Six grabbed at Mono's arm trying to pull him away, watching as he stared mesmerized by the screen. Couldn't he tell that this was dangerous? She wondered why he was so curious in a world that could literally kill them. She felt a lump in her throat as the man in the TV approached. She let out a scream, tugging on Mono's arm one last time before letting her hands fall away. She ran and didn't wait to see if he was following. She hid, watching the doorway, and never felt so relieved to watch him run into the room. He slid under the bed next to her. He curled up as close to her as he possibly could. When the man entered the room the sound that followed made Six's head ring, but it seemed to bother Mono more.
Six moved closer to him watching with wide terrified eyes as the man stood there, seeming to know they were somewhere nearby, but not knowing exactly where. Eventually he retreated into the hall. Six turned to look at Mono who still had his hands pressed against the bag on his head. A sob left him making Six jump slightly. She reached out towards him, but he rolled away from her. He lay on his back hands now pressed firmly where she assumed his eyes were.
"I'm so sorry," He cried louder than he should have. She shushed him before letting out a small puff of annoyance. Now wasn't the time to get emotional, they needed to run before the man came back. She grabbed his arm pulling on it, but he didn't budge.
"Come on," She whispered, wanting to kick him, they could cry when they were safe. If he was sorry then he could make up for it, by helping her get out of danger. With a few more tugs she was able to get Mono out from under the bed. He was still sniffling quietly as she took his hand and slowly led him through the hallway. She was sure there had to be a way out through the room they'd been in, but upon entering the room she couldn't see anything besides the TV. Being that the man who'd chased them had come out of there she wasn't too keen on the idea of sticking around it.
She dropped Mono's hand to quickly look around the other areas to see if there was anywhere else they could go. She sighed defeated after finding nothing. Mono had followed her back into the hallway, having stopped crying. His bag was wet now and it had to be annoying. Six clenched her hand looking away form him, ignoring her impulse to reach up and try to dry it.
"There's no way out," she whispered, still not sure if they were in the clear or not. Mono reached out grabbing her wrist. Six looked up at him wondering what he was doing. He was leading her back into the room with the TV. Mono didn't say anything, but his body language told Six that he had some kind of plan. He walked up to the TV pressing his hand up against it again. Six watched horrified as pictures rapidly flashed on the screen. She tried with all her strength to pull away from him. She didn't know what he was doing, but she wasn't going to let him drag her into this mess. Six wasn't going to die here, she'd fought too much to survive. She'd seen too much for this curious fool to be what kills her.
She wasn't strong or fast enough to pull away from him though. She felt a buzzing on her arm where Mono's hand was as they both tumbled forward into the TV. They were spat out almost as quickly as they'd entered it. Six landed on her face clenching her jaw from the pain that radiated though it. She turned her head to glare at Mono as he lay next to her still clutching her wrist. She scrambled away from him seething in that moment wanting to yell at him and hit him, but knowing she couldn't afford to make that much noise.
Mono pushed himself off the ground groaning as he did so. Six was looking around the room thankful that they weren't trapped anymore. She and Mono made eye contact having a silent conversation between them. They knew that they had to keep going, that their journey didn't end here. Mono took her hand giving it a light squeeze as though he was trying to say it would be alright. Or maybe it was his way of saying sorry. She followed him, hoping that doing so wouldn't put them into further danger.
Six didn't like traveling through the TVs, but was thankful that the people of the city were more interested in blankly staring at the screen than chasing two children. It was nice to be able to catch their breath for once and not have to worry about what was going to kill them next. Six didn't want to find out what would happen if the TVs were ever turned off. She didn't want to get a better look at those sunken faces.
Mono stood on a roof top staring at the signal tower for longer than Six was comfortable with. She grabbed his hand pulling him along after she swore she saw him flicker. He seemed more determined to reach their destination than before. Six knew that the calm demeanor of their journey wasn't going to last forever. She just wished it hadn't been interrupted by the man crawling out of the TV. Six was getting ready to boost Mono up to open the door for them when that sound rang through the room. Six watched Mono with wide eyes. They had to run.
Six ran past him confidant that he would follow her. It was when a scream echoed out behind her that she regretted not grabbing his hand. She turned around so fast she thought the world might spin with her. Six stood there for a moment in shock. There was a sort of echo of Mono left behind. She'd seen these before. The other children, she just didn't know that this is why they were left behind. Which made her panic. Was he dead? She gripped her hands into balls so tight they shook as she watched that flickering shadow disappear.
No, she thought shaking her head. Some part of her was sure she'd know if he was dead. She wasn't going to stand around and think about the strange sort of power she felt buzzing under her skin. Six was just going to take comfort in the idea of Mono being okay. With a deep breath to steady her heart beat she continued her journey towards the tower. She could only hope that's where Mono was taken since he seemed to be drawn to it. This was for some reason the easiest part of her journey. There was no danger, nothing trying to harm her. It made her more worried than when she was being chased. At least when something was chasing her she knew what the danger was.
Six felt like she'd been invited into the tower when she approached it. The door swung wide open for her. She felt like it brought her to Mono with purpose. Like it knew her only instinct was to survive. Knew that fear would grab her heart and refuse to let go when she laid eyes on Mono's twisted form. That it knew she would, on shaky legs, try to run away from Mono. Like it wanted to watch their friendship fall away before either of them could make a choice.
It was wrong.
Sure, Six's legs felt like they were jello as she approached him and every nerve in her body was telling her to run and never look back. Her mind was screaming at her that this wasn't her friend anymore. Telling her over and over again that he was now the same as the other monsters, and she wanted to listen. The thoughts were so loud it was like someone was screaming at her.
Six swallowed the lump in her throat, her heart pounding as she called out to him. Mono turned, but the way he was moving looked like he was in a panic. She wanted to calm him down, wanted to tell him it would be okay, but her feet were stuck to the ground. He was too big and she could only think of the large things in this world that had tried to hurt her. She called out to him again causing his thrashing to get worse. Maybe he couldn't see her or didn't know it was her standing here. Six watched in a slight panic as the bag he used to hide his face came off with so much ease she had to wonder if it was part of some kind of plan made by the tower.
Six had to hide when he started to destroy the room. She held her breath sitting under a table with her back pressed against the wall. It felt like that moment in the hunters cabin, when he smashed down the door and she hid from him. She was afraid of him. There was a snapping sound that came from somewhere above them. Six looked up in time to see a TV come crashing down onto Mono. She let out a cry, attempting to rush out to help him, when the room just seemed to fall away.
Six landed flat on her back letting out a small puff of air as she hit the floor. She groaned, holding a hand to her side as she sat up. Looking around she wondered why she was brought back to the main room of the tower and then she wondered how she was going to find Mono. Fear gripped her and she hoped he was okay. So she started running. She was lead into door after door of glowing purple mist. Then she'd be spit out, landing ungracefully onto the floor and usually back into the same hallway. Sometimes it was a different hallway, but she couldn't tell why some doors made a difference. Six was starting to feel sick and laid on the ground a little longer after she was spit out again.
She heard the sound of static coming from down the hall as she laid there. Six looked down the hall taking a deep breath as she forced herself to get up. She hoped that this would be the last door, because she wasn't sure how many more she could take. She might just lay down and let the tower take her if she had to suffer though it anymore. Six reached the door the static was pouring out of and pushed as hard as she could, grunting as it slowly creaked and groaned open.
Static poured out of the room so loud she had to fight to not cover her ears. She'd come here for a reason. Mono sat in the middle of the room, his twisted limbs curling around himself. He no longer had a head, or it was replaced with a TV it seemed. A high pitched whine that came from the TV made her drop to her knees and desperately clutch her head. Covering her ears did nothing to stop the noise. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she started to get dizzy. She couldn't help the scream that tore through her.
Then, like it hadn't ever been there, the noise stopped. She pulled her hands away and stared down at them as they shook. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she watched them fall as the ringing in her ears continued. She saw Mono's hand move, coming towards her. She tried to move out of the way, tried to back up quickly get away from whatever danger this might be. Her head was spinning though and the quick movement only served to make her fall over. She expected to land on the cold ground to be made into nothing more than a stain on the floor. Instead she laid in the hand that had reached out to her. Mono pulled her closer cradling her gently.
"H-hey." She called out, trying hard not to show the shakiness in her voice. She was sure the fear in her body language was already enough to hurt him. The TV buzzed quietly in response, but his body shifted pulling Six closer to him. Six stood on his hand looking around the room they were in. A room that seemed to be melting. For a moment she wondered if this would have happened to her had she been the one taken.
She'd come here to help Mono. Six glanced up at the TV on his head, wincing slightly. She looked away from the cuts and scrapes covering his neck. At least it told her that his head hadn't turned into the TV. Didn't explain why it still worked though. Six stepped off his hand and the TV made noise at her, she assumed in protest. She patted his arm as she walked by him. A soft consistent sound came from the TV above her once she was out of sight. It wasn't the same kind of panicked sound the static seemed to be. It was soothing, maybe like he was trying to calm himself.
Six studied the room trying to figure out what caused him to deform like this and if there were any way she could change him back. The melted walls held deformed toys, and it struck her as odd. It felt like the room had changed to comfort Mono. There were pictures on the wall and she couldn't make out what they were, but she was sure one of them was of her. She wandered over to the wall picking up a remote controller. She glanced at Mono before putting it into her pocket. It might come in handy later.
She didn't know how to turn him back, but she was sure that she had to get him out of here. Maybe it was the tower. Maybe there was something in here doing this to him. Trying to keep him safe or just keep him. She shook her head - she wasn't sure if that's what it was. She put her hand around his deformed finger and his hand closed around hers. She started walking and he followed. She had no idea how to get out of this tower since it seemed to make her wander around aimlessly. She still wasn't sure how she found him in the end.
Six was leading them towards a doorway hoping they could find some way out of there. Maybe popping in and out of doorways wouldn't be so bad if she had someone to do it with. The hand that engulfed hers pulled back so quick and hard that it hurt and Six nearly let out a cry of pain. She looked at Mono as the TV let out a long string of beeps. She had to trust that he was telling her something. That he was aware of something that she couldn't be. Six knew that Mono had some kind of connection to the tower.
Mono held out his hand laying it flat on the ground. It seemed he insisted on picking her up and holding her in his open palm. Six didn't like the idea of being carried in a hand large enough to crush her. It didn't seem like he was willing to budge despite her protests and she didn't like the idea of upsetting him with the form he currently had. So she sat in his hand, pulling her legs tight to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. It made her feel safe. Safe in a way Mono usually did, but not when he was like this. She glanced up at him wincing again at the cuts around his neck. She hoped when he went back to normal, he wouldn't have them any more.
They wandered through the tower for what seemed like days. Six was sure it was only a few minutes but time felt strange here, wrong somehow. She was trying hard to ignore the things appearing and disappearing out of the corner of her eye. The image of Mono, her Mono, was hard to ignore though and she couldn't stop herself from turning her head just to look. There wasn't anything there besides a hallway that looked ready to fall apart.
She couldn't look away though. It felt like she really should have seen something or someone standing there. She did eventually tear her eyes away, curling up on herself more. The TV above her started buzzing. She didn't look up, since there wouldn't be anything to see besides static. She wished that she knew what he was trying to say. Maybe he was telling her not to look or maybe he wanted to make sure she was okay. She couldn't respond, didn't know how to.
A door appeared in front of them startling Six. She jumped up in Mono's hand. There was something unsettling about this door. Something that made her both want to run away and never leave. It felt like electricity was running through her when Mono's hand reached out towards it. Six could feel panic settling in her stomach. Six turned and climbed up Mono's coat to sit on his shoulder. She felt more in control up here. A loud beeping sound came from the TV. Six covered her ears watching him grab at the hand she was just in.
"Oi," she tried yelling over the sound kicking her heel into his shoulder. He tried looking down at her, but the TV prevented him from doing so. His large hand reached up carefully searching for her. Six reached out gently patting his deformed hand. The beeping stopped and he reached back to the door. It creaked open slowly with six trying to peer inside. She couldn't see anything, as far as she could tell it was just a black void. Mono held his hand up towards his shoulder clearly wanting her to get down. She didn't want to. She gripped his jacket tight in her hands, wanting to just leave.
"I don't want to be here," She told him quietly knowing that right now, body language wouldn't be enough to convey her worry. Mono either didn't hear her or didn't care, because he moved forward through the door. Still holding on to his coat, she was ready to run if she had to. He'd shown her one too many times that he liked to rush head first into danger. It was starting to make her want to leave him here. Suffer the consequences of his actions. Let him rot in this tower. Her hands balled up into tight fists her mind quickly spiraling out of control with dark thoughts.
A soft sound penetrated her thoughts making her body go stiff. Wild eyes turned to the only light in the dark room. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat. A music box, larger than it should be, spinning on it's own and playing a haunting melody, sat in the room. Six felt her body ache to go to it, her mind yearn to sink into its song and fall away from the nightmare she'd been forced to live through. She briefly spared a glance at Mono. He'd brought her here intentionally. He was going to leave her here wasn't he? Six could never read him, she couldn't see behind that mask, and even now his face was still covered, hiding. She'd call him a coward if she was any better.
The music in the room seemed to increase in volume, demanding her attention. She wanted to ignore it, wanted to climb off Mono's shoulder and run, never looking back. It was making her mind feel dizzy though, like the sound of it was slowly erasing any thought she had. Six didn't realize she was heading toward it until Mono's hand gently let her down onto the floor. She shook her head violently trying desperately to regain any control over herself. She turned back to Mono, the TV on his head quietly beeping in tune to the music box. Something about the sound it made brought Six back for just a moment to the reality of the situation.
She was mad, madder than she'd ever been. Furious with him for thinking he knows what's best for her. Ready to cry at the idea that Mono thought this was a better place for her to be than sticking by his side. That he was so willing to sacrifice himself and live as a monster to give her peace. She wasn't going to let that happen. She wasn't going to let the tower have them both. It would have to kill her before she gave into the lull of the music box. With a hint of desperation Six jammed her hand into her pocket pulling out the remote she'd grabbed earlier. Mono either didn't notice or was just content to have Six here, in this room, because he didn't react when she pointed it at him. With a deep breath she pressed the button.
The wail that left him had her nearly on her knees. She dropped the remote in an attempt to cover her ears. She was glad to have something to drown out the sound of the music box. Six's hands shook as she reached down to grab the remote again. She didn't want to make him suffer, especially with the way his deformed hands gripped at the TV and pulled. Six had to look away from him, she had to get him to break that music box before she turned it off. She couldn't hear that song again. She didn't know if she could fight it a second time.
Six let out a scream when Mono's hand reached out and grabbed her faster than she could react. Six let out gasping breaths, unable to take a deep one. It felt like he was trying to crush her. She was too panicked to think about just turning off the TV, which was clearly the thing that had caused him to react like this. She looked up at him horrified at what she saw. It was the same flashing pictures she saw every time Mono had them travel through the TV. She could also feel that electric buzz though her body. She looked down at his hand wanting to scream again when she noticed the flickering of it.
No. No. No. NO!
He wouldn't shove her though the TV right? They were friends, he brought her here to be safe, right? There was nothing she could do to convince herself that this wasn't happening as he brought her towards the TV. She screamed in some kind of twisted combination of anger and betrayal. He didn't have the right to make these choices for her. She didn't even know if she could survive on the other side without him. Six didn't even know where she would end up if he did shove her though the TV. It was painfully clear the tower wanted Mono, so what would it do with her since she wasn't of any use to it.
She wriggled in his hand trying to get her arm free. If she could just turn the TV off he wouldn't be able to do this to her. Forget the music box. If she wasn't here, she couldn't help him at all. Relief washed over her as she finally freed her arm, but she wasn't fast enough to turn it off before she felt the cool touch of the glass screen. She felt it, that static running though her body, that feeling of being taken though the TV. Six closed her eyes, she didn't want to watch this happen. She didn't want to be forced to leave him, it should be her choice. She should get to choose to leave him behind. An unexplained and overwhelming urge came over her and she found herself biting down hard on one of Mono's fingers. She'd make him let go.
She just didn't expect to be flung hard into a wall. She fell, crumpled on the ground feeling as though she would never be able to catch her breath. She still felt that static cling to her and could see something flickering out of the corner of her vision. Six could barely keep her eyes open though. She glanced over at Mono weakly pointing the remote at him - turning the TV off. She wouldn't do that again. She closed her eyes letting the darkness and the music playing softly just take her. She couldn't fight right now. She needed to rest.
A/N: Don't look at me abandoning a fic I started Years ago and never finished and judge me. It's not a good fic. Read this instead.