"...So I've died."

Joseph Hernández looked down to his lap, crestfallen at the words he'd just uttered. The fact had yet to settle in, and yet he couldn't help but stare into space, trying to understand it.

Death never became easier to comprehend.

To believe that everything simply...stops. To know that once you've died, you're gone forever. Joseph had believed that, but to find himself now, sitting at a table with this fact being presented to him, he needed time to understand.

"It's kinda fishy," said the boy in front of him. "I could swear there's been some kid like you before, but no one's ever lost their memory before, ya see." He rubbed his chin and shrugged. "Ay, don't you mind. You'll be fine, ya hear?"

Joseph smiled weakly, looking up at his companion. "Of course... Thank you - er, Monkey, was it?"

"The one and only, ya hear?"

"Right..." Joseph sat up straight. "Well, I appreciate everything you've done for me so far, but you really don't have to treat me like a patient... I don't have amnesia, I just... can't seem to recall how I've died, everything else is fine."

He said all this with relative ease, more confused by how much Monkey seemed to worry over it. With a smile, he changed the subject.

"Say, more importantly, what's there to do around here? It is Paradise, and who better to show me around than the building's supervisor himself?"

Monkey raised his hand in the universal stop motion and said, "No can do, pal. I can't skip on my duties, ya see? Gotta check up on some troubled kids, butー" He snapped his fingersー "I bet my girl's at the front desk right now to get her babysittin' schedule, she'd show you around."

"...You have a girlfriend?"

"She's still in denial but it's totes real," he said without missing a beat. "She'll look real shady and rude, but for real? She's the real gold piece."

Joseph stared at him for a moment.

"Huh... Well, okay then. Sure, I'll go. I like children, anyway, it'll be fun." He got up before asking: "Um, what's her name, again?"

"Antoinette," said Monkey.

A minute later, Joseph stood at receptionist, where he saw Greg's familiar face talking to a girl who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. Joseph watched them quietly, focusing especially on the girl. Was she the one Monkey mentioned? Hazel colored hair which looked lazily tied up into a bun, dressed in wrinkled blue overalls and a short sleeved t-shirt, Joseph thought of a farmer.

She scoffed at Greg and swiped a paper out of his hands, snapping Joseph back to attention.

"Ah, hello, Miss?" he called out to her, hurrying over. The girl looked at him skeptically, but stopped in her tracks. "Are you... Antoinette?"

The girl stared, and then frowned. "Who's asking? I'm busy right now."

"Oh, of course. I'm a friend of Monkey, my name is Joseph Hernández."

Her eyes widened abruptly, staring directly at Joseph.

She was quiet a moment, and then furrowed her eyebrows. "...Hernández?" A strong skepticism could be heard in her voice, one that ended up surprising Joseph. Such a name... felt familiar. Not just the name, but that face...

He blinked. Had he done something wrong?

"Um... yes. I-I'm sorry, are you alright? You seem... off."

She seemed to snap back at his voice.

"Huh? Oh, sure." She shook her head quickly. "Yeah, I'm Antoinette. What's it to you?"

Joseph winced slightly at how blunt she said this, considering if maybe this wasn't the best of ideas... But if Monkey vouched for her, he would be hopeful.

"Well...! I was talking to Monkey and, see, I'm new here and was wondering if you could show me around?"

Antoinette narrowed her eyes. "Why doesn't he just show you around himself?" Before Joseph could respond, she continued: "Actually, don't tell me. He has to look over a few troubled kids?"

She was met with a look of surprise.

"Y-Yes, that's exactly what he said. How did you know?" Joseph gasped. "Do you help him with that? I find it very admirable th―"

Antoinette cut him off with a groan. "No, that's what he always says when he wants to slack off. He's just being an ass."

"Oh..." Joseph's expression fell, which made Antoinette raise an eyebrow. He recovered quickly enough and added: "Well, either way. What do you say? It'd really make my day."

Greg laughed. "Nice rhymin', Jojo!"

While Joseph smiled back, Antoinette rolled her eyes and, when Joseph looked back to her, she shook her head.

"Not happening. I'm going to be busy with today's shift, so unless you want to take care of some kids with me, n―"

"I'd love to!"

Joseph's face lit up at once, taking Antoinette by surprise. She stared in confusion, her eyes widened but her eyebrows furrowed. Joseph continued, moving his hands to show just how eager he was.

"Are you kidding? I love working with little kids, they're just so much fun. And they need good role models, too, right? I-I like to think I'm a pretty good role model." He smiled sheepishly. "It would be an honour to spend my first day like that, for real."

Antoinette looked disoriented, hesitant to go along with his idea, but seeing how excited he was over it with a passion for the job to match her own (with the difference being that his was exterior), she reconsidered.

For a good ten seconds she glared at Joseph, thinking, and for those ten seconds he seemed to be losing conviction because of it.

At last, she sighed and said:

"Fine... You can come along, I guess."

"Yes!"

Antoinette rolled her eyes. Something about all this didn't sit right with her. Something about Joseph didn't feel right. For the time being, no matter how much she thought about it, she simply wasn't able to come to any sort of conclusion.

This bothered her. Tremendously. During that afternoon, she kept an eye for Joseph for the whole shift, just wondering what was so strange about him. Could it have been his eagerness to help? Could it be his friendship with Monkey? Yes, she decided, but that wasn't the reason. Not the main reason, at least.

The question remained on her head, leaving her more distracted than usual that day, and more often than not did Joseph have to prevent a disaster in the making.

"Woah, careful there, little buddy. That bed's much too high for you to jump off," he'd said to one who had done exactly that. Antoinette watched him quietly, never letting her thoughts reach her face.

The nagging feeling at the back of her mind stayed strong throughout the day, and by the time her shift was over, she finally decided to speak up.

The two were packing up for the day now that everyone else was in bed, and as they were walking out, Antoinette waited for her moment.

Joseph stretched out, sighing happily. "Man... that was fun. You really do this every day?"

"Most days," she said dismissively. "It becomes a routine, so today turned out to be an exception."

"And what an exception it was. If the afterlife is like this all the time, I think I could get used to it."

Antoinette looked at him from the corner of her eye, squinting slightly. His positivity was blinding, innocent in it's own way, but it wasn't that which bothered her.

She clicked her tongue and faced forward.

"Don't get used to it. I don't cover my shifts with other people anymore."

Antoinette heard herself and stopped walking, her eyes lost in the distance. Anymore? Had she ever done that before? This confusing feeling only continued to grow.

Hearing her footsteps―or lack thereof―made Joseph stop as well. He saw her thinking in silence a few steps back, her eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"...Anto―"

"No," she cut off sharply, shoving her hands into her pockets and storming off.

Joseph did a double take. "Huh?" He noticed her hurrying away. "Wait, Antoinette! What's the matter?"

A swirl of confusing emotions flashed inside of her mind, and she turned to him abruptly, her face flushed in anger.

"You're the matter," she hissed. "Go away."

Joseph flinched where he stood. "Huh...?" He watched how Antoinette glared at him, unable to understand. Confused and apologetic, he lowered his head. "Please forgive me if I've said something wrong. I-I'm still adjusting, but I promise it won't happen again."

A pang of guilt shot through Antoinette's mind seeing how readily Joseph apologized for something that wasn't even his fault. It was Antoinette's; these strange and confusing thoughts filled her mind whenever she saw him, and she didn't know what they meant or what Joseph Hernandez had to do with her.

Like a bird getting lost in the distance, Antoinette saw only a flicker of an answer, too far and indistinct to understand. It angered her. Seeing how Joseph so innocently apologized served to calm those emotions, but not by much. Her expression fell to match.

"Forget it," she said, turning away again.

Joseph moved forth before she had fully turned,  reaching out to take her shoulder. She glared at him the moment he made contact and, as she jerked her shoulder away, he winced, giving her space.

"Antoinette, please. If I've done something to upset you, say so! Tell me―what's wrong?"

"I said forget it!" she hissed and turned away faster than before. She had all the chance to leave with the watch, but her legs wouldn't move. All the meddling thoughts that only seemed to intensify as the seconds passed by pinned her to the floor.

Joseph lowered his voice and moved in front of her again. "Antoinette," he repeated, "Please. Why are you so mad?"

"Ugh, stop saying my name so much! Antoinette this, Antoinette that, you sound like a broken record." Her words fell from her mouth before she could think about what she truly wanted to say, as after every spiel, a flash of regret flickered on her face. Every time she talked back to this kid, something hit the inside of her mind, something suppressed, desperate to break free.

Joseph huffed, but he too was insistent, and continued. "I won't leave until you talk to me."

She turned away from him with a groan, and at last that suppressed memory broke free. At the same time, she whipped her head back to Joseph, but this time her mind saw someone else.

"Christ, you're so annoying, Sebastian!"

The world stood still around them.

Antoinette stared in shock at Joseph as a wave of memories crashed back into her mind. She finally understood why Joseph's face looked so familiar, why she felt as though she'd heard the name before, it all connected at once.

"...You're..."

But she only remembered that. It left behind an empty space, where she knew something belonged, but couldn't find.

This happened for Joseph as well. It was that name and those words that brought it back for him.

"Sebastian, stop that, you know we can't save him!"

"We have to save him somehow, Joseph. Stop whinging and come with me, or go back home to cry."

"Christ, you're so annoying, Sebastian!"

A recent memory, but from what exactly, Joseph didn't understand. The single memory of Sebastian's existence had somehow been brought back to him, but when he tried to connect it to anything else that may have been there... nothing else appeared.

All he knew was that that name belonged to his brother. He stared back at Antoinette's light hazel eyes which showed nothing but that haunting realization, and in that moment they both understood the same thing.

Sebastian was no longer here, but because of him they had been connected in one way or another.

Antoinette's expression broke down from her anger into confusion and guilt. "...Sorry about that. I guess I got carried away," she muttered.

Joseph had been about to reassure her that the apology was unnecessary when they heard a click.

A screen turned on from a nearby building. The two turned towards it to find Li's face smiling down at them.

They both instinctively froze. Antoinette fought back the unpleasant feeling in the back of her mind that came from seeing the screen turn on now of all times.

"Hello Antoinette, Joseph," it said. "I'm quite glad to see you two getting along. How are you adjusting, Joseph? Has Antoinette shown you to the shooting range yet? It's quite far from me, but I could have someone take you."

Antoinette narrowed her eyes at the screen as Joseph answered nervously.

"O-Oh, um... I-I don't really like guns."

"Actually," said Antoinette, "I was just planning on taking Joseph to 1-A so we could talk better. What do you say, Joseph?" She gave him a firm look, which he understood after a moment of thought, opting to follow whatever plan she had in mind.

Joseph nodded quickly. "That's right. Um―I'm okay with that, uh, lead the way, please."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather spend the afternoon exploring Paradise?" Li's smile grew wider, but neither Antoinette nor Joseph were convinced. She looked away from the screen as soon as she could, without giving it an answer before the watch took her to 1-A.

Li turned his attention then to Joseph, who offered a nervous smile.

"Er...s-sorry. Maybe some other time." After that, he left too.

Only Li remained at the pathway, staring at the empty spaces where they stood seconds ago.

"...Shooting range, really?"

The day was cold.

The moment Joseph appeared in front of 1-A, Antoinette pulled him inside and slammed the door shut.

"My roommates should still be out, so make yourself at home," she said hastily, lazily gesturing to the seats at the center of the living room.

Joseph sat and watched her nervously pace around the room, wondering when would be the appropriate time to speak up.  At a point where she stopped for a moment, he dared on.

"Antoinette, did you also―"

"Shh. Shh. Shh. Shut. The fuck. Up. I need to think right now, don't even mention it; it didn't happen."

Joseph regretted ever speaking up. How could she say it didn't happen? There's no way they hadn't been thinking of the same thing, yet for some reason she was denying it. How to deny a memory? Joseph decided to stay quiet so as to not frustrate her any further, and as he thought about this, Antoinette continued pacing.

She hissed under her breath, but in her mind she went faster than herself. What was that memory, and how did this... stranger know about it? Why did the screen show up out of nowhere? How can we talk about it without that hearing? If only there were a way. And out of nowhere, she remembered.

"Hey, screen, come here. Now."

It came to life at once, and Li's smile looked down at them.

"What may I do for you today? Have you changed your mind about the shooting range?"

"No, what?" She shook her head. "I still have my wish from when we won the boat race, don't I?"

Li's answer came late. "...I suppose so."

"I'm claiming it now," she said. "I want you to beat it. I'm going to talk to Jodesー"

"It's―it's Joseph."

"And I don't want you listening in, or recording our conversation or anything like that. Got it? That's my wish. I'll turn on the screen when we're finished."

Li had the strangest sense of deja vu. It considered the request in silence, maintaining the neverending smile that graced its face, until it spoke again.

"Very well. But be careful, secrets have a way of coming out."

The screen turned off as soon as those words finished, leaving the two in a silent room. One stayed silent in confusion, the other expecting the screen to turn back on at any moment.

When it looked like the screen wasn't coming back on, Antoinette let go of the breath she'd been holding onto without realizing and went to sit in front of Joseph.

He stiffened. So far he seemed to be nothing more than a passenger on whatever crazy ride Antoinette was on, and in his uncertainty from that memory, was too afraid to speak up until after she had done.

"Joseph...Hernández, right?" she asked. A pause followed as she watched him nod, to then continue. "Do you know who Sebastian is?"

"Oh, we're talking about it now." He straightened in his seat. "Well... something like that. He's my brother, but... somehow it feels like I've forgotten about him."

She nodded, her features coming down into a frown. "I guess you must have reminded me of him, I also feel like I've forgotten about him..."

"That's strange. Is that why the screen appeared? I found it odd how he was trying to separate us... maybe we shouldn't have remembered after all."

"No," she snapped. "No, something here isn't right. I mean―we know the same person, but how do you forget someone's entire existence? And the screen did try to conveniently change the subject, too, that's suspicious for sure."

Joseph tilted his head. "So what are you saying? You're almost making it sound like we're involved in some massive conspiracy."

Whatever it was, Antoinette didn't like it. She didn't like having such a large gap in her memory that she hadn't even noticed existed until moments ago. Getting involved in this could mean fixing that, but it could also get her involved in something crazy.

She looked at Joseph, and for the first time he feared her expression. Antoinette put her hands on the table and said:

"...We have to get to the bottom of this."