Chapter Text
The pair drifted without any knowledge of where they'd end up in an awkward silence, what were you supposed to say to someone in a situation like this.
Mono, to distract himself, leaned over slowly the door and dipped his hand into the freezing water. The sudden chill reminded him how just moments ago they had quickly cleaned their clothes from mud and sludge… but the fabric acted as a decent shield against their skin.
He giggled at the water flickering and splashing against his palm as he watched the small curve in the water caused by his fingers rush past. He slowly felt a pair of eyes on him just like before and his head slowly, very slowly, turned to connect the gaze of his new companion.
The only thing that broke any silence in the stiff tension was the large waves and water that pushed the two kids further out into the ocean.
Six, who had just announced her name a few minutes ago stared at him and he finally got a good look at her face, half of it at least.
Her eyes were thin yet cut through the air like a blade slicing through melted butter. Her lips were compressed into a flat and lowly frown which seemed to constantly be assessing his every movement and action. Her messy black hair did a fantastic job at shielding her eyebrows and the top half of her eyes which made her intentions even more difficult to decipher.
She didn't say a word as her head slowly, at the same rate his own head turned, broke their staring at turned her sights set on the distance ahead of them.
Mono sighed, lifting his fist up over his knee to rest his cheek upon, the crumbling of his paper bag masked the small mumble from his dry lips.
He had to think of something to say to her.
He pondered, wondering where to even start before finally getting an idea.
“... Six is a nice name.” His words broke the ice as more television floated past them and soon left their sight from behind. Six didn't look at him, nor did she give him any indicator that she was listening to him.
“I mean it. I mean, Mono… my name, which… you already know… is kind of a sad and lonely name. But six? Everyone kind of has a friend with your name.” He continued, despite being unsure if she was paying him any mind at all.
“What's up with all the televisions? I noticed there were a lot in the forest too… There are so many of them.” He looked at her for a response but she simply responded by pulling her cardigan closer to her thin body. Mono felt a tick of annoyance but ultimately knew he couldn't blame her.
“... Hey, is it okay if I ask why that Adult was after you in the first place?” Mono's voice softened, worried that his pestering would cause an extreme reaction out of the other. Six opened her mouth to talk, but decided against it and rolled her shoulder blades in a shrug.
Mono nodded.
“... Cool.”
His mind fell back to when they were running with all of their might away from the Hunter, specifically that moment where he noticed his own reflection in the television before it got blasted to bits.
Why did that resonate with him? Was he supposed to be a self centered person? Was that who he was supposed to be?
Mono never considered himself to be self centered, was this the guilt of running from the orphanage slowly poisoning his mind or was it a genuine question?
He chewed down anxiously on his bottom lip, before Six brought his attention upwards with a knock on their door.
“What is it?” He asked, following her hand which pointed upwards at many tilted buildings with a small beach just moments ahead of them. Mono felt hope spike in his chest as he sat up for a second.
As the boat slowly rocked itself onto the shore of the beach, Mono and Six stumbled onto the sand, feeling the grains between their toes as they walked, the dry ground squishing underneath them.
“You know, one of the orphans I knew mentioned they lived at a beach once.” Mono commented, wriggling a bit and truly appreciating the texture for a second. “They mentioned that apparently sand is super hot, but… this sand isn't hot.” He put his hands on his hips as Six walked past him with purpose and turned back to look at him.
He jogged lightly, catching up to her and taking her hand once more as they moved up the small hill, Six took note of the door yet Mono slowed slightly to stare at the televisions.
Six dropped his hand and ran up a little further to the door as Mono hesitated and watched her do so. She dropped down without looking back at him, which hurried Mono up with an unnerving feeling of familiarity dropping to the pit of his stomach.
“Hey!” He called out, chasing after her. A small groan escaped the girl, deciding to wait for him, teamwork forced upon her. As they stepped into the door together, the door slammed loudly behind them from possibly a gust of wind.
A large room with the roof collapsed in upon itself lit up the darkness with a blue hue. Mono took Six's hand again to secure her by his side as they pressed forward slowly. A large suit was hung from yet another television screen smashed and bent backwards.
“.. Another television.. No! Three.” He called out, his voice echoing outwards and as the pair went to inspect the body, a sudden scream caused the pair to jump back. It was another joker of a crow which caused Mono to stomp his foot.
“At this point, I'm exhausted of crows. Aren't you?” Mono snapped with a huff looking at Six to see her nodding along. Six pulled him forward, not dropping his arm or anything. She pushed him through a large crack in the wall and Mono dropped down on the concrete.
…
Mono's eyes followed the direction of the wind and an isolating large alleyway that was littered with boxes and discarded clothes that fell from lines above them.
“... Huh. Do you think anything still lives here?” He asked Six who shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘how should I know?’, the pair lifted themselves over a large opened window and their question was swiftly answered.
Some kind of kitchen with more suits draped in a spotlight of ceiling lights over spiny chairs and with shoes forgotten by their sides. Mono's eyebrows furrowed.
“.. Either they're running around in their birthday suits or every one… or at least… each suit-wearer has vanished.” He announced to the quiet, blushing with embarrassment slightly at the thought.
The duo passed through a few empty rooms before coming across a window that was far to high for either of them to reach on their own.
Mono was about to open his mouth again, but Six was already on it. She knelt down before a large curious brown stain and Mono smiled.
He ran up with momentum and leapt onto her hands to which gave her only a moment of struggle as he leapt upwards into the hair and his body slammed against the wall.
He threw himself and rolled out and past the vault, dropping down.
“I'll be back for you!” He shouted, looking around the room. Another hole was set in the ground besides a television with even more shattered screen. A single string connected that and a hook dangling dangerously over the edge.
Mono ‘hmmed’ for a moment before climbing onto the broken electronic and hooking his own finger around the hook.
He held himself up over the hole, confused on what to do for a moment before deciding to try something.
By swinging his body back and forth, he began to kick the television and move it slowly. His feet stung with the force of the impact but Mono was curious.
A slight scratching could be heard over the thumps which was probably Six attempting to see what he was doing..
Thump.
He pushed backwards, momentum building.
Thump!
How long would this take? He was only little.
Thump!!
“Waaahh!” Mono's body was thrown upwards with sudden speed that made his heart stop for a moment. The television made an audible crash from the weakened boards beneath him.
He took a moment to catch his breath and stabilise his grip on the circular hook.
“.. I'm..! I'm okay!” He called out, wondering if Six could hear him from this height or if she even cared.
With using the same momentum as before, he leapt easily onto a nearby ledge and brushed himself off. A staircase that followed a square pattern upwards but with an uncomfortable gap made Mono shutter, but something broke his train for thought.
“Oii!”
“.. Hey!”
“Hey!”
A smile broke past his cracked lips at Six calling out for him, to which urged him to reunite with the girl.
As he passed through the room, he found a way for her up, he poked his head out and over the ledge.
“Six! Theres a television attached to a string! Climb onto…” his voice trailed off as his eyes followed the thin rope. “That one, and I'll bring you up!”
She nodded and did as he guided. The empty screen was easy to push for him, it was already half off. Six's cheeks puffed out securing a squeak of surprise as she practically wrapped her entire body around the rope.
Unlike Mono, Six wasted no time before leaping onto the platform and landing with a hiss.
“Psst!” She called for him, asking him to follow her once more. Mono did just that and realised what she was doing.
“... Oh no. No! Not that again, Six!” he called out. But she responded with a giggle that bounced off the walls and her gesturing for him to hurry up as she knelt.
“This is so dangerous, this won't work every time!” He pouted, stepping away from his side of the gap slightly.
She waited for a minute and slowly grew impatient with his hesitation once more. Her smile fell and she stood up in a huff, threatening him that she'd storm away with that look.
“Alright..! Alright fine!” He exasperatedly threw his head back and already began his run up. With a silent gulp of air, Mono threw himself upwards and upwards. This jump felt slightly more comfortable than the last one since Six caught him.
Of course, they struggled to pull him up. But Mono smiled sheepishly. Well, her instinctive thinking did get him back over to her… She never stopped to get scared, she just… did things.
Thats pretty cool.
After running through a gap together, they were greeted with a somber sight.
Another suit but this time was… dark.
It was tangled by the collar by a noose which gave the silhouette of a hanged individual, the shoes rested underneath indicated that this was a deliberate action.
Mono and Six shared a look, a haunting sight for the kids but they pushed forward anyways. They may not be as safe as they originally thought.
“I-.. I'll go first. Stay behind me in case something goes wrong.” Mono gestures as he blatantly laid his life before her. “Um… just try to help me if I'm about to die, please. If that's alright to ask.”
Six didn't nod nor shake her head, she simply returned to staring at him which Mono could only take as a “maybe”.
He barely squeezed himself through a crack in the door before a screaming static burned his ears from a television that had suddenly clicked on. The room flickered with a white colour that blinded as well as the screeching that deafened him.
Mono felt his muscles weaken as his hands forcefully covered his ears in a sorry attempt to drag out the noise. He made a cry of agony as a thick headache pulse resonated throughout his whole body in a tremor of pain.
The screeching only got louder as he slowly got up, attempting to turn the TV off but the closer he got to the screen, the more pressure he felt in his heachache. As if his whole body was about to explode into little chunks of blood, guts and gore.
He could've sworn he heard his own voice barely audible over the static, shouting out and more desperate than anything he had ever spoken. In a desperate way to shut the TV up, he placed a hand on it and found that the static silenced under his finger tips if only slightly.
He concentrated for a second before feeling a spark of electricity shoot through him which only made the pressure underneath his body worse. He physically felt his blood bubbling in his veins as gaps filled his skin with a painful shock that left a fat tear rolling down his cheek.
A second time, he felt his body be harshly tossed forward as if something had purposefully yanked him with no care for his little bones..
Dead silence.
That silence was nearly as loud as the screeching. A twisting blue illuminated hallway. It swung back and bended so slowly that it was almost impossible to see.
One step.
Two step.
Three step.
Four.
Mono recalled this hallway from earlier when he awoke in the forest.
That metal door..
His movements were weighed down by the thickness in the room, a sorrowful emotion of everything horrible in the world suddenly crashed down on him.
Anger, guilt, sadness, anxiety, depression.
Loneliness.
It made it impossible to breathe as tears fell freely from his eyes which stung his pupils with the salt.
As he tried to push forward, to see what was torturing him so… a soft static grew louder as he began to shake back and forth with noise. Almost as if that eye was telling him that he wasn't ready for it yet and before Mono knew it. The screaming static came back.
He was sent out of the TV in the same careless manner he was thrown in and he ended up colliding with his new friend and they both landed with a thud. The static grew tamer as it slowly faded.
Mono laid on the ground, feeling the pressure and whirlwind of emotions slowly fade with the bright light that boiled his irises.
Six sat up quickly, watching a hypnotic pattern on the screen switch off in an instant.
Mono took a shaky breath, wiping his eyes from under his mask as Six stood up.
He slowly raised himself as well and he looked at her. Her eyes now reflecting the light once more.
Her jaw was sharp and pointed, but her skin was fair and soft. A pale color which resembled the Lunar's surface itself. Her eyes which were clouded and walled with boundaries again were still as sharp as always.
But her lips pinched into each other as if she was hesitating, which is something that Mono already could tell was unlike her.
“... I-..” His voice cracked and his emotions poured out for a moment. He could tell this was her way of asking if he was okay but in all honesty… he had no idea what he just say.
“... L.. Let's keep moving.” his voice trembled boyishly as his own hands reached out for hers, Six took a small moment to look down at his hands which didn't seem electrified or fried… she gently took them and gave them a soft squeeze which made an audible sob come out of Mono… but he quickly regained his energy as he turned on his heels and guided the two out of the scary room.
And just what he needed,
As the pair escaped the haunted television, they fell in a large bin of trash that had solidified with days, weeks, months or even years of abandonment.
Mono groaned lightly and flicked himself clean as they climbed off.
A large bin also blocked there way behind a metal gate with a small sigh besides it.. Six noted the convenience and tapped Mono's shoulder, pointing to the playground equipment up ahead.
“.. Oh.” He mumbled. Six didn't like that response from him, she could tell her was understandably still reeling from… whatever that was. So she whispered to him a small noise to help him with moving this bin that blocked what would probably be a hole.
With the power of little children arms put together, they were able to move a completely filled bin and Six was right.. There was a hole. They both climbed through and found themselves closer to the sign.
“Pale City Primary… Pale city. Is that where we are?” Mono tilted his head, finding himself a little confused. Does that mean.. There are other kids!?
Six didn't answer and instead shook his shoulder slightly.
“What?”
She casually pointed with her head at the equipment that Mono could use to distress over to their left.
Mono got their memo and was naturally drawn to the swing.
As he approached, Six took the initiative to run ahead before him and stand behind, offering to push him.
And the two played, like kids should.