Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The strain on her arm was starting to wane down on her shoulder. Down below her was the terrifying dark abyss, distant eyes blinking up at them hungrily. They wanted them. They needed them. They fed on anything they could get their hands on. And right then they wanted her.
They had her though. They took her to their tower, twisted and mutated her body into their monster. But they won’t have her. Never again they’ll have her. She’ll make sure of that!

The other thing below her wasn’t just the walls of eyes, but a special pair of eyes staring up at her. Innocent. Sweet. Courageous against all the trials they faced until now. She never got to see them until he came to the tower without his hat. Only from behind a paper bag did she ever get glimpses of his soft gaze.

The boy who rescued her. But the boy who also put her life in danger.

The boy who let her get taken away time and time again.

“Six?” he said. She flinched expecting it to scream and echo like it had moments ago. Just remembering that for a split second made her anger surge. He caused her so much pain to hear it screamed in her ears. So much torment that her arm swung to let him go! She could release him. Let go. And the pain would go away.

But...he came for her.

A small voice in her head told her the obvious. He came for her. Time and time again. When everyone else in her world would have abandoned her, he came to her rescue. He didn’t leave her behind.

He saved her but would she save him?

“Six!” he repeated. “Please, pull me up!” he begged.

Oh how easy it would be to let go. Far too easy. Revenge for all he put her through. The bullies, the doctor, and of course the Thin Man.

Now that she looked at his eyes, they vaguely looked similar to that towering suit monster that twisted her body into a spindly beast before. Making her crawl on all fours like an animal. What a terrible existence that man put her through. His dark eyes bore down on her as she felt pain and screamed for help and he didn’t move. Just watched just as hundreds in the city watched their tv screens. Those emotionless eyes...

But that wasn’t Mono. This was her Mono. Her Mono that defeated the Thin Man for her. Ran with her from the hunter that shot at her through the woods. Who smashed his hammer on countless bullies to get her down from a rope. That led the doctor into the furnace to keep away from her.

Who offered his hand to her when she was trapped in that little room for so many days. The first friendly pair of eyes she had seen in so long. He would pull her from the ground time and time again.

And now she pulled him up.

“The walls are closing in!” she yelled, feeling the ground beneath them shake and shatter. Her foot slipped through a hole and Mono grabbed her arm to pull her along. Just as he had before so many times. The warmth of his palm in hers was so familiar that she clung to it in this terrifying moment.

“Come on then!” he yelled, sprinting for the door. The children felt the ground behind them crumble away and used every bit of their strength to leap through the glowing doorway. Wherever it would go, it couldn’t be any worse than here.

A few seconds of swirling lights spun the two around before exploding on the other side of a tv screen. Six groaned, pushing herself on her elbow. Feeling the familiar warmth on her hand she looked over to her right. Mono never let go. He was gripping her tightly just as he ever had been.

“Thank you.” he muttered softly, closing his eyes and panting. To her shock she saw tears slip through and run down his cheeks, shaking slightly from the near death experiences of the past few hours. It all must have come at him at once now that he was safe with her again. He lifted an arm to hide his eyes since he didn’t have his bag to hide his face anymore. Six guessed he was ashamed by his own weakness to cry. “Thank you for taking me with you, Six.” he said brokenly.

Six said nothing, just watched as he cried on the ground. She couldn’t blame him but couldn’t sympathize either. A deep anger was still burning in her gut but chose not to comment about it right then. They needed rest. To hide. And to eat.

Then something happened. The moment she thought of her hunger her stomach growled for food. However this wasn’t the same. She felt pain shoot through her system as though she hadn’t eaten in weeks. A pain so excruciating that she clutched her middle body. Where did this come from?

Her eyes looked up to where they were finally. A room somewhere in the city no doubt. Thankfully empty. Then her eyes landed on something. A dark shadowy figure stood in the center of the room staring at her. But the figure looked just like her? It slowly turned to point at a flyer on the ground. She didn’t get a chance to know what more this thing wanted before it disappeared completely.

Six felt her stomach growl again and she curled up on the ground in pain. Mono finally noticed and sat up in alarm. “Six? Six what’s wrong?!” he exclaimed, grabbing her arm.

“F….F….” she stammered through the pain.

“What?” he asked again.

“Feed Me.”

Chapter Text

Mono ducked under another barrel, just missing another faceless adult as they ran past him to crash against the windows of a general store. He felt like a mouse dodging cats in a lion zoo. There was just no end to these things coming after him. But he didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

Mono ran towards the drainage pipe and climbed straight up, using the string he tied on the top earlier to clamber back up it. Two flights later, he was out of breath and dripping sweat but safely back in the apartment complex once again. The same one him and Six burst into through the tv two days ago.

He scratched at his head under his bag head. Thankfully with him running back into the city, he somehow found his old hat again just floating by in the puddles. Almost like it was returning home to him.

“Six?” he called out, unwrapping the satchel around his shoulder. He walked deeper in, walking past the candles he found lying around the place and had them lit in plates or bowls. He was cautious to not make too much light to draw the attention of the giants outside, but a light here or there won’t hurt them.

He called out again when no answer came. It didn’t take him long to find her however. The unnerving sound of growling answered his calls. Sadly it wasn’t her mouth making the growling.

“Hey, I found more food!” he said holding up a bag full of food. “And look! I found even some cheese to go with some bread I found too! We can have a sandwich.” he said eagerly.

Soon enough the yellow coat of his companion came walking out from inside the stove. Normally, somebody would have been against that sort of thing. But the city has been going through some earth shattering changes. One of which was the gas in the city was shut off. The stove provided the perfect place to sleep and even hide should anything come into the complex by shutting the door behind them.

The girl dropped down beside him, holding out her hands in a simple “gimme” motion, her fingers opening and closing at his face. Mono fought against the urge to laugh at how cute that was. More than once Six pulled a stunt on him that was so utterly adorable he had to either laugh or gush about it. He would be met with a fist against his forearm soon after. Learned his lesson more than once.

“Right if you wait a second I can cut-”

“No! Gimme!” she insisted, stepping closer ready to grab his bag. He held it away from her.

“I thought you would say that. That’s why I brought a snack for the meantime.” he said, pulling out the appetizer. It was an actual apple; a genuine, not rotting, not mutated, not gross, apple! “Here you go.” he said proudly. Quite a find if he did say so himself!

Six yanked it out of his hands within seconds of it appearing and went away munching madly. Mono didn’t mind much. For the last couple of days she had been like that. Eating ravaged like an animal. He frowned at the sight though. Her hunger hadn’t gotten any better. Something was definitely wrong.

The boy went to his task of pulling out the bread and cheese and went to cutting up pieces for them, thinking to himself of what they should do next. Six more than once would get hit by her stomach pains and wouldn’t be able to move until she had something to satisfy that strange hunger. When he first left to get food, Six had been on the floor moaning in pain. It scared him to see her like this. And worst of all it would happen every few hours. So even if she was fed fully for the hour, a few more later she would go right back to the same phase.

A tap at his shoulder made him turn to her. The color returned to her visible cheeks and she was holding up a chunk of the apple. She seemed embarrassed to have eaten so much without thinking to offer him any first.

“Oh! You saved me a piece this time.” he said taking it. Six nodded, dropping down to a crouch beside him. Taking a bite he felt all his taste buds cry out happily at something sweet for once. When was the last time he even had fruit?

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“It’s fine, Six. I have our sandwiches ready anyway.” he said handing her over her half. He made it a point to give her the bigger piece.

“...I was thinking of saving it for the road.” she said, staring down at the sandwich.

“Are you sure?” he said surprised. She seemed to be thinking about it before she grabbed the sandwich and started to eat anyway. Once again he fought against a chuckle. The girl was so predictable. Holding food in front of her she would eat it like a puppy.

She would kick him if he ever shared that thought with her.

“Mono, we can’t stay here.” she said after finishing her sandwich. “Sooner or later we’ll run out of rations or someone will find us.” she said matter of factly.

“I know that,” he said, frowning as he finished off the apple. He grabbed the sandwich, taking a huge bite out of it. It was now more than ever he kept his bag secure over his head, barely letting his jaw show as he ate. He felt so awkward having her stare at him while he ate. Six had no problem with how others saw her eat but he certainly had problems. “But there are many reasons why we can’t do that, Six! First, the city is falling apart out there. You haven’t seen it yet. The faceless are going crazier than usual without the tv’s to distract them. Then there is the fact you are going through this weird phase with your hunger? We don’t even know what that is. And to top it all off, we have no clue where we can go!”

“I told you, the tower!” she said, bringing up the flyer to hold it to his face.

“Yes, I remember that. And I’ll say it again. We don’t know what that place even is.” Mono argued. He bit into his sandwich again as Six sighed exasperated. This was the third time she tried to bring this up to him. After all they went through, he wanted to be extra careful with their next step.

“A place to grant your wishes.” she said simply. “It says so on the flyer. It has pictures with food on the back too.” she said stabbing the paper with her finger. “What else can I say then that I need to grant a wish of no more hunger in me?!” she yelled

“How about the fact this looks like a trap? Literally that tower looks every bit as menacing as the tower we escaped from!” Mono said growing annoyed and taking another bite of his sandwich, gnashing his teeth over the bread as hard as he could. So much for having problems showing how he ate.

“What do we have to lose? This town is going to be the death of us eventually, so why not just give it a try?” she demanded.

“Nothing like that looks inviting or safe and frankly I think we’d be happier going backwards. Back to the woods on that island.” he said. Six bristled at that noticeably. Mono knew that place held a lot of bad memories for her. What they were he didn’t know. But without the hunter there now, it should be a safe haven for the two of them right?

“Oh, so you want to go back now?” she demanded.

He jolted, knowing what was coming but frowned and kept his anger to not lose ground to this. “What are you on about?” He kept his eyes down, finishing his sandwich and picking up his satchel to wrap around his waist. It still had a couple snacks. Maybe Mono would have to leave again to get more. He had a feeling he might do that to cool off after this argument coming up.

“Do I really need to say it? Who was it that wanted to go to the tower in the first place?” she demanded angrily. Mono averted his eyes. “That’s what I thought.” she said. “You only want to go back because you got to satisfy your curiosity. You figured out your powers,”

“No I did not!” he exclaimed. “I haven’t been able to figure out what to do with them since we left. I don’t think I even have them anymore, but I don’t even want them!” he said, gripping his hands into fists at his side. They brought them nothing but trouble. Six was right. He shouldn’t have gone to that tower. Whatever powers he got wasn’t worth the trouble they went through.

“I never tried to stop you! You would always go to those tv’s time and time again and get sucked into them all the time even when you knew it was a bad idea.” Six started to yell. He glared at her, about to say something but she kept going. The anger boiling over this time. “I had to yank you out to save your life and I told you over and over to stop it but you never listened!” she yelled her heart hammering in her chest. “I helped you to your goal but when I needed something you just destroyed it with that hammer! You let him take me-” she screamed before freezing mid sentence.

Mono froze as well. They turned to the door.

Footsteps. Loud and thunderous were approaching the door. Then the banging on the wood sounded off and shuddered against its hinges. Within the few seconds it was falling off the wall and crashing to the ground. The faceless were there. They didn’t hide. They didn’t have a chance to react.

They found them.

Chapter Text

Mono and Six took off. They left behind everything they had to run through the window as the screams and cries of the monsters were hot at their heels. Mono felt the familiar searing heat of their faces brushing the back of his leg before he jumped through the glass panes with Six. The two slid down the roof, gliding across wet tiles until they jumped to the next building top. At one point Mono slipped and fell on his side and Six doubled back to pick him back up to keep running. The faceless were madly crashing through the windows and doors to get at them.

“We have to get to the river!” Six yelled over the rain and thunder. “They won’t swim!” she said.

Mono couldn’t argue with that. The creatures couldn’t keep themselves afloat if they didn’t even have a proper sense to keep from falling off buildings.

The children dodged swinging arms and stomping legs as it felt the whole city was alerted by them now. They ran through doggy doors and holes in walls and somehow there was still someone chasing them around every corner. Their lungs felt like they were on fire but couldn’t stop yet.

Eventually the river was in sight, and the two bee lined for the dock. To their luck there was a boat still intact and jumped on board. While one untied the rope holding it in place, the other pushed away from land with the paddle. And not a second too soon either; the faceless all came charging onto the dock and one by one fell into the waters. Mono looked away from the sad sight but Six kept her eyes on them. Death wasn’t something she was uneasy around anymore. And if any of them got closer she would be ready for her paddle weapon.

“Well, you got your first wish I guess.” Mono muttered.

“That we got out of the town?” Six said.

“Yeah. You know what else? You might get your second wish too in a moment.”

Six whipped around in shock, her eyes widening at the sight of a giant ship moving their way.

Sometime later...

The children docked the ship with relative ease, slipping through one of the little windows on the side of the ship. Mono pulled on Six’s hand as she stepped through the window pane. A large splash of ocean water outside rocked the ship and Six lost her footing. Mono would have fallen through with her if he didn’t pull her back harder. The two flew across the steel floors in a tangle of limbs and coats.

“Thanks…” Six mumbled, lifting her head to look down at him. For some reason his breathing hitched when the cut holes looked at her face and he whirled his head away completely. Was there something on her face? She didn’t think twice about it as she rolled off and took a good look at their surroundings. “So, this is the ship that takes you to that strange lighthouse huh?” she said curiously looking at all the chains and ropes hanging on the walls. She never really was on a boat before other than that makeshift raft the two of them rode on the way into the city.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to stick around. Being here gives me the creeps.” he said rubbing his arm nervously.

“Doesn’t feel any different then back on land.” Six said.

“That's supposed to make me feel better?” he asked unamused. The girl only shrugged back and started to explore the area.

“Don’t go too far!” he hissed, darting his eyes around. “We don’t know what’s on this ship! For all we know there could be something worse than giant faceless people.”

“Maybe, but can’t hurt to look around to see what’s on this thing.” she said, pausing mid stride as something scurry by. She froze. Was that…?

Mono hurried to her side instantly, protectively standing between her and the shadows. “Who's there?!” he yelled. Six looked to him surprised by his sudden guarding position and then rolled her eyes.

“Will you relax? I know what that was,” she said walking around him and kneeling down near the dark corner. She held out a hand to the shadows and soon after a tiny hand appeared to take hers. While Six and Mono were small in this world, only one thing could be smaller than them.

“A nome?” the boy said in surprise as the powder white creature appeared by the hand of Six. Normally they wouldn’t dare come near anyone but this one seemed a little braver than most. It scurried around their feet, its pointed hat bobbing with its every movement.

“Yeah, look at him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Wouldn’t you little buddy?” she said rubbing its head and it twittered a bit. Mono walked over to kneel down in front of the little guy, his gaze serious.

“Hey, do you know where we’re going?”

The little guy tilted his head with no response and suddenly darted away from the two of them in a mad dash.

“Well, not much of an interrogator are you?” Six commented placing her hands on her hips.

“Wait, no. He was running from something. Not us.” Mono said softly. He strained his ears, weeks of dodging monsters honing his skills to perfection at this point. Just the faintest sound of a large boot sounded off behind them before he grabbed the girl’s hand to hide. He ducked behind a large barrel with Six falling silent behind him, knowing better than to judge his survival instincts by this point.

After a breathless minute something came through a door neither of them noticed before. A tall being, not as tall as one of the giants in the city, but tall nonetheless. It came walking into the room with a slow and unsteady gait. He had a round head with a tiny cap sitting on top, a mask slipping down to show no visible eyes and a worn out coat. But most disturbing of all were his arms. While his legs were tiny, the arms stretched out farther like a pair of yard sticks and twiddled around in the air as though itching to snatch something.

Six crouched down against Mono’s back, sending warm tingles across his body. But he tried to ignore it for the sake of the moment. She was scared of this creature. And something told him that he should be too.

The children watched on holding their breath as the strange being walked around the room feeling along the crates until he found two bottles on the shelf. Mono watched how he moved about, his hands touching everything blindly until he found the door again to leave. They finally let out the sigh of relief, crawling back out into the room.

“And I thought the teacher had appendage issues.” Mono commented. He held out his hand to her, “Come on. Let’s get going.”

Six stared at the hand falling silent.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“You want to explore again?” she said, frowning.

Mono sighed, dropping his hand. Looks like she was upset with him still. “Yes, but only so we can find a way out.” he insisted.

“Are you sure it's not just to find another TV?” she asked bitterly while folding her arms away from him. That hurt. Mono actually felt a stab in his chest at those words.

“Look, I’m sorry for that. Really. I am!” he tried to say but Six walked past him.

“Save it.” she hissed to walk to one of the vents on the floor. Unlike the vents back in the city where they were more secure so it took both of them to pull on them, these looked rusted and old. Six was strong enough to pull them open now. Mono was a little hurt that she didn’t even ask for his help this time.

With sagging shoulders, he followed after the girl into the vent. Whatever they would face, at least it was together.

Right?

Chapter Text

The vessel they walked through was as tremendous as the city itself. They felt like there were endless corridors going into one and into another. A giant maze of metal halls and leaky pipes. At first the two didn’t run into anything out of the ordinary besides bumping into things in the dark. Tripping was a constant for them as they traversed the boat and Six found something he didn’t expect.

She made a snapping in her fingers noise until a light appeared in her hand. “I found a lighter!” she said surprised.

“Perfect! I was starting to break my own shins bumping into things.”

“Yeah, can’t imagine-” she started to say before she saw what was behind him. A pair of shoes dangled behind his head. Six paled under her hood. The shoes didn’t move but by how lifelessly they swung slightly she knew why. And if this was so far back in the ship, then Six was getting a pretty good idea what they were in for.

“Mono, don’t turn-”

“Hey! Look!” he gasped running to the right of the room. She saw him pick up a wooden doll of a japanese woman. It was carved roughly and swollen with water, but she recognized it being a toy.

“Why is that out here?” he said, confused. It clearly had the feel and scratches of being used. Were there other children on board?

“Maybe one of the nomes left it behind.” she suggested. “Let’s leave it here for them to find it again.” she said placing it back where he found it. Just as he was about to turn around, Six grabbed her hand.

“Uh, let me lead the way.” she said, walking a big circle around the dangling feet. Six wasn’t bothered by this sort of thing, but she knew Mono always felt sick. So for now, she’ll protect him from those sights.

The two ventured into the next room, finding out that it was filled with strange black goo. Six hesitated venturing forward, clearly grossed out at the sight. Mono saw her not willing to move and came beside her confused.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I...I don’t trust it at all.” She tried to lie. When Mono took a step on the goo to test it out, he heard Six gasp and even saw her shudder.

Mono hummed in thought at the sight of her actually showing a weakness for once. He saw the girl pummel bullies and break mannequin fingers, but icky goo is what got her? He wondered what she would have done if he wasn’t around. Then he got an idea! “Okay, how about...just let me do this and please don’t hit me.” he asked, stepping closer to her.

“What are you-” she started to say before he suddenly swooped her up off the ground into his arms bridal style. Six gasped in shock as he lifted her with ease and started across the inky black puddles. With each step, it let off a loud squish between his toes. “Mono! No! Put me down!” she said squirming in his grasp.

“Come on, Six. Let me just get you past this place then I’ll put you down. Just hold the light up okay?” he said dodging her hand trying to smack his face. “Quit it, this is easier than you tip toeing around the gunk okay?”

“This is embarrassing, Mono!” she said blushing and averting his gaze. The girl just knew he was smiling under that mask. No doubt about it. She glared back at the smug expression of his bag head. “Shut up!”

Mono chuckled, walking across creaky wooden floorboards and ink. Even he had to admit that stepping on the goo wasn’t pleasant to feel but holding the girl felt even better.

Meanwhile, Six held the light in front of them, admitting this was much nicer than getting to touch the mysterious gunk. They kept on walking until she heard something slap the ground in a squishy fashion somewhere in the shadows. Six swung her light to the left and saw what looked like a strange worm. And it was moving towards them with a disgusting squeak!

“Mono!” she cried out in horror. Mono glanced to the left as well and gasped.

“Oh shit!” he cried out running away from the thing. “What is that thing?!” he gasped.

“That’s something we have to avoid. Move it!” she yelled in his ear clinging to his neck now as he sprinted across the ground. He heard more sloshy sounds dropping around them and the kids screamed at the sight of even more worms just falling from the ceiling around them. The boy dodged and jumped over them, running to a bucket to toss first Six up there then himself. The little worms circled them like sharks, squelching and squeaking up at them hungrily.

“Oh they are the worst!” Six whined clinging to his shoulder.

“They’re like living guts.” Mono said getting more grossed out the longer they stayed there. “We have to get out of here.”

“Yeah no shit, sherlock! How? They’re everywhere!” she said shaking his shoulder.

“Light up the area, what's out there? There has to be a door or something nearby right?” he asked, straining his gaze. He felt the bucket shake under their feet and the two clung to each other, nearly losing their balance. “Are they trying to knock us off?!”

“Monoooo…” Six whined in fear. And it was like something in him snapped at her plea. A primal urge to protect her from her fears and carry her away from danger even if it meant hurting himself. Or worse.

“J-Just hang on. I have an idea.” he said. He pulled away from Six to look down at the worms before suddenly jumping off the bucket and running away!

“MONO!?” Six screamed.

“Look for a way out, I’ll distract them!” Mono yelled from the darkness.

“Oh my God, Mono you’re insane!” she said climbing down and doing just that. She had to explore the room as quickly as possible since he was the one in danger. He was blind so she had to act fast.

“Hurry! They’re catching up.” he yelled from somewhere.

“I’m trying, don’t rush me.” she yelled running deeper into the room and then saw a door. The girl gave it a push and it wobbled. “Come on, come on!” she yelled slamming her body harder this time and the door flopped to the ground. “Over here! Quick!” she yelled desperately. Six held her hand up as high as she could, waving it like a beacon for him. “Mono!”

“I’m coming- AH! Get off!” he screamed coming in view. One was latched on his coat but he kept running towards her.

“Ew ew ew, don’t bring that over here!”

“Help me then!” he yelled, yanking off the coat before it could suck on his face. The two ran through the door, an army of slugs at their heels and jumped across a bridge of wood that hung on rope.

Six dropped on her knees while Mono slammed his coat on the ground and started to stomp all over the cloth. “Die die die!” he screamed. He didn’t stop until he was sure the thing stopped moving completely.

Six watched as he panted exhausted from his running. She decided to lift the cloth and gagged, dropping it back on the ground. “Maybe you should have just shook it over the side…”

“Kinda hard to think properly when 20 of these things are on your ass!” he yelled back angrily. He calmed himself down and lifted the coat. Six knew he was frowning as a trail of black goo trailed from the wooden boards. “Just great…”

“Maybe there's a bucket we can find filled with water.” she offered, patting his back. He only sighed in defeat, walking with her holding out his dirty coat. This time, she took his hand as they walked. It didn’t fix his problem, but it certainly cheered him up.

Chapter Text

Six wasn’t wrong. They found a sink eventually after crossing the room of hanging floorboards. Mono happily washed not only his coat but his face and hair as well. Six couldn’t deny that she could use a bath as well. She climbed into her own sink and took off her raincoat and sweater to start scrubbing her arms exposed by her tank top.

“So far, I’m a fan of this place.” Mono said from his sink. He knew enough to not look her way, giving her the privacy she needed.

“You and me both.” she replied, grabbing the soap. The water wasn’t warm but she wasn’t going to complain from a little chilly water. As she was scrubbing she heard Mono jump down to the ground to begin exploring again, starting with the next room. Six sighed, “Stop looking around. You’ll find something dangerous again.”

“I just want to find a way out is all,” he said. He checked the next room finding the toiletries. “Why are you so angry with me looking around?”

“Because it leads to you finding dangerous stuff and getting us in trouble that's why.” she said rubbing her hair from the gunk. Pieces of black goo rubbed off her hair and it came to a point she could run her fingers through her hair again. Gosh it felt nice to have that feeling again.

“And that’s a bad thing? You were the one who wanted to come here in the first place.” he said annoyed. He turned to the doorway, noticing an eye on the door and shuddered at the sight. So weird, but why was it there…?

“Don’t do anything until I get down there!” she yelled, finished her wash and changed back into her sweater and then raincoat. This was far from a good clean but it was better than nothing. She jumped down and hurried to his side before he could get too far from her side. Not that she didn’t trust him, but somehow he had a bad habit of finding things to trigger more problems for them.

“See? You want to explore as much as I do.” he pointed out.

“I wanted to come here, but we’ll explore with my light and my insight this time.” Six said, frowning at him.

“You don’t trust me now?” he exclaimed with hurt in his voice.

“Maybe.” she muttered walking to an electric door at the other end of the room.

“Come on, Six.” Mono pleaded as she tried to pretend to ignore him and figure out this room's puzzle. The boy moved to follow but she snapped her eyes down at him, making him stop. Clearly she wanted her space. By respecting that, he stepped away placing his hands on his hips. “I told you I was sorry. Can’t you let me apologize for that? I didn’t mean for the times I messed with the TV. I didn’t know it would lead to the Thin Man chasing us.”

“What DID you think it would do?” she demanded as she fiddled with the room's puzzle.

“I don’t know.” he said exasperated. “Every time I went near a TV, my body just felt this surge of energy. And it was calling to me. Pulling...and I couldn’t get away. I had to know why it was doing that to me. Nothing ever affected me like those TV’s.” he said looking down at his hands. Mono remembered vividly the feeling of power just overwhelming his entire being, surging into his finger tips. How easy it was to step through the void of screens at a whim. And the moment he faced the Thin Man was when this new found ability was put to the test. It was hard to defeat him, but it was worth it to get to Six. By any means, he would have done anything to get to her.

He tried many times since they left the tower to regain that power again. It left Mono when they burst through that screen to safety. Where it went he didn’t know. It was like when he tried to use every ounce of his power to save her, it evaporated into nothing. Part of him was glad it was gone but another felt those gifts would have helped them escape the city.

But what's more he wanted to know where it came from and why he had it. Why did he get those powers messing with the TV’s? Was it connected to that Thin Man? Why was he there? Why was the tower turning the people into faceless monsters? Could he have done something to change that? So many questions and no answers to any of them…

He looked to her as she waited for him to explain more but then turned away from him in annoyance. “But I swear it doesn’t affect me anymore! I’ve seen many TV’s since we left and I haven’t felt anything. So you don’t have to worry anymore, right?”

The girl didn’t respond, only inspected the electric door. He groaned and then decided to help her figure out this puzzle despite her clear annoyance with him. They went around the room finally getting past the electric door to a playroom of sorts. Toys and small rides filled the area but there wasn’t a single child in sight. It was as unnerving as going to a playground at night. Felt like it was haunted.

“Why would this place have a playroom but have electric doors on them? Isn’t this a place to have fun?” Mono asked aloud picking up one of the wooden blocks.

“Unless they were trying to keep something in here…” Six said darkly. She picked up a piece of paper with a drawing of children on a plate in front of a set of big teeth. It gave her the chills. “Let's get out of here.” she said crumbling up the paper and tossing it aside.

“Only way out is through that door now,” Mono said to another electric door. The two went around the room to turn off the electricity again and slipped past the bars. Going through another corridor they entered a dark room.

“Wonder what's in here now-” Mono started when a bright light flashed on him. The boy froze at the sight, his body becoming stiff and stiffer the longer he stared at the one large glowing eye.

“I...can’t...breathe…” he gasped, feeling his body hardening.

What was going on?!

Chapter Text

Six gasped seeing Mono’s body turning to stone right before her eyes. The girl ran over to grab his arm and yanked him back into the shadows. Thankfully the eye on the wall averted its gaze when Mono flopped back against her. His body returned to normal and he gasped desperately for air. He patted his arms and legs, happy to feel skin and not ashy stone.

“What the hell is going on?!” he cried out. The eye on the wall swooped back at his cry and Six ducked both him and herself behind a pillar to hide. She glanced into the room and saw other small bodies in the room. They were all frozen and a closer look confirmed that all were made of stone. By the layer of dirt around them, they must have been there a long time.

“I’m starting to get an idea what used to be in that room, Mono. And what happened to all the kids that tried to leave that room too.” she said, and then heard the boy gulp a lump in his throat. Something was turning kids to stone. Something so powerful that it's gaze could change somebody's body. If she could have that sort of power…

“That eye is looking at anything that moves,” Mono whispered. “We need to sneak around it somehow.”

“I think we can just go under it.” she said pointing to the wall it hung on. Mono nodded, taking her hand as they snuck underneath the eye, pressing their bodies hard against the wall to avoid its gaze. After a heart beat of watching the light flicker across the room, they made a break for the other side of crates and cages. Soon as they slipped around the corner, the eye swept their way.

“That thing is too fast,” Mono panted out. He gave Six a boast so they could climb up quickly, only taking a breath when they were secure and safe at the top.

“What did it do to you?” Six asked as he was rubbing his arms over and over. Like he was making sure there was still flesh under the sleeve.

“It was just...it felt like everything in me was closing up. That it was changing into something hard. I lost control. I couldn’t move!” he rasped. He lifted his bag hat to even feel his hair, glad to feel it was soft and not hard. “It might sound crazy, but I swear that thing was turning me into stone.” he said looking at her with a tired smile.

Six felt her heart skip a beat. His eyes held so much raw emotion as he confided in her. The last time she saw his face he was scared and dangling over the abyss so she didn’t notice how he actually looked like when smiling comfortably and relaxed. The girl wasn’t used to that face. Just the emotionless bag head that she would berate all the time for being reckless. But with his face now exposed, with pale cheeks and soft sweet dark eyes, she couldn’t feel the same urge to challenge him. Or even hold his gaze. Her head swung away as her cheeks felt warm.

“No, I believe that.” she said nervously.

Mono tilted his head confused by her reaction and realized he was still keeping his bag off his head. He yanked it back on with a stammering “G-Good!” and stood up. Mono told himself she looked at him that way because he had a weird face.

He ignored the butterflies in his stomach at the thought of keeping his mask off maybe just a bit longer. Should he?

Instead, he glanced down the wall of crates they climbed and noticed another one of those little cone heads at the bottom looking back up at him. “Hey! Another nome!” he said running around her to start climbing down to the little guy. Six followed right after him and both dropped in front of a broken trap that covered a hole in the wall. The scamp turned tail and ran. “Wait,” he called and ran in after. The two dropped into a small room, seeing the nome was in front of a picture, quivering. But not because of them.

“Hey little guy what are you…?” Mono started to say before seeing the picture of two nomes standing side by side. The small thing was making soft crying noises under its hat. “Aw…” he said sadly.

Six walked over and felt compelled to help it somehow. Without another word, she scooped up the little nome in her arms and hugged it gently. Mono looked at her in surprise, not expecting such kindness from her. Once the crying nome was settled, she placed it back down on the ground. It scooted closer to her side, staring up at her like it expected another.

Mono frowned. “Hey, what do you think this is? A Kissing Booth?” he said with more bite than he intended to the little guy. It ducked behind Six at his slight aggressive tone, and honestly Mono wasn’t sure where that tone came from himself. Six placed her hands on her hips.

“What’s with you?” Six said. Mono only folded his arms and looked away.

“Nothing…”

“Whatever, so do you see anything in here we can use to get out of here?” she asked looking around the room. She watched the crates and boxes, noticing a lantern on the side of the room. Six lit it up with her lighter and her nome friend walked over to warm its hands on the flame. At least he had something to keep him company when they left.

“No, we should try somewhere else.” Mono said moving to the hole in the wall again to climb out. Just as Six was about to follow suit, she looked down at the ground to see a paper. The creature with the long arms was on the front. Its name was erased but its occupation was left.

“The Janitor”. Six frowned at it and stomped her foot over the photo then went after Mono.

Carefully avoiding the eye, they climbed to the upper level again, coming to a room filled with beds. They didn’t see very well from where they stood, but it looked like there were still bodies on them. They were small and barely moving. The two felt a wave of unease over them.

“What is-” Six started before Mono slapped a hand over her mouth. A door from inside the room of beds opened and there was the strange creature with long arms entering the room.

“The Janitor.” Six gasped against Mono’s fingers. It sniffed the air and turned its head in their direction.

Chapter Text

Six was sure they were done for as Mono pulled her along to duck under one of the beds. To her surprise, the Janitor didn’t chase after them right away. It walked into the room slowly, turning its head in the last location they were at. She understood right away. Even when its head was facing their way, it couldn’t see them. It couldn’t see, period.

Mono nodded his head in the direction of the other side of the room and the two crawled under more beds. They heard a few snores coming from over their heads but they ignored it. Whatever was happening, they could worry about it later when their lives weren’t in danger.

They safely got out of that room and got into another. The boy let out a sigh of relief until he heard Six drop to the ground suddenly. He whirled around. She held her stomach while it growled painfully.

“Six?” he gasped coming to her side. “Come on, we can’t stay here,” he said urgently. He pulled her to her feet and tried to walk her away, holding onto her side. She managed to get into the next room before she cried out and dropped back to the ground.

“Oh no, Six. Come on,” he begged, pulling her on his lap as she laid there.

“It hurts, Mono. Oh my god, it hurts so much!” she whimpered. In her blurred vision, she looked around the room and could have sworn she saw that same shadowy figure on top of some boxes...what was it doing there?

“Come on, Six. We can’t stay here! We have to-”

“I’m dying Mono! I can’t!” she whimpered, clutching his jacket. It felt as if her insides were rotting away into nothing.

The boy’s heart tore in two watching his friend writhe in agony and he couldn’t do anything about it. What could he do? What could he do?

He was just about to panic when something dropped beside them. Looking to his side he saw a piece of meat just laying there on the ground. Confused, he looked up to see a kid behind bars staring down at them.

“What…?” he gasped.

“Go ahead, she needs it more than I do.” they said softly. They sounded so tired though. Or something beyond tiredness. He was confused as to why they sounded so...soulless.

“But why-” he started and then Six moaned again. Mono didn’t think anymore on the matter as he grabbed the food and held it out to Six. When the girl saw the food she grabbed the piece and shoved it into her mouth desperately. Mono rubbed her back as she did so. “That’s it...don’t choke okay?” he said gently. There was a sense of guilt for taking someone else’s food, but he was happier to see his friend in yellow not in pain.

She was done within the minute and pulled away with more strength in her. “Thanks…” she muttered.

“Don’t thank me, thank him.” he said pointing to the kid who no longer stood by the bars. They sat back down at the table, looking every bit like a zombie, staring into space. “Hey, who are you?”

The kid swayed its body but didn’t respond.

“What is this place?” He asked.

“...the Maw.” he rasped out.

“The Maw?” he repeated looking to Six. “What’s the Maw?”

“...Where all the worst things come to rot.”

Mono felt his stomach flip uneasily and his hand reached for Six on instinct. “Then what happens to us?” he asked.

“...To feed.” he said softly.

“Feed? Feed what?” he asked. The whole place was getting to him and he just had to know! He felt Six tug on his hand and he ignored it, banging on the bars. “Tell us, dammit! Feed what?!”

“Mono!” she said, grabbing his jacket. “The Janitor is coming!” she said, pulling.

“But-”

“Let’s GO!” she said yanking harder, making him stumble back. Just in time too. The door they left was starting to creak open. The children scrambled up the tower of boxes to the vent above to slip through. But Mono had so many more questions. He wanted to know what they were going to face. What was in this place? Why were there children there?

Feed what?

Chapter Text

Mono and Six moved through some more rooms, slipping through bars, leaping over chasms, and climbing towering monuments until they took a rest in an empty room. The boy slid down the wall with a groan.

“This place is just a nightmare.” he sighed, holding his head.

“I should have known those flyers were full of bullshit.” Six said quietly to herself. She curled into a ball, holding her legs to her chest gripping her knees. “I really thought that for once, it wasn’t a lie.” she said angrily. “Or maybe I knew the whole time but just wanted to run away from more monsters.”

Mono looked over to her sadly as she stared at her feet.

“I brought us to another hell, Mono.” she whimpered, eyes watering up now. “Let’s face it, we’ll never be free!”

“What? No, no! No you didn’t,” he said crawling over to her side to wrap an arm over her shoulders. He hugged her close, feeling her shoulders shake and buried her legs into her chest. She was so small now that he could easily hold her entire body in his arms.

Six never cried. Never. Was she finally at her breaking point?

“We both ended up here because we were forced to come here. We had no choice. And you thought we could find something to help us. It's not your fault!”

“Yes it is! There are kids here who were taken and were turned into slaves for this nightmare and we’re next!” she wailed.

“No, we won’t.” he said, gripping her tighter. “I promise you, Six. We will not get captured. I will not let that happen. You and I will get out here, just like we did at the tower. We will survive, understand?” he said, pulling away to hold her at arm's length. He tried to convey as much emotion in his voice to make her believe.

The girl sniffled, rubbing at her eyes and Mono pulled his sleeve to rub at her cheeks and nose too.

“Come on, where is my brave girl?” he said. “This place is nothing compared to what we went through before,” he insisted. “Remember when we were at the school? And one of the bullies was about to charge at us? What did you do?”

“...I snapped his neck.” she mumbled quietly.

“That’s right! And when we were being chased by the doctor into the lower levels? Whose idea was it to close the furnace door on him?”

“...Me.”

“And who was it that saved us both from the towers? Who took my sorry butt from that place to escape?”

Six didn’t respond but it looked like her tears were slowing down.

“You are tough and smart, Six.” he continued. He rubbed her cheeks, pushing away some of her dark hair to reveal her hazel eyes. “If anyone can get out of this place alive, it’ll be you for sure. And I’ll make sure that happens okay?” he said, leaning over to press his bagged forehead against hers. “Trust me, okay? Please?”

Six went quiet for a moment before nodding.

“Okay, I trust you Mono…” she said softly.

“Good. Maybe we should rest more, yeah?” he said looking around. “I think we’ll be safe here.”

“Maybe, I am tired.” she said, yawning.

“Yeah...and-” he dug into his pocket and gasped. “Six look!” he squealed, holding up a piece of bread. The same piece from their sandwiches before. “I still have some left!” he said excitedly. “Here,” he said, holding it out to her.

“But wait, what about you?” she asked as the bread was pushed into her hands.

“Don’t worry about me. I can manage.” he said, waving at her. Her stomach grumbled, but it wasn’t as loud as before. Regardless, he didn't want to risk her going through that pain again.

“I think you should eat it before you hit a bad state though.”

When she still looked doubtful, Mono reached over to rub her head. “Don’t worry about me so much. I’m just as tough as you.”

“No you're not,” Six mumbled and Mono laughed. Six whined a bit at his petting but lamented on eating her bread. She couldn’t deny she was growing hungry again. And a snack would be very welcomed for her somber mood.

“Good. Now, let's just sleep.” he said, pulling off his jacket. He looked around the area and then at her. “The floor is kinda cold isn’t it?” he said

“I saw a lantern over there,” she said through a mouthful of bread. Mono glanced behind him and gasped at the sight of a broken box next to a lantern. A perfect place to sleep!

He took her by the hand and led her over, letting her pick a spot first while he lit the oil lamp with her lighter. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. It gave a soft glow and some warmth. He pulled it closer to the box and then crawled inside. Using his jacket, he threw it over her and laid down.

“Oh no, we’re not doing that.” she said. She started to take off her yellow jacket, folding it up into a makeshift pillow for the both of them to use. Then yanked him to her side.

“S-SIX?!” he yelped in surprise, feeling his cheeks heat up under the bag.

“Shut up. We can share the warmth better this way.” she said, throwing the jacket over him as well as herself. “Just..deal with it okay? I know I don’t smell the greatest-”

“NO! NO you smell nice! FINE! I meant fine! You smell fine and dandy I mean...Yeah.” he stammered out, his face much warmer now after that. ‘Way to play it smooth, Mono.’ He thought to himself.

Six however seemed amused, smiling a bit at him, her hazel eyes twinkling under her bangs before she snuggled into his chest, tucking herself under his chin. “Okay, sure. Good night Mono.” she said tiredly.

Mono had to congratulate himself for not exploding right there on the spot. This was the happiest moment of his life. But he kept his cool long enough to wrap an arm over her shoulders.

And for once, she didn’t sock him in the face. Maybe things were getting better between them.

“Good night, Six.” he said softly, the last thing he saw was Six’s glowing face by the firelight.