For some reason…this chapter was quite difficult to write…and is thus somewhat iffy.
Chasing The Truth
By FlikFreak
Chapter Thirty-Five: Chaos in Shibuya
With citizens running around in panic, buildings aflame and the general area slowly being destroyed, it was almost impossible for Neku to recognize Shibuya. He could see the 104 tower still standing strong, although he wasn't sure how long even that would last. The nobodies either chased around the nearest bystander or were helping to destroy vehicles, buildings, the street, or anything else they got close to. It was almost sickening, and Neku felt helpless.
The most surprising thing, however, was Xenuk's reaction. He had gone pale and stared at his surroundings as though they would leap out and attack him. He seemed even more shocked than Neku himself "This can't be Shibuya…it can't be…"
"I'm afraid it is," Joshua replied.
Neku shot the Composer a furious glare. "You call this handling it?" He demanded. "I thought you said Shibuya was in capable hands!"
Joshua nodded, expression unchanging. "And I did. I wasn't lying."
"But this place is falling apart!" Riku protested. "How is this 'handling it'?!"
"This isn't my doing," Joshua replied calmly, folding his arms. "One of the Zoners must have had a hand in this."
Axel sighed. "As usual…why am I not surprised?"
"Who exactly did you leave in charge?" Shiki asked.
Joshua ignored them thoroughly. "I'm going to head for the UG and gather the Reapers. It might not be much, but I'm going to do what I can to stop or at least slow the decay. In the meantime, you all need to find the one responsible for this and take him down. The moment you do that, the small fry should be easier to handle."
"What makes you think we'll listen to a murderer?" Riku growled, summoning Way to Dawn. "I should really just-"
"We can trust him," Neku interrupted, earning a strange look from Riku but ignoring it. "I don't like it either, but we've got no choice!"
Axel summoned his chakrams in a burst of flame. "I'm with Neku on this one," he said. "We're fighting the Zoners, not each other."
Xenuk nodded. "Right. Anyone have any idea where he might be?"
"Udagawa," Rhyme said. "I think I feel something in that direction…"
"Then let's go."
Weapons were either summoned or drawn. As some of the nearby Nobodies redirected their attention, the group charged forward, slicing through any enemies in their way.
Where are they?
In Shibuya. I saw them leave just minutes ago.
Are they still alive?
They're handling themselves so far, but I wouldn't count on them to make it out alive if they find Jaxuk. You know what he's like…
Jaxuk…but isn't he…?
Yes, he is.
In that case, we don't have time for this! Hurry!
Rhyme's suspicions as to there being something in Udagawa were spot-on, although it wasn't a Zoner: it was a fairly large crowd of Dragoon nobodies. Nonetheless, Neku wasted no time in summoning Music of Shibuya. He almost instantly regretted it: the music in his ears was in a panicked disarray, screeching and without any order whatsoever. Rhyme must've been in a similar state; she was clutching her head with one hand.
Fortunately, the dizzy spell was over quite fast, leaving Neku with enough composure to aid his comrades in the vanquishing of the pale white intruders. Music of Shibuya bellowed in rage, the tune in Neku's mind raging louder with each strike, and with each strike the chaos seemed to mend…if only a little.
Neku let loose a battle cry as he sliced through another dragoon, clearing the vicinity of Udagawa. He then promptly gasped for breath. "Is that the last of them?"
"For now," Riku replied. "I wouldn't count on this place staying safe for long."
"I really liked these guys better when they were on my side," Axel lamented casually.
Sora eyed the replica with suspicion. "Don't do anything reckless."
Shiki kept a steady hand on Mr. Mew, ready to lash out at a moment's notice. Beat, on the other hand, kept one foot on his skateboard and held Rhyme close to him protectively. Sora, Riku, Kairi and Neku held their keyblades at ready, Axel spun his chakrams, and Xenuk simply stood warily. Three more dragoon nobodies appeared in response to their preparation to defend.
"Where are they all coming from?" Neku grumbled, readying a strike.
He didn't have to. A flash of tan and blue intercepted what would have been an impaling attack from the dragoons. A double-blade spun in the air, slicing through all three in one swift movement and disposing of them. The attacker stood with his feet spread wide, the swallow blade in one hand while the other hand remained out for balance, and his tail…wait a minute, that's…!
Sora's eyes widened. "Zidane?"
"Nice to see you too," Zidane replied blandly. "This place is such a mess I'm not even getting any stares. Mind telling me what happened?"
"Is that really necessary?" Riku said. "The Zoners are making a mess of things. As usual."
Zidane's gaze narrowed. "Then I'm in the right place at the right time for once. You haven't seen any of the Zoners, have you?"
"Not yet," Kairi replied, shaking her head. "Rhyme pointed us in this direction, though, so something must be here."
The tailed man only nodded. Xenuk crossed his arms. "Not every day an off-worlder goes hopping around from place to place without reason. Care to tell us why you've decided to visit Shibuya at the precise moment it's practically falling apart?"
Zidane glanced away. "I'm looking for Kuja."
"Kuja…?" Shiki echoed.
"An old enemy of mine," Zidane explained. "He's…well, a long time ago I thought he had been killed in an explosion that he himself caused. When I saw the Zoners running around, I recognized him, so apparently he hadn't been killed."
"He became a nobody?"
Zidane nodded. "Yeah…I managed to get rid of his heartless, but it was too late when our own world was destroyed by his nobody. That seems to be something the Zoners all have in common…all of them, except for Xsoh of course, have destroyed their own home worlds."
Sora swallowed nervously. "Destroyed them…recently?"
"Yeah."
Neku felt the bout of rage within Sora rise rapidly thanks to the changing tone in the music around him. The brunette's hands trembled. "Why? How? I thought that I put a stop to that…"
"If there's a way to restore them," Zidane replied quietly, "I'm sure you'll know once we find it. For now, you should probably focus on what's going on right now."
"But Kuja isn't one of the Zoners," Shiki stated. "There's no one in the group named Kuja."
"You've got a lot to learn," Xenuk muttered.
The seamstress blinked. "Wha…?"
"Every nobody's name," Axel explained, "Is an anagram of their original name…with an 'X' added. Got it memorized?"
"With the only exception being Naminé," Sora added.
Zidane nodded. "Axel's right. Kuja's known as Jaxuk right now."
Neku's hands tightened against the grip of his keyblade. Jaxuk was the one that had challenged him in Monstro…the one he had barely defended himself from. So, Zidane's after him…but why?
"How do you know Kuj…Jaxuk?" Rhyme asked.
"He comes from the world I used to live on," Zidane explained. "I was supposed to…well, take his job so to speak, but he felt threatened by me and dumped me somewhere else. At some point he went into what we call trance…it's a state of immense power that someone experiences when their emotions reach their limit. He used that to destroy one world, and when I went back to my home world I faced off against his heartless…but his Nobody was still around, and I didn't know about it. That nobody finished what the heartless started, and I wound up in Radiant Garden with Freya. Since then, I've searched all over the place for Jaxuk and I haven't found him yet, so he must be here."
"So you're going after him to stop him from doing anything else?" Axel asked.
Zidane shook his head. "Not just that. I've got a score to settle with him, big time."
Kairi bit her lip. "You're only out for revenge?"
The area went silent as Zidane looked away, his face still stern. After a few moments, he finally nodded. "…yeah. He manipulated a queen to get what he wanted, destroyed an entire kingdom, manipulated said queen again to destroy another kingdom and force another to surrender after being almost entirely destroyed, killed his so-called father and the queen he manipulated, destroyed his home world as well as my own, and tried to kill me I don't know how many times."
"Geez," Riku gawked. "He did all that?"
"I probably missed a few things," Zidane grumbled, "But yeah. After all that, who wouldn't want revenge?"
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," Rhyme said, almost too quietly to hear.
Zidane, however, heard her. He blinked. "What?"
Rhyme looked up. "It means that revenge won't solve anything. I can understand why you don't like him, but is the reason you're doing what you're doing really right?"
The thief hesitated, staring at the ground. "…I guess not," He replied, "But whether I want revenge or not, I still have to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else."
"Join the club," Neku muttered.
"Joshua said he'd be helping everyone to safety," Shiki stated. "So far, I don't see anything happening."
As though her words had cued it, Joshua appeared in a flash of white. "The reapers are taking care of the city's safety," he announced. "I promised Uzuki a promotion if she made sure it was successful, so we shouldn't have to worry about failure."
Neku almost laughed. Yeah, that'd about do it.
"You sure you can trust Pinky with that?" Beat questioned.
"Of course," Joshua replied, shoving away a stray strand of silver hair. "I can't guarantee everyone will make it unless we find Jaxuk quickly, however."
"Ah, so you have been looking for me…had I a heart, I would feel touched."
Everyone spun on the spot to see a cloaked figure standing behind them, his hood pulled back to reveal a familiar face, lips curled in a smirk. Zidane's eyes narrowed, and his grip on his swallow blade tightened. "Kuja…"
Jaxuk chuckled. "Ah, Zidane…there you are. I was beginning to think you had stage fright."
"Game's up, Jaxuk," Joshua said, his gaze narrow. "Leave Shibuya immediately."
"And if I don't?"
"I am Shibuya's Composer, Jaxuk. You won't like what I have in mind."
Jaxuk sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. However, I'm not through here. This is the most exciting part of my performance." He snapped his fingers.
Neku screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his head and nearly dropping his keyblade to the ground as the music screeched in protest to whatever Jaxuk had done. A cry for help mixed with a scream of anguish and a bellow of fury. The negativity threatened to crush him and he grit his teeth. Rhyme must've felt it too, because she also vocalized her stress.
Beat comforted his sister immediately, and Sora was next to Neku in an instant, steadying him and glaring at Jaxuk. "What did you do to him?!"
"I did nothing to Neku," Jaxuk explained. "I only prodded at Shibuya's music a bit. Heh…and in doing so, it would seem I have confirmed my suspicions about him."
"You catch on quickly for a creature with no heart," Joshua commented, "But in case you haven't noticed, I control Shibuya. You are at a severe disadvantage."
Jaxuk laughed. "That's partially why I came here. After all…" He lifted his hands upward, summoning a dark, thunderous cloud over the city. "What's more exciting than having the home field advantage and still losing?"
Mega fight scene, anyone? I get the feeling that this one will end with a bang...if you get my drift. n.n Next chapter soon!
Zoners:
The Deceptive Evoker, Meyxours (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy X)
The Elegant Reaper, Jaxuk (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy IX)
The Fallen Prince, Zarxilt (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy XI)
The Ruthless Emperor, Naxeyv (Chasing The Truth/Final Fantasy XII)
