Archive of Our Own ^beta

Today was a slow day. 

He had realized that when the Eyes didn’t summon him for anything, no calling in his head, no sudden urge to teleport back to the ‘hub’ as it were.  

No, he simply sat in the massive room of flesh and Eyes that made up the true inside of the Tower, lazily watching the hundreds of screens that decorated the alcove in front of him. It was days like these that made him wish that he could leave the Tower of his own volition, to explore the city and see its many sights. But no, the Tower did not want to lose track of him, of its precious ‘Broadcaster’ he sweared that that the Tower was like an overprotective parent in some ways.  

But then again, he knew better than to think about it in that way. 

He didn’t know what the Tower was, what the fleshy eyes and meat that made up its true self were. Even after all this time sitting here and the Eyes feeding him information, he still didn’t have a clue what it was, only that it was extremely old and powerful. Then again, he knew better than to question it, the answers he might get if he asked might not be worth it and besides that he didn’t really care, he’s still getting what he wants at the end of all this. 

Six. 

It seemed so long ago now, but the memories that he had created alongside her were still in his head, seemingly as fresh as ever. The pain was there too though, the anger, the suffering, the hatred, all of it was still present in his skull, constantly rattling inside. He felt all of this inside him, but he kept down inside himself, it served no purpose right now and besides that, all he really wanted was the truth. 

The truth about why he was dropped, why he was betrayed, why he was left to rot with the terrible truth of what he was. He wanted to know the answer straight from her mouth, just so he could spit it back at her and tell her how no answer, no excuse could hope to forgive her of what she had done. 

For now though, he had to entertain himself by watching the decaying city through the screens. 

The city itself used to be special, at least that’s what he thought. Vague memories, imprints of... something, wandered through his mind when he stared at certain places, bringing back foggy memories. 

The scene of a market, food decayed and long gone brought back a taste of something delicious on his tongue, given by someone special. The scene of a park, its playsets and toys rusted and turned to dust brought forth a feeling of freedom and yet also brought a feeling of discomfort and pain. Then finally a scene of a house, simple and plain in design, doors and walls long collapsed brought a feeling of comfort and warmth to him, a figure holding him tight promising him that everything would be alright.  

He scoffed lightly at that last one, how wrong that turned out to be. 

The screen he was watching flickered suddenly, changing to an image of a familiar place, The Hospital. 

His face twitched slightly when the scene appeared, the Hospital he had travelled through wasn’t the only one in the Pale city of course. But this one was... special it seemed, it liked to attract all manner of horrors into its walls, the least of them created by its demented Doctor. The scene however, caused another memory to surface.  

The sound of voices and horrible disgusting sounds accompanied it and Mono remembered the feeling of someone prodding him and cold metal being placed upon his chest and face. He remembered the voices talking about... him? He couldn’t tell, but they sounded concerned about something, like whatever they were talking about was unknown and worrying. He remembered images of twisted faces, other voices asking what was happening... to the city? Again, he did not know.  

He sighed at the memories, he wished he could remember them more clearly. But then again, were they even his memories? 

He remembered the information the Eyes had given him once he accepted his role as the Broadcaster, the revelation of the loops, the constant cycle the Tower had spun to ensure its grip on the world was infinite for whatever purpose it served. It had shaken him quite a bit to learn about the Eyes plan, he had already accepted that his future self-had chased him with the intention of catching him, but to learn that he had done it countless times? That made his static laced skin crawl.  

But it had made him think on the memories he had been given, those of his supposed life before he had become what he knew, how many of them were from one life and how many were simply smashed together? He knew from searching through them that a lot of them couldn’t work together, too many places at certain times and others he simply couldn't imagine himself doing. 

Which of these countless memories was his life was unknown and that scared him slightly, how well did he really know himself? He could barely remember his life before the hideout that burned down, tagging along with those other kids even if they treated him harshly. He couldn’t remember what his life was like before then, the additional memories not helping in the slightest. 

But before he could ruminate further on his unknown past, a harsh noise was heard, like that of a scream distorted a thousand times to create an unholy cacophony.  

But to him it was a common occurrence. 

He turned to look at the source, that being one of the many TV’s lodged in the fleshy alcove. The boxes made the sound whenever a person unaffected by the signal was detected, an alarm that was intended to ensure that nobody escaped the broadcast. With a grunt, he turned his head to look at the massive eye that hung from the top of the alcove, watching every screen. 

But he was very surprised to see it was doing something else. 

The eye was glaring at the TV in question, its gaze entirely focused on it. Mono was extremely confused by what he was seeing, the Eyes had never done anything like this before. Sure, he had seen them stare at the screens or him before, usually to indicate they wanted something doing or to focus on something. But never this, never staring at a screen with a level of suspicion and anger he had never seen before. 

He shook his head, it was probably nothing, but he wanted to make sure. 

“Is something wrong?” He called out the Eyes. 

The massive eye subdued its gaze as it swiveled over to him, the relaxed and curious look it usually held returning. It held his gaze for a second before he felt a familiar sensation at the back of his skull, as knowledge of what he needed to know was directly forced into his head. 

Unknown variable, instance of a child that was never present, a change in the cycles . 

Mono processed the information for a second before responding. “So a child is present where they shouldn’t be?” He questioned. “Aren't you overreacting a bit, its changed before, hasn’t it?” 

The eye stared at him before the feeling returned. 

Correct, cycles change, child present was simply surprising, never seen in that district before, must always be observant for drastic changes.  

Mono nodded his head at the eye. “You want me to go out then?” He asked.  

Correct, but do not hand to hub, bring back to observatory, information is needed to ensure change does not happen again.  

That was new as well, he had never heard the Eyes wanting someone, be it child or adult, brought back to the observatory where he sat. He shifted through the memories of his previous selves, seeing if anything like this had happened before, but nothing really stood out. 

He shrugged mentally, if the Eyes wanted something done there was no sense in denying them, at least it would let him get out for a short while. 

Not like he could deny them if he wanted. 

He pushed himself off the chair with a sigh, his joints creaking slightly as he did. He then walked over to the TV that was causing all the ruckus, taking in the scene where it showed. The picture box displayed one of the outer districts of the city, a place where the buildings boarded the forest that surrounded the city. In fact, he recognized some of the buildings and where they met the forest was close to where he had originally landed with- 

He shook his head; it was best not to think about it. 

Something he did notice however, was that he could not see the child who caused the disturbance through the screen, more than likely having already ran off. He shrugged, more time outside he supposed. 

Placing both hands upon the screen he felt the familiar tug of his powers pulling him through the Towers broadcast, taking him to the destination he desired. Within a few short seconds he felt his hands press upon the other side and with a simple shove of static, he breached the screen. 

He felt his hands touch wet but not soaked stone and with a pull, brought himself fully out of the TV, folding himself out to his full height. Mono took a second to let his eyes adjust to his surroundings before looking around. 

Thankfully it was one of the rare days in the city when it wasn’t raining, though that still didn’t help the state the district was in. 

The district itself was very much in disrepair like the rest of the city, however the buildings were of a shoddier quality compared to the houses that resided further in the city, clearly marking the area as one made for those less fortunate than others. The houses themselves barley stood, flora clearly growing on many of them and what shops also stood had clearly seen MUCH better days. He also saw a bridge that connected the city to the forest on the other side, the large body of water that surrounded the city flowing underneath it. 

He turned his gaze away from it back to the task at hand, finding this ‘rogue’ child.  

Mono already knew it was pointless to look in the immediate area, the child had already left so it was time to rely on a different method of finding them. He closed his eyes and felt out the signal, the broadcast that raced through the air tingling the skin of any who were caught in it. The TV’s that littered the city could be used for more than just transport or hypnotization, they could also be used as sensors, like extending one’s skin to detect even the slightest disturbance. 

That is what he sought to do and did, extending his influence out he patiently waited for something to ‘brush’ past any of the TVs that littered the streets. He waited for a few minutes, feeling nothing but the cold wind brush his face. 

Then, he felt it. 

A tiny hand brushing past a screen, lingering for not even a second, but long enough for him to feel it. 

He felt through the static to the TV in question, pinpointing its location in the immediate area to be past the bridge he had seen. Opening his eyes and cracking his neck, Mono started his long legs in the way of the screen. Walking to the destination when time was of the essence would seem stupid to some, but Mono wanted to enjoy what little time he could out here. 

Plus, he wasn’t going to walk all the way there, he would mix in the occasional teleport as well.  

Within a much shorter span of time than was physically possible he arrived at the screen. It stood outside another street, slightly waterlogged and the street itself dominated by only one building, the rest that once stood having already fallen to rubble. The building in question was an apartment building like many in the city, though much smaller in scale, only large to house a few dozen people compared to the others of the city.  

Mono had a feeling that the child he was hunting was in there, it was the only place standing for at least a couple of streets and he doubted the child could have gotten that far. Indeed, right on cue whilst looking up at the building, he saw through one of the broken windows on the fourth floor a silhouette. 

The small and distinctive silhouette of a child.  

Theory proven right, he began to work into the apartment complex, having to quite roughly shove the door inwards to get it to open. Once inside, he began his ascent up the stairs, placing his feet with care to avoid some of the steps that looked more rotted than others. Something he couldn’t prevent however, was the sound of wood creaking from his steps.  

Mono knew that he was incredibly thin and despite his size he weighed next to nothing, a side effect of not requiring any sustenance with the Eyes changing how his body worked, becoming something... more and less at the same time. Yet even with his light weight he still made the boards creek, letting the child know well in advance that he was coming. 

As he reached the stairs that would take him to the fourth floor, he noticed that they had completely rotted away, leaving a massive gap that he couldn’t hope to cross even with his size. But he gave it no heed and instead simply focused his powers onto the ledge across from him and within a second, he was already standing there. 

He then turned to one of the doors that made up the hallway of the fourth floor, seeing it already open compared to the rest which were still closed. Mono made his way over to it, pushing it open and having to briefly duck his head to fit under the doorway.  

The apartment itself was nothing special, mostly filled with the standard furnishings that many of the other apartments had. Chairs, a sofa, TV, table, a weird looking teddy bear that looked like the one from the Hospital on top of the table, a fridg- 

Wait. 

Weird looking teddy bear? 

He turned his wandering gaze to the table in question and sure enough there was indeed a teddy bear resembling the one that he had seen in the Hospital. He looked around the room, trying to see if the child was hiding anywhere in the apartment, his mind thinking that this was some kind of distraction. But he saw nothing else out of place and he could hear nothing else, not even breathing.  

With a mental shrug, he strode over to the stuffed animal appraising it for a second, it looked very similar to the one from the Hospital, right down to the messed-up stitching on the eyes. He looked at it for a few more seconds before reaching out, his fingers coiling around the bear's entire torso and lifting it up. 

But when he gripped the bear, he noticed something. He could feel his hands crinkling paper on the back of the bear, there was something tapped to the back of it. 

Confused, Mono spun the bear around in his hand and sure enough there was a sheet of paper stuck to the back of it, though it was currently being blocked by his hand still. With a roll of his eyes, he gripped the bear with his other hand and removed the one blocking the paper. 

He then nearly dropped the bear out of shock. 

Because drawn on the paper, was a picture of him . 

Not just him though, him when he was a child, paper bag and trench coat included. 

The drawing had clearly been drawn with crayon and simply depicted him standing in a field, grass surrounding him and a nice little tree and Sun drawn in the background. All and all it was a standard drawing that a child would make, heck he was pretty sure it was something he would have drawn all that time ago. 

No, the reason why he was shocked was because of what it implied.  

Mono knew that throughout his journey in the Pale city that he had not seen any other child, only Six and she was being held in the Hunters basement outside the city. The only other kids he had seen had been dead and Mono was very much sure that all those children he knew in the hideout had been killed. Not only that but the drawing looked new as well. 

That left him with a burning question, who had drawn it? 

Before he could ponder further on it, he felt a disturbance that made him drop the bear to the floor. Not a disturbance in the room though, it was from outside. He was still linked to the TV outside and something had brushed past it once more and sent signals down his spine. 

With a quick turn, Mono teleported towards the window he had looked through before, the glass shattered with only remnants remaining inside the frame. He looked out of the window; towards the end of the street he had come from to see the last sliver of a child's foot go racing around the corner. He looked at the corner for a few seconds in confusion before looking back at the apartment he was in. 

How had the child gotten past him? The stairs going down were broken and too wide for a child to jump across and the outside of the building had no viable ledges to climb down, the drainpipes as well were not ideal. He shook his head; it didn’t matter how they got down, all that mattered was catching up to them. 

He then teleported back to the center of the living room, right in front of the TV that dominated the space. He reached out pressing the power button for the box, which thankfully turned on without a hitch. Once more he pressed his hands on the glass and within a few short seconds found himself coming out of the TV at the end of the street.  

Once he managed to get himself fully out, he started to stride in the direction the child had gone, teleporting along the way more than usual and hoping that the child made the mistake of touching more of the screens along the streets. After a short while, much shorter than the walk he taken to get to the place he had been, he arrived back near the beginning of the district where he had started, the bridge opposite it. 

Mono looked around in slight disbelief, had the child really avoided him? Had they really managed to avoid every single screen in the streets and in the buildings, it didn’t make any sense to him. He looked around the district once more, seeing nothing out of the ordinary for the decayed district and sensing no screens activated. 

But then as he was looking around, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A tiny figure, a silhouette, making their way into the forest on the other side of the bridge. 

He quickly turned his head fully to capture the child in his vision, wanting to get a better look at them before they left his vision. But when he did, he felt something get lodged in his throat as he caught sight of the child, more specifically what they were wearing. 

A bright yellow raincoat. 

Mono felt his eyes widen at the child's retreating form, frozen completely on the spot from the sight. As he stood there, the child simply paused at the border of the forest for a single second as if regarding something, before they disappeared into the trees. He simply continued to stand there, staring into the trees where they had gone, wondering only one thing. 

Was it her? 

Was that Six? 

He felt his mind race with questions, emotions and theories, each relating to the sight he had seen. It couldn’t be Six right? Any child could wear a yellow raincoat and look similar to her. There was also the issue that it wasn’t time for him to meet Six yet, he knew that. Yet there was a nagging feeling in his head, something telling him to follow them. He thought back to the apartment, the drawing of him on the bear, that was just a coincidence. 

Right? 

Yet still he felt something inside him, the hatred and resentment that he bore towards her was there, telling him to follow them, to make sure that his hypothesis was true. 

In the end, he complied. 

He started to walk towards the bridge, his feet producing metal clangs as they began to meet the bridge's iron construction. Yet as he did, he felt a familiar presence entering his skull, the feeling of information being directly broadcasted into it. 

Inquiry: where are you going?  

Mono turned his head to the city behind him, as if it was the city itself that had spoken to him. 

“I’m still following the child.” He replied, tilting his head towards the forest in front of him. “They went into the forest.” 

Would not recommend, large area of flora does not possess nodes and can interfere with signal.  

Nodes, what the Eyes referred to the TVs as, were crucial to maintaining its broadcast over a large area. He knew that the further away from the Tower the signal got, the weaker it became. The TVs acted as relays, strengthening the signal and allowing it to be broadcasted over a much larger area. The forest lacked a lot of TVs, only the occasional cabin having access to one and even then, it didn’t provide much for the signal. 

“So you don’t want me to find the child then?” He asked, knowing that if this had been any other child he would have not bothered trying to argue going into the forest. 

But part of him needed to confirm what he saw. 

There was a brief silence that followed his question, before the feeling returned to his skull, but this time there was more pressure behind it, making his mind shrink back in pain slightly. 

Incorrect, must continue objective, only pointing out that signal will be weaker, will result in fewer updates, direct observation will become more difficult.  

“Meaning?” He asked once more, a slight bite entering his words. 

He felt his head ring once more, actually having to place a palm to his head in an attempt to calm the pain down. 

Meaning orders must not be disobeyed, signal will be weaker, but you will still be felt, stray too far and forced recalling will be issued.  

He felt himself grimace at those words; he didn’t need to be reminded of that. 

Still, it meant that he had permission to enter the forest and as such continued walking across the bridge, his feet eventually meeting a broken and dirt-covered road. Eventually he reached the border of the forest, the tall trees giving way to bushes and tall grass.  

He took a deep breath of the fresh air, the smell of flora and fauna filling his nostrils, a pleasant scent he had not felt in a long time. He then stepped into the forest, the grass beneath his feet rustling as he did.  

Mono knew for a fact that finding the child in the forest would be impossible, there were too many places to hide in such a large area meant that no matter how long he searched he would never find them. But still, part of him felt he needed to confirm what he saw and getting to explore the forest for a while wasn’t bad either. 

Taking a step forward, he began to explore the large forest, taking in the many sights and sounds he had so dearly missed. He walked between the trees that once towered over him as a child, they were still tall of course, but no longer did he feel so insignificant next to them. He heard the sound of a soft breeze that passed through the trees, accompanied by the calls of birds, sounds that he had not heard in so long. 

He felt a ghost of a smile pass on his lips, he wished he could enjoy it more. But as he looked around, he noticed something on one of the trees. He approached the tree in question and upon closer inspection realized that what he had seen was a heart carved in the trees bark. 

With the initials ‘S & M’ carved into the center of it. 

Mono felt himself taking a step back from the tree, his suspicions were starting to seem true and his mind raced with questions and emotions, trying its best to make sense of what he was seeing. He looked around once more and noticed another tree with the exact same initials and heart carved into the wood. 

He felt himself walking towards the tree and as he did noticed that another tree behind this one had the exact same thing carved into it as well. Confused, he changed course and then noticed that there was a line of trees, all with the exact same thing done to them. 

A trail, something meant to be followed. 

Mono narrowed his eyes at the trail, someone was trying to lead him somewhere, for what purpose he didn’t know. Yet the nagging voice at the back of his head told him to follow, to find who did it, to find her .  

He shook his head at that thought, it wasn’t her, it couldn’t be her. 

Yet still he heeded the voice and followed the trail.  

He walked for a while following the trail of trees with hearts carved into them, his head acting like it was on a swivel, constantly turning in every direction looking for something, anything that looked like it was out of place.  

Then finally, he saw the trail of trees carved with hearts end at a clearing, the trees parting and from what he could see there was nothing that stood for alarm. Yet still he held back from going any further, the hairs on his neck were stood straight and his breath came out uneven. He felt nervous, anxious, yet he didn’t know why, he had seen nothing, but his body was reacting like something was wrong. 

He shook his head, he was the Broadcaster for crying out loud and whilst he might not enjoy that title, he knew that he had the power to challenge anything that might threaten him. He took a calming breath to still his nerves before he stepped forward into the clearing.  

The clearing itself was very much barren, covered in naught but grass and few rocks dotted about, the trees surrounding it forming a misshapen circle that enclosed it. Yet at the center of it all stood one thing, one object that juxtaposed everything that surrounded it.  

A single TV, screen cracked and knob broken. 

He blinked at the sight, looking around seeing nor hearing nothing out of the ordinary before turning his gaze back to the TV. Was there really nothing out here? Had he been following the wrong trail?  Was it a diversion, a trap meant to get his attention somewhere else? Was she really not he- 

His thoughts stopped when two tiny hands appeared on the other side of TV where he could not see, grasping at the edge to pull Somone up. He watched with bated breath as the owner of the hands pulled themselves on top of the TV, revealing them fully. 

The figure stood on the TV staring at him with eyes hidden beneath a yellow hood. Yet despite their eyes being hidden, Mono knew immediately it was her. 

Six  

She was here, standing right in front of him so brazenly, simply staring at him. Mono simply stared back, all thoughts halted, his mind seemingly unable to comprehend the sight before him. 

His body however, was able to comprehend it and reacted accordingly. 

He felt it burn with anger towards her, making his skin itch and his blood boil and before he knew it, he felt static power congeal in his hands. He thrust them forward, hoping to grasp the traitor and pull her into his hands, like other versions of him had done before. 

However, as soon as the static reached her, something else happened. 

She thrusted her hands forward as well, releasing what could only be described as liquid shadow from her hands that caught the attack and halted in its place.  

Mono widened his eyes in shock, since when did Six have powers?! 

He mentally steeled himself, it didn’t matter that she had powers, apparently. All that mattered was catching her and paying her back for all she done. As such, he responded to her power by forcing more of his own into the attack, trying to overwhelm her and break through the shadowy power. 

Six herself seemed to recoil slightly from the increased power, but seemingly regained her footing after a second. He felt himself grow annoyed at her defiance, she couldn’t keep this up forever, right? It would only be a matter of time before she failed, he had the power of the Eyes behind him, he could- 

“Mono” 

He felt something inside himself go cold as he heard his own name being spoken. 

His own name that he had not heard being said by anyone but himself for such a long time. 

Now, she had said it like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t dealt great pain unjustly onto him. 

It made his heart pump nothing but liquid anger into his veins, overrode whatever sense he had in not speaking to her. 

“Six” He spat back, the anger in his voice palpable and thick. 

“Mono, please you need to listen to me.” She said, sounding somewhat different, something like... concern? In her voice, but he didn’t care. 

“Listen?” He asked incredulously, the anger behind his voice leaking through, making his words sound like static filled nonsense. “The last thing I'll do on this damned Earth is listen to you!” 

Six seemed to shake her head at his words. “You need to please.” She... begged? Something he had never heard from her before. “I know I hurt you, but you need to-” 

“Hurt me?” He responded, disbelief in his voice along with anger that once more spiked in response to her talking. “Hurt me?!” 

Mono felt himself pour his anger into the static, resulting in a massive blast that ended the stalemate, sending Six flying into the grass and causing himself to skid backwards slightly. As soon as he regained his footing, he strode towards the knocked down Six. 

“I trusted you!” He said, as he strode over the TV. “I thought I could rely on you, that you were my friend!” 

By the time he got over to her, Six had already gotten up and stared up at his lanky form.  

“But it turns out you weren’t” He hissed out as he towered over her. “Instead, all I got was a monster pretending to be one. 

Six actually seemed to flinch at his words as if physically struck.  

“I know that.” Six replied, her voice seeming to struggle in keeping a consistent tone. “I know you trusted me as a friend, that I betrayed you, left you to die in that place, but-” 

Mono lunged at the girl with his hands in an attempt to grasp her, but she proved too fast for him as she slid under his legs. 

“You know?” He asked sarcastically. 

He felt his face shift into a rage filled snarl as he turned around. “You know NOTHING!” He shouted, his throat itching slightly from the pain of not being used properly for so long.  

“I was alone in there” He began, hatred seeping into his words. “Alone with nothing but the thoughts of what you had done, languishing in the dark, unable to anything .” 

“I sat there for days, weeks, months, thinking about nothing but you, about all that we did together.” He explained, slowly walking towards her with long steps. 

“And realizing how it meant nothing to you.” He said, pointing an accusatory finger at her as she did her best to back up from him. 

“I looked back at everything we did, every single moment where I trusted you, where I confided in you, where I believed everything you said and told myself we could make it out together .”  

He continued to approach her, his steps forcing her to dodge lest she be crushed under heel.  

“I looked at those memories, those little hopes that I held onto when I believed you were my friend, using them as a light to keep me going through this forsaken world.” He said, placing a single hand onto his chest. 

“And I watched as they all burnt out, when I realized you had used me, that you didn’t see me as a friend, but a tool, a toy to be used and then thrown away.” 

He watched as Six’s face morphed into something resembling guilt and regret, but he continued on. 

“I had to watch as everything I believed in was taken away from me, stripped from my person, my soul, as I turned into... this” He gestured to his person, to his body that despite being his own still scared and disgusted him. 

“You didn’t hurt me Six, you destroyed me, ruined who I was” He finished, his throat raw from his rant. 

Yet, he still had one more thing he had to say. 

“And for what?” He asked, the question that had burned in his mind for so long since he had been dropped. “What possible reason could you have for abandoning me?” 

As he spoke, he faked reaching out for her, causing the girl to throw up her hands to project the shadowy power forward to protect herself. But as soon as she did, he focused his mind and within a second appeared behind her. The girl quickly realized that he had disappeared and spun her head around so fast it might have come off. Her eyes widened as she saw his hand mere moments away from her face, she thrust her hands forward, the shadowy power coming forth to protect her. 

But it was too late. 

His hand grasped her and pinned her arms to her side, as he lifted the struggling Six up into the air. He watched her with a gaze of cold hatred, watching her attempts to get free. 

“Answer me” He demanded, squeezing the girl slightly to cause her to focus on his words. Six’s hood fell back, revealing her face and hidden red eyes to him, as they peered from behind her bangs. 

Six looked back at him, her eyes unreadable and yet her face portrayed something he had never seen before, sadness. Her face was downtrodden, a look of complete misery and regret that he had seldom seen on only himself. Yet it wasn’t the type of reaction that he expected, for he had expected a survivor like Six to kick and scream, try desperately to escape his grasp. 

Yet she didn’t, instead she looked... resigned, as if she had come to some terrible truth that made her not want to escape her death. Then, her mouth moved, words forming that were nearly inaudible. 

“What was that?” He asked, a fake sense of excitement entering his voice, as he readied himself to throw whatever excuse she had into the dirt. “I didn’t quite catch it.” 

She opened her mouth once more, the words spilling out and reaching his ear. 

“Nothing.” 

He paused at her reply, replaying it in his head and double checking what he had just heard. “What?” 

“Nothing!” She said again, the volume of her voice startling him for a second. “What reason could I ever give to explain what I did?!” 

Mono watched with a blank face, emotions unsure in his heart and soul as he watched something that he, nor any version of him had ever witnessed before. 

Six, breaking down.

She had tried. 

She really had. 

But he wouldn’t listen. 

Then again, it was understandable. 

She had listened to his rant, to his speech about what she had done to him. She had listened to every single word and felt as each one cut into her cold heart like a butcher's knife through meat. Six had never been one for caring about others, Mono had been the only one she had ever done that with. Which made every single hate filled line cut into her with pain she had never experienced before. 

And now, she had failed. Failed to break through to him, failed to liberate herself and him from this cycle of pain and misery that she had perpetuated.  

But if she was going to die, she would not die with a heavy heart. 

She felt like he was owed some form of reason or excuse for what she did, even if it was worthless. 

“I did it because I was weak” She began, her lips quivering and voice wavering. “I did it because I thought you were a monster, because I was weak” 

Mono simply watched her, saying nothing. 

“I dropped you because I was scared, scared because you hurt me, even though I knew you would have never done it if you had a choice”  

“I dropped you because I'm a monster, because I came to an answer that no sane person would ever come to, thinking you were him when I had no reason to think that.” Her voice had now lost all confidence, reduced to a broken tone that she had never used. 

“I-” Her voice broke with a sob, interrupting her. “I dropped you because I was a coward, who blamed you for all the horrible things in the city, when you had no control over them.” 

Finally, the damn broke and Six felt tears run down her face for the first time in forever, as she let the emotions she had kept down loose. 

“I did it because I was a terrible friend!” She cried out. “Because I didn’t realize how much you did for me, how much you cared about me.” 

She hung her head low, the tears hitting the grass below. “And how much I cared about you.” 

Six didn’t bother trying to lift her head to look at him, she didn’t want to see his disappointed and hate filled face anymore. She desperately wanted her friend back, the one who cared about her and would endure the world to keep the both of them safe. 

But he wasn’t here anymore. 

She felt truly lost and alone, something she hated to feel because it wasn’t her . Six had been a loner as far back as she could remember and yet he had come into her life and introduced her to friendship when she hadn’t wanted it. Now, she could barely think straight, all because her friend was truly gone. 

She didn’t want to feel it anymore, it hurt too much, she wasn’t meant for this emotional turmoil. 

Without lifting her head, Six asked him one thing only. 

“Please, just make it end” She pleaded, something she thought would never pass her lips. “It hurts too much, I don’t want to feel it anymore, please.”  

She squeezed her eyes shut. 

“I don’t want to feel my failure anymore” 

For a few seconds, Six heard nothing but the sound of the breeze passing through the forest. 

Then the next thing she knew she was being hurled towards the TV. 

She hit the wooden frame with a harsh thud, pain blossoming in her back and causing her to release an audible hiss of pain. Six looked up to see the harsh glare of her former friend looking down on her, the fury on his face palpable. 

“You WANT me to kill you?” He asked incredulously “After everything you put me through, you think you can just have the easy way ou-” 

His words died, however, once he saw something on the ground that made his heart quiver in his chest cavity. 

A paper bag. 

Not just any paper bag though, HIS paper bag. 

Six looked down at her pockets, realizing that it must have come out when he threw her. She looked back to the face of her former friend, watching as his face went through a myriad of emotions as he tried to understand what he was seeing. 

Finally, he reached and took the paper bag in his hands, laying it on the palm of one of them.  

It looked so small next to him now, the bag barley covering the size of his palm. 

Mono looked down at the bag in his hands, knowing in his mind that it was the same one he had always worn, he could just tell. Yet, as he looked at it he realized just how much of a state it was in. The bag had several tears and marks that had caused it damage over time, several of which had seen measures to repair them. Tape, plasters, stickers, all had been used to try and keep the bag together and had seemingly worked. 

Someone had worked hard to keep this tiny piece of disposable paper that once covered his face intact. Yet there was only person that could have... 

Mono turned his gaze once more to the crying girl on the ground. 

Had Six...? 

No, she couldn’t have... 

Right? 

But she was the only one here, the only one who he had seen. 

The only one who could have... 

“Why?” 

Six blinked at his words, her tears obscuring him slightly. 

“Why would you keep this?” He asked, his voice losing most of its anger, replaced by a sense of confusion. 

“I-” Six stammered for a moment, the words not forming correctly in her mouth as she finally replied. “I missed you, it was entirely selfish and wrong, but I missed you” She admitted, her voice utterly broken and painfilled. 

Mono for the first time, listened to Six’s pain filled voice, the way she sounded completely broken and defeated, how she looked nearly dead, body void of life.  

She looked like... him, back when he was in the Tower. 

He looked down at the bag in his hands, thinking about how long she must have carried it around for it be in this state and how it made no sense for her to carry it. If Six truly hated him, why would she carry it around? It would have made more sense to destroy it, rip it apart so nothing of him remained. Yet instead, she chose to carry it around when it offered nothing to her. 

Except comfort. 

‘No’ He thought to himself. ‘She wouldn’t do that, right?’ 

But then his thoughts went back to her cries, to her tear-filled voice and face as she screamed out every reason he had ever imagined her saying. 

And how she didn’t blame him, but herself. 

‘I did it because I was a terrible friend!’  

‘Because I'm a monster’  

‘Because I was weak’  

‘Because I was scared’  

Mono clenched his other hand with a grip strong enough to draw blood, his emotions and thoughts a whirlwind in his head. 

He should have just killed her there and then, reduced her to paste the instant he saw her. Then he wouldn’t be having to deal with this, with these emotions, these doubts, fears and scenarios that played in his head, then he wouldn’t have to deal with these mistakes. The pain that he felt, the anger, the hatred, THIS WAS ALL HER FAU- 

He sighed. 

A true, heavy sigh that carried the exhaustion of a thousand sleepless nights. 

He brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his eyes, trying to ease the fatigue that ate away at him constantly. 

When did his revenge become so complicated? 

He sighed once more before moving his lanky form over to the discarded TV and with some difficulty, sat himself down, his legs sprawling out slightly as he held his face in his hand. He tried to sort through the miasma of emotions in his head, trying to make sense of it all. As he did, he heard the sound of a small form pulling themselves onto the TV and sitting themselves down next to him. 

For a while, he said nothing, as he tried to understand what was happening to him. 

Finally, he removed his hand to stare at the girl next to him. Her hood was still down, her face doing the same as she stared at the grass in front of her, her eyes glazed over slightly. He stared at her for a few seconds before speaking. 

“I could still kill you, you know?” 

Six simply gave a tired sound of acknowledgement and slow nod, seemingly not bothered by the casual threat. 

Mono looked at her with weary eyes, realizing that she was just as tired as he was. 

Tired of what though? He couldn’t say. 

For a while they simply sat there, neither bothering to speak or move. Instead, they simply remained idle, both trying to make sense of what was happening. 

Then finally... 

“I know about the loops” 

Mono snapped his head to Six, his eyebrows currently occupying his hairline “What?” 

Without looking up, Six spoke again. “I know about them, the cycles, of me dropping you.” 

Mono digested the information, taking it in and analyzing it to the best of his abilities. 

He was still confused, so he asked again. “You know about them?” 

Six sighed, her body heaving with her. “Apparently.” 

He tilted his head in confusion. “Apparently?” 

The girl shrugged her shoulders. “I only learnt about them a couple of months ago, back across the eastern coast.” 

“How did you learn about them across there?” He asked. 

Six brought her head up slightly to stare straight ahead, seemingly still afraid to look at him. “The Ferryman told me” 

“The Ferryman?” He replied, confusion wrapped around his words. What did the infamous kidnapper of children know about the loops? As far as he knew from campfire myths, the Ferryman was simply a monster who took children to places unknown. 

“What does he know about them? 

“Everything” She replied without missing a beat. “He works for the Tower, it hires him to keep an eye on me and other kids that are important to the loops, gives him all the information he needs to do his job every cycle.” 

Mono pulled a face as he took in the new information about the Ferryman. Was he the agent the Eyes told him about? He remembered some time ago asking the Eyes about himself, wondering how he alone could maintain the cycles, even questioning the Eyes themselves how they could keep everything in check. 

They simply responded as they always did, information directly into his skull. 

There are more like you, other agents, not exact copies, but there are many others who carry out tasks to ensure the cycles safety.  

It made sense, even if that meant that the Ferryman was in the same boat as him. 

But that left another question. 

“He told you about them?” He asked in slight disbelief, if the Ferryman’s job was to keep an eye on Six, then surely telling her everything kind of defeated the point. 

Six nodded. “He did and it turns out, he does so Every. Single. Cycle.” She said, punctuating every single word with a harsh tone. 

Mono felt a twinge of anger resurface in his chest, she learnt about the cycle every time? Before he could probe further however, Six did something he did not expect. 

She laughed. 

It was not a laugh of enjoyment or happiness however. 

 It was a hollow laugh, devoid of any humor or peace, the laugh that people sung when they truly realized the weight of a situation or when they saw the end that awaited them. A laugh that should not have to be sung by a girl as young as Six. 

“And you know what's funny?” She asked, fake amusement in her voice, covering the sorrow she felt. “Every single time I learnt about it, I ran, I hid from it, thinking I could escape it, thinking I could outsmart the Tower, never realizing how stupid it was to try.” 

She sighed again. “And never trying to save you.” 

Mono felt a frown come to his face, she never tried to save him or change the cycles, even when she learnt about it? It made his blood boil slightly to hear it from her mouth. But then why was she here now? What had changed in the cycles to make her try? 

He decided to ask. “What changed?” 

Six turned her head just enough to give him a quick glance before looking forward again. “I don’t know, you, I guess?” 

He felt his eyebrow raise itself again. “Me?” 

She gave a noise of acknowledgment. “I thought about how much pain I must have put you through, dropping you and keeping this cycle going on and on, hurting you and myself again and again.” 

She sighed once more. “All because I just wanted to survive, without realizing what that meant.” 

Mono considered her last few words, about how she just wanted to survive through this hellish world. Could he blame her for just wanting to survive? For wanting to try their best to make it through the pain and misery? 

No, he couldn’t. Everyone had the right to try and live though this world. 

“So that why you’re here?” He asked. “To try and break the cycle that’s been going on for who knows how long, to free us from it?” 

Six finally turned fully to look at him, no longer crying but her eyes still slightly red as she shook her head. “To free YOU from it.” She corrected. 

Mono felt a twinge of something in his chest, a slight flicker of warmth that reminded him of better days. She had come back for him? 

He felt his mind scream at him, that what he was hearing was all lies, that this was just a trick to hurt him again. Kill her now was what the voice in his screamed, be rid of her before you suffer any more. 

He scoffed at the voice, hurt him more? He had already suffered enough, nothing could hurt him now. Besides what else did he have to lose? 

He turned to look at her once more. “You could still try, if you want.” 

He watched as Six spun her head around to look at him, a look of happy disbelief on her face, as a small smile came to her face. 

And despite how angry his heart remained at her, he still felt his lips turn upwards slightly. 

He still had one burning question however. 

“Since when did you have powers?” 

Six’s look of happiness was quickly replaced by one of confusion, more than likely because it was the first question he asked in a neutral tone. 

Still, she replied regardless. “Since I went to the Maw, I get them every cycle from there.”  

Mono was slightly surprised by that; he knew that Six got taken somewhere, the Eyes told him as much. He didn’t expect it to be the Maw though, the sea bound restaurant that served only the darkest desires of the human mind. It proved that Six was still the survivor he knew her as. 

The girl in question stood up fully and faced him, giving him her full attention. “So, how do we break the loops?” 

He looked at her with a face of uncertainty as he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”  

Six’s face morphed into one of complete disbelief. “You don’t KNOW?” 

Mono frowned slightly. “No, I don’t know.” He replied, a slight amount of sass entering his voice. “Do YOU know?” 

Six pulled a face before she replied. “I mean... can't you just not chase them when they come through the city?” Her face then took on a look of confusion. “Wait, is it them or us, I mean they ARE us, right? So it would be us.” 

He shook his head in slight amusement. “Yes, it is US and no, I can’t just not chase them.” 

She tiled her head slightly. “Why not?” 

The expected sigh came from his lips as he replied. “Because despite how it looks, the Eyes have a lot more control over me then what you may think.” 

Six said nothing, instead gesturing for him to explain. 

“The Eyes have me on a kind of... leash.” He explained. “If I stary too far from doing something or it feels like I'm not doing it correctly, they can ‘pull’ the leash and force me to do it down to a surgical level of precision.” 

Six frowned at that. “Has it already done that?” 

He shook his head. “I haven’t stepped out of line enough to warrant it, best I’ve done is get mildly tortured for it.”  

“But previous versions of me did, some of the earlier ones... I think, back when I was still trying to break out.” 

He looked out ahead, into the dense trees. “But it seems over time that I just... gave up.” 

He saw Six in the peripheral of his vision look away from him, more than likely blaming herself for the misery he suffered. Though even if he wanted to be charitable, most of it still was. 

Six then shook her head before looking back at him. “So, then all we need to do is break the leash then, don’t we?” 

Mono gave an exasperated sigh at that. “If only it were that easy.” He looked at the bag in his hand as he went to continue. “The Eyes are MUCH stronger than me, I still don’t know what they are and just how strong they are, but they could certainly overpower any attempt to break free.” 

A face of intense thinking came to his former friend’s face. “There must be something we can do to break it...” 

“Doubtful.” He replied.  

Six turned to look at him with an annoyed face. “So what? You're just going to give up and let this cycle continue? That’s not the Mono I know.” 

He turned to face her with his own scowl. “The Mono you knew is dead, remember? You killed him when you dropped him.” 

Her face went to one of fury, before it switched to one filled with remorse, as she switched her gaze to the grass below once more. 

Mono sighed at himself, a slight amount of guilt entering his words. “Look, unless you know a way to weaken the leash or the Eyes themselves, it's not going to happen.” 

A pause. 

“I'm sorry” 

Six felt herself wanting to scream, even after managing to gain some of his trust there was still no way to free him? 

It wasn’t fair, why did the world feel like it needed to torture the two of them? Deny them happiness that they surely deserved for everything they had suffered, him especially. It made her heart beat in rapid succession with anger, her mind becoming blocked of rational thought as the shadowy liquid slowly seeped into her vision and coated her- 

Wait. 

Her vision became unclouded, as she pooled the shadow into her hand to observe it. She did not know where this power came from, whether the Lady had always possessed it or it was something a previous version of herself had brought to the Maw. All she knew was it was old and powerful and most importantly of all. 

Hungry. 

Hungry for power, hungry for souls, hungry for what animated life. 

Six turned to look at her friend, for once in her life, allowing a hopeful smile to come to her face. 

“I think I know a way.”

He walked into the city with an audible sigh, it was raining again, an event that occurred too much for one city. His shoes met the wet concrete with the sound of a splash each step, spraying water up his legs, annoying him slightly.  

He had just entered the city from the bridge he took before and as soon as he did, he felt the familiar pull of a presence within the air, caressing his skin and igniting his mind. 

Return empty-handed, Explanation required.  

He ignored the urge to roll his eyes at the Eyes first words. “There was a... problem.” 

The air was quiet for a second.  

Define problem.  

“The child had... powers.” He stated slowly. 

He felt the presence in his mind grow slightly more intense, not painful but he could tell the Eyes were more interested now. 

Abnormality, other entities with powers should not be present in this space. Specifications on abilities required.  

He did roll his eyes at that. “I didn’t see much, they had some kind of... force ability, they were able to block my attempts to capture them and force me back long enough to get away.” 

Technically he was telling the truth, he hadn’t seen much of the power that she had wielded in their brief fight. He hoped that the half-truth was enough for the Eyes. There was no reply as the Eyes considered his words. 

Engagement in physical conflict?  

He nodded once. “Only a small one, lasted only a few seconds.” 

Explains surge occurrence at location and abnormal travelling patterns. Does not explain passage of time, incident would not have taken long to recover from.  

He sighed at the Eyes words. “I like to look at the scenery, it's nice around there.” 

The pain in his skull returned at those words, a warning from the Eyes to not take his position for granted. He was only offered so much leeway. 

Personal enjoyment irrelevant, additional information on target required.  

Mono rubbed his head slightly before responding. “There's not much else to tell, I followed them into the woods, fought them briefly and then they ran off.” 

Did not pursue?  

“You know how difficult it would be to find someone in those forests, it would take me days to find them.” 

The Eyes considered his excuse. 

Unfortunate, but understandable, single agent is indeed insufficient for task. Physical description of target recommended.  

He swallowed slightly in anticipation. “Female, dark and ragged hair, abnormal eye colour, ring any bells?”  

He hoped the other presence inside him was covering his lie correctly. 

The Eyes were silent for a moment. 

Several match physical description, only few match power described, will contact other agents to oversee those that may have strayed off designated route. Recommend returning to hub.  

Mono sighed with both relief and resignation. “Right.” 

He made his way over to the screen he had originally came out off, the screen that when he exited, was making him expect a relaxing stroll. 

Now, he returned through the screen, a plan in motion that made him anything but relaxed. But it didn’t matter, the reward would be worth the stress. 

All he had to do was wait a bit longer.

Time passed in the city, its crumbling buildings remaining the same, as the eternal rain that plagued it continued. 

As it did, the Thin man continued his duties reluctantly, carrying out the Towers orders of kidnapping and maintaining the broadcast. Each day that past brought sorrow to his heart, that these duties he carried out damned many a soul, but he could not defy the Eyes. 

Not yet. 

So, he continued on, knowing in his mind that he just had to wait for the moment that would come soon and hopefully, free them all from this horrible nightmare. All the while trying to stave off the other being that was inside him. 

He waited... 

And waited... 

AND waited... 

And one day, whilst sitting on the chair, in the massive room of eyes and flesh, he felt it. 

The presence of a boy, taking his first trip into a hallway that called to him. 

He smiled. 

Not a smile of sadistic pleasure or one to cover sadness. No, a genuine smile of hope. 

It was nearly time.

He felt it. 

The feeling of the boy that was once him, reaching the final screen, pressing his hands up against it and pulling themselves in. He waited patiently, watching the door in front of him, the spot that Eyes arranged for him to meet his younger self. 

Then, he heard it. 

The sound of the door clicking, followed by it slowly opening. 

He watched as it opened, the baleful pink light spilling out into the hallway, illuminating the small form of a boy. 

Of himself. 

He watched as the boy’s eyes became widened behind his mask, as he realized the mistake of what he had done and took a fearful step back. 

He said nothing, instead choosing to simply observe. 

Then, he stood to his full height and walked out into the hallway, as the form of Mono was snatched away from in front of him, by the other Six pulling him out. 

He walked down the hallway, the screen awaiting before him, singing with static and white noise. He placed his hands upon the screen, watching as the other version of Six tried their best to pull his younger self away from the TV. With a final push, he broke through to the other side and stood to his full height. 

He looked down at the scene before him, the form of Six already fleeing, whilst his younger self stared for a second, before realizing the terror that stood before him and running away. He watched as his younger self fled through the doorway whilst he did... 

Nothing. 

He simply stood still, starting at where they had gone. After a few minutes of simply starting, he felt the Eyes presence in not only his head, but behind him as well. 

Observation: You are not pursuing.  

He did not turn around as he responded. “No, I'm not.” 

Explanation required, followed by resumption of task.  

This time he did turn around to look at the TV behind him, seeing a single eye peer at him from behind the screen. He narrowed his eyes at the screen as he responded. 

“I have been your slave for too long, I have suffered numerous times to keep your precious cycles intact, serving you without question or freedom.” His words were coming out slowly, each one coated with the resentment and hatred he held for the Eyes. 

Suffering irrelevant, freedom irrelevant, you are granted immortality, a cure for your short lifespan.  

“I don’t care about your supposed immortality, it’s a joke.” He replied spitting out the words with venom. “I want to live, truly live, not be a slave to YOU.” 

The Eyes were silent for a second. 

Defiance?  

He sighed and braced himself. “Yes.” 

The instant the words left his lips, he felt the intense pain of his very soul being yanked back, as the ‘leash’ was pulled. He resisted it, trying his best to pull the chain to his side, trying to gain ground against the Eyes. But they were high above him, to them he looked like an ant, a thing that barely mattered to them. 

Yet, like an ant he could still annoy and stall the inventible. 

He could start to feel his limbs act against him, beginning to start the chase he wished to avoid, as the Eyes responded again. 

Resistance is futile, task will be complete, replacement will be more compliant.  

The response caused him to start pouring his own energy into furthering his resistance, causing his body to jolt uncontrollably, as he did his best to stop himself. 

He felt the Eyes look at him with its own version of surprise, clearly not expecting him to put up this much of a fight. But after the ‘surprise' they simply responded by yanking the chain harder, exposing more of it to the world and revealing the Eyes ‘hand’. 

Which is exactly what he had been waiting for. 

He felt around within himself, searching for the little thing he had brought along with him. Within a few seconds he found it, gnawing away at his powers, slowly feasting on it, allowing it to survive for a good amount of time away from its host and also granting it the ability to see the static that laced the very air the Tower controlled. 

The thing in question? 

A shadow. 

A liquid shadow, that bent and moved like water, constantly hungering for whatever lived and had been without a good meal for months now.  

So, he would grant it one. 

 With a final burst of what was left of his power and willpower he all but thought was gone from his sorry soul, he addressed the Eyes once more. 

“We... will... not... be... your slaves... ANYMORE!” 

He felt the Eyes become confused at his words. 

We?  

Then, he felt as the shadow left his own body, exiting from every pour it could and gripped the chain within its shadowy grasp. 

And began to eat. 

He could not observe the shadow devouring the Eyes chain, too busy still fighting his own body, but he could feel the shadows' power changing as it devoured it, along with the Eyes confusion quickly changing to something resembling alarmed.  

It saw and felt this shadow on its chains, the ‘hand’ that controlled its precious Broadcaster, watching as the being dug into its power. The Eyes responded as they always did, showering the aberration with its eternal might, wishing the creature to be ripped apart from reality.  

The shadow merely paused for a moment to observe the attack, then it grasped it with its shadowy form and absorbed it into itself, feeding it more.  

The Eyes felt more concern arise through them, a concept unknown to it and one which it did not how to respond to. It applied more power to the shadow, only for it gobble it up again, it tried to reach out with many invisible tendrils, hoping to pull it off. The shadow simply pulled them apart and consumed them whole.  

All the while, Mono could feel the chain weakening, as the shadow ate away at his connection to the Eyes more and more. Each second that passed he could feel more of himself coming back, control of his body slowly returned to him bit by bit and more peculiarly, starting to feel... more like himself. 

The Eyes began to grow more desperate; they would not lose their precious Broadcaster! The thing that gave them control over their cycles. The plan that had been constructed for decades would not be undone by some simple shadow! 

But then as it observed the shadow, trying to find a weakness, something to exploit, it found something familiar. A link, a small little remnant of something that told it where it came from. 

It was her shadow. 

The companion to its Broadcaster, the little girl that enabled him to control and manipulate its prized agent. The one who was to travel to the West and disappear, reconstructed later. 

Why was she here? Never had the Eyes seen such a divergence, such a change that not only would the girl come back but would aid in the attempt to free that which it betrayed, only further confused by the betrayed accepting the help. 

And not only that, but the girl had snuck in her shadow, the thing that had been cultivated and grown by her and it, to serve its purpose. The Eyes knew what it was, a living shadow, a reflection of the human soul, the eternal greed and hunger that lingered inside mankind condensed down to small fragment that could devour anything. 

Which it was doing right now to its ability to keep the Broadcaster. 

The Eyes focused on the chain, the connection, forcing more of its energy into it hoping to strengthen the chain enough, so that it might still control the man enough to complete the task necessary. The shadow paused at the slight roadblock, seeing the meal they were devouring suddenly become much harder. 

Then, they wrapped themselves around it more, covering the chain and devouring it faster. 

The Eyes became more desperate, they would not lose, not to this... speck of dust! But then it noticed something, the chain had become ‘taut’, gripped on the other side. It had become distracted, too focused on the shadow to notice the Broadcaster resisting him, gaining more control. 

It focused its gaze upon him, seeing the hate filled scowl he wore, as he leaned back further and further, pulling the chain with his own power. The Broadcaster planted his feet firmly as he pulled both physically and spiritually, trying to break the connection between them. The Eyes responded in kind, more tendrils added to the chain, more strength added to it, anything to prevent the connection severing. 

The shadow simply covered more of it, devouring it faster. 

Mono felt the connection weaken further and further. The chain was almost broken, he saw and felt the desperation in Eyes, how they oh so desperately fought to keep him a part of them and their cycles. 

He hated them for it, for all the unnecessary suffering they caused him. 

And Six. 

With a final tug and power borne of desperation, he willed himself to pull the chain harder forcing all the energy he could to sever the connection. He screamed with anger and will as the chain weakened and weakened and then... 

It shattered, spectacularly. 

He saw an awe-inspiring flash of blue and pink, before a wave of energy knocked him to the ground and caused the entire building to quake. 

The building shook for a few seconds before it finally calmed down and Mono pushed himself up into a kneeling position. As he did, he noticed the TV was still on, a single baleful eye starting back at him. He looked down at his hands, seeing them not ooze with static for the first time in an age. 

He was free. 

They were ALL free. 

He looked back at the eye, wearing a face of defiance and anger as he spoke his final words to them. 

“ I , am no longer your slave and never will be again .” 

The eye stared back for a second, before the TV started to emit a high-pitched sound like that of a scream tunned too high and he felt himself covering his ears to stop the pain he felt. Then he felt it die down, the sound slowly whitling away. He uncovered his ears to look at that the TV once more. 

He saw the eye looking back at him, no longer angry like it was nor the look of curiosity it often wore. Instead, the eye that looked back at him simply looked... disappointed, like a parent would do a child that had done something wrong. As he stared he felt the Eyes presence leave his mind, with the final bit of information he would ever know from them. 

Freedom is yours, enjoy how little it offers.  

Then, the eye disappeared, leaving the TV to broadcast nothing but static on its screen.  

He stood up finally, gripping his side as he did. He knew what would happen soon, he would have to be quick to have some final words with a certain someone. He walked over to the TV and placed his hands upon it, searching for a very specific TV to teleport to, one that would only turn on after a certain signal was announced. Then, he felt it, all the way out in the forest. 

Before he left however, he turned to look at the room behind him, checking to see if anyone was watching.  

Nobody was. 

Good, that meant they must have ran and hide. 

They would be ok now, he hoped. 

With that, he pushed himself through.

He pulled himself to the other side of the screen, hands touching grass as he stood to his full height with a grunt of pain. As soon he did, he heard the sound of the power button being pressed and the TV turning off. He turned to see Six, who had turned the TV off looking up at him with a tired smile. 

She was in the same state as him. 

Happy? Yes, both of them were. 

But they both knew what was happening to them. 

Six’s body was seemingly... fading away, as if watching something dissolve in water, becoming part of its surroundings. 

He was not faring any better of course. 

His own body was doing the same, fading away like static clearing up to reveal the true image. It didn’t hurt, he simply felt... lighter. 

Both of them knew this would happen though, he had explained as much when they made the plan all those months ago.  

He had explained to Six that both of them were products of the cycle, emanations in time created by the Eyes power to enact the cycle, performing the tasks necessary to continue its existence. They were very much real, but the Six and Mono that were in the city right now were more real than them, now that the cycles had stopped, so did the thing that kept them alive. 

Six didn’t care though, she said as much when he explained it to her, for it still got them out of the cycle. 

She had promised herself that she would forge her own path, her own life alongside Mono. 

She didn’t say which version of herself would do so. 

With the end near and body weakening, Six pulled herself up onto the TV and sat down with a sigh, Mono quickly following, his body dwarfing her. 

They both sat in a comfortable silence, simply... waiting for the end. 

Six was the one to break the silence. 

“Do you think they’ll be ok?” 

Mono looked down at her, a bit of surprise in his eyes from her asking but said nothing. 

Instead, he simply looked ahead as he replied. “I think so, they have each other after all and we overcame some great things together, didn’t we?  So, they’ll be fine.” He said with a small smile. 

Six smiled as well, saying nothing. But his words did leave her with a question.  

“Do you still hate me?” She asked. 

Mono looked down at her with a frown, seemingly debating whether to tell the truth or not.  

He decided he would. 

“Yes.” He replied, a small amount of regret in his voice. 

Six simply nodded with a blank expression, it was understandable of course. The pain that she had caused him simply didn’t go away because they worked together. The scars she had left on his soul could heal, yes. But they would always remain and no amount of forgiveness would fix them. 

“But...” He added. 

Six looked up, confused. 

“If we had the time...” He started. “I could certainly learn to get past it.” 

Six gave a sad smile to her friend, she wished they had the time too. 

They sat in silence for a moment before Mono looked ahead again and spoke once more. 

“Are you scared?” He asked, his voice low and quiet. 

Six looked up to him, knowing what he was referring to. She considered the words for but a second. 

“No.” She replied truthfully. Six wasn’t afraid of death, for one must understand what they deal onto others and Six had dealt much of it to those deserved it and those who didn’t. Yes, she was afraid of dying, but death was a completely different thing to that.  

She was already dying at the moment, so why would she be afraid of what came next? 

“Are you?” She asked back. 

His response took slightly longer than hers, as he started at the ground. 

“Yes.” He finally replied, a small tinge of fear in his voice. 

Because of course he would be. Six knew Mono was someone who wore his emotions more brazenly than her, constantly singing how he felt and what scared him. He was afraid of the pain and the unknown, so of course he would fear that which no one knew.  He was also one that hated endings, he would also grow sad when the small moments of reprieve and happiness they shared were cut short, wishing they could last forever. 

This was no different. 

Six nodded, she would not judge him.  

Instead, she reached out and wrapped her hand around a single of his digits, his size only allowing her to do one. 

He looked down with surprise in his face, before a smile came to his face, saying nothing. 

She looked back and smiled as well. 

They both looked forward, feeling themselves fading away, as the Sun for once peaked on the horizon.

“Did you feel that?” 

“Hm?” 

Six paused her ascent to look up at Mono, who was currently climbing some boxes to a window that led outside. Mono looked at the wall opposite them, seemingly looking at something. 

Six looked back at him, confusion in her face beneath the hood. 

“I... felt something.” He said slowly, unsure of himself. 

Six looked back at the wall before shaking her head. 

Mono frowned beneath his bag, perhaps he was simply on edge after what happened earlier. 

He had gone into the TV, finally opening the door that plagued his dreams, only to release a horribly tall man in a suit, one he recognized from tales, the Thin man. He had come out of the TV, long limbs that he thought impossible to possess on any normal person. Yet, when he did emerge, Mono couldn’t help but feel something... off about him, like the man wasn’t all there. Maybe it was the way he started at him with something in his eyes that Mono couldn't decipher, maybe it was the way his face didn’t shift into one resembling rage and cruelty like the rest of the monsters in the city. 

Or maybe it was the way he hadn’t chased them.  

Mono had run after Six, fleeing into the bedroom from before and hiding under the bed and managing to convince Six to quickly come under too. They had waited for a while under the bed, waiting for the Thin man to approach the room. 

Yet, he never came. 

Instead, they both heard what sounded like sparks and electricity bouncing around from the other room, followed by what sounded like someone grunting in exertion, the sound of something messily eating and then a high-pitched scream. It lasted several minutes, all the while Mono had held Six’s hand, reassuring himself and Six, though mostly himself. Finally, it ceased, with a large quake that made them both hope the building wouldn’t collapse. It didn’t, yet they didn’t move for what felt an eternity. 

Eventually, Six was the one to emerge first, peering around the corner for anything that was coming. When she had seen nothing, she called for him to come out and they ventured into the room. The room looked empty, the furniture flung around the room and the TV on, yet nothing was there. 

They decided not to question it, climbing through the open window in the room to venture back into the rain-filled streets again. Now, they found themselves here, a building far away from the one the man had come out off, ready to venture back into the streets again after the small rest they had. 

He shook his head; he was probably was just paranoid.  

He looked back out the window that led outside, spotting the enormous Tower that was visible from everywhere in the city. Ever since the encounter from it earlier it seemed... dimmer, the light and signal it put out now barely able to be seen and felt. He had originally come back to the city to turn off the massive Tower, to save it and whoever was left. 

Now though... 

He wasn’t sure.  

Mono had travelled through the city with Six, seeing the crumbling buildings and twisted people, all of which simply threatened disaster and death. He had held hope that other kids were here, that there were others to save, yet all he found were glitching shadows of those that passed. 

There... was nothing left to save, was there? 

He turned around, to look back at Six, to see the girl that had saved him a dozen times and given him hope to survive.  

He smiled behind his mask, perhaps there was one thing left to save. 

But she wouldn’t be safe here and neither would he. 

Mono looked at Six, who was currently observing the empty room for anything that might be lurking. 

“Hey.” He called out quietly. 

The girl looked up at him, her face beneath the hood waiting for a question.  

“I think we should get out the city.” He said. 

Six tiled her head in confusion at his sudden change of mission, knowing that he wanted to go to the Tower. 

“I don’t think it’s worth being here anymore.” He explained, remorse in his tiny voice.  “There's nothing left to save and it’s not safe anymore.” 

The girl nodded at that, it was certainly something they could both agree on. 

“But we’ll only do it if you want to.” He said, fidgeting his fingers nervously. “I won’t force you to leave a-and I won’t force you to come with me.” 

Six considered his words and looked out the same window he had.  

The city itself was indeed decayed beyond repair and whoever was left was very much beyond saving, though Six herself didn’t really care about them. She was a loner, rarely caring about other people, so why would she care about the random people that were left in the city? If there were any. The only person she cared about right now was Mono. 

The boy had proven himself to be a great ally... and friend. Despite the situations they got into, he always pulled through them and Six had grown to care about him, despite how much it seemed to go against her nature. He was the only one that she trusted and the only one she would follow, wherever that might be. 

She smiled to herself and took a step up to him and took his hand in hers. 

He looked surprised for a second behind his bag, before his eyes lit up and she knew he was smiling. 

Together, they stepped towards the opened window and leapt through to the cold roof below. 

The two children would run across the city, leaving the decaying ruins of stone and mortar behind to travel elsewhere, perhaps somewhere that danger would never find them again. They would be eternally unaware of what had happened that day, of what terrible fate had awaited them, should those that came before not undone their destiny. 

Indeed, nobody would know of what they had done, the world unknowing of their sacrifice to undo their mistakes, leaving nothing of them behind. 

Except two things. 

Deep in the forest that surrounded the city, where the industrial grip had never set foot, where nature provided relief for the weary soul, one could find something odd.  

A single TV, broken beyond repair and inoperable, no power in sight. 

And atop it, a brown paper bag with holes cut out and a yellow raincoat that shone as bright as the day it was made. 

This was all that was left of them, as they rested finally in peace. 

As they crossed the line to the other side, side by side, hand in hand. 

Together, once more.