Holy crap. I wasn't expecting to release chapter 16 so soon, but the final battle was stuck in my head. Here's the next chapter, you guys! Sorry if it's a bit sloppy.

I made a reference to "Another Day" here XD Couldn't resist! There's also a Neku/Shiki moment in this chapter, just so you know. And violence, including blood. Yay blood.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

Playing For Keeps

By FlikFreak

Chapter Sixteen: Make Or Break

Neku wasn't at all pleased with Joshua's decision to come with them, mostly because he hated his guts, but he remembered that Minamomoto had once been disposed of by Joshua…just not correctly. Maybe that silver-haired snot-nosed brat of a composer was trying to finish what he started. Dragging the others into it was questionable, but he was thankful for it considering there was a crowd of heartless waiting for them. The heartless, though more vicious and dangerous since they didn't have their own 'zone,' were much easier to take down than noise. Neku didn't want to think about what would happen if he had to face that many noise at once with only him and Sora…or anyone else for that matter.

By the time the group reached the end of the sewer, they came upon a large, closed door. Joshua put his hands in his pockets and looked at it closely. "Well, he should be in there unless our little friend decided to crash the party."

Beat was the first to walk forward. He grabbed the handle and turned it, gritting his teeth when it didn't budge. "It's locked. Anyone got a key?"

"I do," Sora replied.

"He means the key to the door," Shiki corrected him.

But Sora stepped forward anyway. "I'm serious. I can unlock it."

Rhyme looked at Sora doubtfully. "Isn't your key a bit too big for that door?"

"Nah," Sora said, grinning. "Stand back, I'll show you."

They did. With a deep breath, Sora pointed the keyblade forward, light gathering at the tip and shooting forward in a similar fashion to when he had unlocked the wall farther down the sewer. There was a flash as it struck the doorknob, and a familiar clicking was heard.

Beat stood with his jaw wide open. It took him a few moments before he could say anything. "Best. Psyche. Ever."

"Remind me to call you up next time I lock myself out of my apartment," Shiki joked, smiling.

Sora grinned and chuckled at their comments, letting the keyblade fall to his side again. "Come on. We've got a world to save."

"Again," Neku added, but he meant it in good humor. Tentatively, he pulled open the door and gazed inside.

While Neku and his friends knew what to expect, Sora and his own companions certainly didn't. Yuffie's eyes bluged from her head. "Geez! It's like Chez Sewer's Bar and Lounge down here! What's a place like this doing in a sewer?"

"This is Dead God's Pad," Joshua said, looking at it with a stern expression. "Looks like the GM managed to escape before our friend Minamimoto arrived and wreaked havoc."

Neku could see what he was referring to. The couches that were in the room were torn and shredded with various claw marks, a few nearby game tables were snapped cleanly in half, and the jukebox was smashed to smithereens. All in all, the place was an absolute mess.

"No sign of Pi-Face," Beat observed darkly, his voice unnaturally quiet.

"I bet he's up ahead," Sora said, eyes narrowed. "But how are we supposed to go farther? I don't exactly see any other doors."

Joshua crossed his arms. "This is the part where it gets hard," he said. "There is a door in here. The only problem is that only scanning can reveal it, thus only players can go through…normally."

"Normally?" Leon echoed, his voice full of suspicion.

"There are other ways through," Joshua continued, "But none are easy for people whom aren't reapers or anything similar. I doubt Minamimoto will let us waltz in so casually if he's already here, either."

"So we have to go alone?" Sora asked, feeling discouraged.

Joshua nodded. "I'm afraid so. The rest of us will be holding down the fort in case any noise or heartless decide to eat you for dinner."

Sora groaned. "That's not very reassuring."

"He's right though," Neku began. "The Grim Heaper didn't mind sending a bunch of taboo noise after me and whatever partner I had in weeks two and three. He'll probably want to send Heartless after you guys, too."

"Then we'll hold the fort here, yo!" Beat said, thrusting an enthusiastic fist into the air. "Go show Pi-Face who's really in charge of Shibuya!"

Neku smiled and was about to turn away when he felt something bump into him and bind him on the spot. There was an eerie stillness before he managed to look down and recognize that Shiki had thrown herself on him, wrapping him in a tight hug. He was stunned for a moment before Shiki spoke, her voice barely audible as she buried her face in his chest. "Come back safe this time, okay Neku?" she asked.

Everyone stared in silence as Neku tried to figure out what to do. He had never had to deal with this, mainly because he drove off anyone that really needed a hug. He looked closer and saw that Shiki was... Is she crying? he thought. He always knew the seamstress considered him a friend, but never this close. He had never had anyone so worried about him before.

Finally, after a few thoughts, Neku's gaze softened and he wrapped his own arms around the girl, holding her tightly. "I will," he replied in a near-whisper. "I promise."

After a few moments, the two pulled away, and Shiki wiped a few tears from her eyes, smiling. "Good luck, both of you."

Sora gave her a mock salute and a goofy grin. "You can count on us," he said, turning to his partner. "Ready, Neku?"

Neku nodded. "Ready."

Nodding, Sora pulled out his player pin and closed his eyes, initiating a scan. Moments later, the area around them both began to flicker, and it eventually faded, revealing another sector of the sewer. This one was a bit brighter, the walls covered in familiar graffiti. Neku gave an inward sigh; it was CAT's work. He often wondered what it was doing there, but never got any answers.

"Whoa," Sora exclaimed quietly, his voice echoing. "Where is this?"

"The rest of the Shibuya River," Neku replied. "I'm guessing you found the door without a problem?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I scanned and didn't really find anything but this mental image of a door. I tried to pull it up more like when I read people's thoughts and…well…something kinda jerked me forward and then we were here."

Neku narrowed his eyes and focused carefully. "Minamimoto is probably around here somewhere…him or the GM."

"Then let's end this," Sora said, his voice low and serious. "Lead the way, Neku."

The proxy nodded and began forward, Sora following. Their footsteps echoed quietly down the tunnel. The rushing sound of the water was long gone, and only they were there to make any sounds. Not even the music of Shibuya could reach this far, though the fact that it couldn't reach the river at all wasn't much help. The echoing silence was almost sickening to Neku, and he finally had to stop when they were half-way through, hugging himself and shuddering. His face contorted into unease as he slowly sat on his knees to steady himself. Even after so long, I still can't stand this place.

Sora quickly noticed this and placed a hand on Neku's shoulder. "You okay?"

"No," Neku replied. "I won't be until we leave this place. It's messing with my head and I'm starting to feel sick."

There was an odd expression on Sora's face and he looked downward, closing his eyes muttering a few words that Neku couldn't make out. There was a warm, green light from the keyblade that shone very briefly that passed over Neku, and he felt a warmth curling around him and calming his senses. The nausea in his mind began to wane, and while it didn't go away, it was now on a far more manageable level. Sora knelt down to Neku's eye level. "That help any?"

Neku nodded. "A little," he replied. "What'd you do?"

Sora only smiled vaguely. "The keyblade is capable of more than just unlocking stuff. I really don't know everything about it, even after two years, but it can help heal people as far as I know, even if they aren't in physical pain."

The statement erected a small grin from Neku. "Thanks," he muttered, standing.

"Don't mention it," Sora said, once again resting the keyblade on his shoulder. "Come on."

Taking a deep breath, Neku started forward with a renewed determination. When they finally arrived at the door at the end of the tunnel, he bit his lip. "This is it, Sora. Be ready for anything."

"Yeah," Sora said, holding the keyblade at ready.

Neku reached toward the handle and turned it, shoving the door open. Waiting on the other side was a familiar place: an enormous room that would have put an Olympic stadium to shame. Three noise-like designs ran through the center of the room, snaking up the walls where a large pillar decorated with a serpentine design stood. The roof was so high it couldn't be seen. Sora gawked at the sight, but Neku had seen it before and was considerably less shocked. "Welcome to the room of reckoning," he said, "The throne of the Composer and the place where the fabric of Shibuya is woven."

"Took your time didn't you, stupid zeros?"

The voice instantly set Sora and Neku on edge. Sora took a battle stance, the keyblade ready in his grip, while Neku's hand began to glow. "This ends now, Pi-Face!" he shouted.

Minamimoto grinned. "So zetta slow. The GM isn't anywhere in the River. He probably saw me coming."

"So you haven't found him yet?" Sora asked. Neku hoped it would stay that way.

"Of course not," Minamimoto growled. "He would have made a great heartless, you know…but your stupid key keeps getting in the way!" He lunged, sending a red-hot laser Sora's way. The keyblade master batted it away and held his ground while Minamimoto continued. "And to make matters worse, I can't find the keyhole to this place."

"What do you want with the keyhole?" Neku demanded.

Minamimoto laughed. "You zetta morons! Whoever controls whatever's in that keyhole will have ultimate power! With that I can subtract the composer from this equation and I'll finally be the one in charge!"

Neku would have laughed if Shibuya's fate wasn't at stake…again. "You're still going after that crazy goal of yours?" he growled. "I hate to disappoint you, but we're not about to let you become in charge of anything."

"We're putting a stop to you right here and right now," Sora added. "Any last words, Minamimoto?"

The former reaper laughed. "You should be the one praying!" he cried as he shot one hand forward, a sphere of black flame erupting from it. It slammed into Sora's stomach and caused him to stumble back as he screamed in both pain and surprise.

Deciding that the fight had begun, Neku sent a flurry of glowing projectiles toward Minamimoto, whom dodged every last one save for the final bolt that skinned his shoulder and burned the fabric of his jacket. While Minamimoto was cringing, Sora had raced forward and aimed a blow at his side with the keyblade. It hit its mark, and the reaper bellowed in anger, retaliating by slashing across Sora's face with claws that appeared from nowhere. The keyblade master screamed, falling back as the claw marks stretched across his face and drew blood. His momentary paralysis was enough time for Minamimoto to hurl him aside and race for Neku, whom was readying a trail of flames. He wasn't prepared for the hit.

Rhyme, whom had taken a seat on the floor, stared absently at her feet. She didn't remember this place very clearly, but it was familiar enough to her. The fish swarmed near the small group that had formed, and she tapped her shoe against the glass, watching as the fish scattered for a moment only to re-gather around her. Behind her, Beat was sitting on the couch, caught in a rare moment of calm while trying to comfort a worried Shiki. Joshua stood staring at the ruined jukebox, probably contemplating whether or not he could fix it. The two strangers, Yuffie and Leon, were on the remains of other couch, sitting in silence and staring at other interesting aspects of the room.

"He'll be fine, Shiki," Beat said for about the umpteenth time. "He's been up against the Conductor before, yo."

Shiki shook her head and hugged her stuffed cat, Mr. Mew, closer. "I just can't stand being here and not knowing how he is. He could be erased and I'm still here and I can't do anything…"

"Neku is a very strong player," Joshua said, finally breaking his own silence. "I had him hand-picked, after all."

Rhyme finally looked up from the floor. "Hand-picked?" she asked.

Joshua nodded. "The only normal way for a player to enter the UG is to die, so I had to find someone right for the job as my proxy. A friend of mine is known for his influential graffiti, and he painted a mural for me in Udagawa imprinting it with two messages: 'Enjoy the moment more' and 'Gather.' Anyone with a strong imagination – which is used to perform psyches – would be drawn to it. Neku was the one that showed up there when I was looking for a proxy, so I sent him to the UG as my proxy."

"You mean you killed him," Leon said, eyes narrowed to slits.

"I did," Joshua replied, "And promptly brought him back when my little game was over. But I'm not the one who killed him the second time. That was a fortunate accident on my part. I did, however, have to exercise my method on your friend Sora."

"You!" Yuffie yelled in rage, jumping to her feet and readying a shuriken. "You're the one that killed him!"

Joshua only chuckled at her reaction. "Yes, I supposed I did."

"You jerk! Don't you realize what you did? Because of you, the heartless will-"

"Stop, Yuffie," Leon said suddenly. "Don't you remember who was in the room with us five minutes ago?"

The ninja paused, thinking. "Neku and Sora…"

"Exactly," Joshua said. "Killing them was the only way to bring them to the UG, but you still met them. The UG and RG overlap here, just like in the shops. Death is handled very differently here in Shibuya, young lady. As such, I have promised to bring Neku and Sora back when this mess is dealt with. For saving Shibuya from total demise, it's the least I can do."

"You can do that?" Yuffie asked, aghast but still miffed at the boy.

"Well, he is the composer."

A voice reached them from the front door of Dead God's Pad. The reaction was immediate. A smile lit up on Shiki's face, while Beat's jaw dropped. Leon and Yuffie jumped a bit, and Rhyme stared in awe at the person that had arrived. Joshua, however, just smiled and chuckled like he always did. "Looks like our GM is safe and sound," he said. "Well, would you mind filling us in on what's going on outside?"

"Everything's fine in the RG so far. As for Minamimoto, I've got some news that you may or may not like…"

Sora clutched his face, the pain causing the skin to throb as blood stung his eyes. Minamimoto hadn't gotten him on the cheek, he had gotten his entire face with the claw-like slash. Three ribbons of red crossed his eyes, nose and cheeks, and he didn't have time to throw in a cure spell. He looked up in time to see Minamimoto rushing toward Neku and hit a bolt of ice at his back, but the math-obsessed reaper still managed to land a blow to Neku's ribs.

Even as his vision ran partially red, Sora ran forward, eyebrows furrowed, and made a slash at Minamimoto's back, landing right on the mark and causing the reaper to spin around and make another slash at him, only for Sora to quickly parry the blow with the keyblade and leap back.

"Zetta sons of digits," Minamimoto growled.

"Thought you could beat us?" Sora taunted.

In response to Sora's comment, Minamimoto only laughed. "Fine, then. But you forgot one major detail in my equation, yoctograms!" With that, his form began to slowly warp into a large, bi-pedal lion-like beast with sharp, wickedly curved claws, horns, and a tattoo-like tail and set of legs. His laughing attained an abnormal echoing quality, and a dark mist rose from his body.

"What's going on?!" Sora cried.

Neku sneered. "I didn't know he was still capable," he said. "That's his noise form, Leo Cantus!"

Sora didn't need Neku to tell him that a noise form was more powerful. He held the keyblade in a cautious defensive stance, ready to block anything that came his way. He was quickly proven outmatched when Leo Cantus raced at him with blinding speed and sent him flying through the air and crashing into the wall, causing chunks of cement to fly out upon impact. Dizzy, Sora fell to the ground, coughing and hacking violently. He felt a bit of blood seep out of his mouth as he gasped for breath.

Satisfied at the damage, Leo Cantus headed for Neku, whom wasn't any more prepared than Sora was. A barrier of flame appeared just in time to ward off the noise's assault, but he shattered it like glass and gave Neku three new crimson marks across his abdomen. The blood-curdling shriek that the proxy let loose at the pain caused Sora to wince. He's too powerful…

Don't give up, Sora! You can't give up!

Pushing himself upright and failing, Sora instead lifted his eyes and helplessly watched Neku's suffering. Roxas, I don't know if I can keep going. Leo Cantus…he's insanely strong. I don't think Xemnas was as tough as him.

Come on. You've toppled Organization XIII! You can do this!

Sora nodded, pushing himself to his feet, this time focusing on the situation at hand. Leo Cantus was quick and powerful, but Sora knew better than anyone that such power always had a weakness. If he could surprise the enemy and keep him off guard for long enough, he might be able to defeat him swiftly. The question was…how? He knew that he was up against a keyblade master and a proxy, so he knew their strategies…

An idea lit up in his mind. Wheeling back his arm, he hurled the keyblade across the room. "Neku! Catch!"

The proxy's head snapped up and he caught the keyblade in his hand. Leo Cantus began aiming another blow when he found it blocked by the keyblade's shaft. Stumbling back in surprise, Neku leapt forward, his psychic power traveling down the blade as he leapt up and sliced Leo Cantus across the front. Sora joined the fray again, channeling a thundaga spell through his hand. It was harder without using the keyblade as a medium and it took much more out of him, but it landed more powerfully than usual, and Leo Cantus collapsed to the ground, his form evaporating and leaving a kneeling Minamimoto in his place.

"Had enough?" Sora snarled.

Minamimoto smirked and began to stand, only to stumble. "Heh…an inverse matrix…but don't think this is over…"

Neku wouldn't have it. Gripping the keyblade, he ran forward and stabbed through the reaper, allowing the blade to rip through the other side of his body. After letting it stay there for a few seconds, he ripped it out, and the man fell on the ground, motionless.

It was only after a few moments that Neku realized that the keyblade was in his hand. His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the weapon. "What…when…"

Sora grinned, wiping the blood from his chin. "Kinda interesting how adrenalin makes you improvise on the spot without really knowing what's going on."

If Neku heard him, he hid it well. He was still staring at the weapon in awe, holding it in both hands. "This is…different," he began. "It's kind of like having a psyche active all the time, only it doesn't drain you…it kinda does the opposite."

"That's how I felt, too," Sora replied, remembering when the keyblade had come to him before his islands were destroyed. "I didn't have much time to marvel at it though…I was attacked by heartless a few seconds later."

Neku paused in silence, apparently contemplating the subject before handing the keyblade back over to Sora. "Here," he said simply, looking nervous. Sora smiled, accepting his weapon back, and glancing at the dead form of Minamimoto lying on the ground before him.

What they didn't expect was for a large, glimmering heart to float out of the fading remains of the math-obsessed reaper's body as he vanished in a black mist.

"What the…" Neku exclaimed, gawking. "He was a heartless?"

Sora's eyes narrowed. "I don't like this. If he was a heartless, then that means-"

The sound of someone clapping their hands echoed about the concrete walls as a black, cloaked figure approached. "Good show, good show. I was beginning to wonder if you'd make it."

"…he has a nobody," Sora finished, gritting his teeth. As much as he hated to admit it, this battle was far from over.

You thought it was over, didn't ya? XD Nope, there's still more final boss to come! Are you ready for it?