I'm pretty sure some of you are wondering about the keyblade incident last chapter. THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC. Or go crazy. XD Don't worry, it was planned. I'll explain it in this chapter.

There was going to be another chapter after this one, but I decided to just squish it into one…so this is the last chapter. Off we go!

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 Seventeen: Twister

Neku didn't know which was worse: the fact that he and Sora were about to bleed to death if they kept this up, or the fact that there were two Minamimotos. The heartless Minamimoto, though now gone, had already taken plenty out of them, and the proxy wasn't sure he could handle the Nobody. Next to him, Sora was barely standing, having been slashed across the face and then slammed into the wall. Neku could still see the crater where Sora had been thrown.

"I have to admit," the Nobody began, "You two had me worried there. I didn't even know ol' Sho could still use his noise form. Looks like you managed to pull through anyway. Quite the entertainment for ol' Xsoh here."

"What do you want?" Sora demanded.

Sho's Nobody sneered. "Still pulling that, Sora? I thought you got rid of Organization XIII."

Sora narrowed his eyes, blood dripping past one of them. "I did," he said, "But it looks like I still missed a few no-gooders like you."

"Figures," Xsoh replied. "You see, I'm not after Kingdom Hearts. I'm fine without my heart, otherwise I woulda just taken it back by force. To tell you the truth, I never really did like how this game was run. I'm still after the composer spot 'n all, but don't you think this game would be more exciting if a Nobody was running it? You wouldn't have emotional issues getting in your way of making decisions, like that stupid no-good composer let happen."

Neku blinked. "Compo…ser?" He echoed. "What does Joshua have to do with this?"

Xsoh rolled his eyes. "What, haven't you ever wondered what happened after you lost that duel with him, and still ended up alive? That brat let his heart get in the way of what he wanted for Shibuya, and decided to let you go even though you won." The man spat out the word 'heart' like it was poison. "But Nobodies, as you probably already know, don't have hearts. We won't have obstacles like that."

"Forget about it," Sora growled. "You're a nobody. You shouldn't exist. And when I'm done with you, you won't."

The nobody laughed. "Heh. I'd like to see you try." There was a quick movement and a series of thorns stretched forward at lightning-fast speed. Sora was gone in a blur, swiveling around them and racing for the Nobody. Neku slashed the air with his hand and caused a chain of barbed wire to fling itself out of the wall and stab past Xsoh. It missed by inches, and Xsoh disposed of it with a quick slash of his hand. Sora sent a blow to the man's ribs, which landed right on the mark. Xsoh bellowed in pain and kicked Sora backward, causing the keybearer to cough rather than cry out in pain. A bit of blood seeped out of the boy's mouth, but he didn't remain still long enough to notice it and rushed right back into the fray.

The keyblade master's decision proved to be a mistake when he received a blow to the side of his skull thanks to a set of claws, tearing open some of his flesh. He ignored the pain that screamed to him and raced forward again, stabbing the keyblade into Xsoh's side. Leaping back, he made way for Neku to send a barrage of projectiles at the enemy, pushing the nobody back. To their surprise, however, Xsoh came out unharmed.

"It'll take more than that to erase me," he snarled, lifting his hand up and summoning a large sphere of pale, empty energy and hurling it at Sora. The key bearer was hurled backward, skidding across the pavement and earning a few scrapes and scratches on his arms and legs.

Xsoh sent more thorns toward Sora, whom lay helpless on the ground as he was just beginning to stand. Neku's eyes widened and the attack neared, and the threw himself in front of Sora just as the blow would have landed, taking the hit himself and being pinned against the concrete wall. The thorns held him there until Sora managed to regain his footing and slice them away, freeing Neku from their hold.

He can't keep going like this, Neku told himself as he readied another psyche. He's taken more of a beating than I have. What's keeping him running?

"You haven't given up yet?" Xsoh said, laughing. "You know, one of these days that persistence of yours is going to cost you more than your life."

Sora looked up, eyes barely remaining open. "I'm not backing down," he replied. "Ever. I made a promise."

A promise…?

Xsoh laughed. "Yeah, right. How's something like that ganna keep you going?"

Wincing as he did it, Sora pulled out a small, star-shaped charm sewn out of seashells. "Kairi gave this to me," he said, not bothering to explain who Kairi was. "She made me promise to bring it back to her. I'm not giving up, and I'll keep fighting until I can give this back to her."

That alone can keep him going for two years? Neku observed. I guess we all have something that keeps us going…for me, it's Shiki…and for Beat, it's Rhyme…for Sora, it's that promise.

"I'll help you out then," Xsoh said. "I'll help you give it to her…after I erase you!" He sent forth another stream of thorns, slamming Sora into the ground again. The keyblade master grunted, lifting the keyblade to attack, but found himself unable to move. Neku spun on the spot, using his flames to free Sora from the hold, only for the thorns to rebound and lash him like a whip, giving him a long red mark across his back and sending him tumbling to the ground next to his partner.

Sora lifted his arm, aiming the keyblade at Xsoh, but his hand kept falling. Neku winced; the boy could barely move. Gathering his courage, Neku grabbed Sora's hand and helped him lift it upward, nodding in understanding. Sora nodded very slightly, and turned his gaze to Xsoh, where the keyblade was aimed. A light gathered at the tip of the keyblade, and Neku felt some of his strength draining in a similar way to when he used a very powerful psyche. The light exploded from the tip of the weapon, shooting forward and impaling Xsoh for a brief moment before fading.

Xsoh gasped for breath and stumbled, clutching his side. "You don't know when to quit, do you?" he commented. "Even when you're down to your last breath, you still fight."

"We have something to fight for," Neku replied, standing. "And we're going to defend it with all we've got."

Sora nodded, staggering to his feet. "Neku's right," he said. "And this world may not be mine, but I still have every right to fight for it…and that's just what I'll do. You're time's up, Xsoh."

The nobody laughed, standing upright again and sending a barrage of attacks toward them. Sora weakly held up the keyblade, managing to block them, but Neku had to jump about to avoid them. Even then, they were fast, and he was nicked on the back of his calf by one strand. Screaming, he landed and stumbled, but Neku quickly shook it off and ran back into the fray. He leapt into the air with a cry, preparing to close in with a barrage of wind blades when he found himself thrown back as though he had hit a wall. When he looked back up, he noticed that Xsoh had wrapped himself in a shield composed of his thorns. Neku shook himself out of his daze and gritted his teeth. If we keep going like this we won't last long…there has to be a way to finish him fast, but I don't have any pins for that sort of thing…

Pins…pins… The idea slowly came to him, and his eyes widened. "Sora! Your blank pin! Use it!"

The keyblade master's head snapped up. "But I don't know what it-"

"It's our only chance at this point!" Neku protested.

Sora nodded, shoving off some thorns that were attacking him and pulling the pin out of his pocket. It was pulsing with light, its psyche activating. As they watched, it rose into the air, the glow becoming brighter, and Neku heard a small, familiar, and very welcome sound reach his ears.

Drums. An electric guitar. Bass. A keyboard. Someone singing. The music of Shibuya had reached them.

At first, Neku wondered what good it would do, especially in the river where it had never gone to before. Xsoh laughed at them. "You think bringing the music here is going to help you two?" he said. "You should have known better. Wherever there's music, there's always a bit of static that can block it out."

The color drained from Sora's face, and Neku felt his own skin pale. "No…you're not-"

"Heh, heh, heh…that's right!" Xsoh lifted his hands into the air. "Come on out, noise!"

"NO!"

In a flash of scrambled light, several noise appeared between the players and Xsoh. Neku could make out several wolves, an elephant, a number of kangaroos and minks and a large number of frogs as well. Both partners scowled; noise were harder to take down than heartless, and though the number there didn't exactly count as a crowd, at the rate they were going they wouldn't last. They had used something they thought would help, only to hand victory to their enemy. This can't be the end…it can't…Shiki, I'm sorry…

But to their surprise, the noise turned around to face Xsoh instead. The nobody's eyes widened. "Wha…did you hear me or not? Erase them!"

"I don't think they care what you want," Sora replied, his voice hoarse. "You wanted to replace the noise in the UG with heartless and nobodies, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but everything has a survival instinct. I'm pretty sure the noise are no different."

While Xsoh stood in shock, Neku stood, realizing where Sora was going. "We've been overrun with Heartless this week," he added. "The noise have been a bit deprived of their dinner lately. I'm pretty sure they'll go for just about anything at this rate."

The noise advanced an Xsoh, whom stepped back fearfully and shielded himself with his arms. "No! No, you can't do this! I'm the one that called you! You can't do this to me!"

But his cries went unheard as every single creature pounced on him at once. After a blood-curdling cry from Xsoh, there was a pale flash of light and both the noise and the nobody were gone.

The music faded away once more, as did the light from the pin floating in the air. It fell to the ground, shattering like glass. With the adrenalin rush ceasing, Neku and Sora fell to their knees, gasping for breath. "It's over now," Sora said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Shibuya…should be safe."

Neku gritted his teeth. "It better be," he replied. "But do you think we can make it back?"

Sora didn't answer. Instead, he gripped the keyblade, coughing as blood dribbled down his chin, then muttered a few words below his breath. Neku felt the curative abilities of the keyblade wrap around him, and though they didn't help repair all the damage, the pain and bleeding lessened. He shook his head. "Sora, you need the help more than me. You're the only one that can seal the keyhole. Heal yourself."

"We're partners…aren't we?" Sora protested with a weak smile. "Looking after each other is…what we do…right…?" Then his eyes closed, and he collapsed to the ground with a soft thud.

Neku narrowed his eyes, for a moment worried that Sora was being erased, but he noted that the boy was still breathing hoarsely. He's exhausted, the proxy decided. Lost so much blood… Biting his lip, he picked up Sora's arm and wrapped it over his shoulder, dragging the boy up and beginning to limp out of the Room of Reckoning. The boy was surprisingly lightweight, and even in unconsciousness he still gripped the keyblade. He ignored the blood stains he was getting on his clothes; more important things were at stake now.

It took longer than it probably should have for Neku to make it all the way back to Dead God's Pad. With every step, Sora seemed to grow heavier and more limp, so Neku had to re-adjust the boy's arm several times. The music that had been summoned remained, but played very, very faintly in comparison to when he heard it in the scramble. It was better than silence, he reasoned, and it didn't make him feel ill.

While walking down the tunnels, Neku spared a glance at Sora. When he was unconscious, there was a strange element of peace to him. In spite of this, signs of his battle with Minamimoto and Xsoh showed: there was blood on his chin, running down the side of his head and a bit more on his arms. His clothes were torn in a few places, though not quite as torn up as Neku's. The music-loving proxy scowled. This is my favorite shirt, too.

Noticing the end of the tunnel, Neku heaved Sora onto his shoulder a bit more and stepped forward. A soft light enveloped him as he re-entered Dead God's Pad. There, he found everyone silently waiting, including a newcomer.

Neku blinked. "…Mister Hanekoma? What're you doing here?"

All heads snapped up at once. Many eyes widened, a few jaws gawked (Joshua looked concerned but was otherwise his normal, hard-to-read self), Rhyme winced and backed away, Yuffie gasped and Shiki screamed. "Neku! What happened?!"

"We lived," Neku replied. "Somehow. We both took a big beating, and Sora used up the last of his energy to make sure I got here in one piece. Didn't think twice about his own condition; he's a bit worse off…"

Yuffie hurried over to their side, relieving Neku of Sora's weight and placing the limp boy on the couch. "He's lost a lot of blood," she noted, going over him. "He's only passed out, but we need to get him fixed up or he won't last much longer."

"Can any of you heal him?" Yuffie asked.

Hanekoma shook his head. "It's beyond me this time."

"We have psyches," Shiki offered, "But I don't think any of us have healing-related ones…"

"I do."

All heads turned to Rhyme, whom walked quietly forward and pulled out what looked like a soda can out of her pocket. "I used pins when I was in the game. I had two of these and gave one to Neku, but I've still kept it."

"Will it work?" Leon asked.

Rhyme nodded. "I think so." Kneeling down next to Sora, she tilted his head up and pried open his jaw. Then, carefully, she pressed the can to the boy's lips and poured its contents into his mouth. Stillness fell over the room as all eyes turned on the little girl kneeling next to the unconscious keyblade master. Slowly, the bleeding stopped, and the scratches healed, while Sora's breathing returned to normal. His eyes cracked open, and a small groan escaped his throat. "You okay, Sora?" Rhyme asked, noticing him stir.

The key bearer blinked a few times before finally speaking. "Am I…am I alive?"

Joshua smirked. "Well, technically you're still dead, Sora, but you haven't been erased if that's what you mean."

"Close enough," Sora replied, turning his head to see Rhyme facing him. "Are you Rhyme?"

Rhyme nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Yeah. That's me."

Sora smiled back. "You healed me just now, right? Thanks."

Rhyme blushed and looked away. "Y-You're welcome."

Beat had a very odd look on his face in reaction to the exchange. Joshua and Leon had similar, unchanging looks, Yuffie and Shiki grinned, and Neku just shook his head while chuckling to himself. Rhyme always was kinda shy.

Sora began to sit up, but winced and clutched his side for a moment. Rhyme rushed forward again, helping him upright. "There's only one thing left for me to do now," he said. "Do any of you know where the keyhole is?"

"It's on the door," Beat replied, jabbing his thumb behind him.

"Not that keyhole," Neku replied. "The keyhole to Shibuya itself."

Beat's eyes widened. "You mean Shibuya's in some giant room?"

Sora shook his head. "No. Long story short, there's a keyhole in every world. If I seal it, you won't have any more problems with the heartless or nobodies. Normally, it's hidden somewhere important."

"How about Udagawa?" Neku suggested. "CAT's graffiti is always there."

"Or WildKat," Shiki suggested. "It's where Mr. H always is!"

"Neither," Hanekoma said.

"You know where it is?" Sora asked.

Hanekoma shook his head. "I can't tell for sure, but your player pins can point it out. That's why I told you to bring them."

Neku's thoughts screeched to a halt, slammed into one another, became a jumbled mess, and then desperately untangled themselves before he could make sense of whatever Hanekoma just said. "Whoa whoa, slow down!" he said, holding one hand to his head. "You told us? But that would mean…"

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that," Mr. H replied, chuckling. "Being a Producer and a GM at the same time is very chaotic, and I was so busy I had to get Joshua to run the shop for me."

"It wasn't that bad," Joshua said, pushing a clump of silver hair out of his eyes casually.

"But what about the player pins?" Sora said. "You said they could point out the keyhole?"

Hanekoma nodded. "They very well can."

"Then let's go," Sora said. "I've got to seal that thing before any more trouble starts." He stood, but limped and swayed on the spot until Yuffie rushed to him, helping him stay on his feet. "…going to have a bit of trouble walking, though."

"One second," Joshua said, stepping forward. "Before you go do your stuff, you need to accept a reward."

"A reward?" Neku echoed.

Joshua chuckled. "Didn't I tell you I was going to bring you back when you were done? Of course, you're not completely done with it all, but you should still be able to reach the keyhole from the RG."

Sora pulled out the player pin he had kept from his pocket and stared at it. "But how are we supposed to find the keyhole with this?"

"How do you find anything with the player pin?" Joshua replied, smirking. "Well, then. Are you all ready to go?"

"One question," Neku said. "When we get back, we can't use psyches. How are we supposed to find the keyhole if we can't scan?"

Joshua shrugged. "I'll just give you the same psyche privileges that I gave to your friends, but only until the keyhole is sealed. Any longer and I'll get in trouble with the higher-ups."

"Sounds good to me," Sora replied. "Let's go."

"Very well," Joshua replied, holding one hand in the air. A glimmering white light shone from it before it flooded their vision. Neku choked a bit as he felt a foreign force rush into him, jerking him off the floor. An ethereal wind swirled around him, shoving his hair over his eyes and blowing his clothes softly. As he gasped for breath for the first real time in over a week, the light shattered into countless fragments, leaving a sparkling shower of light behind.

The scenery was blurry at first, thanks to the sudden light, but Neku was gradually able to make out a nearby burger shop, a pathway nearby leading down to the station underpass, and the scramble behind him.

He had been brought back to life and dumped at Hachiko.

As Neku stood, he noted that time around him had completely frozen, aside from the few people that he recognized: Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Joshua, Mr. H, Leon, Yuffie, and Sora. Perhaps it was for the better; Sora had told Neku that he didn't want more people knowing than necessary.

"Yo, did someone stop the clock?" Beat asked no one in particular, prodding a nearby frozen girl.

"Time will resume when the keyhole is sealed," Joshua explained.

Sora pulled out his pin and held it up, eyes closed. Neku felt a slight chill go down his spine as Sora scanned, remaining there until the boy opened his eyes again. "I found it," he said. "It's right here."

"Lucky I dropped us off here then," Joshua said. "Well, you know what to do better than I do."

"Yeah," Sora replied, turning to the statue of the dog. The keyblade appeared in a small shower of sparkles. As Sora stood upright, his eyes focused forward, something shimmered on the pedestal that the statue sat upon. The glowing outline of a keyhole appeared, its dark depths swirling with mystery. His eyes stern, Sora lifted the keyblade and aimed it forward, a glimmering light swirling around the tip and converging as Neku had seen it do before with the doorknob to Dead God's Pad. This time, however, when it shot out, a responding burst of radiance appeared from the keyhole, and a clearly audible click could be heard. As the lights faded away, so did the keyhole, shattering gently upwards and dissipating.

Time resumed normal, and people whom were trapped in mid-step continued walking, others continued their conversations, none paying attention to the small crowd of people that had appeared from thin air. Beat jumped a bit, while nearly everyone else retained normal posture. After a moment of relative silence, Sora spoke. "Hey, Neku…when we were fighting Leo Cantus, what did you say about holding the keyblade?"

Neku blinked, recalling how it had felt. In the midst of battle he had simply gone along with it, but once their enemy had been defeated the rush of sensation had flooded his mind. "Well," he began, "When I use a psyche it drains energy from me. Not the energy that keeps me alive, more like my focus or something. When I was holding the keyblade, it was like the opposite was happening. It stopped the moment I gave it back to you, though."

"Hold the phone!" Yuffie cried. "Neku used the keyblade?"

"Sort of," Sora replied. "I just improvised and tossed it to him. I dunno, maybe he'll be able to wield the keyblade someday."

"You really think so?" Neku asked, entirely surprised.

Sora shrugged. "Maybe. You've got the heart for it, after all."

The heart for it? The proxy echoed in his mind. Maybe Sora was right. He smiled at the thought.

"Sora," Leon began, "Let's go. We need to let the others know you're alright, and there are other worlds that need our help."

"You can't stay?" Shiki asked, looking upset.

Sora shook his head. "No. There are other places that are in as much danger as this place was, maybe more. I have to go out and make sure no other world falls to the heartless. This place is safe, so my job is done."

"You ganna be okay out there?" Beat asked. "You didn't look so good when you came back from beatin' Pi-face, yo."

"I've been through worse," Sora said. "I'll manage."

He's been through way worse, Neku told himself. But he'll make it. That promise is what keeps him going. I know he will.

"We'll stop by Radiant Garden first," Yuffie said. "If you wanna say your goodbyes, Sora, go ahead and make them. We'll wait for you on the street corner."

"Okay," Sora replied, waiting until the two were out of earshot before turning back. "I'm not very good with goodbyes…"

"You don't have to be," Rhyme said. "We'll see you again someday, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Of course I will."

Beat grinned widely. "Don't run into too much trouble, yo!"

"I won't," Sora replied. "By the way, Shiki…you sew, right?"

Shiki nodded. "Yeah. I'm thinking about going to school for fashion design."

"Keep up the good work," Sora said, grinning widely before he turned to Joshua. His face went from friendly to angry and stern, yet calm. "I don't know what to tell you other than I'm still really mad."

Joshua said nothing, and looked blankly at Sora. Deciding he wasn't going to get an answer, Sora sighed. "But you did help me find the keyhole, and you helped me get rid of the heartless. I guess I have to thank you for that. So…thanks."

There was a hint of a grin on the composer's face. "Just doing what needed to be done," he replied.

"I'll be a go-between for you guys," Hanekoma said. "If any of you need to contact Sora, I can send a message. As for you, Sora, just ask Cid if you need to send a message to anyone."

"You'll be hearing from me," Sora said, grinning widely before turning to Neku. "Neku…I'm really going to miss you."

"It'll be pretty boring around here for a while," Neku admitted, smiling lopsidedly. "No game to get stuck in, no missions to solve…at least you'll be busy."

Sora chuckled. "I guess I will," he said. There was a pause as he looked in the air for a moment. "Oh, before I forget…"

The group gave Sora a questioning look before a familiar, transparent figure appeared next to Sora, grinning awkwardly. "Do I get to say goodbye, too?"

While the others (aside from Joshua and Hanekoma) gawked, Neku waved. "Hey, Roxas. I'll be missing you, too."

Roxas crossed his arms and smirked before looking at the others. "And to you guys…Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Joshua, and Mr. H, I know I never met any of you either, but I'll miss you all, too."

"Who's he?" Rhyme asked, tilting her head.

"He a ghost?!" Beat exclaimed, jumping back a bit.

Shiki just smiled. "Roxas, right? I don't think we've met before, but…I'll miss you just the same."

"Keep in touch," Roxas replied. "We all know how forgetful Sora can be."

Sora protested, but Roxas only laughed. When he realized that he wasn't about to get Roxas to stop teasing him, he looked away shyly. "We'd better get going."

Roxas nodded. "Right." With a gradual flash of blue light, Roxas faded back into Sora, and the glow surrounded the keyblade master before vanishing.

"What just happened, yo?" Beat asked. "Is he possessing you, Sora?"

"No," Sora replied. "I'm sure Neku can fill you in. I need to go."

"Can I get a picture before you leave?" Shiki asked.

There was hesitation for a moment, but Sora nodded. "Okay, sure."

The group headed over and posed in front of Hachiko, with Joshua handling Shiki's camera phone. As the group took on a pose, he smirked and held his finger over the capture button. "Smile, everyone."

And that brings the final chapter to a close, unless you count the epilogue. I'm so terrible at writing goodbyes, and now I must say an awkward one of my own.

Everyone, this fic has been one crazy ride for me. It started as a small idea in my head shortly after finishing up another fic of mine. I had beaten The World Ends With You and wondered, what would it be like if the heartless had invaded the UG, and Sora had to help stop it? I wrote up a few first chapters as the plot bunny and didn't really expect it to take off, but it gained popularity so fast, and the more I thought about it, the more ideas I had, and soon it turned into a full-fledged story. Many things wove their way in that I never would have guessed would have, while others were sadly left out.

Playing for Keeps has become one of my most popular fics, and I've had so many encouraging reviews for this. Without you guys and your ideas and encouragement, this thing wouldn't be. Thank you all, and stay tuned for the epilogue!