Author's Note: Good Luck... This is a Death Note/Kingdom Hearts crossover - requested by a friend, and I'll do my best to make it sane. At any rate, tell me if you enjoyed it.

Emergency

1. Pseudo Escape

The rain was pouring down in torrents. If Riku had been any weaker, he'd have washed away by now. But for now he kept trudging on with what energy he still had. I have to get away; the thought was a mantra, screaming in his head as he glanced about in paranoia.

He glanced through silver bangs, utterly convinced Ansem was right behind him, lurking just outside his vision, in the murky shadows all around him.

Who knew the darkness Riku had come to accept, and even admire, could ever be so frightening? He was vaguely surprised at himself when no scream escaped his lips as he crashed into the ground.

Looking around instinctively, he let out a breath in relief. Whatever tripped him, it hadn't been a creature of the darkness. There were no heartless in sight. Just a thin black book that the rain had washed under his feet, making him fall. Riku sat up quickly, snatching up the offending item as he rushed to a building's side. The lights on the awning above were comforting, like little stars shining bright in the rain.

Riku felt safer than he had in a long time as he stood in the light, shadows out of reach. Then he looked at writing on the notebook's black cover: Death Note.

That peaceful feeling – Shattered. He blinked a few times, one part of him attempting to fight off the renewing fear, the other urging him to laugh. Laugh at this notebook made to scare him, laugh at the fact he was so scared – and Riku didn't get scared. But most of all… laugh because the idea of him actually escaping this city of darkness was utterly hilarious.

He shook himself, getting rid of his pre-insanity symptoms. All I have to do is make it to the edge of town. Then I can teleport. If I break now then He wins.

Riku composed himself, sitting down under the awning, happy to be out of the rain. He could do this. He could escape. All he'd have to do is keep his cool.

Easier said than done.

Riku glanced down at the book, the Death Note as it was titled, and shivered. Hastily he threw it, waiting for the water to carry it off.

After a few seconds he recovered the notebook, wondering if it wasn't the best idea to throw something with the word 'death' in it where Ansem might be able to find it.

Ansem wanted so many dead, and besides, Riku's scent was already on the damn thing.

Sighing gloomily, he flipped open the book, dimly wondering if it might be cursed.

The first page wasn't what he expected. What he had expected was some sort of death threat, or a demented chain-mail letter.

What he got was a list of instructions:

Death Note

How to Use It

1

-the human whose name is written in this Death Note shall die.

-this note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in mind when writing his/her name. Therefore people sharing the same name will not be affected.

-if the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.

-if the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.

-After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

-

Riku stared. It was fake. It had to be fake. Unless… he shook his head.

If Riku knew one thing, it was that some of the worst things in the world turned out to be real. So, unless proven, he was going to treat this notebook like the real deal, just in case.

As the night droned on, he had the nagging urge to try it out. To write someone's name. Just once. And then it hit him – Ansem.

But … Ansem wasn't human; he was something much worse, a heartless. So the book wouldn't work, right?

But what if I used his real name? His human name? Wasn't it Xehanort?

Just drop it Riku, it wouldn't work anyway.

But his mind wouldn't drop it; only try to find a way around the problem of Ansem's species.

What about Maleficent? He thought. The witch was a horrid shade of green, and her head seemed to have horns sprouting out (though it could just be a headdress), but despite her grotesque appearance, she was mostly human, wasn't she?

His mind reeled at the possibilities, hell, even the idea, that he could kill her by simply writing her name down in a book.

But even if it did work, how would Riku know?

----

Riku pushed white strands away from his face, scribbling furiously, despite the fact he still had about 6 more minutes to get it down.

A sudden urge to giggle hit him as he finished writing. He closed the Death Note, convinced nothing would happen.

And nothing did happen. At least, not for a few minutes. But then he heard it. A gut wrenching howl, followed by the sound of a castle's bricks breaking apart and falling to the ground.

Riku peered cautiously around the corner of the building, up toward Hollow Bastion's darkest castle. A purple-black dragon of huge proportions had just bust through the castle's top and was flying toward the city. Toward him.

Paranoia swept over him in tidal waves. Ansem must've sent her out to finish him. They knew what he was doing, and they were going to show him how you really kill someone.

He couldn't help it, as soon as Maleficent was near, he bolted.

Riku regretted the rash move as soon as she swooped after him.

Just as he darted into an alley, he heard another thump. A large, heavy sounding thump. And then harsh, ragged breathing. Again, Riku peaked around the corner, only to see the dragon collapsed on the ground, having what seemed to be an asthma attack.

Maleficent was shrinking, becoming more human and less dragon, until she lay there, in her weakest form drawing in feeble breaths.

Riku no longer tried to stay hidden, now observing the witch with sick fascination. She looked like she was dying.

And after a few more raspy breathes, she was.

He walked up to the motionless form, nudging her onto her back with his toe. Maleficent was… dead.

It had to be a trick. Women like her didn't just die. And they came back if they did.

Riku looked around, suddenly suspicious that this had all just been a trap. That Ansem had sent the Death Note himself. Just to lure Riku out.

And when Riku heard the swoosh of dark portals, saw the masses of heartless emerging, he knew that was exactly what had happened.

He sprinted off, not stupid enough to stay a second time, racing for a place neither light nor dark.

He ran until he reached something like a cliff. Beyond it was nothing, nothing but space, and beyond that, other worlds. He was at the edge of Hollow Bastion.

Riku jumped, creating a door to the dark realm as he did so.

But what he fell into looked unlike any part of the dark realm he'd ever been to before.

Everything around him was barren, barren and sandy. But the weirdest and most unconventional part: this strange place was bright. Not in a heavenly way, in a desert-like way. Either way, it wasn't the realm of darkness.

A hand like a mummy's grabbed his bare shoulder and spun him around. Riku nearly fell over as his eyes met jewel-y pupils. The thing faintly resembled a dead Indian, and only faintly. Mostly it just looked like a zombie, a miss-proportioned, mummified zombie with a feather headdress and jewels for eyes.

"What're you gaping at? You're the human here." The thing spoke. It could actually talk. And its voice reminded him of a heartless hissing.

Riku stared, and then regained some composure, asking, "Where am I?"

The thing just laughed. "Shinigami Realm, how'd you get here?"

The silverette blinked, he'd heard that word before. 'Shinigami'… didn't that mean God of death? Oh dear…

Did I die or something? But all I did was teleport… Riku glanced down at his hands. He was still clutching the Death Note.

The Shinigami seemed to realize that too. Because it reached for it, trying to snatch the book as it spoke. "How did you get that?"

Riku backed away as it continued trying to get the notebook. Wherever he was, he'd gotten there with the Death Note. If the Shinigami took it, Riku might never be able to get back home.

He ran, for the third time that night. No idea where he was headed. But there was a dome shape in the distance. That would have to do.

As he reached the sphere he noticed more of these odd looking Shinigami, and they noticed him too, looks of fright and surprise etched on their faces. Not that Riku could tell.

There was something inside the dome, almost like it was a window. He saw a sprawling city below, and in a split second decided to jump into the sphere.

He was falling down, toward the cement covered earth. But at least there was a city below him now, something familiar. He created another dark door, this time with a destination in mind.

He came out of the darkness into a little alley; it was covered in graffiti and smelled like trash. But it was undoubtedly human. Riku cautiously walked out to the sidewalk. It was overflowing with people, regular people.

There were no Shinigami amongst them. No heartless either. He was finally safe, at least for now.

----x----

Light was distraught. He couldn't be calm about it any longer; he started tearing up his room after carefully checking for cameras that could be left from last month's surveillance. It wasn't there. He was devastated, and well beyond angry. Where the hell was it?!

Ryuk floated through the wall, settling on Light's bed as he munched on an apple. "What's up?" He could've sworn Light's eyes flashed red when he looked at him.

Light's eyes narrowed, and his look almost scared Ryuk. "It's gone."

Ryuk blinked. "What is?"

Light looked down, composing himself externally, before looking back up at Ryuk as calmly as he could muster. "The Death Note," he said in a strangely even tone.

Ryuk didn't quite process that. "Come again?"

"The Death Note is gone."

Ryuk stopped eating, a slight frown on his face. "How are you gonna find it?"

Light smiled in a way that made Ryuk really wonder if Light wasn't the real God of Death between the two of them.