Chapter Text
Darkness. The hum of static. Disgusting sounds of fluid flesh rushing to her with a mission. Mission to kill, and to steal the boy they needed in order to live. Six wouldn’t let them have either. Just ahead of Mono, she ran with all of her strength without looking back. She trusted that he was not too much farther behind. Despite all of the injuries, the fear and trauma, she would not fail, even if her legs did. There it was! The portal, her escape, was in blurred vision. But they were running out of time. Feeling the vibrations beneath her feet, Six was well aware that this bridge would soon give out. The Transmission, or whatever the eyes, the flesh, the bane and sickness of the Overworld was slowly but surely dying. The whole Tower was crumbling at its foundation, aware of Mono’s departure and the death of the Thin Man. Reaching it just before the break in the rock, she jumped just in time to make the ledge. Six now took the time to look back at Mono, watching his terror-stricken self rush to her, relying on her for his safety. And sure enough, the boy leaped just in time before the stone gave way underneath him. “Hey!” Reaching out to her, a desperate plea, Six grabbed his hand.
“Oh thank you Six! Quick! Pull me up!” But he couldn’t see her eyes. Mono couldn’t quite describe it but her hidden gaze, even her hand, was cold. He had no idea, did he? The torment he had put her through. Not just letting her be stolen by the Thin Man, but by *being* the Thin Man. He was the one who had snatched her, who had trapped her in that tower for years, who had put her through agonizing pain, twisting, contorting her form into an insufferable monster, left with nothing and no one but himself (a deranged lunatic) and synthetic comfort in old memorabilia. Fake toys. Like that music box...How dare he taunt her with the memory of her deceased father.
‘We’ll be friends to the very end! Because you’ll be stuck here till then.
You and me. Here f o r e v e r…’
Deep inside the confines of her raincoat, unseen yet livid.
“Six?...P-please, pull me up.” It had been long enough to be worrisome now. All he could do was stare into that void, begging that she would save him from falling, just like the many times before on their adventure. To his relief she finally did. With one good tug, he was out of harm's way as Six rushed to the portal, both crossing onto the other side. They stumbled as they were shot out of the TV onto the hard, wood floor. The room was dark, with nothing but the light of the last remains of the Transmission flickering on the old TV. Mono coughed harshly, having landed on his stomach, but rushed to get up to talk to Six.
“Oi! W-Why did it take you so long?! I was just dangling there, scared out of my mind that the floor would collapse and...” He stopped talking, noticing Six wasn’t beside him. She was already leaving the room. “W-Wait! Six?...” It was unlike her to leave him behind. That is, once they became friends. “Where are you going?....”
“Far away. From you.” The girl in the yellow raincoat told him sternly, turning around to glare at him. Even though her face was hidden in darkness, he still got the message.
“I...I don’t understand-”
“You’re a traitor. A rat. You trapped me in that terrible tower. It. Was. You. I should have let you fall for what you did.”
Mono became defensive. “I would never do that to you!”
“But you did!” She snapped while approaching him, enraged as Mono covered his face with his arms; he was terrified at his friend’s anger. “I know you and the Thin Man are one in the same! I know that you made a deal with him. You set him free and let him trap me! He showed me everything on the screens before turning me into a freak!”
“I..I don’t know what you’re talking about…”, he mumbled, clearly trying to hide. Of course he knew what she was talking about. It was the Thin Man, himself, who had always beaconed him to the TV’s, promising to keep Six safe in exchange for his freedom. But he lied. Mono had fallen for it like a kid caught in a Hunter's trap. He could hear the empty promises echoing in his head. Like static buzzing harshly in his ears.
‘You hate being alone Mono, don’t you? It hurts.’ Despite him being on the other side of the door, Mono could still somehow see him. So this is what would become of him? A lonely old man sitting on a lonely chair with no one but the company of hundreds of eyes. How did it ever come to this? As if the Thin Man heard this question, he answered calmly, untruthfully,
‘Your friend. She won’t last long beyond this city. I’ve seen it. I witnessed it when I was young. ’ He stared at the floor in thought, as if remembering. But in his old age, he no longer seemed emotional. ‘You will go to the Maw in search of food. As she struggles to control her hunger, a chef makes use of his cleaver and...befalls harm to her.’ The Thin Man chose his words carefully. If he were to upset his younger self too much, all may be lost. Hearing this, Mono’s throat tightened with sadness, terrified and devastated all at once. ‘I regret not being able to protect her. But maybe now I can, we can.’ Rubbing his eyes, the little boy lifted his head back up to ask,
‘What do I need to do?...’
‘Open this door. Let me go. I can protect her here while you look for a way out. It will be difficult to reach. But I know with time, you will be able to.’ Despite all the terribleness the Thin Man had committed on the people, on the city as a whole, he could understand why. He was terribly sad. Sad and angry and heartbroken from the loss of his dear friend. Mono..would do the same.
‘Okay. Okay, if I do, will you promise to take care of her? And to leave this city alone?’ It was hard to see but Mono noticed the Thin Man smile a little.
‘Of course. I only want my friend to be safe.’
‘M-Me too...I’ll get to you somehow. I promise’
Six’s shouting pushed him back into reality.
“Oh come on Mono! I’m not that stupid! You both have the same powers. You wore that mask to hide your face. And for what? Because the world hated you. Do you know why? They saw what I never could. They saw your face, and made the connection that one day you would be the one to take everything away from them.” He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t take any more of it. As if an emotional wall had been knocked down, Mono burst into sobs, turning over on his side as he desperately tried to hide his face in his hands, longing for his comforting, paper bag. He was hysterical. He was obsessed. This wasn’t like him. Mono was usually quite sensible and grounded with reason, a trait Six had admired. Something was very wrong here, Six noted as she took two steps back.
“I-I-I n-never w-w-wanted to be l-like him. I-I thought if I s-stopped him and protected you, it -it wouldn’t come true. But h-he took you away- trapped you, I c-couldn’t-” His voice broke between cries as Six said nothing more, having already made her point.
“I-I’m sorry Six. I’m so sorry...Y-You must hate me. I-I understand. Push me back into the TV. Leave me for dead, please!”
“Mono..St-Stop.” Six grumbled with a tired sigh. Despite the uneasiness, she stepped amongst the creaking floorboards towards him and sat beside him. “Maybe…” She looked away, taking in a deep, slow breath. “Maybe I want to hate you. I’m pissed, that you would trust a monster, that’s for sure...B-but I can’t hate you. I just can’t. I’m...not going to bring you back there.” The boy sniffed, wiping his wet face with his coat sleeve as he slowly sat up in disbelief.
“Y-You’re not?”
“No. I’m not.” She confirmed, looking him straight in the eyes this time. His swirly eyes, flickering gently with uncertainty.
“Why?...Why not?”
“Because. The Transmission is dead. That’s all that matters. I’ve fulfilled my promise. I led you to the Tower. You got what you wanted. Now, I’m heading towards Safe Haven.” Six simply stated, picking up a flyer of The Maw. The girl grimaced, letting the sheet fall to the floor as a pain in her side began to grow slowly. Wh-..Where did this come from?... Mono got up in a hurry.
“Wait!...Don’t go!-I thought..maybe you?..” But he couldn’t find the right words, staring down at his fidgety hands. “I thought we would stick together…”
“No...Not after what you did.” She told him, softly yet directly. He was losing it. He was losing her. The child paced back and forth in fear. Didn’t she know he NEEDED her. Didn’t she-.....What was he saying?....For a split second, Mono felt an awakening pulse of reason, allowing himself to calm down. He couldn’t force her to stay with him, no matter how much he cared for her. That just wasn’t right.
Nor could he bear to think of losing her, let alone their friendship. And yet, he was now willing.
“I’m sorry...I’m sorry that I would ever trap you in the Tower..I guess...I guess I got so scared. So scared of losing you after all the close calls we’ve had…If you ever died...I, I don’t know what I’d do. I...I hate being alone, so much...You were the only one, for a long time, that was okay with just...talking to me.” He shook his head slowly, not sure if he was saying the right things.
“I know that it doesn’t excuse it...I-I know you can take care of yourself...I just...You’re my best friend, Six. I worry...But I worry too much. As a best friend, I’ve..I’ve really let you down...I was selfish…” Six frowned, acknowledging his clarity. The girl rubbed her arm lightly as she let him speak. “I’m...really sorry Six. If you want to leave, that’s okay. I-I wish you the best of luck on your journey...And, maybe-if um...when you’re ready, we could visit each other.” He hoped, at least, as he held out his hand for a shake.
Seconds passed to no avail from Six as she stood still, watching him. Mono slowly retreated his hand, looking back down at the floor as feelings of regret gathered in his throat. But just as he was turning to leave, Six ran up to him and pulled him into her arms. The boy was completely awestruck, not able to understand why on earth Six would want to be close to him, let alone hug him.
“I..I don’t want to lose you either Mono…” She muttered, resting her tear-stained cheek on his shoulder. No matter how much she didn’t want it to be true, she cared very deeply for Mono. Her friend’s tears returned as he pulled her closer. “I just...I just want you to be kind. I just want to trust you..But I can’t. I can’t trust you right now….” The boy’s eyes shut with despair and nodded with understanding.
“I will. I won’t lose your trust again. I p-promise..I’ll make this right.”
“You swear?” Lightly holding his shoulders back, Six glared into his eyes, looking for any tales of him lying. But to her relief, she found none. Just his soft smile, a smile that was always unseen by Six until now….She admired it.
“Pinky promise.” She hummed, happy that he was serious. In all the days that they had been friends, their pinky promises never broke. Mono held out his hand to her, to which she received, interlocking their fingers and sealing their pact. A pact of trust, growth, and new beginnings. Soon after, Mono pulled Six back into a tight hug, so thankful he almost couldn’t believe it to be true.
“Thank you, Mono..”
“Thank you Six,...for giving me a second chance.” With the Thin Man gone, along with the source of Pale City’s blight, maybe, just maybe, the two could actually relax...Maybe, they would finally understand what it was like to be kids. Free. Free and happy, with only their imagination to limit them. But maybe Mono hoped too soon. He noticed an increasing pressure on his back as Six began to squeeze him harder; a low, hungry growl echoed through the room.
“Uhhh..Six, I c-can’t really-” She couldn’t feel. She couldn’t feel anything but gut-wrenching pain. Her breathing was short and erratic. Her vision was nothing but red . Red and a convenient heat source. Despite the sudden shift in mood and lack of oxygen in his lungs, Mono could just make out a shadow behind her. The same shadow that had led him to where Six had been trapped. Just standing there. Watching. Grinning. Distracted, Six took her chance to sink her teeth deep into Mono’s neck-
“GAH! Gosh…” Six jolted awake sitting straight up in her bed as Mono’s screams lingered in her head. Despite it being nearly 7 years since the demise of the Signal Tower and its disgusting fleshy eye mass, Six still had that recurring nightmare. It wasn’t exactly how events transpired so long ago yet some things remained the same. Her Hunger. Mono’s Betrayal. Taking a deep breath, the gentle breeze and rays of the sun enticed her to take a moment to relax and look outside her open window. Such a lovely day here in the Safe Haven, with the birds chirping and the tall grass swaying in the wind. Remember. You’re here now. Nothing can hurt you. Nothing-
A loud grumble emitted from her stomach. Man, she could go for breakfast right about now.