TWEWY: A Fall Into Honor:

This story is about how Joshua became the Composer. The story is from Joshua's point of view, and others if the story needs to. This is a prequel of the game The World Ends With You. TWEWY is made by Square Enix. And I own the OCs. This is a FAN FICTION and not the real prequel. Enjoy! =3

Sorry for the very long wait everyone! Here's the next chapter =3

Week 1, day 7:

Chapter 31: Going Down?

All four Players met up again in a circle after spending a fair amount of time fruitlessly searching for a way to get to the bottom floor.

Joshua checked his timer to find that they had 25 minutes left. He felt himself shiver at the thought of failing this mission, the last mission between him and getting his and Ayumu's Entry Fees.

Briefly he scanned his group's faces for reassurance that could call in the magic bullet to save them in his situation: Rei was nibbling on her nails while her eyes flicked around anxiously; especially at him. Izo was glowering at him and tapping his foot peevishly, and Ayumu was staring down at the ground, still stuck to the same spot he was before when they started their recon.

From watching them, Joshua could realize one rather disheartening thing: 'We have no clue what to do!'

When they first had regrouped, Rei told them that the police weren't going to come anytime soon to investigate the elevator incident. Next Izo told them that the guy who usually repairs the elevator had left already from Scanning the RG people.

Joshua glanced at Ayumu who was silent still. Ayumu didn't look up from concentrating on what seemed to be where the GM was; he never did report anything different than before.

Brushing his hand through his scraggly ash blond hair, Joshua finally sighed. "We need to figure something out guys."

"Darkness impedes our sight, yet light leads us right," growled Izo as his maroon eyes stayed dark. "Except, in this insistence… Nether emerge to value our penchants, Aleck."

This made Joshua clench his hands and grit his teeth. Izo was trying to force them to give up. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Izo was right. Every one of their ideas were killed off, blockaded by bad luck and erasure was smiling down upon them.

What could they do?!

"Wait!" screamed Rei in dismay as she waved her arms franticly in the air, her tone was shaky and desperate as she exclaimed, "There has to be something. Anything! C'mon guys! We can figure this lil' hitch out like we always have had. Right?"

Despite how encouraging she sounded, Joshua felt she was wasting her breath. There was nothing they could do. They were finished. Now they might as well speed up their fade by doing the infamous suicide erasure that he almost succeeded in on day 5.

Hanging his head, Joshua muttered sadly, "Honestly Rei… Our ideas have dried up."

Pain shot through his cheek.

Joshua drew up his hand and rested it tenderly over his reddened cheek. This was the hardest that Rei ever slapped him before. He couldn't tell which was worse: being slapped this hard or whacked on the head with her clipboard.

Rei's hand raised again as her bright brown eyes flashed with hurt, she looked ready to cry actually. She was hyperventilating, as she screeched, "NO!" Izo shot her a scowl as she slapped Joshua again but on his other cheek. "W-W-We j-just overlooked something!"

'Why can't Rei realize that acting this stubborn isn't going to aid us?' thought Joshua annoyed as Rei kept staring at him hopefully. 'Right now, we have no choice in this complication.'

From the corner of his sight, Joshua noticed Izo was turning around to leave. But before the frozen boy could even take a couple of steps, Rei barged his path and hugged him. She stared into his eyes, which looked like wildfire sparked up in them as she hissed, "Don't. Izo. Shuuito. Abandon. Us."

"Please articulate to us the intention of residing here as our brains deteriorate, Rei," growled Izo dangerously as he thrashed in her hold.

The ashen haired lady narrowed her eyes as she placed him beside Joshua once he seemed to cease his thrashes. She whipped around to face Joshua as her expression softened immediately when she flashed a smirk. "Heh, I realized something. We overlooked this whole situation."

Joshua instantly was baffled. "Wait? What do you mean Rei?"

For a while, Rei was making him lose his patience before she hit him and Izo with her clipboard. Right away he winced and clutched his head as throbbing made his vision blur temporarily. "Rei?!" He saw stars swirl a little in front of him; he was certain he must have lost a few brain cells to experience this.

"Just makin' sure you two are focused on me," said Rei with a sly smirk.

"Appears more like taxing to impel us into a coma," Joshua heard Izo mutter austerely under his breath as he rubbed his head on the tender spot that Rei smacked him.

It was until he recovered from being dazed when he saw that Rei had slapped onto Ayumu's shoulder when she met his lavender eyes. "We've been thinking too logically, Twity. So, what else can we do but think outside the box. Get what I'm sayin'?"

He nodded curtly while Izo scowled. Joshua looked at Izo when he snorted, "How can I? You never were born with a brain to originate with."

That was when Rei slammed her clipboard down on his head. Joshua watched as Izo swore before toppling backwards. As he landed, he lay limp while his eyes were shut half closed. He was knocked out.

"I'm not dumb!" protested Rei hotly.

Joshua gave her an expectant look while he waited for her to prove to the contrary.

"Anyways," said Rei dusting off her hands, after she stopped she smiled brightly at Joshua. "We've been acting like we are living in the RG still. Since we're not, we need to perform something specific/exclusive to the UG, am I right?"

"So fundamentally, we need to do the impossible," stated Joshua dryly and Rei nodded zealously. He then held his chin as he queried, "Ah, I see… If we did that, what do you have in mind?"

The lanky lady giggled as she flashed a smirk. "Heh, we only have one way to succeed in this Aleck." she turned to Ayumu as she explained, "As of now, trying to unlock the elevator is a no-go… But, this whole week we've had someone with us who is able to fight with only his mental powers." after she paused, she jabbed a finger towards the shorthaired blond. "Thus, that's why your half-bro is the only one who can help us!"

Ayumu blinked at them blankly.

"I bet Ayumu can force it open!" declared Rei as she clapped her hands together while it seemed fire danced in her eyes. "Wide enough for all of us to squeeze in and drop to the bottom floor! It's the best we got, y'know?"

At first, Joshua wondered if Ayumu would be able to handle such a task. Were his psychic powers strong enough for this?

So Joshua walked up to Ayumu who stared at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, he asked in a concerned tone, "Do you want to do this, Ayumu? I mean, we got no other options so…"

Ayumu was quiet for a while then he spoke, "Aye."

Content that Ayumu wasn't being coerced, he stepped back along with Rei and Izo; who regained consciousness, to give the youngest of their group some room. Joshua watched as Ayumu ambled up to the door and slid his hands across it, he most likely was testing where the elevator door was and how wide it was before he started. Then he stepped back and faced the door, he raised his right hand and placed his palm in front of him. Soon, a golden yellow aura emitted around his hand.

There was a creak before the metal's protest grew to a shrill whine as the door slowly, but surely, started to open. Nearby his half-brother, Joshua couldn't help but crack a smile as Ayumu proved he really could make a difference.

"Attaboy!" called Rei as she placed her hands on her hips in beaming satisfaction.

Izo rubbed the crown of his head as he growled coldly, "Who knew having the Blind Brat would be expedient?" he snorted as he gazed at Joshua. "Except, that door appears like it's struggling back. I deem your half-brother may not be sufficient to open it."

"Just give him time, Izo," hissed Joshua before turning back to watching his half-brother; he clenched his hands as he called, "You can do this Ayumu! Remember how you said how great your psychic powers are? This is the chance to prove it!"

Ayumu didn't reply to them, he seemed totally focused on his task.

By now the door creaked open barely enough for it to be wide enough for Ayumu to fit through when it let out a loud screech before halting, it shook a little before it sealed abruptly and Ayumu collapsed on the ground.

"Ayumu!" exclaimed Joshua as he dashed over and kneeled down beside Ayumu, he noticed Ayumu was panting and had his pale pewter eyes half open. When Ayumu sat up Joshua sighed in relief. "You're just tired, aren't you Ayumu." After a moment he pondered in worry, 'That plan failed… Was Ayumu not strong enough?'

As he stood up, he offered his hand to Ayumu and pulled him up once the slightly messy haired blond clutched it. He spun around to Rei when he mused, "It looks like the door won. Do you think Ayumu can't open it?"

"Obviously he can't open it," icily elucidated Izo as he gestured to the door. He narrowed his maroon eyes as he adjusted his small oval glasses. "From what I distinguish, he cannot mentally harbor ample power to force it open. His psychic powers might be robust; although what I say is that his brain cannot yield that much burden in this undertaking. Generally, he cannot complete this alone."

Rei flapped her hands frenziedly as she shrieked in horror, "We need another person to help Ayumu!? Quick, we need to find another Player with psychic powers!"

Joshua felt trepidation sweep into his heart, his throat felt dry as he gazed at the foster duo in distress. "But we're the only Players left!" he started to quiver.

Rei gasped and shook her head fiercely. "NO!"

Izo bit his lip and lowered his glare at the ground; his dark blue bangs drifted over and hid his face.

"Josh."

Joshua stopped shaking and inhaled a deep breath before looking at his half-brother in confusion. "What is it Ayumu?"

The blond simply stared at him sightlessly and repeated, "Josh."

"Uh… you got to tell me what it is Ayumu." firmly said Joshua as he felt frustrated by Ayumu's ambiguity. "We have a crisis here yet you keep just saying my name!"

For a minute, Ayumu stared at him silently before he slowly grasped Joshua's hand lightly and tugged it. Joshua had a feeling he wanted to show him something so he let Ayumu lead him over to the elevator door that now had RG people gathering around it while chatting. The younger half-brother looked at Joshua again and blinked. "Josh." he drew Joshua's hand up and made it face the elevator. "Help."

'Me? How can I help?' wondered Joshua in confusion as Ayumu kept Joshua's hand in position to the door. Then it hit him, from the excitement of what conspired moments ago he briefly forgot that he had psychic powers as well.

"Whatcha doin', Aleck and Ayumu?" asked Rei as she popped up beside Ayumu while Izo walked over to Joshua's side, she leaned down to Ayumu's level and furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh… Fill me in please?"

Joshua watched Ayumu as he turned to Rei and spoke emotionlessly, "Josh help."

"How can Aleck help, Ayumu?" The ashen haired lady tilted her head to one side as her face screwed up in confusion.

"What Ayumu is trying to say is…" started Joshua as he gently removed his hand from his half-brother's. "I have psychic powers as well."

There was a pause of dead silence before Rei screeched in shock, "What?!"

Izo's head shot up as he glowered at the scraggly haired teen as Joshua scratched his head sheepishly with a giggle. "You were psychic, alike the Blind Brat, this whole entire time?!"

"Yeah…" awkwardly agreed Joshua as he blushed a bit. "It never came up. Sorry about that guys."

He nearly stumbled when Rei almost dove on him as she squealed, half in excitement and half in shock, "Whoa! You're psychic! Like what Ayumu does or something cool? Heh… well, psychic is cool! Wow! Awesome! That's so cool!" the lanky lady sustained her ranting while Joshua felt more embarrassed.

So he turned to Izo, who glowered at him through cold eyes, as the walking freezer growled, "Does that mean you can execute anything your half-brother can do?"

"I'm not as good as Ayumu…" replied Joshua modestly. It was true; he barely had a full understanding of what he could or how much do. But seeing the situation they were in, he knew he had no choice now in this. "However, I can attempt to assist him."

Izo gave a curt nod. "We don't have copious time here, Aleck; just so you comprehend."

The lavender eyed boy nodded and affirmed seriously, "I know, Izo. Thanks."

That was when Joshua situated himself next to Ayumu on the ashen blond's right side with a suitable space between them, he mentally told himself, 'Focus, Joshua, focus. This is for Rei, Izo, and Ayumu. For the mission! I can't fail or we'll all cease to exist. I need to do this, for my friends!'

Rei was shepherded by Izo while she still ranted on about him having psychic powers; Joshau knew he must have blown her mind so much she was operating like a broken record. It took all of a quarter-minute for Izo to lose patience and place his hand on her fingers and close his eyes.

A second later her fingers suddenly became blue and she jumped. "Gah!" Joshua recognized that Izo nearly froze her fingers to popsicles.

He returned to facing the elevator door with deep unsteady breaths, Joshua felt uneasy about this suddenly. He didn't want to fail; if he did, he failed his friends. He knew that this was the time he needed to focus, but he couldn't cast away the awful thought of them being erased.

"Josh," he looked at Ayumu who kept their gaze together. "Win what cherish."

Joshua was speechless. Even with that broken sentence he knew somehow what Ayumu was trying to say: Win for what you cherish. Those words spread warmth rushing into his heart, driving away his uncertainties he had. Then he hugged his half-brother, feeling so touched by his words. "Thanks."

"Aye." replied Ayumu with a nod.

Izo snarled to him aloofly, "How poignant… Now open the elevator door!"

Slowly Joshua let go of his half-brother and faced the door. "Got it. Ready Ayumu?"

Ayumu nodded.

First Ayumu extended his arms out again and placed his palms in front, Joshua copied him feeling determined to achieve in this task. He took in a breath and let it out. Joshua hoped he could be able to use his psychic powers; it was hard to use them in the first place. Right away, he tried to find that pool of mental power.

Suddenly an aura bordered the elevator as it creaked shrilly. Instead of Ayumu's golden yellow aura, it was his own pure white aura. Joshua was stunned, but he concentrated on channeling it instead of dwelling on the astonishment that he was able to do it.

Soon Ayumu's aura joined Joshua's and quicker than before the door opened, it fought back as both of them psychically pulled at it. The metal sort of warped a bit on the left of Joshua, then the right, before a crunch resounded as the barrier gave way under his power.

Behind them Rei was passionately cheering for them, and Izo was muttering something incoherent.

The two half-brothers continued their endeavor until Joshua forced more energy into his psychic powers and the elevator door on his left side bent more.

Suddenly a pounding struck Joshua's head, it felt like an anvil was crushing his skull and he wanted to clutch his head so badly. But he had to continue; everyone was counting on both of them. After a few more moments Joshua half closed his eyes, he nearly fell down on a knee while crying out. Slowly he struggled to stay on his feet as his knees wobbled. He knew he wouldn't handle the pressure further soon, any moment he would collapse.

"Ok boys, stop!" shouted Rei in a thrilled tone and he knew she hopped up and landed when he heard her boots thud.

Joshua let himself fall when he cut off his psychic powers; he landed roughly on his hands and knees while panting heavily with a couple of wheezes. His eyesight blurred every once and a while, and a severe headache hammered on his brain. It soon cleared up, though, and he let out a shaky breath, "That was… exhausting…"

"Seemed like it." remarked Rei before she cried, "But none of that now! Let's get into that rip you made, Aleck!"

"Rip?" echoed Joshua confused before he turned around only to gasp.

There was a harsh looking bent on the left side that looked like a supernatural animal sliced it to create it, the rim of the rip looked like it was melted even! Joshua could scarcely believe this. "I made that?!"

"It appears Aleck, that you have a heap of fallow latent," observed Izo in a cold voice. "Boy, I'd abhor to mêlée you."

Joshua kept staring at the rip in the elevator dumbfounded. 'I never thought… How could I make that? I didn't even think my powers could open a soda can before this! I always thought I had only a shred of psychic powers. Ayumu was the protégé of the family, he and Auntie Chise worked on developing it together for years! I only had a few lessons and Auntie Chise told me my power was limited. Argh! This isn't adding up!'

He was shaken out of his thoughts when Rei hooked onto his arm and dragged him to the elevator door's tear. "We need to hurry Aleck!"

Slowly he regained calm as he started to move his feet and went through the tear, he heard people in the RG screaming in distress probably horrified by what happened to the steel door. They would definitely need to replace that door soon in the near future, noted Joshua.

He met slight darkness and had to squint his eyes when he stood inside the shaft with the group, he had to cling to the elevator door to not accidently fall down for who knows how long. Joshua gulped a little, "How far down do we have to go?"

"Dunno," replied Rei with a shrug. "I think me and Izo were stuck on the elevator on the 8th floor when it…" For a moment she bit her lip then shook her head. "Never mind. Let's jump down this shaft people!"

"I elect pro not vaulting down," growled Izo when Rei crouched down looking ready to leap. "Lest you appeal to take the ticket to erasure, exploit consequently."

Rei stood up swiftly with a terrified expression.

Joshua looked around the shaft they were in. There was a chain on the other side of the shaft that dangled loosely; it probably would be a plea to be erased since Joshua distrusted it, there were thick wires on the right side of them; but there was no way anyone would have a good grip on them, and there was some ladder tacks along the left side of them; that was the best option. On the sides of the shaft were lights that burned faint copper orange while some were burnt out while others were broken, this allowed Joshua to see sort of in the darkness.

"That ladder seems the best to take," proposed Joshua brightly.

Rei looked to where they were and gasped, "But it's too far! We'd fall down if we jumped!"

"Nonetheless we ought to stick close near the wall and charily move over," growled Izo, as he let out a huff while rolling his maroon eyes. He nodded to some dark grey horizontal poles next to them, "We should tread on those whilst grappling onto something, any demurrals?"

Joshua felt blood leave his face. He glanced over to Ayumu who held onto the rip while glancing blankly through it, he cried, "Ayumu can't sense anything that doesn't live or isn't supernatural. He'll fall off the moment he tries!"

"That's horrible!" cried Rei.

Izo narrowed his eyes as he snarled, "That's stupid! We essentially need to babysit him!"

Joshua bit his lip. How were they supposed to get to the bottom without losing Ayumu?

Finally he sighed. "I'll help him. You guys go first and I'll stick with Ayumu 'til we reach the bottom."

"Okeydokey." said Rei sounding concerned before she moved over to the poles and grabbed onto one. Izo went next after she got to the ladder tacks without glancing back but snorted.

Now that it was their turn, Joshua was anxious. He had to maneuver Ayumu carefully or he would cause his erasure. 'Ugh! Talk about a high-stakes learning curve!'

Instead of saying it aloud, he thought to Ayumu, 'Okay, we need to go nice and slow Ayumu. Just grab onto me and I'll get us to the ladder.'

His half-brother nodded slowly.

Soon he felt Ayumu hug him and Joshua felt sweat roll down the side of his face; which was disgusting. He hoped Ayumu had a strong grip.

Slowly he moved towards the poles, Ayumu was moving in synchronization of every step Joshua took. When they reached the poles, Joshua instructed, 'Great job! But now we have the poles to cross. I'll take a step onto them and when I tap my foot, put your foot where I tapped mine.'

He grabbed onto the pole that was leveled with his chest with one hand, and then the other, then moved a little before he tapped his foot. He heard Ayumu get on slowly before Joshua let out a sigh.

They moved across the pole until they got to the ladder. Joshua felt this was the most difficult part. Now he had to step onto the ladder and instruct Ayumu to get onto it after him. There was no way he wanted Ayumu to hug him while he went down a ladder, too much motion, enough to make Ayumu loose his grip and fall to erasure.

'You need to grab the pole, Ayumu. I'll get on the ladder, then I'll help you get on also.'

It took a moment or two until he moved Ayumu's hands to the pole where the young blond latched onto it immediately. If Ayumu had his emotions, he most likely would be petrified right now. So he slid off the pole when he grabbed one of the tacks with one hand and put his foot down on another. He climbed down until there was a reasonable amount of space for Ayumu.

'Now that I'm on, I'm sure you can sense where I was. Grab onto a tack where I held onto then place your foot on a low enough one for you to stand, do it with your other too. Good luck!'

He cringed inside as he watched Ayumu reach out for a tack, he nearly clenched his eyes shut but he needed to watch out for his young half-brother. Luckily Ayumu caught hold of it then tried to move his foot down, his scared Joshua the most; he could easily misjudge his step and fall. For a moment, he thought Ayumu was going to miss a tack, but he lifted his foot a little higher to step on one. Now he waited until Ayumu was fully on the ladder tacks before he let out another sigh.

'Ok… now this might be the really stressful part, probably mostly for me, though. As I go down the ladder, you need to follow as well. Go slowly; make sure there is a tack before setting your foot down or grabbing on with your hand. Be careful…'

He started climbing down at a good pace that Ayumu could keep up with; he was surprised how well Ayumu was doing. Maybe without his emotions he could concentrate better… So he kept moving while watching out for Ayumu. He just hoped that the bottom was not too far down.

Joshua's foot reached something solid that clanged when he hit it, he widened his eyes in surprise and halted his descent.

"Josh?" Ayumu sounded above him hollowly.

"I think we reached the bottom, Ayumu!" exclaimed Joshua happily as he smiled. He twisted his head to see a dark object that he had his foot on, there was barely enough light to see what it was however. So he hopped off the tacks and landed unsteadily on the object before recovering his balance. He blinked when he saw a brief flicker of light somewhere through what seemed to be a hatch.

Soon he got Ayumu onto the object as well before he slid into the hatch and landed onto his hands and knees, his foot hit something and he cringed.

"Aleck!" He heard Rei right beside him, so he faced the spot he heard her voice.

"Rei, what are we in?" Joshua wanted something solid to picture before his imagination ran wild.

Izo's cold voice answered, "We're in the elevator." a flicker of light lit their forms barely before fading out. "The elevator we died in Aleck."

Right away Joshua paled. He stared down at the ground and a flicker of light flashed to reveal briefly Rei's and Izo's corpses. He almost vomited that very moment, he felt himself hyperventilate and gag a bit as he caught a whiff of rot and felt that he was standing on their dried blood as well. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Startled yelps from Izo and Rei sounded as he scrambled for the door and clawed blindly for a way out. Before either of them could stop him, he found a bend in the door and crawled out. Once he saw light, he cringed but he was glad to be out of that place and inhaled a deep breath, he thanked the heavens to be no longer nearer the foster duo's dead bodies.

For a while, he stayed there happily until Rei, Izo, and Ayumu came out of the elevator.

"I never thought I'd see you freak out like that," remarked Rei sounding surprised.

Joshua hung his head. "Yeah? Well how the heck did you keep calm? That was… you. Dead." He added a little emphasis on the last word. "That's the way you'll stay forever if we don't win this."

"Oh," said Rei smugly as she beamed, cocking her head to one side. "We'll win alrighty, Aleck, oh we will…"

Izo let out a groan then gave a grumpy scowl to Rei. "Don't persist so guaranteed hitherto, Tyke, Iwoi still exists."

Gradually Rei raised her clipboard, Izo gulped. A second or two later, Joshua heard Izo let out a yelp.

Now that he was aware of his new surroundings, he noticed they were in a small ash grey room that only had a wooden door opposite to the broken elevator. The GM wasn't here.

Ayumu stepped forward until he was halfway to the door. "Here." he pointed at the door.

'The GM is in the next room.' thought Joshua before he looked at the timer; they now had 12 minutes. He clenched his hands tightly into fists; he narrowed his brilliant lavender eyes. 'I need to give him a piece of my mind for that dirty trick to try and erase Ayumu.'

"Looks like this is it, huh?" Rei frowned sadly as she stared at the door.

Izo snorted as he moved his blue bangs gracefully to the side of his face; "Feh, I want to get out of this game. No use having qualms about it now." The bangs fell back where they initially were.

Ayumu looked at him blankly. "Fight?"

"Yeah, we'll get him back for yesterday, Ayu," promised Joshua eagerly. After a few moments Joshua nodded. "Okay, let's go-"

Suddenly Joshua yelped when someone pulled him towards them before he felt his lungs starting to be crushed. "Rei!"

"I don't wanna have you guys get erased!" wailed Rei as she swung him back and forth like he was a baby along with Izo and Ayumu in her hold. Both he and Izo thrashed in her hold while shrieking their heads off. "Just give me a few moments guys!"

Izo snarled while scowling, "Release us Tyke!" By now the motion threw off his small silver oval glasses.

"I can't breathe Rei!" yelped Joshua desperately. "Cut it out!"

Ayumu said nothing and stayed limp like a ragdoll.

To Joshua, Rei was acting like this because she was very upset by the fact they could be erased today if they were not wary. 'She must care about us a lot.'

Slowly the pain grew intense and Joshua felt himself screech when his air was sucked out of him, "REI!" He saw now in horror that him, Ayumu, and Izo were fading along with light particles escaping their bodies: Joshua had pure white, Ayumu had golden yellow, and Izo had amethyst. When he caught Izo's eye he knew that all of them were going to be erased at this rate.

"Stop!" bellowed Izo as he grunted in effort. "You're making us fade Tyke!"

"Yeah! I know you care about us, seeing how touching this is, but just stop already Rei!" cried Joshua as he thrashed. "Please!"

For a moment, Rei paused as she huffed, "So rude to a lady! Ayumu's not complaining."

Looking at Ayumu, he seemed to be the one who would fade first if Rei didn't stop now.

"Ayumu can't feel pain Rei!" retorted Joshua.

"Oh… Right…" Rei's face paled as she dropped them, she waved her hands franticly. "Sorry!"

Joshua let out a sigh. Typical Rei.

To be continued…

Hope you enjoyed the chapter =3