Chasing The Truth
By FlikFreak
Chapter Thirty-Four: Know More, Know Less
Sora hardly believed what he had just seen. The Aeon that had been there moments before was, in truth, a woman that had been robbed of her free will, forced to strike down people on her son's command. She begged them to stop her son. She gave them a parting gift.
And she had called them Warriors of Light.
But not all of us are of light, so to speak. Axel's a Nobody, and Riku wields darkness.
I don't get it either, Roxas…but I think maybe there's a meaning in there that we don't know about.
Good point.
But still…I've been called several things. This one doesn't surprise me that much, since Xemnas used it once…well, something close to it…but really, it just feels…
Different?
Yeah.
Sora stared at the scene around him. Beat was holding his sister close. Axel was sitting nearby, gasping for breath but still alive. Riku was still next to him, breathing heavily but still standing. "You okay, Sora?" he asked.
"Yeah," the brunette replied. "I'm okay. Stings a little, but I'll be fine…"
Nearby, Sora noticed Joshua standing calmly while Neku hovered over the still-knocked-out Shiki, his eyes glazed over. "No…Shiki, you can't be…"
"She's fine," Joshua assured him. "Just unconscious."
"Are you blind?!" Neku bellowed angrily. "She's bleeding worse than-"
Joshua rolled his eyes and interrupted. "Your screaming isn't going to help."
Sora bit his lip and stood, making his way over. "I'm no medical expert," he muttered, "But I do know something that can help." He ignored Neku's questioning and held the keyblade tightly in one hand, placing his other hand over Shiki's wound. Muttering a few words under his breath, he felt the comforting, warm aura of curative magic in the back of his mind and gave it a sharp tug, watching a soft green light wrap around Shiki's arm, mending the gash that had torn it. It faded as quickly as it had come, and Shiki's eyes cracked open, her fingers tightening around Mr. Mew's arm.
Neku swallowed. "You awake, Shiki?"
Shiki winced, and opened her eyes a bit wider. "Ne…ku?"
The former proxy wasted no time in pulling the seamstress close to him in a tight embrace. "You're okay," he whimpered. "You're alive…"
"Of course," Shiki replied.
Sora's witnessing of the exchange was cut short when a blur of pink tackled him to the ground. "Sora! You're okay!"
"Apparently we all are," the keybearer muttered back, finally identifying the blur as Kairi. 'You're okay' seems to be the phrase of the day today…
The look on your face is perfect blackmail material right now, Sora.
Shut up. How would you know?
Aw, c'mon. You can't deny you like her.
Knock it off!
Kairi finally pulled back. "Having an argument with Roxas?" she scolded playfully.
"He's the one that started it," Sora grumbled, but Kairi giggled anyway.
A familiar figure in a black cloak entered the area, accompanied by Bolt. Both looked worn out. "You guys made it," Xenuk observed.
"Barely," Axel replied. "I was starting to think that not even Fail Safe was going to touch that thing."
Fail Safe? Sora wondered. What's that?
No response came from Roxas, other than a seething anger. Sora began to ask him what was wrong, but the nobody mentally pushed him away.
"The others are still on cleanup duty," Xenuk explained. "There aren't many nobodies left, and it looks like the Zoners high-tailed it out when Anima went down." Bolt yipped in agreement.
"I doubt they high-tailed anywhere," Joshua replied, his voice without its usual sarcasm. "The Aeon was probably something to either weaken us or buy time. I'm sure they knew we'd survive."
"What I want to know," Axel began, "Is how Rhyme could sense all that stuff about Anima when we could hardly even see an attack coming."
Joshua nodded. "Things are calm enough now. Once we're back at headquarters, I'll explain everything."
"You mean you knew about this?" Beat exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?!"
"No one asked," Joshua replied calmly. "Besides, it wasn't exactly a good moment to tell. We didn't have the time before, what with the all the nobodies. Now let's go."
"So they released Anima," Meyxours echoed. "Impressive, but to be expected of the proxy."
"Yes, sir," Jaxuk replied. "I was unable to find them after the final explosion, however, but they will come after us without a doubt. It will be very simple for me to dispose of them this way."
Meyxours nodded. "Of course. Now, then…I must be off. Is everything prepared for our little escapade."
Jaxuk smirked. "Yes, of course. Every actor is in place. Now, it is only a matter of time…"
Approving of his follower's response, Meyxours grinned. "Good work. We begin immediately."
"With pleasure, sir," Jaxuk replied, his usual bloodthirsty grin on his face as he snapped his fingers and vanished into a dark portal.
"Rhyme is sensitive to mist?"
Joshua nodded. "Precisely. That's why she's been suffering this whole time."
Beat rubbed his head. "I don't get it, yo. She said she felt like she was drownin'."
"And how did that even start up?" Kairi asked. "People just don't suddenly become sensitive to mist…whatever that means.
"Of course not," Joshua stated. "Sora, do you remember when you allowed Rhyme to name the Remembered Dream?"
Sora summoned the said keyblade and nodded vaguely. "Yeah. She got spacey for a moment."
Rhyme nodded in agreement. "I kinda felt strange when I was holding it. Something just…felt different."
Joshua crossed his arms. "Coming in contact with Sora's keyblade served to bring Rhyme in contact with her lost entry fee from the reaper's game: her dreams. That, combined with coming into close contact with the keyblade's power, caused a powerful resonance, sending her into a deep shock and opening her senses widely. When the nobodies arrived in Shibuya, she caught a whiff of what had changed about her, and it overwhelmed her so much that she fell into a coma."
So that's why she passed out on the way here, Neku thought.
"Didn't Freya say something about the mist getting to people?" Riku began. "Past the point of just nausea…"
Joshua nodded grimly. "Had Freya not sent the magicians to the front line when she had, Rhyme would have gone into a berserk frenzy."
The room was awkwardly silent, most of all Rhyme staring with wide eyes and a gawking mouth. Shiki coughed in attempt to break the ice. "I can't exactly see Rhyme doing that."
"None of us can," Sora agreed. Neku regarded the keyblade master with understanding; after all, Rhyme had been the one to kneel at his side and save his life – or afterlife, in the case of the Reaper's Game – after they had defeated Xsoh. The very thought of Rhyme going into a frenzy was akin to seeing Minamimoto give up his math gig: it simply didn't happen.
"I doubt that Rhyme would have gone to such actions," Joshua continued. "At least not as a human."
Beat looked away, and once again Neku knew what he was thinking about. Though as a squirrel noise Rhyme was small, she was certainly a force to be reckoned with. It was with her help that they had managed to defeat Konishi.
"So basically she can sense magic," Xenuk said. "Or at least it's essence, like with Anima's attack, and when Anima was summoned."
"That's right," Joshua replied. "Being sensitive to mist isn't unlike having one's senses and power opened in the UG, however. The main difference is that sensitivity is far more potent and, most of all, dangerous. Though resting has helped her, Rhyme needs to return to Shibuya and stay there if she is to recover at all."
"I can't."
All eyes turned to Rhyme, whom was sitting straight up, her eyes narrower than normal. Beat was, as predicted, the first to give a vocal response. "Sis…you gotta go home if you're going to feel better."
"I'm not sick, Beat," Rhyme insisted. "I want to help everyone."
"You need to go back," Sora added, agreeing with Beat.
"Not yet," Rhyme replied sternly. "I think maybe I can help. Meyxours…he's still out there, but we don't know exactly where. And if he's a summoner, then maybe I can use the mist to find him. And besides, I already told you I can fight. I might not be as good as any of you, but I can at least try."
Axel quirked an eyebrow. "You know…that's actually a good idea. We can only see and hear so much, but from what we know, Rhyme can feel things that we can't."
Riku nodded. "Yeah. She could see Anima's attacks coming, but we couldn't see a thing."
"There's only one problem," Sora pointed out. "If that mist stuff gets to Rhyme really easy, won't it make it hard for her to…" He struggled to find the right word. "I dunno…function?"
Shiki nodded. "Sora has a good point. I don't think letting Rhyme walk around with a constant migraine is a good idea."
"Why not find a piece of Nethicite for Rhyme to carry around?" Xenuk suggested. "I think I might know how to get my hands on the manufacted version so she won't hurt herself."
"What good will that do?" Neku asked.
"Nethicite absorbs magic energy, remember?" Joshua reminded them. "If Rhyme is sensitive to magic energy, then that stone will keep it on a level that she can tolerate."
"Thanks," Rhyme said, "But I won't need it. I'm starting to get used to this now."
Xenuk shrugged. "If you say so," he replied, striding over to the computer. "The Nobody signals are weaker. Looks like they're either dying out or they're all gathering somewhere."
Riku crossed his arms. "If we've learned anything from traveling the universe for two years, it's that the enemy doesn't die out on its own."
"But where would they be going?" Kairi asked. "Wouldn't they be after Neku?"
Neku shook his head. "They're probably trying to bait me again," he grumbled.
"They don't particularly care about capturing you anymore," Sora pointed out. "After you finished off Zarxilt, they had a major change of plans…" The keybearer's voice trailed off and his face became somber. Neku looked away; he had a good idea what was going on in the brunette's mind now.
"But since they're not after Neku," Shiki began, "What're they after? I doubt they'd just want to give up on their plans and focus on killing him."
Way to be blunt, Shiki…but you've got a point.
"Easy," Axel replied. "They're looking for a new power source."
All heads turned to the replica, eyes wide. Sighing, Axel sat up. "It's just like what happened with Roxas. After the Organization couldn't get him back, they looked for a new way to get hearts, and for that they needed a keyblade, which Sora had. If the Zoners are anything like the Organization, they'll probably do the same thing."
"Meaning…?"
"Instead of using Neku as a power source, they'll use something else. Something similar."
"But since they couldn't get Neku," Sora reasoned, "Where else would they go?"
Joshua shrugged. "It's simple. There's only one place the Zoners would go to wrest control of power, especially if Neku had a very similar power. And with it in its chaotic state, they probably believe it to be ripe for the taking."
The answer was clear as day. "Shibuya," Neku breathed. "They're after Shibuya."
"They'd go after an entire world?" Shiki exclaimed. "Why? How?"
Axel crossed his arms. "Xemnas went after Kingdom Hearts before. To go after one world instead of the heart of all worlds might not be quite as severe, but still…that's insane."
"We'd better head over there," Sora suggested. "I've had it with all the trouble they've caused."
Xenuk turned to Joshua. "You're the one in charge of that place. Why did you leave?"
"As Shibuya's Composer," Joshua stated, eyeing Neku strangely, "I should be the one in charge of its safety, yes, but right now I'm not. However, it's in capable hands at the moment. I doubt they'll do much to it before we make it there."
"Capable hands?" Neku echoed, shifting awkwardly under Joshua's stare. "What're you talking about?"
"Wait a minute," Riku began. "Joshua's the composer of Shibuya…but didn't Sora say that the composer was the one that…"
"Yeah," Sora replied, staring at the ground. "Joshua's…the one that shot me."
Riku bellowed in rage and threw himself at Joshua. "Murderer!"
Axel grabbed onto one of Riku's arms while Neku seized the other. "Down, boy," Axel cried. "Try thinking before you attack!"
"Let go of me! This guy's a killer!"
"Death is treated far differently in Shibuya," Joshua said sternly, completely unfazed by Riku's actions. "What you may consider true death is erasure in Shibuya's UG. I had not planned to kill Sora in the first place, but Minamimoto's heartless left me no choice. I planned to bring him back all along."
"Still doesn't change the fact," Riku scowled.
Joshua smirked. "It really depends on what you consider murder, Riku. Besides, shouldn't I remind you who it was that saved all of you aboard the Black Pearl, and who was responsible for Sora's resurrection?"
Though the reasoning calmed him, Riku still gave Joshua a scathing glare. "I still don't trust you," he mumbled, "But I'll believe you for now."
"Then let's get moving," Neku said, clenching his fists and standing up. "We're going to Shibuya. Now."
You're going after him?
He's my friend. I'm not going to sit back and watch him get hurt.
Ven, you know why we're doing this…
But it's selfish of us! Even if we are helping the universe or whatever, we're still being selfish…just like Ansem the Wise was.
I know. We may be helping for a greater good, but in the end, we're only…
Yeah. That's why I'm going to tell him everything.
You're going to tell Neku about…?
Of course. I owe him. And you're coming with me, aren't you?
…I guess I am.
It didn't take long at all to reach Shibuya. Sora's driving was as reckless as ever in their haste, but Riku and Kairi did a decent job blasting the asteroids and various enemy Nobody ships out of their way. The moment their destination was in sight, Sora only increased their speed, only halting when they were close enough to orbit. "Guys…look."
Neku peered out one of the windows and immediately saw what Sora was referring to. The entire world was covered in a darkened cloud not unlike the one that had appeared when Anima had shown in Radiant Garden. The air pulsed, and he nearly jerked in pain. "Something's…" he began.
"We'd better get down there," Xenuk said, standing. "We're not accomplishing anything by just staying up here in the ship."
They stood, exiting through the portal in the back of the Excalibur the moment Sora opened it. Neku was the first to step through, and he was greeted by the stench of smoke and the sound of people screaming. Without waiting for the others, Neku raced out of the alleyway and identified his location. Dogenzaka. Didn't know we had a portal near here. He continued on, racing in front of the 104 tower and staring in shock at the scene in the scramble.
Fires everywhere. People screaming and running. Cars and other vehicles had stopped in their tracks. Windows were shattered. Chunks of the street were either missing or nearby in a window or smashed on top of something. Various familiar forms of nobody scurried about the streets. The music that greeted his ears when he summoned the keyblade expressed only panic and despair. The air was heavy with terror.
In short, Shibuya was in absolute chaos.
So. The end draws nearer...what awaits the crew in Shibuya? What has happened to Shibuya? And what's Ven up to, anyway? This and more, next chapter! (Hopefully)
Zoners:
The Deceptive Evoker, Meyxours (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy X)
The Elegant Reaper, Jaxuk (Chasing The Truth/???)
The Fallen Prince, Zarxilt (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy XI)
The Ruthless Emperor, Naxeyv (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy XII)
