Yay update? I'm not proud of this chapter, but whatever...Read and enjoy?

Static in the Score

Chapter 3: Empty Eyes

Fate was a bitch, Neku decided as he picked up his pace. His sneakers hit the pavement harder, his pace matched by the Purple Noise right behind him. Dark blue kangaroo Noise with purple tattoos for legs, purple Popguins with a wings a light shade of lavender, neon purple frogs with bruise-colored hind legs, and a strange cat-like Noise Neku didn't recognize. He hadn't been able to take two steps without getting his progress halted by the strange Noise. He spun on his heel, sending a path of flame between the Noise. A frog got caught, dissolving to static. One of the Boomers responded by closing the gap between them. Neku swore, running off again. He thought the Noise was as bad as it got, but then he got to Tipsy Tose. Then things got a lot worse.

Neku knew something was wrong when all the Noise suddenly backed off, fleeing back into their marks and vanishing. He turned to look behind him, frowning at the sudden lack of pursuers. He heard a heavy thud as something hit the ground in front of him. He turned and swore. It had to be a Cantus, or at least some kind of Canor. It was taller than he was, a few inches short of six feet and it was bipedal. It wasn't like other Noise Neku had seen: it had a humanoid shape, and none of its limbs were made of tattoos. Instead, the pulsating purple marks seemed to be carved into the things inky black body. It's claws cracked the pavement as it stepped toward Neku, ready to slash at him with lethal claws. It didn't seem to have a proper face- just two slits that seemed to serve as nostrils. Then it opened its eyes.

Neku couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down his spine as the thing's eyes turned towards him. They could almost be human eyes. They had whites, and a pupil, and the irises were a brilliant emerald green. That only made the expression in them even more wrong; they were blank. Totally empty of any emotion. Just like Joshua's eyes had been, Neku realized. "Holy shit…" Neku breathed. As if he had just hit its "on" switch, the Noise lunged.

Neku reacted without thinking- he tapped his psychokinesis pin and threw the thing into the wall of a nearby building. It slid down into a crumpled heap on the ground, and for a moment, it seemed to flicker, like a hologram. Underneath the inky black body and purple tattoos, Neku could make out a red hoodie and small skeletal black wings. The…thing…was a Reaper. Neku took a stunned step backward. Was that going to happen to Joshua? Neku swore as the Reaper stood, the black Noise form still flickering in and out of existence. "Nn…" the Reaper groaned. Neku wasn't sure if the Reaper even knew he was here, but the Reaper didn't seem to care. "Stop…no…not again…" The Reaper pleaded pathetically as the tattoos carved into his skin. Neku swore louder as he recognized the voice. Tenho, one of the Reapers that was in 777's band. Oh yeah. Fate was a bitch.

Within seconds, Tenho was gone, and the humanoid Noise was readying itself. Neku grimaced. "Come on, Neku." He muttered. "You can do this. He'll thank you later." Neku sent a flurry of Force Rounds at Tenho, who gave out an inhuman screech of pain. Every time a bullet struck, Neku could see a small flash of the Reaper underneath.

Neku grimaced. He was running out of energy, but the Noise that controlled Tenho's body seemed tireless, taking hit after hit, bouncing back after every attack. The ground beneath Neku's feet began to crack and he leapt back. The ground fell away, revealing another chasm. Tenho snarled and lunged at Neku, trying to leap over the chasm. He undershot the other side and, with a futile grab at a loose chunk of asphalt, fell. Neku shivered, listening to the screech echo and fade. "Nothing personal." He mumbled, walking past the bottomless pit and towards Udagawa.

Things were eerily quiet during the walk- no more Noise appeared, and no more chasms opened up in the ground. He made it to Udagawa without another attack, and he wordlessly walked towards CAT's mural. "Nngh!" He grabbed his head as a wave of pain struck him. This headache…where was it coming from? The pain dimmed to a dull throbbing, and Neku looked around. He spotted a tag outside of Cyco Records he hadn't seen before. He walked over, examining it curiously. It had to be a Reaper's work- it looked eerily similar to that refinery sigil Minamimoto had made. He reached out a hand, gently touching the tag.

"What are you doing here, hectopascal?" Neku spun around, startled. No, it wasn't possible. He was dead! He had been crushed under a freaking car! Minamimoto's golden eyes narrowed. "You headphone wearing hexahedron- what the factor are you doing here?" Neku heard the odd echo to Minamimoto's voice, like he wasn't quite all there.

"Why I'm here is none of your business, Pi-Face." Neku spat, and Minamimoto tensed at the name.

"Watch your mouth, arccosec," he snarled. "What were you doing to it?" He pointed to the tag. He moved to shove Neku aside, but his hand didn't feel quite solid. He did manage to move Neku, but Neku knew something was wrong. Minamimoto was muttering various equations under his breath, examining the tag, apparently looking for any sabotage.

He placed a hand on the tag, and went limp for a moment. Neku tensed as the dark purple color raced across Minamimoto's markings. Neku realized Minamimoto had looked blurred around the edges, and he seemed to be solidifying. Minamimoto straightened up, looking at his arms. He grinned in Neku's direction. "By the way, you're trespassing." He remarked. "Let's deal with that right now." Minamimoto seemed to simply vanish into thin air.

"What the hell?" Neku frowned, looking around. "Where did he go-?" A voice made him stop.

"There you are, Neku, I was looking for you." A voice purred in Neku's ear. A very familiar voice.

"Joshua!" Neku cried, turning. Joshua was standing there, totally normal and smiling at Neku. The scene was normal…but it was so wrong. Joshua's teasing smile was unnatural, and there was a light in his eyes that didn't belong there. Neku narrowed his eyes, tensing. "What the hell are you?" he hissed. Joshua's smile faded, replaced by a slight pout. It was very Joshua-y, but at the same time it wasn't.

"Neku, I'm hurt. I'm fine. It's like you said- I'm the Composer. I'm perfectly fine." The smile returned, and Neku took a step back. "Come now, Neku…don't be so tense…" Joshua laughed lightly. It was a shrill, almost inhuman laugh, and Neku had to suppress a shiver.

"You're not Joshua." Neku growled, readying a Force Rounds.

"I am Joshua." The other boy hissed, face twisting into a snarl. It was Joshua's body, but Neku could clearly feel the monster that had control of it. Neku stopped his attack abruptly. Joshua was aiming a gun at him, a twisted grin on his face. "Remember this, Neku?" he asked, voice warped. "Having a little déjà vu?"

Neku's blood ran cold as he looked at the gun. "Get out of Joshua's body," he snarled, lunging at Joshua. He slashed at Joshua's chest, sending the boy stumbling back. The gun slipped from his hand, vanishing before it hit the ground. Neku made to lunge again, but Joshua suddenly stopped. Blood red tattoos carved into his arms, an inky black substance taking place of his skin. The red tattoos faded to purple, and the Noise's eyes snapped open. Empty, violet eyes. Neku swore quietly, arm falling limply to his side. The Noise bared pointed fangs in a grin. "Joshua…" Neku whispered, horrified. He didn't bother to dodge as the Noise lunged at him, claws outstretched.

More Joshua and more violence, just like I promised, kay? And if you can figure out what's going on, you get a virtual cookie. I think this one's a bit fast paced, and really confusing...And "Joshua" scared me a bit when I was writing him. D: