What you recognize I don't own. Also I did my best with Beat's accent but I might have made mistakes and used less of it over time, sorry about that, I just simply struggled with writing like the way he talks due to me having issues writing accents
The group had just finished their regular meet up when before they all left Neku spoke up
"Hey guys, I'm going to be gone for a few days due to work, I'll be back in a week but in the meantime I don't want you to worry about me not meeting up at Hachiko like normal"
"Got it Neku"
A week later though Neku didn't arrive, despite texting Shiki and Beat to let them know he would be there that day
"Let's give 'im a littl' more time aight?, might simply be delayed cause of train schedules"
"Right"
Ultimately Neku never showed up even though they kept hoping the next day would be the one
"Now what Beat?"
"Not sure, maybe Rhyme can track him through his phone"
"Rhyme's the one who helped us last time right?"
"That's right Rindo, 'nd Priss-kid can help too, if he wants though he mainly handles the UG"
"As is his job as Composer"
"It's been over a month now and not even his parents have made contact with him, maybe..."
"He's alive, Shiki 'nd I woulda felt it ifn he was gone"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Our partner pact with him is still intact to a degree, we can feel each other and him, though for Beat the feeling isn't as intense since we're not in the UG, and for Neku, he's real faint, fainter than normal in the RG, but I can feel him still, and I'm sure it's the same for Beat"
"Yeah, it's exactly the same as Shiki"
"Um...pact?"
"Oh right, your Game was different from ours, in our Game you had to form a Partner pact in order to be able to fight back against the Noise and Reapers, Beat and I both formed a Partner pact with him during those three weeks he was in the Game, as did Joshua actually when he was pretending to be a Player for whatever reason, and then the three of us also formed a pact between the three of us when we were fighting Megumi right before Joshua revealed himself to us as Shibuya's Composer"
"But in any case the pact means we know Phones is alive, or at least, we can sense him still so that's something"
"Then I guess we keep searching, as long as you two say that he's alive then we search"
"Priss-kid recently promised to tell us if he's in the UG, 'cause all we know is that we can feel him yo, doesn't necessarily mean he's in the RG"
And so, slowly two months would pass with the group dying inside a little bit more each day, though Beat and Shiki were in the best shape due to their partner pacts that they had with Neku, and while the Wicked Twisters still didn't fully understand the pact they trusted Beat and Shiki, though they also feared that part of it was simply hoping that Neku was still alive. Two months later Beat and Shiki decided to meet at Hachiko like usual but not at the normal time so that they could talk alone about their personal progress on the search for Neku
"Any luck Shiki?"
"Unfortunately not Beat, I know he's alive but..."
"Yeah"
Suddenly another person showed up
"I too know he's alive, the three of us can still feel him due to our partner pacts, maybe it might be best if I focus my attention in the UG while the two of you focus in the RG"
"Yo Priss-kid whatchu doing showin' up like sudden"
"Sorry Beat, I simply couldn't ignore the conversation any longer, am I to assume that Rhyme and the Wicked Twisters are also looking?"
"Yes, Rindo and the others are looking in recently restored Shinjuku and other areas"
"I see, since Neku can't be found in the RG, or the UG, and yet the three of us can still feel him, it might be possible he's some where's in between worlds where we can't currently reach him or find him"
"Joshua I have to ask, are we going to spend another three years without Neku and people that have never been in the UG slowly but surely forgetting him, including his own parents?"
"No, as the Composer of Shibuya I do have some say regarding memories, and this time I won't make people forget like the last two times"
"Thanks Joshua, still...I hope that it doesn't take as long as it did before, you looked every where's Beat, and others...they didn't seem to remember him after a time, and it was not an easy wait at times"
"Yeah I know aight we's got some searching to do"
"Josh, do you think we can use our partner pacts to either find him or let him know that we're waiting for him? I mean...I know we didn't do much the last time he went missing but that was because we weren't sure how to use the pacts outside of the UG"
"I honestly couldn't say Shiki, I didn't even try since I knew he was in Shinjuku where I had sent him after Coco shot him"
"I see"
"I know Neku 'splained why Coco shot him an' all, but I still don' like it"
"You don't have to Beat, I wasn't too happy initially either, but in time I accepted it and forgave her in my own way"
"In any case we gotta find phones and soon or we ain't gonna do so good"
"I know, I watched over the three of you during those three years and there were times I honestly thought you would enter the Game again, especially when Shiki and Rhyme got sick that one time, at the same time, with the same thing, and then there was the time that you wiped out on your skateboard at a really bad spot"
"Didn' mean ta do that, was the weather's fault, though when Shiki and Rhyme got sick I wasn' doing so hot either, jus' not 's sick 's all"
And so the next year and a half wasn't easy on anyone, Joshua, Shiki and Beat used their partner bond and discovered that they could get a proximate location regarding Neku, but it wasn't accurate enough to get them super close, Rhyme used her hacking skills to keep a discrete eye on hospitals and police stations for any sign of Neku, but always struck out too. It would ultimately be Rindo and Shoka who found Neku in a hospital that they were actually patients at and simply walking around with therapists for exercise when they saw him they were shocked and Rindo was the one to speak up
"Can we go inside and see the patient?"
"What for?"
"We think he's a friend of ours"
Ultimately Rindo and Shoka confirm it was Neku
"How long has he been here?"
"Almost two years now, without an ID we couldn't inform any family when he was dumped in front of us in a coma, do you know him?"
"Yes, his name is Neku Sakuraba and he's our friend"
The two quickly call the rest of the group and it was Joshua was the one who made a realization
"Guys, Neku needs to die and play a Game again if he's to be brought back"
"But he was banned from any future Game"
"As Composer I can allow his entrance, Shiki, Beat you can join him in the Game if you wish"
"Don' we havta die first?"
"Actually no, I changed the Game after the whole Shinjuku mess, you can work as a team if you wish and you don't necessarily have to be dead to join, all that's needed is for you to have played the Game before and you can enter it while still alive. There are some rules regarding that, such as the fact that you can't just enter the UG whenever you want, you have to need the Game in a way besides just missing it for whatever reason"
"We're willing to join the Game again, for Neku, could you...could you find a way to tell him even through his coma what's needed?"
"Yes, and I'll include the fact that he shouldn't leave the Hachiko statue until the two of you join him, which will be shortly after he dies"
"Let me get the rest of the Wicked Twisters and we'll join you"
"No Rindo, you need to stay here, if Joshua is unable to prevent the memory loss of those who've never been to the UG Rhyme will need your support as one of the only people who remembers she actually has a brother out there fighting to return to her, and...even if she won't understand why I want you to also look out for Eri if she forgets me"
"Plus there's the fact that your team is my backup plan, if Beat, Shiki and Neku are unable to win, or if something else goes wrong you'll be brought back into the game specifically by me, I'll let you guys know that I have need of you at the Hachiko statue if it comes down to it"
"I understand, okay we'll stay behind, but Joshua you need to tell us the second it becomes necessary for the Wicked Twisters to join the Game"
"I will, however it will be easier if you have a regular schedule"
"Understood"
"Also, I don' wan' Rhyme to join me, she shouldn' be 'n the Game 'gain"
"I'll keep her out of the Game directly, I promise, though I can't promise she won't be involved through her hacking skills"
"Aight, I guess that'll haveta be good 'nough"
"I'll also make sure of it Beat as Composer I do have some say on who can join the Game when alive and who can't, though I won't interfere with her hacking as long as it's mild, if it gets more severe she gets one warning before she's unable to contact you until you return"
"Can I tell her the rules first?"
"Of course, I need time to tell Neku the plan after all"
And so about ten minutes later Beat came back and Joshua confirmed that Neku knew the plan
"So...how's he supposed to die, simply give up in his mind or what?"
"Not quite, it's not going to be detectable but I just introduced a poison into his IV, one that doesn't have an antidote, he's going to die over a period of about ten hours, enough time for his parents to arrive and say their goodbyes, but not so long as to prolong their suffering since his coma is at the point where he would never wake up anyways"
And so over the next ten hours Neku's parents did indeed show up and they were able to say their goodbye's before Neku died. Once that happened Joshua appeared to Shiki and Beat in the hallway
"Here are two player pins, once you leave the hospital you'll enter the UG so make sure that you have everything in order before you leave here"
"Will we simply leave the hospital and then wake up at the Crossing?"
"No, time will pass differently for you this time, you'll actually be awake during the night unless you decide to actually sleep. This is another difference between the Game you played your first time and this time around, you're actually aware of a day/night cycle passing instead of it suddenly being the next day after you complete the days mission or two"
"Got it"
"Though Joshua, maybe you should change the time passing aspect, some people might dread the next day coming in the Game"
"I have been thinking about it actually since I am seeing what you're talking about Shiki, I just don't quite know if I should yet or not since there are people who also take comfort in knowing that time is passing like it would in the RG"
"Maybe...maybe see if someone's comfortable with knowing about the day/night schedule let time pass for them and for those who are obviously anxious let it just simply be the next day so that they're not dreading it quite so much"
"I see, I think I shall ask them through their phones so that no one is forced into this decision through their teams if they choose to have a team, or their partner if they decide on only one person to team up with"
"And if there's disagreement between groups?"
"I'll ask them to confirm their decision and if there's still disagreement then for at least one day it will simply be the next day and then the partners can discuss the pros and cons that they feel regarding the decision and be asked again that day before they pass out or not, and that will keep happening throughout the seven day period"
"That might work, we'll discuss the same thing with Neku, but considering his PTSD it might be easier to just simply fall asleep and it suddenly be the next day, actually all of us have PTSD regarding the Game and it might be easier not to know that time has passed"
"Let me know through your phones what your decision is, now then if you have any last minute preparations to make do them because again the moment you step out these doors you're in the UG"
The two take Joshua up on his suggestion, making sure that the Wicked Twisters knew the plan as well as they could for the moment and said their goodbyes though no one but Rhyme knew that and with a deep breath they step out of the hospital and back into the UG for the first time in over four years for Shiki and just over a year for Beat
"So...do we have our abilities back?"
They check and find that they did indeed have them back, Shiki could control Mr. Mew and Beat had his super speed that he'd picked up in the second round of playing the Game
"So, time to head to Hachiko and hope that Neku's already there?"
"Yep"
And so they head to Hachiko and find that Neku wasn't quite there yet, but then they get a message from Joshua stating that Neku was in the UG, but had somehow managed to wind up in the renewed Shinjuku for some reason and needed to take a train back to Shibuya
"So, do you want time to pass normally or simply wake up the next day and wait here for Neku tomorrow?"
"Jus' wake up tomorrow, too anxious to have regular wait time, you?"
"Same actually, hey Joshua if you can hear us we want to simply be in the next day so that there's less wait time for Neku, unless he's closer than we're actually thinking"
Suddenly the two start feeling the same dizziness that always precepted a new day
"Right, see ya 'morrow Shiki"
"Yeah Beat, see you tomorrow"
The next day Beat and Shiki wake up and quickly head to Hachiko, and after only a couple minutes wait Neku shows up
"Hey guys, sorry for making you worry about me for almost two years"
"Not your fault, hope to get the full story later but for now, do you want to form a partner pact with Shiki and I?, or should I say renew the partner pact with the two of us?"
"Let's do it"
And so the three renew the partner pact and get the days mission which they clear easily, that day after the mission was completed they received a text asking if they wanted to let time pass like normal or if they wanted to simply wake up to the next day and all of them agreed that waiting for day to come was too anxious and that they wanted to just wake up and it be the next day waiting for the next mission. The week was hard and unfortunately not as successful as hoped for due to interference. In fact in the RG about a week and a half had passed by when suddenly Joshua showed up
"Wicked Twisters, you're now up and going to the UG, someone is interfering in my domain and affecting the Game, Neku and the others need your help"
"Right, we'll let Rhyme know so that she can hopefully help us from the RG just like last time"
"Good, now take care of what you need to now, because once you take the player pins in my hands you'll join the UG and be part of the Game, at least I still control that much of the Game"
"Are...are they okay besides being stuck in the Game again?"
"For now, if needed I am going to join the Game as a player for a second time and have only one person know the truth just in case things go wrong, if needed they will become Composer in my stead and hopefully be able to fix what I cannot"
"Understood, Rhyme will keep in contact with us and maybe...maybe you can see her regularly now so that she can tell you if you need to join the Game, for now though, time to take up a Player pin and rejoin the UG"
"Before you do though, Shoka, are you sure about this? I'm sure you understand the consequences if you die in the UG or fail the mission this time around"
"I'm sure Joshua, let's go"
And so one by one everyone grabs a pin from Joshua's hand and rejoins the UG, meanwhile Neku, Shiki and Beat were angry on Joshua's behalf since they could tell somehow that they were stuck in a Game loop and that it wasn't Joshua in control anymore, or at least not entirely in control
"Okay, somethin' is wrong, this ain't Joshua's style, even priss-kid would honor the Game all things considered"
"Agreed, I think...I think someone has interfered in a way that Joshua can't affect, fortunately we have our plan B in place already and Joshua has most likely informed them that it's time to join"
"Still, at least as far as we know our plan B is still able to act, though we might not find out if our hopes are true until we see them again"
"Actually I can tell you right now that they are in the UG"
The group suddenly turns around at hearing Joshua's voice
"They just joined, however they can't join properly until tomorrow since today's almost over with anyways"
The next day Neku, Shiki and Beat meet up with the Wicked Twisters and while they don't just make one big team they help each other a lot, but they still aren't able to end the Game
"This Game is even longer than my original three week Game if that's even possible"
"Yeah, and it's not helping that we still don't know who's pulling the strings behind the Game lasting so long, we're sure it's not Joshua right?"
"It's not, he's unable to affect things because if he was this Game would have ended by now"
"That's why I've decided it's time for me to be a Player again"
"Joshua, are you certain about this? I mean..."
"I have plans in place in case we fail Neku, the UG is in good hands"
"Got it"
The next day Joshua joins the Game as a Player and makes a partner pact with Neku, Shiki and Beat allowing the four of them to feel each other and also feel complete for the first time in a long, long while. This is because while the renewed partner pact between Neku, Shiki, and Beat had been renewed in the UG and they could sense each other more clearly than they had in a while they had also felt like something was still missing and all three of them suspected that it was Joshua that was missing from the bond
"Feels nice to be complete with our bonds"
"Yeah, didn' feel right without ya priss-kid"
"Same here, only feeling Neku didn't feel completely right, even though I only made a partner pact with him and no one else"
Suddenly all of their phones go off and they receive a mission along with the usual timer on their hands and warning that they faced erasure if they failed. Two days later they discover through Rindo's time traveling ability that a rogue Conductor was behind the problems they were currently facing
"Wait, so all of this is because somehow a Conductor from another district managed to affect Shibuya?"
"It looks like it, Haz told me that it's not his fault, and that his Conductor is where they're supposed to be, all the other Composer's are giving me the silent treatment"
"Rindo, now that we know the truth do you think we can use this to our advantage somehow?"
"Yeah actually, I figured out his weakness right before he almost killed us, and that was right after he revealed that he was a rogue Conductor and thus not bound to the usual rules"
"Right, how far can you go back?"
"Two days from now I think, to right after Joshua joins the Game, unless you help as well Joshua, unless you want to go further and not join this time around"
"I think I'll keep that part the same, mainly because of the fact that you can't fight a rogue Conductor without my Conductor or myself as the Composer, you just don't have the power"
"Yo, Phones, Shiki and I did exactly that with Kitaniji, and we're greater number this time 'round"
"Normally that would be enough Beat, however this rogue Conductor has the strength of at least three Conductors, if not a Conductor and Composer somehow, seven almost normal Players just won't be enough"
"Even though two of us are ex-Reapers?"
"Yes Shoka, even if two of the group are ex-Reapers"
"Okay then, let's do this"
And so with Joshua's help they dealt with the rogue Conductor and then they had one last week of playing the Game (as to make up for the interference the last few weeks and the fact that Joshua couldn't bend every rule despite his status as Composer) but this Game was easy compared to the other few weeks and after that week Neku was finally able to return home and to a normal life, or at least as normal as someone who had PTSD from the Game could be. Eventually the entire group died from old age and except for Neku became Reapers, as for Neku he eventually became the Composer, taking over from Joshua who was ready to retire knowing he was leaving Shibuya in good hands