The World Ends with You Too

by 0er0

Years have passed and choices were made. The Noise have reached critical mass beyond repair. Once again Shibuya becomes a battleground. Shibuya must be tested by unforgiving angels. It is up to Neku and his friends to save Shibuya from the ultimate battle against the Noise: The Clash. OC character warning. Art commissions located on first/ last chapter. Last update 10/02/14

21. The Final Day: The Noise (Part 1)

[Well here it is, the final day. While this isn't the full chapter. It was an appropriate stopping point for a VERY long chapter. This chapter is the longest chapter I'll make. To this end, it seemed appropriate to cut it into pieces. It's a first for me. Go easy on me. I apologize, but I believe this will help the readers.

A HUGE thank you to Maxaxil (my buddy) and Omega Zekrom (happy new year).

As for all my chapters please PM me if you see any mistakes and I'll deal with them as fast as I can. I'm leaving a link to the beta forum if anyone has any suggestions for the new content or just wants to read what I made so far. If you'd rather the story be cut into three parts or two, I'll leave that decision to the readers. I've been told repeatedly in the past to chop my chapters up. This is me caving in. Enjoy. : )]

Week 3

The Final day: The Noise

Ever wake up and realize that the most important day of your life is coming? Weddings? Funerals? A really important job interview? You feel it sometimes. It makes you nervous, but those days make you strong too. You may feel weak at moments, but you know what's coming. That's why you're nervous. You know it's important. But there's nothing else to prepare. The day comes and you can only wait to see if you were ready for it.

Today was one of those days. Magnified many times over.

Soldiers know the fear of death. They choose to overcome it or use that fear to drive them forward, but every soldier who has seen battle has faced the fear of death one way or another. There are days you fear for your life and you know your future is on the line. Life and death. There are days where you fight to live.

Today was one of those days. The fear building as the sun rose.

Doom and hope littered the air. Rhyme was the first to wake up. As she rose she looked around her. Everyone slept. Forced sleep was a blessing at times. Could anyone have slept otherwise? Today was the most important moment of their lives. It was the end of the game, the most interesting part. The game between the Noise god Cacophony and the Director could finally be brought to an end. To the victor: Shibuya. The Director spared his hand to make this possible. They had to do everything they could not to prove him a fool. Thoughts were sleepless now. No one would sleep unless they were forced. Probably for their own good.

Rhyme looked up at a young man. It was a much older version of Weiss in armor. Different hair cut and different eye color, but angels kinda looked the same. It was the Agent, the angel of the Director. He commented, "You're up early." He looked nervous. He stared at his folded hands and they shook out of anxiety. It seems even angels get nervous from time to time.

"You're the angel, aren't you?" Rhyme asked the obvious question, but needed to be sure. The fact that the confident angel was shaken seemed a bit off to her.

The Agent nodded once. "You shouldn't be surprised to see me here."

Rhyme wasn't surprised about seeing him. Seeing him nervous was different. The other day his hand was perfectly steady. His gaze was that of a superior man who looked in the distance and saw something you couldn't. It was annoying of course, but right now it seemed preferable to worry. Some welcome confidence might make her feel better.

"So what's on the agenda today?" She asked not sure if she really wanted to hear it.

The angel got up. The humans got farther than anyone could predict. All talk of them actually fighting the Clash and winning took a lot of imagination. Now it didn't seem too much of a stretch. Well... he thought they won. They beat the Echoes. There wasn't anything else. The Noise lost.

That's what he thought. Whatever drove the Director to make the gamble he did? It wasn't over. It couldn't be over now. Their objective changed. Humans of all things were expected to take the fight to the Noise. Humans were expected to enter the ultimate stronghold of the Noise. Humans were expected to stand against Cacophony. The Director's only rival. Cacophony was the Noise avatar, he was their mind and soul. To think that Humans were going to meet him personally was a frightening thought.

Noise are monsters. Humans always loved to forget just what they do. They create suffering. They cause things that are good to become worse. The worse things are the better the Noise thrive. Imagine all the little Noise in the world. Imagine all the Echoes. Then imagine that there was no human involved. There was lingering sentiment of a Reaper or human reason. There was just a monster with all the power of the Noise combined, that was Cacophony. What was the Director thinking? They couldn't win. The Echoes were powerful, sure. But at least Echoes could actually be killed. Unlikely perhaps but they could be killed. Cacophony couldn't die. They were being sent against one of the few immortal beings in the universe. It made even the Agent despair.

The Agent looked at Rhyme and told her the bad news, "You're going to Deepground."

Shiki woke up next. She groaned and found her feet, "What's Deepground?"

The Agent waited. One by one they were all waking up. They all needed to hear it. So he gave it a moment. The next to wake up was Thanatos. He looked like he had a bad hangover. "Why the shit am I still here?" He coughed and got up. He looked and saw Weiss. He pushed his foot against Weiss causing the white haired boy to wake up next.

"Who's left?" Was the first question Weiss asked.

The Agent told him flatly, "Nine. Beat, Rhyme, Shiki, Neku, Joshua, Weiss, Thanatos and Nanami. You were the players selected to enter Deepground. As for the Reapers, Kotori will be joining you as well. That makes nine humans remaining. You lose three for every day that passes. This is the final day."

Joshua lay on the ground, but he started talking before he got up, "If I recall correctly. Our mission was to defeat the Echoes. What else have we to do?"

The Agent corrected him, "Your mission is to defeat the Noise. You've been charged by the Director one last task. A task requiring you to enter the underbelly of the planes. We call it the Deepground. That's where you need to go."

Neku started to get up and he apparently managed to listen. The look on his face wasn't happy. "I thought we were done."

The Agent found some amusement out of that comment, "You are done. The task before you isn't possible for humans to complete. You're to meet Cacophony. You're to face him and stand your ground."

Weiss didn't believe that. He gave Nanami's shoulder a nudge. "Cacophony? Agent, we're entitled to know exactly what the Director said. Word for word. You're an angel. You always remember what the Director says. Now, tell us."

The Agent looked around, double checking that everyone was awake. He only intended to relay their mission once. "I quote, 'Face Cacophony. Save Shibuya.'. That's all he said."

Thanatos went ahead and said it, "That's dogshit! We did our part."

The Agent rolled his eyes, "Apparently you didn't... This is it. This is the final day. You lose, everything dies. Got it? I'm just the messenger. I thought there might be something else you had to do, but I didn't think it was this. But it doesn't matter, does it? You can complain if you like, but that doesn't change where you're going. Deepground. You're to go to Deepground and face Cacophony."

Joshua just clarified to everyone, "They want us to fight Cacophony?"

The Agent turned his eye to Joshua and nodded, "Face him. That was the wording. You have until the end of the day to do so."

Neku didn't seem to care, "Where's Kotori? She's supposed to be with us, right?"

The Agent motioned over to Pork City. "She'll meet you at the door."

Nanami got up and started following, "What door?"

Apparently everyone was going for a little walk. The angel was leading them through the streets. The Noise in the area left them alone. They were visible to see, but they just watched. Noise filled the sidewalks and the air. Anywhere you could stand there were Noise. But the main paths and roads were clear. The fact so many Noise were just watching them made it creepier than if they actually attacked.

The Pork City tower was ahead. Charon and Kotori were waiting at the door. The Noise turned their heads when they got to the Pork City tower. All eyes on them. Kotori told them, "Charon filled me in on the details. I'm coming too."

The Agent nodded, "You were the only Reaper that volunteered."

Beat wondered, "What happened to Pink and Lolipop? They bail?"

Charon may have been on their side, but he was still scary, "That's exactly what happened. We needed a volunteer to make 9. We were missing a reaper, Kotori volunteered. She will be going with you into the Deepground. Only 9 may enter the Deepground. No angels will follow you and no one is going to be able to help you there. You're entering the domain of the Noise. We call it Deepground. It's on a plane no human could reach under normal circumstances."

Nanami had to guess, "And these are special circumstances? What with the Underground and Realground merging?"

Charon didn't answer. He guided them inside the tower. "By order of the Director I am to guide you to Deepground. It is there you will find Cacophony. He waits for you there. Find him, face him and end this."

Kotori tried to give some confidence, "It's nothing we can't handle."

Charon just looked at her and smiled, "Believe what you wish. All nine players. Are all present. I need confirmation from all of you before I open the door."

Thanatos rolled his eyes, "Just get on with it."

Rhyme and Shiki said together, "Ready."

Weiss made a quick nod, "I'm going."

Joshua didn't seem so worried, "I'm all in." A nice gambling bluff.

Kotori made a motion, "I don't think I can refuse."

Nanami had her notebook in hand, "If we must. Then I'll do it."

Beat shrugged, "Why do we gotta say something again?"

Neku gave the door a fierce look, "Open it."

Charon bowed like a butler for the first time. "Then I have all of your confirmation. I will open the door."

Rhyme kinda questioned, "I don't think Beat really gave confirmation."

Charon interrupted, "Then we begin. Step into the elevator."

The Noise outside started howling and cheering in their own little ways. It only brought fear as to wonder what they were cheering about.

XXXXXX

Stepping into the elevator was easy. It took courage to do, but it was easy. It was a big elevator. It could easily fit all of them. Charon waited until all entered then he himself joined them. Out of his pocket he drew a simple key. It was one of those tiny mass produced keys. It didn't even have a ring or any sort of label. Charon put the key into a little keyslot. The very instant he turned the key the elevator moved. It didn't go up. It went down.

And down.

And down.

"I didn't think Pork City tower had an elevator that went down." Beat said scratching his hat.

Joshua smirked, "It doesn't."

Beat blinked, "Then how did we go down?"

Thanatos put it as politely as he could, "You're such a dumbass. All this weird shit and you're wondering about why we're going down?"

Neku crossed his arms and muttered quietly, "Try to shut up."

A little rude, but they seemed to get it. They faced forward and the door opened. It looked like they were in the same room as they entered. Except the door to outside looked more like the gates to hell. It was a big metal gate they used in fortresses. It looked heavy. On the gate were many inscriptions. Angelic sigils and signs of the chinese Zodiac. Charon approached the door and touched it. Several of the angelic sigils glowed a little then shattered. The animal eyes on the door glowed and changed to gemstones. The door shook a little and dust fell off.

Charon didn't open the door he gave a few words first, "Beyond this door lies the Deepground. I will not follow. I will wait here and ensure a way for you to return. I make no expectation that you will. Go."

Charon looked at the door and gathered red fire in his hand. He drew his hand back an punched. The doors went flying into an abyss.

This wasn't Shibuya. This was Shibuya upside down. The street was where the sky should be. If you looked down you could see an endless sea of red and black. It was as vast as the sky and it couldn't possibly take much to fall in. The buildings were still there, but they were deformed and modified for travel upside down. There were bridges in between buildings. The bridges were how you got from building to building without falling. In front of them now as a bridge and it was their only way to go. Just looking around could give you a headache. Everything was wrong. Colors were wrong. Signs were wrong. The statues were wrong. As said before, everything was wrong.

Their phones buzzed all together. Everyone reached into their pocket and checked. It was mission mail. On the mail appeared the words:

Face Cacophony. Save Shibuya.

XXX

The Final Day: The Noise

watch?v=i0569Wt-cZ0

"Welcome to my world."

"Listen to our voice."

"Traverse the between path."

"Embrace Cacophony."

Voices were all around them. All saying different things. The street signs changed as the voices spoke. Whatever the voices said, the signs said. Whereever the voices came from, they echoed for all to hear. This plane belonged to the Noise. Normally humans could never reach it. But it was always there. Joshua took the first steps. Everyone all at once started walking. They didn't need any more guidance. There was only one way to go. And they had been expected.

As they walked Noise seals appeared around them. Almost as if to observe. Little floating Tattoos taking notice and spying on them while they walked.

"There are many roads."

"There are many paths."

"All lead to Cacophony."

Thantos felt annoyed, "So this guy has an ego and a knack for welcomes. Great..."

The tension didn't drop. They kept walking. They all thought of their lives. It wasn't hard to look back at your life here. As they traveled through the buildings and the bridges there were little things to remind them of their past.

Beat saw a memorial. Flowers by a road. He saw a wrecked car that was the one that hit him many years ago. He saw skates and skulls. If he bothered to look the other way he saw a rusted version of Rhymes pendant. 'It isn't fair I died.' Was written in graffiti.

Rhyme saw her school uniform lying in the street. She saw the wrecked car with Beat. It wasn't a hallucination. The wrecked car was quite solid. They had to keep walking. So they kept walking. She saw a picture of herself and words etched on the street, 'what am I?'

They passed. As they did they saw more. Joshua saw pill bottles. He saw coffee mugs laying in the street. There was junk everywhere. Words: 'What is power without a soul? What is right and wrong to a monster?'

Joshua seemed to be the least bothered. Joshua put it simply, "It looks like he's trying to scare us."

It was working. These images reminded them of their pasts. Their weaknesses. It reminded everyone just how fragile they were. Shaken or not, no one was going to stop.

For Neku there was Cat graffiti on the wall. He saw some photographs of him and Shiki. There was an image of medical reports. Shiki couldn't get pregnant. She found out a little before the chaos started. She never got to tell him. Cacophony did. Then he saw images of Joshua. Old creeds he used to have.

'just go the hell away!' 'shut up!' Then an image of a revolver. There was blood that wrote out, 'he murdered you. He murdered her.' He didn't need to be reminded of just how much he hated Joshua.

Shiki saw dolls. Clothes that had been withered away. It reminded her of back then. Back when she was jealous of Eri. She passed a little mirror and saw Eri in the reflection. It bothered her, but not as much as it used to. Words were scratched in the mirror, 'I loved her and I hated her. Jealousy doesn't fade away.'

She grabbed on to Neku's arm for what it was worth. But he saw pictures of his past too. He closed his eyes and kept walking. He didn't need to see much else.

Nanami saw plants that died. Pictures of her family and the life she left behind. It bothered her. Something about what she saw made her feel a cold chill and her breath weak. She kept walking. A little message on a flower shop window, 'you abandoned us.' She tried to tell herself otherwise while she walked.

Thanatos seemed to be the most vulnerable to what he saw. He actually stopped walking when he walked through tunnel. Shibuya river. It's where he died and it's where she died. He saw his paint he spayed 'thanatos'. He saw bottles his girlfriends dad liked. Then finally he saw on spraypaint a message, 'Why live on?' Thanatos got mad. He ran towards the message and just started throwing bottles at it.

"Thanatos he's just trying to mess with you." Weiss said.

Thanatos didn't care he kept throwing until he was out of bottles to throw. He felt tears from his eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness. He was angry. He never cried from happiness before. He wasn't about to start. These were tears from just being that mad. He turned to face Weiss, "I know. My name isn't Thanatos. Just call me Allen."

Weiss nodded and tried to say as little as he could, "Can you continue?"

Thanatos didn't have a choice, "Let's go." He'd rather move anyway. It blew off a little steam.

Finally came Kotori. Hers was easy. Pictures of Neku growing up. An alleyway where Hanekoma found her. It was the most primal of instincts. Mothers wanted to protect and care for their own children. It was a necessity and Joshua took it from her years ago. Her message was, 'you aren't a mother.'

Despite all the painful sights no one could really give words of comfort. The monster made sure they were all shaken up. They all distanced themselves from one another. It's common for people to need a moment alone after seeing something painful. Cacophony counted on it. They all needed a moment alone and they weren't going to get it.

They kept going. Weiss was the only one who didn't get any sort of thing that reminded him of painful experiences. Why not? Surely he had painful memories too. Everyone did. But the result was clear. In it's own way him not being targeted as well distanced him from his companions even more. It was like he wasn't human enough for it to matter. An insult in of itself.

XXX

The Deepground wasn't quite hell. But it seemed closer and closer to hell with every step. The path finally came to an end. It lead higher and higher. The broken buildings and bent bridges gathered together. The roads and paths all started to twist together.

"All paths lead to Cacophony, right?" Weiss saw where everything came together. It looked terrible and beautiful at the same time. It was a tangled wad of roads and stairs the led to the sky. That's where he was. Weiss turned around. He broke the silence.

Silence was the only thing that kept the anger inside their mouths.

"You made us come here. I wouldn't be here if not for you. You killed Shiki and even if she is back. We're not even, Josh."

Joshua normally would have a clever response. Not this time. "I did what I had to."

Kotori felt built up anger, "You had to take me away from my son too?"

Thanatos looked at Neku, "You didn't even need a reason to ruin my life."

Neku was ready to hurt someone, "The only one who ruined your life was you."

Nanami somehow ended it. "Stop." She said it in a calm manner. It was a weak voice, but a strong word. Thanatos backed off and walked. Shiki turned her husbands head towards her. Her face had a habit of calming him down. Joshua took the lead and decided to keep reasonably out of sight. As much as they hated him for what he did. He had reasons. He hated himself too. Not that he ever let hatred cloud his judgment before.

Beat said something surprisingly wise, "Look. We're going up against the Noise boss man. He's showin us what we get worked up about. The reason we're here. The only reason we're here is we all got something worth saving. Aight?"

Rhyme agreed, "Cacophony wants us to fight. He uses negativity as a weapon. He's good at turning people against one another."

"I need not turn that which is on course."

"Have you ever been on the same side?"

The pathways changed. The bridges and roads reshaped themselves as if they were an extension of a living thing. Deepground was a reflection of Shibuya. It was the darkest and ugliest part of Shibuya. The master of which bid them welcome by making their trip easier.

Noise seals appeared. The true meaning of the word appear is lost at times. They weren't there and then they were. The Noise seals were always there always around them, but it seemed only when their master spoke did they give themselves shape. They were in an ocean of Negative energy. It makes sense that it was the perfect building block for any type of Noise. From this place Cacophony could make any Noise he wished. He made Noise appear. When they appeared they gathered together to make a place to stand. A platform of Noise seals. The platform of seals got larger until it made a road. A ramp of Noise created a path, it was the way to their next destination.

Stepping on a road of Noise took courage. There was the uncertainty that they might just vanish and let you fall into the endless abyss. There was the chance that they could change to monsters and face you. This could be leading to the wrong place, this could be a trap and this could be the only way to reach the top. This was the way. Neku stepped up and as he walked Noise seemed to flutter around him and dance in celebration of Shibuya's heroes making it this far.

For better or worse, everyone stepped on the platform of Noise. Fear cast to the wind they walked higher and higher towards the sky.

Almost like little fairies. The Noise watched. The symbols gave a light glow when pressure was applied. In a way the road of Noise was beautiful. Every step gave off little lights. They were standing on their enemies and yet they were safe for now. Atop the path of Noise they met their gracious host.

"Heroes of Shibuya. You have stood strong to get this far. Stand but a little longer and it shall end."

It was thousands of little voices speaking in unison.

The sight of Cacophony was worthy of impression. He was a Noise, yes. But he was THE Noise. Every part of his body had different colors that seemed to come together in a sort of harmony. Every motion he made caused colors and pleasant sounds. His face was a Noise symbol, but it could be mistaken for a face. It changed depending on his emotions. Almost like a human changed their face in order to show others how they felt. Cacophony mimicked humans. He didn't have a real face, but it was like different Noise created a different mask for him to wear. A mask for every mood he might be feeling. The Noise on his face now was that of a welcoming blue color. Cacophony almost looked like he was smiling. He extended his Noise wings. While he looked like a giant humanoid figure, he had nothing below the seals that held him together but energy.

The giant being spread out his wings just to show how large he was. He was as big as Shibuya when he wished to be. Then all at once all the Noise seals dispersed. They reshaped themselves until a small human sized Cacophony stood before them. It was a winged human figure, made entirely of Noise seals. He bid the travelers welcome.

"Champions of the Director. Welcome."

One by one all nine came to him. They stood on the same platform he did. His presence was unbelievable. Even in a smaller form it seemed to no way diminish his power. He was a god welcoming mere mortals into his Olympus. The feeling of Cacophony was different than any being. Cacophony had so much power and negative energy it overwhelmed ordinary humans. Just by being near him you had to struggle to think. Neku tried to speak, but he couldn't. It wasn't that your voice had anything wrong with it. You just couldn't gather up enough thoughts to make words. The Noise god had so much Negative power that speaking was next to impossible.

Kotori tried to speak, but she too had the same problem.

Beat tried to charge up a psych or two. But he couldn't. He couldn't focus enough to build up even a little power. He couldn't say a word about it.

Rhyme wanted to talk, but she couldn't. The amount of Negative Soul power hurt her. It made her feel sick. It was painful to be near that much Negative Soul.

Noise naturally made things worse. They made you angry, they made you petty or they kept you from thinking straight. In the presence of Cacophony it was no different, just multiplied. Whatever bad feelings they had earlier, they just came flooding back. Whatever anger boiled up inside you, whatever demons in the closet, they came out. It felt almost as if you couldn't think. It just got worse and worse. In fact it might as well be accepted as fact that if you just stayed near Cacophony long enough it could kill you.

"I wish to hear what you have to say and to that end, I have taken this form."

"I will weaken my aura so that you are not overwhelmed."

"I will make clear what is clouded."

Cacophony naturally radiated Negative Soul. So much that it took conscious effort to hold it back. Cacophony could have killed them. It wouldn't have been much of a challenge. The Noise avatar had what seemed to be truly endless amounts of power. The Composer could draw power from their respective areas. The land they ruled gave them strength. With Cacophony he drew from all Noise. The monster pulled back his aura so that the humans could think and reason a moment.

"I am but a shadowed ally."

"You humans are our creators."

"Are we not kin?"

Joshua took a deep breath. He finally managed to organize his thoughts and get his brain back where it needed to be. "We're not kin. We're here to save Shibuya."

"You already have."

Not quite the answer they were expecting to hear.

"Worth has been proven. More than you shall ever know. The humans of Shibuya were able to best the greatest of Echoes and defeat one of heaven's officers. What would I have to gain by erasing you now?"

Thanatos guessed, "Umm... You'd win the game?"

"You speak as if I am your opponent. I am not. We Noise have and always will cast our lot with the humans. Each of you has played a small part in my creations. From your souls are Noise born. Do you see? Do you understand, human? I have already won."

Neku asked a fair question, "Then why is the game still going? Why do you sound like you're ripping off the Director. He's the one who was supposed to be betting on us."

The Noise god turned into a furious color for an instant. His power pulsed a moment and created a feeling of helplessness and confusion. It was overwhelming.

"Never compare me to the Director. May that fact be forever burned into your mind and soul."

The monster turned to Neku and his face shifted to what appeared to be amusement. He then hovered in the air and crossed his arms. He calmed himself and his color shifted to a plain color.

"I will spare Shibuya. I will not allow the Noise to devour such a prize. I shall promise all humans of Shibuya protection from the Noise. Both shall thrive."

Shiki looked at her friends. "You're saying that everyone is going to live?"

Joshua caught the catch, "You're saying you'll spare Shibuya. You won't spare the rest of the world. You're going to send the Noise in all directions. Shibuya would be a breeding ground for Noise."

The Noise god's color changed. His face seemed displeased. It reshaped until it made a look of annoyance.

"Let us make a deal. Perhaps some of you might see reason. Do not mistake my mercy for weakness. Let it be known that if one of you here should stand down, I will allow a human of their choosing to leave unharmed. You may protect your child, you may protect your brothers and sisters. You may choose to protect a friend or loved one. If you will but stand aside for this one day I shall grant you my protection. No harm shall come to you nor the human of your choice. This offer is extended to all except the Composer and the Director's spawn. Choose any other. Even if they stand against me and even if they side with my enemies they still shall be protected. You are all a precious resource. It would seem ill to discard away."

Nice to know he thought so highly of them. What he offered was protection. Why? What did he have to gain? Did he intend to take whatever pawns he could gather for later use? Did he see humans as a potential weapon against the angels? Was this part of the game? Was this a test? No. This wasn't part of the game. This was a way out of the game.

Kotori was the first to speak, "Does your protection include protection from the Director, angels and demons? Other humans?"

"None shall harm you. Should you seek to serve me, I shall grant your every want. What say you? Will you protect your child?"

Neku didn't want to be protected. He might have said something except Cacophony conveniently allowed his aura to hit Neku. The effect of which shut him up for the moment.

Kotori didn't answer. She kept silent. Weighing the pros and cons.

Rhyme spoke next, "Can you grant protection even if they don't want it?"

"Even if they so chose to join battle with me here. I will spare them if you stand down. You may choose any human you wish."

Call them what you want. Most were thinking about it. Beat was thinking about picking Rhyme, then he was worried Rhyme might step down in order to protect him. Neku wouldn't go for it, but Shiki might. Effectively if you stand down it'd save yourself and the person of your choosing. Kotori wanted to save her son, even if he hated her. It wasn't a bad deal considering all circumstances. Cacophony could kill them. They might have already won when the mission was save Shibuya. They faced Cacophony, and they'd have saved Shibuya. They'd still win. Even if they did switch sides. Cacophony knew the mission and he saw a loophole. They'd still win whatever mattered to them. They didn't need to join Cacophony, they just needed to swallow their pride a bit and stand back. They could save anyone they wanted.

Neku could still live with Shiki. Neither of them would have to lose the other, ever.

Kotori would certainly be a domino if Shiki or Neku spoke. If anyone went for it then Beat and Rhyme would certainly agree as well. It all boiled down to who was the weakest link in the chain. If even one person gave in more would follow.

"Take as long as you like to afford a decision. My offer will not be made void."

Joshua looked like he wanted to say something. Knowing Cacophony he was discreetly using his aura to keep him silent. Weiss didn't look like he even wanted to say anything. He shut his eyes and seemed to be at peace. Nanami looked at him. Weiss looked at her. He motioned to Cacophony. The aura Cacophony had was more than just a prevention of talking. You couldn't even think. Weiss wasn't getting the full effect. It might be because he had some sort of tie to the Director. It might be because he was made six years ago and wouldn't have built up the negativity the others had. It could be that he was using force of will to stand strong through it. The truth was much simpler. He simply refused to cloud his mind with what was wrong with the world. He remembered everything worth fighting for and the aura of Cacophony could only keep him from talking.

Nanami looked at Cacophony and told him, "No. I will not stand down."

Thanatos didn't look at Cacophony, but he shook his head at the floor, "I would have loved the idea of standing back and doing nothing. Now I know better. It doesn't matter if I want to live or not, I keep living. Screw you and your deal, we're done.

Kotori agreed, "I would not forgive myself. No one could forgive themselves if they sided with you."

Beat put it as simple as he could, "No dice, Noiseman."

Rhyme shook her head, "I'm not going to be used by you again."

Shiki readied Mr. Mew, "No."

Neku stepped forward, "I'm angry at Joshua and I want to live. I want my wife to live. But this is bigger than me. I hate being dragged into games, but I haven't been dragged this far just to lose! Make whatever offers you want. You're a liar. You're the king of Noise. There's no promise you could make I could trust. Even if I could... I wouldn't."

Cacophony changed to a strange color. It wasn't angry or sad. It wasn't any emotion a human could know to feel. The acting was over. He was done making offers. Any more would be a waste.

"My offer falls to the deaf. Different words, but all refuse. I offered salvation knowing you would refuse. Wasteful."

Nanami got some backbone and growled, "We were told to face you and we will. I'm tired of you, parasite."

"Spoken like a sheep. Indeed you were told to face me. But you will not face me while the forces I command yet remain. How do you intend to face me while much stands between us?"

Beat looked around, "What forces?"

Everyone looked at Beat. Everyone looked at the jinx with complete irritation. Seriously? He just asked the king of all Noise to show off his forces? He had infinite forces. No exaggeration required, truly infinite amounts of minions to call.

"What forces you ask? I need not call out to my kind. Did I not speak of where my power draws source? Perhaps you need clear demonstration. It is said that you are your own worst enemy. Think it false. Your greatest enemy will face you shortly... until such time... Face yourselves!"

Cacophony didn't intend to fight personally. He didn't need to. With a single motion of his arm he gripped deep into the humans before him. Red and black static covered their bodies and Noise seals appeared. The Noise seals grew to human size. The seals seemed to grip them. The seals spread out to create a sort of execution style hold. Arms and legs were spread. They were bound to their own personal Noise seal. It was like fighting yourself, except you couldn't fight back.

There wasn't screaming or shouting. They didn't have time to make a sound before before they lost consciousness. Joshua, Neku, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Thanatos, Nanami and Kotori were all chained to the Noise seal that came out of their own bodies. Cacophony's aura was now in full effect. He made them helpless and incapacitated. While they were stunned Cacophony finished his work. He merged their Noise into one. One giant Noise seal over Joshua. It took a familiar shape. It was a three headed dragon. It was a combination of all the Noise within the heroes of Shibuya.

Weiss had memories flood him. He stood against a three headed dragon and remembered Neku standing against the same thing. Weiss felt how Neku felt. Suddenly all the memories made sense now. From the very beginning the Director had hoped Shibuya was worth saving. The Director put memories inside Weiss as moments came up. Weiss thought he had these memories was because he was there in a way. If the Director saw it, so did he. And the Director saw it. He was the Director given human form. The Director cut a piece of his soul off and made Weiss. Weiss was full human, he didn't have any special treatment. He didn't have access to the Director's power. But now it made sense. These memories weren't his.

Those memories were Shibuya.

Shibuya changed him. It wasn't pacts and it wasn't his memories being modified. He changed because Shibuya changed him. It changed him the same way it changed Neku and Joshua. It changed everyone. When Weiss understood he accepted his role. He wasn't an angel, he wasn't a puppet and he wasn't the Director. He was just another person. Shibuya wanted him to see those images. Long before the Clash started it was showing him the story of Neku. It was showing him how it changed him. It was showing how it changed Joshua. It was an insane idea, but it made sense now. Shibuya was alive and he had to save it.

He looked up at that Noise dragon. Then he looked at his new friends. He couldn't do this alone. Weiss dived up into the sky and used whatever Soul power he could gather to do something crazy. He was going to wake up his friends.

He started with Neku. By touching Neku's seal he entered a sort of dreamworld. A pact went off between him and Neku. Weiss was sucked into Neku's soul and he vanished out of Cacophony's sight.

"What do you hope to accomplish?"

Calling: Solo Remix

watch?v=JeJoE8utOYQ

Weiss was in Neku's head or more accurately Neku's Soul. Neku was there too. He was gasping for air against an opponent he couldn't strike. It was Shiki. Neku was fighting a Noise that looked exactly like Shiki. It spoke with her voice, "You're going to lose everything. You already lost her once. You lost your life once. Why didn't she tell you? It must have been difficult for her to keep it from you. She must have tortured herself thinking she didn't want you to worry. How much has she suffered for your sake, Neku? How is it she smiled at you even though she wept silently?"

Neku tried attacking, but his aim was sloppy. That red and black static was screwing up his psyches. All he could do was dodge and grit his teeth. "It wasn't like that!"

"What was it Neku? She always wanted children. You did too. You were really looking forward to it? She was happy you felt the same way she did. Do you know what she learned three weeks ago? She learned she couldn't be happy. She learned she couldn't make you happy. She couldn't tell you because she was afraid of how you'd feel. The more she kept it from you the harder it was to tell you. She is barren Neku. She didn't know how she was going to live with that."

Neku's static just built up until it paralyzed him. "It'll be alright! She knew that!"

Static and a flare of pain.

The Noise walked up to him as Shiki. "Then you gambled her life away. You didn't run from Shibuya because you were conflicted. It seems she wasn't important enough to save was she?"

It was torturing Neku. This was his inner Noise. Cacophony may have hinted at it, but this was his endgame. How do you defend against yourself?

Weiss appeared just in time. Neku was surprised, but he wasn't complaining. He opened with a hard hitting pillar of gold then started lashing out with a combo of shockwaves. He finished his combo and used his tornado pin to create a tornado behind him. The tornado pulled the Noise back towards him. Then he tackled it with his rush pin.

He looked at Neku and told him, "You love Shiki and she loves you. You can pull through anything. Now stand up and save her!"

Neku blinked. Was this Weiss? Was this really Weiss? Neku's vision focused and he realized, "I do... she does... I can..." Then his vision focused on the Noise version of Shiki. He got up and fought through the static. The more he realized the truth the more the pain faded, "Shiki never thought that. Shiki never felt that way! She didn't tell me because she couldn't. There was never a chance to tell me. She knew she could, she wasn't afraid of telling me. She didn't tell me because she needed me to focus. And I do need to focus. I need to focus on what's in front of me right now."

The Shiki noise distorted a moment. A quick blur of what it really looked like. It was a wolf Noise. One colored purple and orange. It was Neku's inner Noise. Neku had to fight it. He launched metal at the enemy Noise then charged up his lightning pin to electrify the metal orbs. It wrapped around the monster like a cage.

Cacophony could be seen watching them. His arms were still crossed and he fluttered around in the background. His aura on Neku weakened. He seemed to be unimpressed.

"Hope. Mankind's greatest delusion."

The three headed Draco Cantus appeared in the background as well. It started making the battle more difficult. The dragon forced Neku and Weiss to start dodging. Zig Zag as they might, they still had a real opponent to face. Neku and Weiss made one hell of a team. Weiss had golden glowing eyes. It wasn't the Director giving him power, it was Shibuya.

"Finish it." Weiss told Neku as he rushed into the wolf Noise did a quick uppercut and used a healing pin.

Neku intended to. His eyes turned fierce. Neku hovered and vanished right before the dragon noise took a pot shot at his location. He moved so fast bits of black static kicked up behind him instead of dust. It was time for his favorite combo. He focused his mind and created a black ring of fire around the wolf noise. The ring built up higher and higher ultimately trapping the monster. Neku not only impaled but sent the noise flying with a spike of black ice. While it was in the air he joined it in the sky. He rained down lightning, plasma and metal. As it began falling to the ground he created a barrier and tackled it the moment it hit the floor.

"That's how it's done." Neku said.

You can never lose her.

The world he was in vanished. Neku opened his eyes to see he was awake now. The Noise seal that bound him shattered. He was free. The pact he made with Weiss wasn't going to go to waste. He and Weiss were ready to do a fusion move. Draco Cantus was their target. It kept Joshua pinned to it's chest as if he were a medal. It roared in a challenging manner as if to say, 'hit me with your best shot.'

They intended to.

Weiss and Neku pulsed up their pact and picked a side each. The energy they built up exploded out of their bodies on each side. It was the most basic fusion attack, but damn did it look impressive. Orange, white and purple blasts everywhere. Each and every one of the directed at Draco Cantus.

"Call out for power, it will never come."

Weiss and Neku looked at one another. They knew what to do. Their pact shattered the moment their fusion reached completion. Neku went straight for Shiki, Weiss went for Nanami.

The first pact you make is always special. You can't pretend that any other could match it. The first time you touch souls with someone is intimate. You're changed forever. Neku remembered his first pact with Shiki. He reached for her and vanished. "I'm coming." He said. Neku felt his pact with his wife come back to him. He went into her mind.

Weiss avoided the dragon's blasts. His eyes still glowing gold. With a twirl he came crashing into Nanami. "You always believed in me. Even when I couldn't." He made a pact with her again. The he was gone.

"Cling to one another if that gives you comfort."

XXX

Inside Shiki's head was the same as Neku's. There was Shiki she didn't even have Mr. Mew. A noise that took the shape of Eri talked to her. "Was I ever your friend? Was jealousy all you ever felt?"

Shiki was able to stand, but she needed to get to Mr. Mew. The noise was keeping her from Mr. Mew. If she touched her doll even once she might be able to reactivate her psych. She jumped for it and got kicked back by the Eri noise. It did a good impersonation of her voice. It spoke confident and it was a voice she admired. It gave her confidence too, "You hated me back then didn't you? You wanted to be me. But you never could, could you?"

Shiki told her Noise, "I'm not that little girl anymore."

"But you are. No matter how many times you talk yourself through it, it still pains you. You hated yourself. You hurt yourself every day. You still hurt yourself and yet you smile. Why aren't you smiling now? Aren't you in pain?"

Shiki was in pain. That red and black static wasn't anything to sneeze at. But she needed to get to her psyche. She tried to go for it again, but this time the Noise changed it's tactic.

"He'll forgive you. He'll stay with you. He'll even keep loving you. He will because he doesn't know how to stop. But he'll never look at you the same. He'll act like it's no big deal, he'll go on telling you that he's not disappointed. But you'll still see it in his eyes. He'll hold you at night when you're sad. But he'll never hold you quite as tight will he? He always wanted a child. You always wanted a child. You wanted one since you were little. You'd play pretend and think of what you'd name your child. You were the type to play with dolls weren't you. Cling to your dolls. Because whatever substitute you may find for a child, it'll never be yours will it."

Shiki backed up. The static crept up slowly. Shiki felt her hands start to shake. Her face started to quiver. That wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to talk about that.

"I'm sure you would have been a fine mother. I'm sure he would have been a good father. If you had a girl Neku wanted to spoil her. If you had a boy Neku wanted to teach him how to pick up girls. That would have been funny to watch wouldn't it? You'll never see that will you."

Shiki muttered, "It's not fair..."

Eri had a soothing voice, "It isn't fair. It wasn't fair when you died. It wasn't fair when you forgot Neku. The look on his face when you asked him who he was. That look of devastation. That's the same look he's going to give you when he sees a little girl or boy."

Shiki started to cry. She let herself fall over. The Noise may have spoken soothing words, but it enjoyed hurting her. It wanted to keep hurting her. "Think about it. Would you rather die than see him look at you that way again? You can't make him happy can you? You're jealous all over again. You're a defect."

It was being cruel with a soft voice.

Neku appeared right before the Noise reached for her throat. Neku put a hand on the Noise Eri's face and sprayed plasma right on it. Shiki had both of her eyes shut while she made a little whimpering sound. Every boy in the world hates it when women make that sound. On a primal level it hurts to see someone hurt that much. When it's your wife or daughter that could send any sane human being into a frenzy.

Neku's psych spiked up WAY beyond normal. It was as if he somehow managed to activate all the darklit planets at the same time. Lightning, fire, ice, metal, energy and more energy all in one concentrated punch to the chest. All of his psyches exploded at the same time and all of his pins went on cooldown at the same time. In terms of what it looked like, the Noise got turned into a fireworks display. Both hands went into the attack and every psych went off in all directions around the Noise Eri. It should have turned that monster into a pile of ash, except only Shiki could kill this thing. This was her mind and HER Noise.

Shiki opened her eyes and felt some of the pain go away. Her mind started coming back to where she could listen, "Shiki we're going to make it through this. We're going to have kids. We're going to have a wedding and everyone's going to be there. You're never going to see me disappointed ever again, because we're never going through this again. You're going to have a kid and I'm going pace around like a little bitch while you do. I'm going to try holding your hand until you break one of my fingers and I need to get ice. And no amount of painkillers is going to keep you from seeing if it's a boy or a girl."

Shiki didn't know why he was so confident, but she felt it and she believed him. It took a little while to hear it all out. He sounded completely delusional. It was nothing but wishful thinking. You'd have to be equally delusional to believe him.

She still cried but her face changed to something happier. "Yeah."

The red static weakened. The black and red faded. Little by little she felt control of herself and her psyche. She got up. The noise she looked at was really a sort of goat. It made sense. A sheep noise seemed to suit her. She always followed people and needed someone strong in her life. She was fine with that.

Cacophony appeared and so did Draco Cantus.

"Serenade with lies. There is no harsher truth than reality. There is no greater cruelty than this wonderful world."

Draco Cantus had three heads and he tended to use all three. Each head sent a stream of fire that spiraled together towards Shiki. She didn't move. She just kept standing there almost as if she knew what happened next. "I'm not a defect. I was jealous once, I hated myself once and I still am jealous sometimes. But you know what. I've had more than I've ever wanted. I'll never be a defect. I'm going to keep going through my life and I'm not going to pretend to smile. I'm going to do everything I need to and I'm going to smile while I do it."

She called Mr. Mew toward her and instead of stopping the fire she sent Mr. Mew straight towards the sheep Noise that was busy repairing itself. She started walking towards the sheep. Neku appeared and made a darklit barrier that caused the fire to spray in different direction while Shiki made motions with her hands. With every motion Mr. Mew mimicked. She made dozens of Mr. Mews appear around the Noise. From multiple directions punches kicks and headbutts damaged the noise. It let out a pathetic cry and Shiki crossed swiped both hands to the side when she did the finishing blow. All the Mr. Mews turned to light and flew through the sheep one at a time. Every last Mr. Mew created a hole in the Noise until it turned to black static.

You'll have a girl.

Shiki woke up. Neku woke up. Their pact was as strong as it every was.

"Let's go." She said.

Mr. Mew appeared the size of a truck and doubled itself. Neku took one and Shiki took the other. They had a fusion attack for the Draco Cantus. The two Mr. Mews zig zagged across it each delivering energy punches and random volleys of energy blasts. Pink and green explosions everywhere. Both Mr. Mews came slamming together on the middle head. Shiki and Neku jumped off just in time before the two Mr. Mews set of what might as well have been a mushroom cloud.

Shiki made her Mr. Mew as big as she could. "I'll hold him off! Wake up the others! We need everyone!"

"What use will have have for numbers against a god?"

Neku went for Rhyme next. Shiki was actually one of the more effective people at keeping Draco Cantus at bay. She had Mr. Mew and she naturally was good at keeping her distance. Neku was good at killing things really fast, he was probably the best person to save Rhyme.

XXX

Nanami didn't know where she was or how she got there. Red and black static still on her, but it did little more than keep her from using her psyches. She tried to take a look around. Where was she? She didn't see Cacophony or anyone else. How did she get here?

"Hello Nami." It was the cutesy name her mother called her. Nanami saw her mother exactly as she remembered. Nanami was a tiny bit taller than her mom now. As far as looks go, Nanami and her mother were similar in terms of hair and eye color, but very different in every other direction. Nanami's mother was a little tanner, like someone who worked outdoors a lot. Her hair was cut short and she looked like she was a vegetarian. Her figure was slimmer, she had less waist and bust. Nanami had a higher risk of getting fat later, but at least her figure was voluptuous for now. Nanami may have been her daughter, but you might not think so with how young that lady looked. The fact that she was short and worked outside must have done well for her age. Nanami had to blink. What was her mother doing here?

"You're so pretty. You've grown since you left." The skinny lady had a soft weak voice. Nanami and she might almost look like opposites.

Nanami actually missed talking to her mother despite how much they disagreed in the past. Then the thought occurred to her where she was. Even with the aura of Cacophony she had enough sense to realize, "You're not my mother."

The older woman responded, "And you're not my daughter. Last we spoke you told me so. You do remember don't you?"

Nanami couldn't think straight. What was this? "I remember. We had a fight."

Her mother reminded her. "You were always so independent. You were a free spirit that couldn't be tamed. I've always thought one day you'd become a flower. You'd grow roots and find happiness. Tell me Nanami have you found happiness?"

Nanami became defensive, "What are you?" Whatever this thing was it was a little too good at pretending to be her mother.

The older woman seemed sad to look at what Nanami had become, "I think of you sometimes Nanami. I wonder what has become of my daughter. You are my only child, Nanami. Have you forgotten that?"

Nanami didn't know why she started talking, but she felt the need to reason. "No."

"Then why did you tell me that you weren't my daughter anymore?"

Nanami didn't have a good answer, "I was angry with you. I wanted to go to Shibuya and you wanted to stop me. But I don't regret leaving. I needed to leave, mother."

The older woman told her, "I wanted you to be safe. I wanted you to be happy. You disowned me. You never spoke to me again. Now it seems this is the only way I may see you."

Nanami focused, "You're not my mother."

"I know child... I know. But you found happiness didn't you? You came to Shibuya and you found your independence didn't you? You never stopped being afraid. You were scared if you would fit into your new job or if you could find someone. You never did find anyone did you? You never really became independence. Everything you came to Shibuya for wasn't really there, was it?"

Nanami started to pull out her notepad and readied an attack. Black static kept her from finishing a single pen strike. "I got what I came for."

"Indeed you did. You left so you could get away from me. You needed to get away from me, you needed to stop being my daughter. So you stopped."

Nanami shook her head, "I didn't mean to-"

"You did. You went to Shibuya you cut off all ties to your past because you were ashamed of me. You went through your days trying to forget me. Trying to forget what you told me."

What was this thing doing?

"Tell me about Weiss. Do you know why you care about him?"

Nanami didn't really know or care to answer.

"Of course you do. You made a pact with him. He saved your life and he helped you find yourself again, didn't he?"

Nanami took a step back. "Why are you telling me this?"

The creature smiled, "He manipulated you. He toyed with you and you fell for it. Joshua? Noise? No none of that is what brought you here. You are here because of him. You are here because he used you. You worried about him when he was taken by an angel. You told yourself that he was real. That the Soul that touched your own was real. Day after day you kept believing in him. You said that he was human."

Nanami still believed that, "And he is."

The monster told her what was really worrying her. "He's the Director, Nanami. He knew exactly what he was doing to you when he did it. The feelings you had about him were something he implanted into you. Whatever you think you felt, he was the one making you feel it. Did you think you changed him? Did you think he was being controlled. No, you're the one being controlled. You half wonder if you love him, but it doesn't make sense does it? You shouldn't. It would have been easy for someone as powerful as the Director to make you his plaything."

"But he didn't."

"Didn't he? You followed him here. You played his game. You could have ran if you wanted, but you didn't. You blindly kept following him. Unaware that whatever attachment you had was artificial."

Nanami was getting angry. It wasn't trying to make her sad. It was trying to fill her up with negativity. There were many forms of negativity. "You're saying that he was controlling me?"

"Somebody had to. You were so broken when you died. No one came to save you. For as much as you claim to have made friends here, none of them were there for you when it really counted were they?"

Nanami shook her head, "That's a part of the game! They cared about me."

The woman clarified, "The only person who has ever cared about you is me. No one came for you when you died. No one would miss you. You could just vanish from this world and who would know? You're alone Nanami. You've been alone since you left home. You spent every day regretting being alone. You wanted it to end. Then you died and Weiss found you. All your life you've been used haven't you? Why should you feel any different about this?"

Nanami tried to slash at the Noise. But she couldn't hit it. The moment she missed she got hit with a blast.

It hurt. It hurt just enough to keep her from focusing. Whether she cared to admit it or not she knew Weiss used her. She knew Weiss was capable of doing all sorts of things. He put her through a lot and yet she didn't hate him for it. The Noise said it was because he did something. He scrambled around her soul a bit. He reshaped her heart as he saw fit. She had some feelings for him that didn't make sense and it was a perfect explanation. He was the one who put them there. It would have been easy to do. Even if he didn't he still used her. She found the thought offensive. Someone being able to toy with her mind and Soul.

"I cared about you Nanami. I loved you."

"You're not real."

"The reason you can't get close to anyone. Is that if you love someone all you do is hurt them. That's all you know how to do. You died alone. You'll die alone again and again."

Nanami started swinging her book wildly and made her opening too obvious. She got blasted in the chest with raw Soul power. It was painful. The red static debilitated her. Her mother looked at her and told her.

"You'll die never knowing what love is."

Then Nanami was blasted again. The monster took pleasure in making use of energy attacks again and again and again.

"Do you hate me Nanami? Do you hate Weiss? Do you hate what you become? That's something you feel isn't it? Hatred. You hate me don't you? You hate yourself"

The blasts didn't stop. This Noise just wanted to kill her.

Nanami didn't give in, but it still didn't matter. It was doing enough to mess with her. All they had to do was mess with you a little. You didn't need to be completely helpless to be killed. She was helpless enough.

"You're the reason Hanekoma died."

She felt that one hurt. Between the pain, the mind games and blasts hitting her in the back and stomach she eventually gave up. She shut her eyes and just wanted to pass out. That's when Weiss showed up. While her eyes were shut.

When Weiss appeared he saw what he was missing. His pact helped him feel as she felt. Nanami needed clarity, they all did. Weiss didn't really take care of what he said and realized he might have been the wrong person talking to her. Anything he said could be spun to say he was just using her again. That he was manipulating her? Maybe he was. He never really intended to.

"Nanami, the truth is... I didn't do anything to change you. Nothing I did ever kept you from believing in me. Even when I was possessed by an angel you still stood up for me. When I learned I was relieved, I finally knew who I was. But I felt sad too. It means sooner or later I'm going to have to say goodbye. I am the Director made human, but I never changed you Nanami. You were the one who changed me. You made me believe in people again. You made me see the truth of things, you taught me to feel again. I was so jaded to people I forgot what it was like to relate to someone. You taught me how to. I never thanked you. But that's exactly what I need to do now."

The Noise charged up another blast and sent a blade of energy that looked like Nanami's own pen strikes. Weiss dodged to the side then the energy blades came at a more constant rate. By walking and tilting his body he avoided them. Those gold eyes of his had a subtle glow. It was frightening for a Noise to behold. He got closer and closer. Weiss was different now. He seemed fierce. His own memories flashed before him when he did an uppercut slash then he started slashing and creating shockwaves. The slashes kept knocking the Noise higher and higher. It actually blocked the same as Nanami did. But instead of using a notepad it used an open palm.

Weiss was building up to something. The moment he ran out of shockwaves he activated his light pillar and sent gold light crashing down. The Noise was too busy trying to block from the front to see that coming. The attack hit it dead on. It knocked the monster off balance and sent it falling to the floor. Weiss didn't have another pillar shot, so he decided to copy what Neku did earlier. He used his Dash pin to go down. He flew down the Noise and came crashing down on her like a meteor. He slammed down on that monster to the point where it's true form blurred for just for a moment.

Weiss said two words, "Thank you."

Nanami blinked and watched. She listened. The more she thought about it the more the bullshit started to seem obvious. She had friends, she wasn't alone and she never was. Her mom didn't hate her, her mom could never hate her. She didn't hate her mother and she didn't hate herself. Weiss didn't use her. Weiss was the one who was used by the angels and Director. Weiss kept trying to save her. No matter how Weiss tried she still kept believing in him. It wasn't artificial. It wasn't fake. Just because she couldn't fully explain it didn't mean it was fake. She didn't need to understand everything about herself. She needed to get up.

She got up and felt the static fade. She saw the Noise for what it really was. It was a tiger noise. She pulled out her notebook and opened it. The pages fluttered out into the air. Pacts were great, you could feel what the other person was feeling. You could borrow courage when you needed it. When they really opened up you could see if they were lying or not. Weiss was telling the truth. She changed him, maybe without realizing it.

She didn't give a speech or anything. But she used the pages fluttering around her to fire blasts at her Noise. The more she hit it the more it changed into a tiger. The more she hit it the more the lies became obvious.

"Stand or fall. You may die how you prefer."

Draco Cantus appeared. That thing was too strong for just her and Weiss. She needed to deal with her Noise and get out. She called her paper back into her book and rushed her Noise. It scratched at her, but blocking was easy now. Using her notebook she hacked into the monster. Weiss used his tornado pin to make a wind prison strong enough to change the direction of the dragon flame. It wouldn't work long, they had to hurry. The dragon was getting stronger as time went on. Cacophony hadn't lifted a finger, but they needed to finish their Noise before he hit the field.

Although it was strange. Cacophony could have erased them personally. He had enough power to imprison them and rip the Noise out of their bodies. All he had to do was go a little further and they'd all be dead. Why the Noise? Why Draco Cantus? Why hadn't he made his game ending move?

"You think too hard, child."

What? Did that thing just respond to what she was thinking? Why? Why was he doing this?

"All for my amusement."

Nanami spun around her Noise and avoided the slashes and blasts. Nanami wasn't slow now, when she focused she could predict everything. She moved just as much as needed and countered. At last it died. Weiss called down a light pillar to stop a fireball from hitting Nanami at the last second.

Her Noise died.

You'll always be my daughter.

Nanami woke up. Her Noise prison shattered. The instant she woke up she had an overflowing amount of fusion power. Where was all this power coming from?

She looked at Weiss. "What did you mean you'd have to say goodbye."

He didn't tell her. He motioned to Draco Cantus. Shiki and Neku just finished showing off their fusion power. Weiss and Nanami were next. Their fusion pin was ready. Nanami took her notebook and filled it full of Soul power. She opened her notebook and faced the three headed dragon. It sprayed flame and fireballs. But Nanami fired all of her Soul power right at the fire. The combined Soul she had in her notebook overpowered even the stream of fire the dragon unleashed. The beam of light from her notebook shot through one of the heads and from behind Weiss fired his own beam. From the front and behind a white and gold colored beam met. Weiss and Nanami circled around causing the beam to have a sawblade effect on the dragon heads.

It cut the heads clean off. Nanami joined Shiki. "Hurry." She told Weiss.

They may have cut the dragon's heads off, but that didn't mean it was going to stay dead. It was regenerating and it was going to keep regenerating. Cacophony watched with arms crossed. With a single point of the finger Draco Cantus was back alive and at full power.

"At the end of the path waits extinction."

XXX

Rhyme felt this before. It was a feeling of absolute darkness. An ominous spine tingle and empty presence creeps around. Rhyme was good at keeping her head in most situations. She knew where she was. This was the dark side of her mind. Cacophony put her here. She had been controlled by him before. She knew his work. This was it.

She looked up to see Beat bending over to take her hand. "It's alright. I'm here to save you."

Rhyme took a good look at him. Every detail was right. It looked like him and it sounded like him. Yet she glared. She knew who it was, "You're not Beat and you're not here to save me." The blonde got up and backed away. This was Cacophony's work. She'd fallen for this trick before. He made her a Noise. He made her fight Beat. And by the look of things she was going to have to fight him again. A Noise version maybe, but it still seemed like she was going to have to fight him.

Beat didn't drop it immediately, "Why you runnin? I said I'm here to save you."

Rhyme reminded him, "You're not my brother and you're not here to save me. I don't care what you really are. You tricked me like this once and I won't fall for it again."

The Noise stopped moving. The fake Beat smiled. In Beat's voice it said, "No. I can see you won't."

Rhyme didn't relax, but didn't expect it to say that.

The Noise changed form into Rhyme. A younger Rhyme, the one when she was still wearing her hat and shorts. She had that childish grin and that relaxed posture. Her hair was still short and it gave off an entirely different aura. "Let's not talk about Beat, let's talk about you. Let's talk about what you lost the day you died, do you even remember?"

Rhyme thought she did, "I lost my brother and my life."

The child giggled, "No, you lost more than that. Your price? What was it? You remember that don't you? It was what was most important to you. I still remember what it was. Do you?"

Rhyme didn't and it hardly mattered. She drew her weapon and readied what attacks she could gather. But the Noise stopped her with words, "It was your dreams. You never got that back did you? You act like you're still you, but you aren't. You can't ever be you again can you? Don't you ever wonder what it would be like to have dreams again? To have goals? Do you have goals anymore?"

It didn't sound particularly hurtful. But this Noise was jabbing into a six year old wound. Rhyme lost her price back then. She never got it back. Joshua said something about her price being lost, but she said she could live on without it. She never got it back and she wasn't going to get it back. It sounded simple. Like something you could survive without. Partially true. To everyone else their ambitions and dreams would hardly be a price. But that's just it. Rhyme knew they were important to her. Rhyme KNEW. It was torture to have a feeling that every day you should be doing something else.

"You lost your reason to live didn't you? You think about it. Every now and then you feel yourself breaking apart a little bit every day."

Rhyme felt the static, "I don't need my price!"

The Noise knew better, "Yes you do. You need your price like Neku needs Shiki. You need your price like Beat needs you. You want your price as much as Thanatos wants death. As much as Nanami needed closure. You can choose to entertain your delusion if you like, but you need it. The reason you can't be happy is because you can't have it back. And no can even fathom how much you need it. Your price wasn't Beat. You care more about your price than Beat, what was it? Can you remember?"

Rhyme couldn't. The sad thing was Rhyme tried knowing she wouldn't. She could never know her dreams. Part of prices being taken is you couldn't have them back unless you beat the game. She didn't beat the game. She lost. When she did her price was gone and gone for good. The more she tried to remember the more the static took her.

"Your weakness isn't fear is it? I could threaten how you'll never see Beat again or how you betrayed your friends, but the truth is... your weakness is that you are empty. You go on living for others. You live for your brother. You live for your friends, you live for everyone except yourself. You want to take joy out of living, but you can't. You're broken and hallow."

Rhyme's face twisted. It was true. "You're a liar."

The little Rhyme told her older self, "I don't need to lie with you. I don't need to spin this. This is coming from your own heart and mind. You're empty. You hate what you've become secretly. You live in your friend's shadow with no real direction. You're going to have to live with this emptiness the rest of your life."

Rhyme pulled out her bell charm and tried to manage an attack. It might have just been an effort to shut that thing up, but it didn't work. The psych wasn't even working. Cacophony's aura was still fixated on her? She didn't see Cacophony, but this was his work. "I'm not going to be controlled again. Not by you."

The little Rhyme changed shape again. From little Rhyme to older Rhyme. The Noise wore the same clothes and even copied her mannerisms. The only difference is it kept a Noise seal on her face. It looked like back when she was controlled by Cacophony.

Noise Rhyme told her, "The reason you were broken so easily was because there was nothing left to break. You forget that no matter how you play pretend I see the real you. You're a puppet one way or another. You've always been a puppet, you're good at being one. Ever since you lost your price you lost yourself. You won't ever be you again. You'll do anything you can to fill what's missing. You'll cling to your friends and pretend to be happy. You'll help your brother as you always do. But it's your brother who put you in this sorry state."

Rhyme started to back up, "Stop." She knew what it was going to say next.

"Your brother couldn't bear the thought of you dying. His price was you. He cares about you deeply. Yet no matter how hard you try, you can't seem to care about him. That's why he keeps saving you. He saves you over and over again. He thinks for every time he saves you he can see you for but a bit longer. But the truth is... he already lost you didn't he? He lost the real you a long time ago."

Rhyme did everything she could to forget that empty feeling. The fact that whatever she did she'd remain a shadow. She kept living, yes. But living could never bring her happiness. The only thing of herself that remained was the fact she still cared about her brother and friends. Was that care even real anymore? She wanted it to be. She wanted so dearly to feel something. Anything other than emptiness. Most people in the world speak of feeling incomplete. They need a man, a woman, a child, a purpose, a leader or whatever they lack in life. It's only human nature to crave what you haven't yet obtained. But what do you do when you don't care about any of those things anymore? What do you do when you can't have what matters to you most and you know you never will have it.

Rhyme stopped moving. She felt it again. Complete and utter loss. Her eyes dilated at the thought of never having ambition. If you take away someone's purpose of living, what's left?

"You are a shell. A shell that is meant to be used. You were used by Beat. You were used by your friends. You were used by the Noise and you still are used by the angels. You are so easy to guide, so easy to manipulate. You lack the willpower to do anything but yield. You linger. You want for nothing, you just keep going on being used. You stop minding, didn't you? You stopped caring that nothing ever did would matter to you. You've done so much. You've fought your brother for the sake of the Noise. Now you fight the Noise for the sake of your brother. You can act like you've changed, but there's nothing left of you but a tool. You fight for Shibuya, but it was Shibuya who took away what you are."

The static stopped hurting. She just let it do it's thing. She was a tool. The real Rhyme died long ago. She cared about her friends and her brother, but she didn't care about herself. All her life she spent time distracting herself from looking within. Because the more she thought about what she could have been the more it hurt. Her price was lost long ago. Everyone who had a price taken from them eventually had it returned. She never did. No one even acknowledged that it was a great loss for her. She went to Joshua and asked for it back long ago. Joshua told her that her price was lost. That retrieving it was now beyond his power. Hanekoma told her to keep living and keep smiling. That's what she did. They told her she didn't need her price anymore, but she did.

Rhyme just dropped to the floor without letting out a cry of pain. The red and black static overtook her. She couldn't fight even if she had the drive to try. She was pathetic. She knew she was pathetic. For the first time in a very long time she had to be honest with herself. The reason she was so easy for the Noise to control was because when it came down to it, she couldn't fight back. When she was a Noise Cacophony used Beat as a means of controlling her. He just simply tricked her. But now that she really focused. Maybe she wasn't tricked. Maybe she just wanted that empty spot to be filled, even if it was filled with something she hated. Being filled with Noise? That was the first time she stopped aching. She didn't want to ever be controlled again. But what choice did she have? Did she even care anymore? Was Beat going to have to save her again? She didn't want to get saved by Beat anymore. She didn't want things to go back to 'normal'. She wanted the aching to stop. She wanted the void to go away.

The Noise Rhyme walked up to her. "That's why you gave in. That's why you'll always give in. You're empty and you want to stop being empty. You forgot what feeling whole even felt like. Give in to Cacophony and he will fill that void. He will let Beat live. You know Beat, he'll keep fighting. He could never give in. But if you just speak the word, he'll be saved and he won't even know you'll be the one who saved him. Things won't have to go back to normal, you won't have to go back to aching. You won't have to look at Beat and be reminded what you lost."

Rhyme stared at the endless sky. She didn't answer, but she wasn't in the right frame of mind. The static didn't seem to hurt anymore. What hurt was that same ache. The lack of her price. The more she thought about it, the more empty she felt. Emptiness she felt, was the saddest emotion. Everyone felt something. Anger? Jealousy? Worry? Fear? Pride? But emptiness? That's almost when you stopped being a human being. Humans are supposed to feel emotion. Humans are supposed to be able to empathize with one another every now and then. She couldn't. She didn't.

She just decided to lay there. Just lay there and never speak another word.

Then Neku broke into her mind. Just turned on her side and kept laying there.

Neku looked back and forward, "Rhyme! Get up!"

Rhyme seemed to be in a trance, "Go away, Beat. I don't want to keep being saved... I don't want to keep being used."

Oh damn, she had it bad.

The Noise was ready for Neku. It gave little twirl of the body and launched three homing blasts. "That's all you are, a tool to be used."

Neku looked at her and said, "Come on Rhyme! You're not a tool."

She kept that glazed look in her eyes and didn't even look at Neku, "You don't know anything Beat."

She kept calling him Beat. He wasn't Beat. He didn't know what to tell her or how to fix this. Shiki he knew really well. In her case whatever she needed to hear came to him. They weren't coming to him right now. The Noise walked through flame and launched more homing blasts. Neku hovered and zig zagged and timed it where the jumped back right before they hit the ground.

He looked at Rhyme again. It was pitiful. She felt this bad? This wasn't just an all of the sudden feeling she'd been dealing with this alone for so long. It was true, he hadn't seen her price as a big deal. It was something you could get over. I mean after she lost her price she seemed fine. Then he thought about it. Shiki seemed fine. Beat seemed fine. But when you take away someone's price you take away what's most important to them. How do you just get over that? You don't. He should have known that.

"Rhyme. You're not a tool."

Rhyme didn't answer.

"I am." Neku said.

That caused Rhyme's eyes to drift. "No you aren't."

Neku put it simply, "Rhyme everything you did with Beat was because you wanted to do it. You wanted to be with Beat and you wanted to help him. You wanted to save Beats life that day. Every time I've been used... I've been doing things I didn't want to do. I've been used by Joshua, the Director and even the Noise. We've all been used Rhyme. But that doesn't make you a tool. The fact that you feel empty doesn't make you weak. You've been dealing with the emptiness by yourself for years. You don't need to deal with it by yourself Rhyme."

Rhyme blinked at the floor then tilted her head in Neku's direction, "I'll never get it back. My price."

Neku didn't know how to put it, "Maybe you won't. But maybe you will. There's angels and demons. There's got to be a way to get your price back. We can find it if you get up! You're not supposed to lay here aching forever. You're supposed to come back to Shibuya with the rest of us. Get up!"

The Noise countered, "He's just using you."

Neku growled and launched some plasma, "Well who would you rather be used by right now?!"

Rhyme thought about it. Being used? She wasn't being used. And even if she was, she'd rather help her friends. She'd rather help her brother. She didn't want to help the Noise. She didn't want to help Cacophony.

She started to remember and see the truth. With how much she went through, it shouldn't amount to this. She fought in the Clash to make it this far. Rhyme had to endure Cacophony once and she'd never want to go back. The bastard had that aura that kept you from thinking straight. It was a sort of magic that just drowned you in the worst parts of yourself.

Clarity started to return. Her insides still ached. But she started to see clearly, "Neku... Neku? Where's Beat and Shiki?" Beat wasn't the one saving her, it was Neku. Beat still needed her help. SHE needed her help. Neku didn't need to fight this thing alone?

She got up.

Neku had to dodge more homing blasts, "We still need to save Beat."

Rhyme drew her bell charm and fired some echo blasts. She sent soundwaves cracking through the floor then popping out at the Noise version of her. How fitting that she was destroying the old version of herself. It wasn't her anymore. As the sound waves shook the ground the Noise Rhyme lost balance, but fired a volley of homing bolts. Rhyme didn't even dodge them. She moved and sent a gold sonic boom. It created a sphere of sound and caused all explosions to detonate premature.

Rhyme told Neku, "Let me save Beat. Just this once."

Neku reminded her, "You save him a lot." He kept his eyes for Draco Cantus, no sign of him. Maybe Shiki and Nanami were keeping that thing preoccupied. Cacophony? He was definitely watching from somewhere. He wouldn't miss out on someone suffering. But where was he?

"You needn't burden yourself with worry. I am here."

Cacophony wasn't there. Neku didn't know why. So far he always appeared hovering in the distance. This time he didn't make an appearance. Was Cacophony hearing his thoughts?

"I hear everything."

Seems so. Rhyme had to finish her Noise so they could get out of here. Cacophony wouldn't skip out on someone suffering without reason. What was he doing? "You saved Beat more than once."

Rhyme shook her head, "Not like this. Not yet."

She moved and created echo rings around her hands and she struck the enemy Noise with her palm. When she attacked the rings bounced back and forth creating extra punches and gold static. With every punch an extra ring of gold appeared. The first couple of punches made rings appear to block off directions of escape. The Noise tried escaping, but the sound ring just bounced it right back into Rhyme who delivered more punches. More punches meant more rings. With every ring it became harder to move or find a means of escape. Finally when Rhyme surrounded the Noise with golden sonic rings she kicked the Noise into one.

The Noise was like a bullet in a tunnel. It bounce off of everything. Every ring changed it's direction and made it go faster. It tried to stop itself, but it was being pummeled in every possible direction by rings. The faster it moved, the more rings it hit.

A sonic prison.

The Noise took punishment and started to change into a monster. It became a familiar looking squirrel Noise. Rhyme's psych was gaining power, not losing.

"I've been used my entire life. By my enemies or my friends. I'm doing this because I choose to. I'm not going to be used. I'm going to make my own dreams. I'm not going to be anyone's shadow anymore."

The Noise hit maximum speed then got knocked towards Rhyme. Rhyme called all her rings to her palm. The result was one super ring. One that went straight into the chest of the monster Noise. The ring went inside the monster. It stayed inside the monster. Then Rhyme gave it one last look.

"I don't need my price to know what I need to do."

Rhyme started walking away. The Noise convulsed. The ring inside started to vibrate. As Rhyme walked away the ring exploded. Gold colored static and cries were all that remained. Rhyme looked at Neku. The nightmare faded. She opened up her eyes. Her mind linked with everyone who was awake. She felt more power than her body could hold. The Noise being erased from her mind created a sense of euphoria.

"Neku!"

"On it!"

That sonic prison she made earlier? That was nothing. Imagine a dome of gold rings that was big enough to cover a city block. Rhyme managed to completely surround the giant monster with those rings and let it be known: they hurt.

Everyone joined in on the fusion attack. Neku, Shiki, Rhyme and Nanami all made the fusion that much worse. Neku was inside the Sonic Prison and so was Shiki. They called a giant Mr. Mew to punch the beast back into the wall of golden rings. Every single one it touched reacted violently and exploded causing the blowback to send it skidding into more rings. Which caused it to skid into more rings. This happened until most of the rings exploded. When that was done Rhyme and Nanami began rapid fire launching the golding rings at the dragon. It was a big target so it wasn't exactly like they needed to aim the hundreds of rings. They launched walls of them. The ones that missed were kicked by Shiki and Neku until they hit the dragon. Literally every golden ring hit Draco Cantus. But the attack ended with one giant sized golden ring that shrunk down to Rhymes hand. She palm struck the monster on the chest and used all of her remaining fusion power to cause that golden ring to explode the monster from the inside out.

That should have killed it.

It DID kill it. The Noise exploded and created a ton of static. The static went out in all directions. But then it stopped. It stopped and all the static stayed midair.

"What can you destroy that I cannot rebuild?"

The static started coming back together. It reshaped and reformed into Draco Cantus once again. What's more Cacophony put him back together better than when he was hurt. It was the noise dragon in it's prime.

Demoralizing as that was, they were still making progress. They were mostly done. The more people they woke up the easier Draco Cantus was. In fact with everyone present, taking him out again should be no problem. They were stronger now and they were gaining allies.

They were still winning.

Then Cacophony appeared. He phased into their zone so for the moment they could hit him. Honestly if you had the option to take a shot at the Noise god after all he did, you would. Any one of them could try to do damage to the Noise god. All four tried. All four attacks failed.

Nanami pointed all her pages at him and fired. Shiki sent a big Mr. Mew eyebeam at it. A quick single burst, but it would still hurt. Rhyme fired a focused ring towards him. Neku combined lightning and black ice. They didn't have long to charge up after the fusion moves, but they intended to damage the bastard where they could. He stayed deliberately out of reach uptil now. They could hurt him now.

Well at least they they thought they could.

Cacophony almost seemed excited as their psyches came toward him. The difference in power was a maggot versus a Mammoth. These humans were interesting even so. They forgot what it was to fear for the instant. He'd remind them. Cacophony made a laugh. Although it was more like thousands of laughs at the same time. Thousands of voices: boy, girl, man, woman, young or old. It didn't matter. All laughed at Shibuya.

The fluttering winged humanoid welcomed the attacks.

Noise symbols appeared. Exactly the amount necessary to block all of their ranged attacks. He put no effort into really blocking their attacks so much as other Noise came to protect him. Actually Shiki's attack grazed him, but he completely ignored it. Even if it was a direct hit, it had no effect. Heck, if all of their attacks hit, it would have genuinely made no difference.

Cacophony glanced across his choices. He needed to make clear their situation.

"Look to your hope. Look to your champion, Shibuya."

He was talking about Neku.

Cacophony vanished from the spot he was at. It wasn't speed or anything, he just teleported away from that spot and chose to appear next to Neku. Neku flinched and made his barrier as fast as he could. That barrier was really something too, but Cacophony just simply reached through it as if it weren't there. He didn't even punch through the barrier, he just reached through it, shattering it with very little force. Cacophony's hand gripped Neku by the neck and sent red energy into him. It wasn't a little amount either. It was enough to make Neku glow. There was one quick yell and then silence. Neku didn't have long. It was humiliating to think there was something that could KO Neku with an effortless attack.

"Watch them break."

Cacophony did a single frontal flip before throwing Neku to the artificial floor they stood. Wings making a little flap to regain his balance. Neku crashed into the ground and the shockwave from the impact covered an impossible distance. It was high and far enough to hit everyone. Shiki, Rhyme and Nanami all were blown to the ground themselves. The red static filled their bodies and caused them pain. It was only a tiny fraction of what Neku must have felt. The force did physical as well as mental damage. But what made it worse? Neku lie motionless on the ground. Neku was strong, he was the strongest of them by far. But now? It would take a lot more than healing pins to get him on his feet. He wasn't quite dead though. Just barely alive. It was strange. Cacophony probably could have killed him.

"I allow him to live, but a little longer. I shall erase all in time. Suffer, cherish and despair for what time remains."

Cacophony vanished and returned to his spot where he could watch the battle. He phased out. He did his damage and now he was going to return to watching.

They felt exactly what he wanted them to feel: hopelessness.

The girls got up and watched as Draco Cantus growled. They were all hurt. Neku was out of the fight, just like that. They were demoralized.

Even if they beat that dragon all that awaited them was the real monster. They couldn't beat him. They couldn't win.

Red static hindered them.

Why? Why now? Why did he attack now? What awaited them at the end? Were their victories shallow?

"All paths and roads converge. I am at the end."

While he spoke he only thought of the remaining loose ends. The Director's spawn, Weiss, was still active. No matter. Without his allies he was nothing. Even so, the Noise god knew to deal with the remaining players. The ones before him weren't yet erased. With a nod motion Draco Cantus obeyed the unspoken command to destroy them. Depending on how soon Weiss got back, there might not be anyone left to back him up when he returned.

XXX

To be continued

XXX

[It's not over. Tell me what you're thinking when you get the chance.

For those of you who'd be willing to help out in the beta read section, I'd appreciate it.

topic/75721/103690579/1/#105779033

-0er0 out

]