and one pointy ear flopped to the side. His tail thumped quietly against the floor and he whimpered very quietly. Beat quirked an eyebrow at the mutt. "Who's he?"
Yuffie grinned. "Oh, him? He wandered in a few weeks ago. No one really knows where he came from."
"He got an owner?" Beat asked, stroking the fur on the dog's head, causing him to whine contentedly. He then examined the nametag on the dog's neck. 'Bolt'? Weird name. Upon looking closer, however, he noticed a black lightning-shaped mark on the dog's back. Oh. Now I get it.
"If he does, we don't know him," Yuffie replied, stuffing a few more books onto the shelf. "Bolt's fearless…nearly impossible to keep track of. He keeps us company, though, and I've even seen Leon petting him a few times." She looked up from her task and chuckled. "He seems to like you."
Indeed, Bolt had taken a liking to Beat. He rolled over onto his back, tongue lolling out of his mouth. With a sigh, the skater reached down and rubbed the mutt's belly, a grin tugging at his lips when Bolt's leg twitched. "Where you think he's from?" Beat asked.
It was then that Yuffie's smile faded. "We don't know that, either. His home was probably taken by the heartless. Somehow he managed to make it here."
Standing upright and shaking himself off, Bolt jumped up onto the bed and sat, staring at Rhyme's sleeping form and nudging her face with his nose. Beat shook his head. "She ain't wakin' up, yo," he said. "Not 'til Sora gets back."
Bolt gave Beat a strange look…one almost human. It was hard for him to discern, so Beat ignored it like he usually tended to do. Instead he returned his attention to Rhyme, pulling off her beanie cap again and stroking a few stray strands of blonde hair from her face. The way she laid there so unmoving and peaceful bothered him. He would give anything to see her open her eyes, even if it was only for a few seconds like the times before. Bolt licked her cheek, possibly hoping for the same thing, but Rhyme didn't even twitch. Saddened, he sat down and tilted his head, one of his ears flopping over.
Beat clenched a fist, biting his cheek so that the tears wouldn't come, but they came anyway. "You're gonna be okay, Rhyme," he muttered. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
Yuffie gave the group a quiet smile and left. Beat ignored the sound of the door closing and kept vigilant watch over his slumbering sister, the little white dog making his way to the empty spot on the pillow and curling up.
Sora's mind was racing. He had been confronting Jaxuk when Neku arrived, but hadn't managed to get much out of him. The nobody possessed incredible power; he had never seen anyone able to pin a ghost down before. Then again…was that a ghost he had seen?
I assure you, that wasn't me.
Then who was it? Kite looks almost exactly like you.
No clue…
He seems kinda familiar though. And he's a keyblade master, or at least he was. Who was he? And what was that about me being that ghost's 'vessel'?
I do the same thing.
That's different, Roxas. You're my Nobody. You have every right to.
But what about Kite? He seemed upset about it at any rate, and he even said he wanted to protect you and all, and he wouldn't hurt anyone…but…
Sora had barely cleared his head when the keyblade tugged at his mind. Glancing up, he noticed that Neku was sitting shell-shocked on the floor, staring at a long object in his hand. Sora took it in for a few seconds before his eyes widened in realization. Is that a keyblade?!
As though his thoughts had cued it, Neku dropped the weapon and scooted quickly away from it, eyes wide as saucers. The keyblade before Neku vanished in a soft flash of light, and Sora saw the boy place a surprised hand over his chest before glancing around.
Well, whadoya know.
Agreeing silently with Roxas, Sora stood and made his way toward Neku. "You okay?" he asked.
Neku nodded. "I think so. You have any idea what just happened?"
Sora shook his head. "I didn't see much. That Jaxuk guy blocked me off, but when he tried to attack you there was that light and then he was stumbling back." He glanced back to the spot where Jaxuk had vanished. There were a few black dots on the ground from where his glove had been melted. "I think your keyblade may have done it."
There was hardly a response from Neku. The boy was still considerably stunned, and Sora didn't blame him; he himself was rather surprised as well. He had said once before that Neku had the heart of a key bearer, and he should have expected this to happen, but…it was still a shock.
"Words hold greater power than even the mightiest of swords or spells." Zexion told me that once.
I guess he was right…
An awkward silence passed before Sora finally stood up. "Let's go. The others are waiting."
Neku gave Sora an odd look. "Weren't you looking for something?"
"Yeah," Sora replied. "I already found it though." He hesitated for a moment, thinking back on the other visitor that he had seen. The ghost…he was gone. Maybe Jaxuk had disposed of him, or maybe he had left? Either way, Sora couldn't feel that feeling in the air that he had felt when the ghost had arrived.
"Where's Kite?" Neku asked suddenly.
Sora blinked. Wow. Speak of the devil. "The ghost? He vanished." He looked away. I had so much I wanted to ask him…like who he was, what he did to me…
Neku slowly began to stand up, wobbling a bit before finally coming to his feet. "Which way do we go to get out?" He asked. "I don't think I can stand this place for much longer."
Remembering his previous encounters with the Parasite Cage, Sora pointed to the now-open cavity in the center of the chamber. "We jump through there."
"Jump?" Neku echoed, as though such an activity were taboo. "Do you even know where that leads?"
"Yeah," Sora replied. He was about to go on his own before he noticed that Neku was taking longer to get his balance. Oh, right…that happened to me for a while, too. "You need some help?"
Neku nodded, accepting aid from the brunette for a few moments before he could regain composure.
There you are. Mission accomplished?
Yeah.
Oh? Why the long face, then?
Well, he did it on his own, like I hoped he would, but now Sora knows about what I did.
I'm sure he won't be mad. He's a very forgiving person.
I know, but Roxas isn't. If you saw the look he gave DiZ you'd be heading all the way back to Kingdom Hearts just to avoid getting the same look yourself.
What, you were there?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Oh, for crying out loud…look, quick update on my end. Rhyme is still safe. Once Sora and the others get out of Monstro – which should be any minute now – they'll be headed off to get some Shoalweed to get the cure for Rhyme's…are you listening?
Yeah…
Oh, I know that look. What's wrong?
Don't you think that what we're doing is…well, wrong?
What…?
Think about it. Neku hates being used. Even if I did help give him the push he needed to protect his friends…aren't we just using him in the end for what we want?
Neku couldn't help but wriggle a finger in his ear. Ever since the keyblade had appeared in his hand, it was as though suddenly the world was a lot more vibrant than before…like someone had cleared up a blur in his eyes and pulled cotton out of his ears. Hell, he could even smell better, which didn't help the situation with the stench plaguing Monstro's innards. He could really do with a sound muffler right about now, and decided to pull his headphones back up over his ears.
Unfortunately, he hadn't even touched them when Shiki had noticed him and nearly tackled him to the ground. "Neku! Thank goodness you're alright!"
"Not so loud," He whimpered, wincing and grinding his teeth, but he was happy to see Shiki all the same. His eyes watered a bit, either due to actual crying or to adjusting to how much more he could see. Some things, however, caught him by surprise. …is that scented shampoo or does Shiki actually wear perfume?
Riku stood. "There you are. What happened? We heard a bit of bashing around…"
"Sorry about that," Sora said, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "We had a run in with a few Nobodies but Neku…" He hesitated, glancing over at the ex-proxy uncertainly. Neku returned the look. What was Sora trying to tell him?
Luckily, Kairi spoke up. "Well, at least you two are safe. We thought Neku might get lost in there; he ran off after you without really telling us why."
Riku gave Neku another one of those suspicious looks, accompanied by the usual menacing silence, and looked away. Neku flinched. Why does he keep looking at me like that? It's like I'm a criminal…
His thoughts were halted when a flare of light appeared nearby. All eyes were directed to it as it appeared just underneath the roof of the ruined boat, pulsing with familiarity. Sora's eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?"
As though to confirm his suspicions – whatever they were – a tiny, familiar figure hopped out of the light. "Hey, guys! Long time no see!"
Neku blinked. "Chip?"
"At your service!" The chipmunk replied. "We heard you got into a crash, and this is where we tracked ya down. Aerith nearly had a heart attack when the transmission cut off."
"Wait a sec," Shiki interrupted. "How are we supposed to get back? The Falcon's a mess."
Chip gave them a sly grin. "Who said you'd be riding in the Falcon? C'mon, we've got you a ride out."
"This had better not be a cheap one again," Neku heard Riku mutter as he dusted his pants off and speak louder. "Well, what're we waiting for? I'm more than sick of this place."
Sure you are, Neku thought sarcastically, feeling the previous nausea rise again. First thing I do when I go back to school…see if I can skip biology class and sign up for something else.
The group stepped through the portal, more than happy to be exiting Monstro's insides. They were greeted by a relatively bright control panel, with familiar windows, familiar seats… Sora's eyes lit up. "Guys! You fixed up the Excalibur!"
"Sure did!" Dale chirped up. "And we made a few minor adjustments, too. We put in some extra seats and a cloaking device so ya won't have to worry about Monstro again."
"Cloaking device?" Riku questioned as he picked his seat, feeling the handles of what looked like a steering wheel in front of him. Judging by previous experience, Neku decided it must be for the arsenal rather than the engines.
Chip rubbed his head. "Well, it's still relatively new so it's still got a few bugs, and it only works while you're in orbit. Monstro doesn't have very good eyesight, though, so we don't have to worry about it for now."
"Better than nothing," Kairi said, smiling brightly. "Thanks, you two."
He couldn't see it under the fur, but Neku was pretty sure Dale's cheeks had flushed red. "Aw, it was nothin'."
Giving off a grin of his own, Sora pulled up a transmission from the Restoration Committee…which came up a lot faster than when they had been in the Falcon. "Excalibur to Highwind, do you copy?"
The screen lit up with a familiar ninja's face filling its entirety. "Sora! Oh, thank Ventus, you're safe!"
The key bearer grinned. "And we're all still in one piece, Yuffie."
"Everyone's been worried sick about you! I just got back from the lab with Aerith; she's still working on Rhyme's antidote. Did you run into any trouble?"
Sora bit his lip. "Well…nothing huge. There were a few nobodies in there."
Why is he so hesitant? Neku wondered. Wouldn't he tell them that the Zoners had showed up and nearly killed me? Or that I have a keyblade now, if that's what it was?
Yuffie rolled her eyes and sat back, allowing a better view for Aerith. "Why am I not surprised?"
Aerith stepped forward. "Rhyme is doing just fine. Once we get the antidote to her, she'll be her old self again."
Neku looked away. No. Rhyme won't be her old self again. She never will be. That was lost in the Reaper's Game. She'll never get that back. Waking her up is about as close to that as anyone will ever get.
Sora nodded resolutely. "Shoalweed, right? I think I know where we can get some. We're gonna head on over there now."
"Thank you, Sora."
"Just one thing," Sora said. "Is Beat there?"
The two women glanced to the side, and Yuffie nodded. "He's here, but I don't think you'll be able to talk to him for now. He won't leave his sister."
"I see," Sora replied, his expression a mixture of relief and disappointment. Neku quirked an eyebrow; had he wanted to say something to the skater?
"Is something wrong?" Yuffie asked.
Sora shook his head. "No, nothing. If you could, can you tell him we'll be back soon? We'll be heading to Radiant Garden once we get what you need."
Aerith nodded. "We'll let him know. Thank you, Sora."
Neku leaned back in his chair as the transmission cut off. "Are you really sure you know where to find Shoalweed, Sora?"
"I agree," Shiki said. "We've never heard of it before, and even though Aerith told you where it can be found, you sounded like you've never even seen it before."
"It can't be that hard to find," Sora said, crossing his arms indignantly. "Besides, I have a good feeling about where we'll find it."
"Let's hope that feeling is right," Riku said. "Chip, Dale, you guys know where we are?"
"We're somewhere near Olympus," Chip replied with a salute.
Sora gave a low whistle. "It'll take all night for us to get there," he muttered. "We're in for an overnight trip, guys."
"Does this thing even have a place to sleep?" Shiki asked, hefting Mr. Mew higher into her lap.
"In the back it does," Dale said. "We added a few extra beds for you, too. Nothing fancy, but…"
"It'll work," Kairi said. "Come on, everyone. I bet you're all exhausted."
You said it, Neku thought, stretching and watching as Sora set the ship into auto-pilot. It was hard to tell when night was, given the fact that the stars were always out when you were in space. He turned away briefly and stared out the window. From where he was, he could see Monstro wandering off, and nearby was another planet that they were passing by. Several colorful auroras appeared here and there, but he looked past them, trying to see if he could make out Shibuya anywhere among the mass of sparkling lights. He couldn't.
The day had been exhausting and unbelievably long. He had fled Shibuya, wound up in Radiant Garden and learned that some group of universal enemies was after him, trekked through a desert and flew on a rug into some desert ruins, got swallowed by a whale of colossal size, had a conversation with a ghost, and attained a keyblade of his own (or at least had one appear in his hands and save him from potential pain)…all while avoiding getting captured, killed, and hoping that Rhyme's mysterious condition would improve. Did this all really happen in one day?
"Neku?"
He turned to see Sora standing nearby; everyone else had left. Neku nodded. "I'm just…well…"
"It's overwhelming?" Sora suggested. When Neku nodded, he grinned lopsidedly. "Yeah. It was like that my first time, too. You get used to it after a while." He peered out the window at the stars. "Only, my world was destroyed when I first started out. I wasn't sure whether or not I'd ever see home again, and restoring it wasn't exactly easy." He shuddered.
"You've been saving lives for years though," Neku pointed out. "You're used to it now."
Sora chuckled. "I sure hope so." He straightened up. "Hey, Neku?"
"Yeah?"
"I have a…well, kind of a favor to ask you."
Neku crossed his arms. "What's that?"
"The place we're going…" Sora rubbed his neck nervously. "It's not going to take quite that long to get there. It's not exactly the same as other worlds, so having five people swim around in a tight group would be pretty, um…"
"Suspicious, right?" Neku supplied. Yeah. I guess I could kind of expected…wait a sec. "Hang on, swimming?"
Sora shrugged. "Well, the Shoalweed is at the bottom of the ocean, right? We'll have to swim to get to it."
Neku glanced around nervously. "Look, Sora, I can swim, but how are we getting down there? Scuba diving?"
There was a mischievous grin on Sora's face and a glint in his eye that Neku had seen before. "I wouldn't worry about that, Neku."
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
"What I mean to say is that not all of us can go at once, so I can only take one person with me." Sora sighed. "I thought I might take Riku, but because of what happened in Monstro…" He glanced downward toward Neku's hand.
Oh, I get it. "You want to ask me about the keyblade that showed up?" Neku asked. "Can't you do that now?"
Sora shook his head. "Not just that…besides, Rhyme's your friend, right? Don't you want to help her?"
Neku nodded. "Yeah, but…why not Shiki? Rhyme's her friend, too."
"The place we're going is dangerous," Sora replied. "And there's something else, too…"
I know that look. "Alright, fine. I'll go with you. You'll wake me up early or something?"
Sora nodded. "Roxas will," He said. "I'll be putting us in orbit once we get there. With any luck we'll be back before they notice we're missing."
Neku nodded. "Alright, you do that. I'll go get what sleep I can." With that, he headed to the back of the ship.
The room was small and layered with hammocks. Riku had one near the floor with Kairi directly above him, and Shiki was on one wall just over an empty hammock. Chip and Dale took up two miniature ones nearest to the door. With a sigh, Neku crawled into his own – one farthest away from Riku – and stared at the unoccupied hammock over him before falling asleep.
I wouldn't count on that plan working if I were you, Sora.
Characters met:
Bolt (Chasing The Truth/Bolt)
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/???)
