Hi hi! These following chapters are a bit of a mess, mainly because I'm reeling from Writer's Block (I'll call it karma), and I want to move on from Season 3. Therefore, I've skipped a lot, but I'll leave it up to you guys to interpret it your way. In the meantime... please enjoy!

of mishaps and monas
(or "it takes one mad cow to know another")

you'll never know what hit you
won't see me closing in
i'm going to make you suffer
the hell you put me in
i'm underneath your skin
— digital daggers

Aria climbed down the stairs, and walked into the kitchen, only to see Jason already at the table, Ella bristling beside him. Aria smiled, and took the seat next to him, wondering if he, too, was still surfing the aftershocks of yesterday.

"Good morning, Aria," Ella smiled at her daughter. "How are you?"

"Great," shrugged Aria, unprepared for any questions shot at her – she was more of an asker than an answerer, to be honest. She opened the milk, and poured herself a drink, before turning to Jason. She sighed, and took his hand, because of course he was still surfing the aftershocks (drowning in, even), and of course it would take a long time to recover from said aftershocks. Having not seen him since his sort-of mental breakdown the night before, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Pretty crappy. You?"

"Ditto," Aria said, and took a gulp of her milk. "I still can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Jason sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "As of yesterday, we've found my sister's body, which only leads back to square one, we've found Garrett's body, which takes us back even further, and now I'm positive I've just helped A, and above all, I'm left thinking if CeCe has anything to do with all this."

"Why would CeCe have anything to do with it? Was she on the train?" asked Aria.

"Uhuh," nodded Jason. "She seemed rather urgent to talk to me about something, and kept on going 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry', but she never got round to telling me. I think she was going to, but either completely forgot about it, or had second thoughts."

"Probably the second," she said.

"Probably," he agreed.

"You know, Spencer told me, that before Garrett... died... he told her something," said Aria, capturing Jason's attention at the mention of his dead ex-best friend. Aria peered up to see if Ella was listening, but she walked back up the stairs, probably to wake Mike up. "Garrett didn't kill Ali – but he did see her that night. With Jenna. He hit her with a field hockey stick, but only because she was scaring Jenna, and he wanted to... protect her. So he made sure she believed that he killed Alison – because Ali was after her. And—" She paused when she saw Mike grudgingly make his way to the kitchen. She lowered her voice. "And when they left, Garrett 'allegedly' saw Ali talk to a different person—" Mike walked in, mumbling "good morning" to Aria and Jason, before getting himself a glass of water. "And this person was," She lowered her voice even more so it was barely a whisper. "my dad."

"Honey, I'll see you at school," Ella reemerged into the kitchen. "Be safe. Bye, Jason." She proceeded to ruffle Mike's hair. "You, too, sweetie. Don't get into any trouble." She waved again, and left the house. Aria turned back to Jason as Mike took a bite of his toast.

"Maybe he's lying," whispered Jason.

"Yeah, but we don't know that. Maybe he is," shrugged Aria.

Her phone suddenly went off, and she saw it was a text message from Hanna.

Mona visited me in the middle of the night.
She's been released from Radley, and she's coming to school.
She's better now.
—Hanna

"What the fuck?" Aria exclaimed, almost spitting out her milk, and definitely startling both Mike and Jason. They raised eyebrows at her, Mike sniggering, and Jason stifling a laugh. Aria read, and reread the text, wondering if this was real.

"What's up?" asked Mike.

"Mona," said Aria. "Mona's been let out of Radley, and she's returning to school."

Jason looked at her, confused. "Why?"

"I have no clue," Aria groaned. "She's better now. That's what Hanna said, but she isn't, is she? She can't be. It's only been... what... six months now? She can't be better already."

"Maybe she is. People take as long or as short as they can to recover," Mike added. Aria sighed, eyeing her younger brother – if only she could tell him about A returning, and how Mona could very well be this new A, one who was far deadlier, and far more dangerous. But she knew she couldn't, and so she nodded along.

Aria met up with the girls in front of the school, and together, they watched as Mona made her way through the crowds of students, some shooting her empathetic looks, and other stabbing her with insults, and remarks.

Hanna urged them inside, and then asked, "What do we do?"

"Befriend her?" suggested Emily. "Then maybe we'll get some answers – about... yesterday. About... Aria's da—"

"My dad has nothing to do with Alison," snapped Aria. "Sure, Garrett was murdered, but he's no victim – he's probably lying." She cut off any of Spencer's protests. "No! Okay? No. He wouldn't do that – he's not that type of person."

"Aria, people are capable of anything," Spencer said.

Aria shook her head vehemently – "Well, you've got it all wrong." And with that, she stormed out of school, and she had no idea where she was heading, or if she even wanted to head anywhere, but stormed off anywhere.

She was almost completely down the steps, until she saw Mona, who smiled at her. "Hello, Aria."

Aria bored her eyes into her, not saying anything back, because a) she was scared, and b) she simply did not trust her. Mona seemed to buy that Aria didn't want anything to do with her, and flashing her a huge smile, she scurried off into the school.

Sighing, Aria turned on her heel, and started to walk back, hoping not to cross paths with Mona again.

(But she was never the one to be lucky.)

Hanna, Emily, and Spencer were looking at Aria worriedly, and she grudgingly went to join them by the lockers. They started to apologise, but Aria shrugged it all off, devoting her wholly attention to Mona, who was now completely the centre of attention, walking to her old locker. Aria saw as she gulped when she opened her locker.

"What the hell is that?" A few kids gathered around started to question what exactly was in Mona's locker, because it most certainly weren't normal textbooks or whatnot. Mona gulped again, and she took out what was in the locker, and so the liars could now see what it was.

"Is that a..."

"Brain?"

"Blimey. Who knew someone could..."

Mona was holding the brain with a knife, and was already making her way down the corridor, to the dustbin. Aria saw Caleb emerge from one side, and Jason from his office – they, too, eyed Mona with caution, not knowing quite exactly what was going on.

They were left to see the note, which had long been abandoned.

It takes one mad cow to know another.

"Well," Aria cleared her throat. "They got the 'mad cow' bit right."

Jason heard a few knocks on his office door. Looking up from his yellow files, he cleared his throat, and said, "Come in," He smiled when he saw Hanna walk in. "Hey, Hanna."

"Hi," Hanna groaned, placing her hands on her head, groaning some more. "God, my head. All this nonsense, with Mona, and A, and bio – my brain." She collapsed onto the sofa, and groaned again, leaving Jason to prop up an eyebrow.

"Okay."

"I had something to tell you," Hanna said, looking up. "But my head's spinning, and I've forgotten it, so I'll tell you a little later... Damn, your pillows are so non-fluffy. Do you have any paracetamol? Water? These pillows!'

Jason laughed, "Sorry, this is no pharmacy. And I'd say this room's about twenty-five years old. Apparently cotton expires. I don't know. Didn't take textiles."

Hanna sat up. "My head's getting better."

Jason nodded at her. "I'm glad." He paused. "What did Mr Banks do now?"

"He expected me to explain what 'budding' was," Hanna exclaimed, a little exasperated. "I mean, how would I know? What is budding anyway? That weird triangular decoration thingy you put up at kiddies' birthday parties? What's that got to do with cells, and cytoplasms and – I'm only seventeen!"

"I'm no scientist, Hanna," said Jason. "Have you remembered now?"

"Wait..." Hanna closed her eyes for several seconds, before opening them. "Yuhuh. I've remembered – it's like that saying, um... keep your friends closer, but your foes clo... something like that. But anyway, I was just with Caleb, and we overheard Mona talking over the phone, and she said something about you."

"Right," Jason said.

"She's going to suck up to you, most likely," Hanna said. "And..."

"And?"

"And I'm going to ask you what you're going to do," Hanna said, and waited for Jason to reply.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Can't you answer that? I don't like rhetorical questions."

"It isn't rhetorical, it's an actual question, Hanna."

"Well, I think it's rhetorical."

"Well, it isn't..."

Jason's voice trailed off as the door to his office opened again – and in came Mona. She looked genuinely surprised that Hanna was here, and blushed quickly.

"Sorry, I..." Mona smiled. "I got lost, and I was supposed to find the guidance counsellor, but... I'm so stupid. I guess the meds really have messed with my brain, hey?" She beamed at them both, and walked back out.

"That was..." started Hanna.

"Weird," they finished at the same time.

"Look, I'll figure it out, okay?" Jason said, giving her a 'convincing' smile. "Just... be careful. And tell me if anything's up. And if you get an A message. And tell me what 'budding' means." Jason left hurriedly, and as soon as he was out in the corridor, he almost chased Mona down. She was sitting on a bench, alone, and there seemed to be no one bothering her, either.

"Are you okay?" asked Jason slowly.

"Huh?" Mona looked up, and saw him. "Yes. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? It's the first day of school, my best friend completely blanks me; the other girls don't acknowledge my existence at all... and I've already had a brain stuffed in my locker, and now it really, really smells." Mona let out a sob, and unsure, and uneasy, Jason lightly patted her back.

"Uh..." Jason said, not quite sure how to cheer someone up. "You did kind of hound them down by stalking them for months, and you did almost try to kill them more than the one time... and... you were in a mental institution for six months... and..." Jason shook his head at his bluntness. "Sorry, I... I'm not really good around crying people."

"Nope," Mona said, and she laughed shakily. "But you're right. Everything I've done... they should hate me, right?"

Should that even be a question? "No! And Hanna's giving you a change. Aria, Spencer, Emily... they're... they do know you exist. And the brain... not everyone is a saint, hey?" Jason tried joking, but knew he failed when she started to cry again.

"Thank you," Mona said, and as he stood up, he saw Spencer in the corner, eyeing them suspiciously. Mona seemed unscathed as Jason slowly turned back to her, and she tiptoed to wrap her arms around him. His arms felt awkward around her, but he let her hug him all the same, until she smiled, and walked away.

Jason shrugged, and walked to Spencer, who burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Jason said.

"You really are terrible at cheering people up," she remarked.

"How are you not spitting in my face, and pulling my hair?" Jason said, changing the subject.

"Because Hanna..."

"Hanna's already told you?" Jason looked at the clock. "It's been, what... two minutes now?"

"Hanna is a sheep," Spencer exclaimed, as they walked on. "She bleats, and then the whole of China knows. Otherwise known as modern technology." She stopped as they reached the front of school. "Just... be careful, yeah? Around Mona, around everyone."

"Chill," said Jason. "I don't even know what I'm doing. It's just part of Hanna's 'keep your friends closer, but your foes'... that one." Spencer shrugged, laughed, and then walked off, waving. Jason turned around, and felt his phone buzz in his back pocket.

"Hello?" Jason asked.

"Hi." Hanna. "I told Spencer. And Aria. And Emily. And I'm sorry, about telling. And has Mona sucked up to you yet? Jason? Jason? Why aren't you..." Her voice trailed off. "Okay, I was joking about not knowing what 'budding' meant. I do. Jason?"

"I would answer, if you let me get a word in edgeways," Jason laughed. "And yes, she has. And I know what I'm going to do."

(He did. Just about.)

"No way!"

"Aria..."

"Excuse me, are you asking for a death threat? This is Mona we're talking about. You're not seriously going to try and make her trust you, so you can find out some information? That's crazy, Jason, and no, I do not approve."

"I wasn't calling for your approval. I was just calling for acceptance," Jason sighed from the other line. "I told you, a while back, that I'd do anything to stop A, whether you wanted me to or not. This is exactly what it implies – think about it."

"How do you know if she really will trust you?"

"She probably won't," Jason said admittedly. "But my theory is, is that she's sucking up to me because she wants information about you girls, in return for trying to wind me weak with false hope that I'll find out who Ali's killer is. And plus, I called Caleb and Toby, too."

"Theories aren't always correct."

"I know. But there was never any harm in trying," Jason said. "Talking of which... have you asked your dad–"

"Eugh, not you now," Aria groaned. "Let me make it clear – MY DAD DID NOT – shoot, I have to go. Um, uh, I'll call you later." Aria cut Jason's protests off with her own opinion. "Okay, I will ask."

"Hey, sweetie," Byron walked in her bedroom as Aria threw her phone upon the ground – this was where she began to question herself; question him. He was her freaking father, for goodness' sake, and yet here she was, debating on whether to trust him, or not.

"Did you like Alison?" she shot at him.

He looked a little taken aback, and started his words off slowly, as if he didn't know the answer himself. (He probably didn't, and that was exactly why she was asking.) "I liked all of your friends."

And he left, leaving the door wide open.

Sometimes, a few emotional words, a few tears shed, and a completely fake personality can't always make a person forgive you – it takes more than that. Much, much more.

The girls – Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily – seem to be able to see beyond the Mona in the screen. And with a page ripped from Ali's old diary beside them, as words are spoken, they know that anything's possible. (Especially if this time the story's about a girl called Alison, and her tendency to blackmail older men, namely, one, Byron Montgomery.)

(It takes one mad cow to know another.)

They're all insane.

"Has Mona told you anything yet?" Caleb asked Jason as he walked into the DiLaurentis household.

"Uh..." Jason started. "No. She mentioned something about 'a missing page from a diary', but we currently don't have that diary, so basically, we're fucked." Pause. "You know, I kinda doubt we'll get anything from her, I mean, she's Mona, you and I both know that she's capable of physically (and mentally) everything, so yep. We're fucked."

"We're fucked," nodded Caleb. "And she has as much trust in me as she does in a three-toes sloths."

"Yeah, but sloths don't speak English," Jason said, with no emotion in his voice at all.

"And Toby hasn't called back," Caleb said.

"And Toby hasn't called back," Jason repeated. "We're fucked."

"We're fucked," nodded Caleb. "Very."

The silence that came soon after was replaced by the faint swish swish of a piece of scrap paper flying in through the window above the kitchen sink. They walked to investigate, and picked it up to examine.

It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it.

"What does that mean?" questioned Caleb.

"I don't know, Spencer's the decipher-er," Jason narrowed his eyes at the words on the note. "But I recognise it. From somewhere. Maybe a book... a film... a..." He stopped abruptly, and Caleb looked at him weirdly. "Sorry. I just... I swear someone was just there." He pointed out at the window on the other side of the house.

"It's probably a squirrel, Jason," Caleb said.

"Yeah," nodded Jason.

Aria coughed, and coughed, and coughed. She felt horrible. Her head was spinning. She was spinning. Did she mention feeling horrible?

"Tea," Meredith smiled her sickly smile at her – her father was out of town, and being alone with her was absolute inferno, but at least she wasn't that satanic as she expected her to be. "Are you feeling alright?" When Aria nodded, Meredith then asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

Aria hesitated – she really didn't trust Meredith, especially with what she'd overheard the day before. They – Meredith and Byron – were looking for something. Something that apparently Aria had in her grasp.

"Sure," said Aria.

Meredith sighed, and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Do you think your father could intentionally hurt Alison?"

Aria didn't answer: she didn't have one.