Author's note: Welp, this fanfic is done. Remaining chapters coming soon.

So just a quick heads-up, I haven't played TWEWY NEO yet. I don't even really know anything about it. I wanted to finish this fic before playing it out of a fear that it could contradict my headcanons. Canon contradicting my headcanons always ruins my motivation to finish. So I've been avoiding it as much as possible, basically trying to forget it even exists. Now that I'm done I'm looking forward to playing it… so, I just wanted to ask that no one mention any spoilers please. :)

Also, I'm having some troubles with the document manager. Among other things, it has been frequently eating scene breaks. I've tried to add them back in, but I might have missed some. Hopefully it's not too confusing.

Chapter 9

Joshua had thought he knew everything about the Game.

But he hadn't known what it was like to lose a partner.

He hadn't thought he would care. He saw Players get erased all the time. It was sad in the same way a news report of a disaster in a faraway country was sad, enough to produce a twinge of fleeting pity, but not enough to actual affect your life.`

But Joshua ached with the loss of Manako, even now that he'd physically recovered. Their existences had been intertwined and now she was gone, and it hurt. He hadn't even thought he'd cared about Manako. Why would he care? He'd known her less than a week. They hadn't even gotten along. Where was this pain coming from?

But they'd been laughing together – he'd teased the Wall Reaper, and it had made Manako laugh, and then the next second they were fighting and now she was gone.

And it was his fault.

He felt sick. He tried pushing the thoughts out of his head, grappling for any excuse he could find, any argument that eased that unfamiliar feeling of guilt. It wasn't his fault.

It was Manako's fault, because her Imagination wasn't strong enough.

It was Manako's fault, because she was too fixated on her own, pointless worries. If she'd put more effort into the Game, she might have been stronger.

It was Tanaka Yuusuke's fault, because if he hadn't partnered up with Manako and then killed himself, she wouldn't have even been Joshua's partner in the first place.

It was his parents' fault, because if they hadn't tried to send him away, he wouldn't have had to do any of this.

It was no one's fault, because Manako probably wouldn't have survived the Game, anyway. If the leopard hadn't erased her, something else would've.

It was your own fault because you brought her there and you know it, his guilt argued back.

To which he internally replied, Why does that matter? Once I'm the one in charge, I can literally alter reality.

He hadn't planned on using his new powers to change anything about the results of the current Game, but now he owed Manako at least that much. He had promised to make it worth her while.

All these thoughts went through Joshua's head as he walked, fast as his still-aching legs could carry him, back in the direction of the other players. With no partner, he'd be useless at helping the team defeat Smears, but he could at least give advice and, if necessary, swoop in as a back-up if anyone else got erased. He had healed enough that he was no longer attracting Smears with the scent of his injuries, so he was able to return to the site of the leopard's – and Manako's - erasure and gather the Talismans it had dropped. Manako had left behind her Strength Talisman as well, and he also gathered that, though the thought of using it made him oddly squeamish.

From the position of the sun in the sky, Joshua could see that the day was drawing to a close. It would be only a few hours until the sun began to set. That was worrying. How long had he been asleep? Did they even stand a chance of clearing the mission anymore?

Wondering wouldn't help. He'd just have to find the group.

"Seriously? You survived?"

The feminine voice sounded exasperated. Joshua looked up to find its source and found the Wall Reaper from whom he'd stolen the Open and Close talismans perched on the fence of the back parking lot of some bland-looking office suites.

Joshua ignored her and pressed on.

"What's wrong?" the Reaper taunted. "Cat got your tongue? It looks like the cat got your partner, at least."

"If you want to offend me," Joshua said, not bothering to look at her, "you're going to have to be cleverer than the average middle-school bully."

She laughed. "I don't need to offend you. You're Smear chow without a partner. You know, being a Support Reaper, I could usually be persuaded to help a partner-less Player out a bit. But because you've been such an ass, I won't." Joshua was now past the fence she'd been perched on; she took flight and trailed behind him. "In fact, I think I'll just hang around and wait for something to erase you so I can get my pins – "

"Enough of that, Yuri," interrupted a loud but gentle voice.

Joshua looked up, surprised to see Sebastien Santos standing just ahead in the modest shade of a small sycamore tree. He chided himself for not noticing him – he should have known better than to let a Reaper keep him from being aware of his surroundings.

"Joshua," continued Mr. Santos, "is that true? Was Manako erased?"

Joshua's guilt bubbled up again. It wouldn't be hard to explain Manako's fate to the other Players – a simple "She was erased" would suffice, and no one would think to blame him for it. But Mr. Santos had seen him drag her into the restricted area, seen him ignore a direct warning. He had every reason to blame him.

There was no weaseling out of this one. Joshua simply nodded.

But Mr. Santos didn't say anything about blame. Instead he simply said, "I am sorry for your loss. May she rest in peace."

Joshua did not bother to hold back a highly inappropriate laugh as he sidestepped to give Mr. Santos space as he walked on. He was certain that would at least offend Mr. Santos, if not drive him away entirely, but instead he fell into step beside Joshua. The Reaper – Yuri – still trailed behind, hovering like a vulture.

"Make a pact with me," said Mr. Santos. He turned his head and acknowledged Yuri, then looked back at Joshua. "I'm no use to anyone here."

Joshua looked at the ground in front of him, not breaking his stride. "You're safer with the Reaper. If you partner with me, you'll be in over your head."

"Then that must mean you're in over your head," Mr. Santos said evenly. "And I can't very well leave you alone in that case, can I?"

Joshua shook his head. "I know what I'm doing."

"Yuri told me about you," said Mr. Santos.

Joshua looked back at her, then back ahead. "What does she know?"

"About your ambitions," said Mr. Santos.

"You haven't exactly been subtle about them," called Yuri from behind. She beat her wings quickly a few times, and, with a quick burst of speed to catch up, landed on the other side of Mr. Santos and started walking with them, as if they were a group of friends going home from school or something like that.

"I was ambitious once," said Mr. Santos, ignoring Yuri's comment. "But sometimes ambition carries a heavy price. I wasn't able to pay that price in order to pursue my dream. Even if I were to survive the Game and return to life, I don't think I'd have the guts to change anything. I think I'd find myself watching my dream die all over again."

"What was your dream?" asked Yuri. She seemed genuinely invested in the conversation, which Joshua found surprising and therefore mildly interesting. It seemed Yuri and Mr. Santos had gotten along.

"My dream – my passion," said Mr. Santos wistfully, "is Japanese-Chinese cuisine. I came to this country to become a chef and open my own ramen restaurant. In order to pay for culinary school, I took a job as a domestic servant for a rich family. I mostly worked in the kitchen, but I did other things for them, too. Kept things tidy. Helped out the other servants. Watched their kids."

The shadow of Towa Records fell over the trio as they passed by it.

"I passed culinary school with flying colors," said Mr. Santos, his voice becoming sadder and sadder. "But when it was time to quit my job, I simply couldn't do it. I'd become so attached to those children, and they'd become attached to me. They had a twelve-year-old girl. Her parents were always busy, and she'd been raised by nannies her whole life, people who always left as soon as they found something better. But I didn't have the heart to abandon her. I told myself I'd wait just a little longer, save up so I'd have more to invest in my restaurant. Five years, I decided. But then, towards the end of that five years – oh, but I shouldn't say anything about that. It's their private family business…"

"Oh, but we're all dead here! We won't tell anyone!" insisted Yuri, leaning towards Mr. Santos eagerly. "Besides, we don't even know who this family is. It's not really invading their privacy if we don't know who it is."

Mr. Santos nodded, but nonetheless sounded a little guilty as he responded, "I suppose it can't hurt anyone to tell the two of you. That girl, well… she had a baby out of wedlock. Her family was so ashamed, they swore all of the household staff to secrecy. They claimed the child belonged to the girl's parents. Now, of course, this was a terrible burden for that poor girl to live with. Not only because of the shame and the worry about her secret getting out, but having to deal with motherhood while pretending not to be a mother. And I simply couldn't leave her at a time like that. So I told myself I'd stick around for just another few years. But by then, her young son was attached to me, too. His mother – who he thought was his sister – was going off to university, his grandparents were just as distant, and I was the only consistent adult in his life. So I couldn't leave him." His voice was heavy with regret.

"And every other time you tried to leave, something else came up that made it a bad time," Joshua surmised.

"Well, eventually, I lost sight of my dreams," said Mr. Santos. "I stopped thinking about them. There was always too much to do in everyday life. And whenever regrets came to mind, I thought, as long as I get the chance to cook some delicious Japanese-Chinese cuisine for my employers to enjoy, that's enough to keep me happy. And before I knew it, I'm almost sixty, and I've been with that family for three generations. That boy is now married with a son of his own. Little Eiji. I don't know what he'll do without me." He sighed wistfully.

Joshua frowned. Something about the story got to him, but he couldn't say what. If Mr. Santos chose to waste his potential in favor of baby-sitting another family's children, that was his choice. There were certainly worse things in the world. But it still unsettled him to think about it.

"You can't survive the Game with an attitude like that," said Joshua. "There's room in the Game for cooperation, but not altruism. If you don't believe your dreams are worth fighting for – even if it means someone else doesn't get to live their dreams – you won't make it."

They were now passing through the Cadoi City area. Joshua spared a passing glance at the mannequins in soft pastel tones as they went by the window of the Natural Puppy store.

"Oh, I know," said Mr. Santos calmly. "That is what I meant. That is a price I can't pay. I spent my life as a servant, and though I have some regrets, I would do it all again if I had another chance. And now I'm offering to help you. Even if it puts me at greater risk."

No one said anything. Yuri looked as though she wanted to argue, but Mr. Santos silenced her with a chiding look.

"You remind me of him, a bit," said Mr. Santos. "Little Eiji. He's such a lonely little boy, but he's very driven, too. Very creative. And confident. I get the same impression of you."

Joshua did not like that Mr. Santos had read him so easily, so he smiled, as though Mr. Santos was hilariously wrong. "I'm no sad little boy. I know what I'm doing."

"That doesn't mean you don't deserve a partner."

Joshua mulled it over. It only made sense. Mr. Santos couldn't participate in the game if he was partnered to Yuri, so even though it would keep him safer, it would cost him points in the long run. Joshua would just have to make sure to dissolve the pact the next time he had to pursue a lead that required him to leave the boundaries that were supposed to be restricting him.

"Well then," said Joshua, "if that's the case, we should head towards Molco to erase a Smear and collect a Talisman. From there, we should hopefully be able to meet up with Mr. Arita and Mio on Spain Hill – and if they unfortunately didn't survive, we can take a Talisman from that location as well. Then work our way back to Hachiko to meet up with the others, collecting whatever Talismans we can on the way."

There was a gust of wind from Yuri's wings as she took flight. "Guess this is good-bye, then," she said to Mr. Santos. "Promise me you'll get me my Talismans back if the little brat kicks the bucket?"

"There's no need to be uncivil," Mr. Santos chided. "But yes, I'll make sure those Talismans are returned in that case."

With a final nod, Yuri flapped her wings hard one last time and flew back towards her post.

"So," said Joshua. "Pact, then?"

They shook hands, and a sharp energy surged through him as the connection formed.

Open your world.