I just realized that this fic is going to be like, twice as long as Playing For Keeps. Maybe longer. Whoa.
Chasing The Truth
By FlikFreak
Chapter Seventeen: Shoalweed
This can't be happening! How could he get past Beat, let alone my barrier?!
I don't know, and right now I really don't care. What matters is that we get Rhyme out of their hands before he hurts her!
Oh, they wouldn't dare. If I'm not wrong, they'll use her as bait.
Figures.
I've alerted the Traitor. He's going to get help in whatever way he can. That might not be entirely needed, though; I can feel something within the girl acting on its own.
You know what it is?
Not at all, but it might be helping. Go find Neku. I'll see if I can wake up Beat.
Got it.
Neku had received his own fair share of glares from Riku, but he had never experienced the boy's wrath. Now he was glad he didn't; Sora looked about ready to melt into a puddle of guilt.
"You could have been killed for all we knew! What do you think you're trying to pull?!"
"Riku…" Sora began, but he bit his lip when the silver-haired boy continued.
"Ugh…I don't believe this. This isn't like you at all, Sora. Ever since you got back from Shibuya, you've been dodgy around us and you won't talk about why."
"I didn't want to-"
"You could have at least told us beforehand that you were going alone!"
"But I-"
But Riku wouldn't have it. He was furious. "Kairi was worried sick when she woke me up. She thought you had gone overboard or something. Honestly, Sora, going on your own is one thing, but-"
"I'm not going to lose you again!"
Sora's words echoed throughout the cavern, silencing everyone. Riku stared, his eyes wide in surprise. "Sora, we're not going anywhere. We're with you on this, but we're just worried…what's wrong with you?"
But the brunette didn't reply. He turned around and swam further down the tunnel, leaving Neku alone with Riku. Neku sighed, starting forward.
"Hold it, Sakuraba."
Riku had used his last name, Neku noticed. Wincing, he turned back around and crossed his arms. "What?"
"You've been hiding something from me, haven't you?"
Neku blinked. "Hiding? What are you talking about?"
"Sora didn't tell us everything about what happened in Shibuya," Riku explained, crossing his arms and starting forward to follow Sora. "He didn't talk about what the game was that he got drawn into and refused to talk about something called an entry fee. I know you were there with him because you were his partner for the game. There's a lot you're not telling me, and I'm not sure I can trust you until you do."
So that's why he's been giving me those looks, Neku concluded, keeping his expression as stern as possible. "If you want to know about what happened to Sora in Shibuya, that's his place to tell you, not mine. Besides, we don't have time for that. The clock's ticking and I'm not going to keep Beat waiting for longer than he has to. Rhyme saved my life before, so it's time for me to return the favor."
For the first time since they met, Neku saw an expression of understanding on Riku's face as they swam forward. The silence wasn't broken until they caught up with Sora, whom had hovered quietly near the cavern entrance. Nothing was said, although Neku was sure Sora had been crying when they arrived; his eyes looked rather glossy.
"Shiki and Kairi went ahead," Riku stated, starting forward again. "They're probably in Ursula's chamber looking around by now."
Neku felt his cheeks get hot at the mention of Shiki for reasons unknown to him at the time. They pressed forward, past a very dark and uninviting tunnel (Sora shuddered harder than Neku did, and the ex-proxy figured that asking why wouldn't be a good idea) and into a much larger chamber, decorated with a small vanity set in one corner, a cabinet or two lodged in the wall, a large cauldron, and what was probably Ursula's bed. This place isn't so bad once you get past the tunnels…
Neku…
The boy would have tripped over his own feet if he had legs. "What the…?"
Sora glanced back, having sobered from his previous state. "Neku, what's wrong?"
"Didn't you hear that?"
Neku…
"Hear what?" Riku asked.
"Who's there?" Neku demanded.
Hurry…there is no time…
"Are you sure you're not just hearing things?" Sora suggested, his face filled with worry.
Neku shivered involuntarily. "Guys, We need to hurry. I just…something's wrong."
"Sora! Riku!"
The familiar face of Kairi, followed by a bright red fish's tail, swam up to them. Neku didn't remember which he noticed first: the fact that Sora was blushing furiously or that Shiki wasn't quite around at the moment. Neither worried him, although Sora's expression was perfect blackmail material right about now. "K-Kairi…"
The girl crossed her arms at Sora. "You could have at least left a note for us."
Sora looked away. "I'm not losing you again. Ever."
Neku saw Kairi's expression soften and he quickly took a hint. Swimming to the other end of the room, he found Shiki sitting (if you could call that position sitting) at the vanity table flipping through a book, her own green tail twitching as she read aloud quietly.
"Shoalweed…a rare variety of kelp, but a potent ingredient in various medicines…the only known cure for resonance-related conditions, also a useful ingredient in several other remedial potions…"
"Shiki?"
The girl looked up, surprised. "Oh, Neku…you had us all worried."
Neku gave her a nervous smile. "It wasn't my idea…"
Shiki swam up a bit and crossed her arms. "Still, you could have at least said something. Did you find any shoalweed yet?"
"No," Neku replied. "We think Ursula might have had some, so we came in here."
Nodding approvingly, Shiki pushed herself out of her seat. "Kairi woke me up and said that you and Sora were gone. Even if it was his idea…I was still…"
"I wasn't going to put you in danger again," Neku insisted. "After what happened in the game, I'd never forgive myself if you ended up hurt."
"You're still blaming yourself for that?" Shiki said, smiling. "It's been at least a month since then, Neku. I'm fine now."
But Neku wasn't so sure. After that first week, he had come to be good friends with Shiki…maybe something more. Perhaps that was why she had been taken as his entry fee. Then again, maybe it was something else. When she became possessed by the red skull pin, he could hardly bring himself to fight back, leading to some serious injuries courtesy of Kitaniji. Even though it wasn't Shiki's true appearance, it wrought him to the very core to see her eyes so expressionless, that same silence coming from her like the rest of Shibuya. Even now, with her real form, he could remember how hard it had been…he remembered if he'd ever get the chance to tell her…to tell her something he still hadn't had the chance, or the courage, to say…
Shiki tilted her head. "Neku?"
His thoughts popped like a soap bubble. "Yeah?"
"Your face is red."
Neku immediately winced and tried to find something else to focus on. "Oh, erm, well, ah…" Aw, cruuuud…
Shiki rolled her eyes. "Geez, you find it so easy to insult Joshua all the time, but you can't even tell me why you're blushing?"
"I am not blushing!"
"Then why is your face red?"
"Er…"
Noticing that the conversation was going in a direction that Neku was trying to avoid, Sora made his way over. "Come on, you two. We've got to find the Shoalweed for Rhyme."
Instantly sobered, Neku and Shiki swam toward the rest of the group as they exited the room and went through the tunnels, back to the sunken ship. Chompers, as Sora had so eloquently named the shark, was nowhere to be seen. Neku made for a nearby rowboat which was half-destroyed and half-buried in the sand, looking underneath it. There was a treasure chest that had been picked open, but there was nothing inside of it. When Sora swam by and heard Neku's explanation, he only grinned and kept looking.
Neku followed Sora into the sunken ship via the shattered window as they made their way below to search. It was only then that he could finally converse with Sora. "You shouldn't hide it from him."
Sora gave Neku an odd look. "Hide what from who?"
"The truth about the game…you haven't told Riku and Kairi yet, have you?"
The key bearer bit his lip and looked away, that same somber expression from his time in the game returning. "My entry fee…and what happened to me…I don't want them to know. I don't think I can handle telling them yet."
Neku somehow knew what Sora was referring to. Telling them wasn't the problem; it was dealing with their reactions. That's why anyone was ever afraid to tell anyone anything. What will they say? How will they react? Will their relationship be shattered, never to be mended again? He knew that feeling, he remembered that feeling…but he also knew that Sora felt it twofold, because if he died, so did Roxas.
He also knew something else. "You can't hide it forever Sora," he stated. "They have to know sooner or later. Besides, it wasn't as though you-"
Neku…
Sora blinked when Neku paused. "What?"
"That voice," Neku muttered. "Don't you hear it?"
"It's the same one from my dream," Neku explained hurriedly. "When I had that weird dream in Twilight Town, there was a voice guiding me. Why am I the only one that…"
Sora's expression changed. "Was it like…" he began, staring at the sand below them. "…like a voice that sorta came from everywhere, but you couldn't find it?"
You must hurry…
Neku nodded. "Yeah, like that. Why do you ask?"
"I heard it one time, too," Sora explained, beginning to swim out of the lower sector of the ruined vessel. "A dream I had, two years ago."
"Who do you think it is?" Neku asked.
Sora opened his mouth to reply and hesitated, crossing his arms. "I…actually, I don't know. I thought it might be the keyblade, but…I'm just not sure."
"Guys, over there!"
Everyone looked to where Shiki was pointing. There, waving silently and slowly in the water, was a small sprig of bright green seaweed. Neku swam close to it, noticing a metallic sheen on the leaf. He grinned. "I think we found our shoalweed."
"Is everything in place?"
Zarxilt grinned, dropping the unconscious Rhyme unceremoniously onto the ground next to the computer. "Yep. Once Neku comes crying for us to let Rhyme go, he'll be ours for the taking."
"The boy is smarter than that," Jaxuk pointed out. "I am quite certain that he won't take his friend back without a fight."
"That is true," Meyxours said, tugging his hood lower over his face. "However, Neku isn't the only one close to Rhyme. And Jaxuk, didn't you mention that Neku has…?"
"Yes, Lord Meyxours, though we are not sure if he has control over it yet."
"A strong heart is the main requirement to acquire such phenomenal power such as that of the keyblade," Naxeyv pointed out, his own shrowded visage sneering. "Although if that was not the reason, we must ascertain as to why else it selected him."
"The keyblade chooses its master," Jaxuk said, crossing his arms. "There are still many mysteries that even Ansem the Wise and the King himself do not know about. If the Chasers were still here, we probably would have had all the information we could have hoped for."
"We won't be needing that," Zarxilt assured them, grinning and glancing down at Rhyme's near-lifeless form dispassionately. "After all, you know what we're going to be doing with her, right?"
"Ah, yes," Meyxours said. "The girl's innate power…"
Jaxuk smirked. "This should be a lovely performance. All we need are the leading actors."
"And then it'll be playtime for me," Zarxilt muttered, laughing childishly under his breath and grinning.
It was weird having legs again instead of a tail, but Neku found it easy enough to readjust. Sora had placed the shoalweed in a bottle that he had swiped from Ursula's cabinet. He had failed to remember that it was full of water and ended up splashing it around a bit upon entering, much to Chip and Dale's annoyance. Kairi nonchalantly switched off the portal. "Everyone ready to head back?"
"Not exactly," Neku replied, checking to make sure his headphones were still in one piece. "I wake up first thing in the morning, learn how to swim with a tail instead of legs, nearly get eaten by a shark…" He shrugged. "By the time this is over, I'm going to need a really long nap."
"You'll get all the naptime you want after we help Rhyme," Riku said.
Something in Neku twitched. "What about the Zoners?" He reminded the silver-haired boy. "I won't be able to rest until they stop coming after me."
Riku sighed. "Which they won't until they're gone," he added. "Looks like you're stuck for a while, Neku."
"I don't need you to tell me that," Neku shot back.
Seeing the argument approaching, Shiki quickly approached. "Enough, both of you. Bickering isn't going to get us anywhere. Rhyme needs our help."
Sora nodded, stepping in. "Shiki's right. We're supposed to fight the Zoners, not each other."
Neku made his way to his seat and sat down heavily from exhaustion. He had never been so tired in his life, and he was far from resting. Rhyme needed his help, there were a bunch of universal enemies bent on his capture, probably followed by either torture or something similar, which would be certainly followed by death…or worse. The only way for him to get out was to keep fighting.
Neku…
He blinked. What's going on? He thought. Who's-
Make haste…there is little time for explanations…
"Guys! We're getting a distress signal!"
Neku was jolted out of his thoughts when Kairi made her announcement. Riku immediately made for the control panel. "Where's it from?" he asked as he took his seat.
Kairi's eyes widened in horror. "Radiant Garden."
Sora swore loudly. "Chip! Dale! Get warp drive ready for headquarters, NOW!"
"Aye-aye, Sora!" Chip replied as the two got to work.
Meanwhile, everyone was already buckling themselves in. Neku ground his teeth together angrily. He could deal with the mysterious voice later; there were more important things to focus on right now.
...well. It's okay I guess. Next chapter is going to be so much fun! :3
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/???)
