AN: Special thanks to Yukalight for the review. I'm looking to improve my writing so seeing your thoughts on the initial chapter made me realize I was nailing the tone I wanted so far.

The buzzing stopped.

Mono couldn't bring himself to rejoice at the fact. He was curled up on the ground, feeling wrong. He felt weightless yet pulled to the side, while every bone in his body felt out of place by an inch.

It took only a couple of seconds for the feeling to go away, replaced with fatigue. Mono really just wanted to lay there and sleep, but he knew better than to risk it. He couldn't remember where he was, or how he got here, which made this place not safe.

Forcing his eyes open, he spotted a small yellow limb move away from him. Looking around, he saw a familiar girl in a yellow raincoat. They were sprawled next to a picture box.

'Right, the door...' he thought, realizing he once again made it to the tunnel that haunted him every time he dreamed. That empty, cold tunnel that was lit by a blue door at the end of it. He was so close to opening it, but she stopped him.

Again.

The buzzing began to return, as a minor annoyance rather than the swarm of bees trying to exit his head five minutes ago. He slowly got up and inspected his surroundings. There was a big stairway going to the next floor, one dark corridor from where they had come, and an open lit door next to the stairs. Several huge dolls that were missing limbs were sitting on the various chairs around the picture box.

This place was far too open to safely nap, Mono decided. Not feeling like climbing the stairs, he wobbled in the direction of the lit room, not checking to see if she was following him.

The first room was still too open, Mono decided. It was mostly empty safe for an elevator that looked like it still worked, and another open lit room at the end of it. Vaguely he considered sleeping behind one of the doors, but they all had huge holes in them.

The next room was too weird, Mono decided. It had a bunch of black paper on the wall with white sketches, and a switch connected to a window that was sitting in the middle of the room. The open door at the end of the room sealed the deal for him, so he wobbled on.

The last room was just right, Mono decided. It had only one door and no windows, so it was easy to keep an eye out for trouble. It was also filled to the brim with a lot of cool toys, including a big stuffed bear on top of the table. And speaking of, the table was not only big enough for him to hide under, but it was also placed under a nice warm carpet.

Decision made, he dropped into a lethargic roll till he was under the table. His mission accomplished, he raised his hand over his head and covered his eyes from the light with his rat hat. Silently, he considered pulling out his paper bag, which was a lot better at blocking out the light, but he really couldn't be asked to care right now.

"Hey..." a familiar voice whisper from next to the table, confirming she did follow along. "You still awake?"

He really, really wanted to answer no. A small voice in his head pointed out her tone was not scared, so they weren't in any obvious danger. And that was exactly why he couldn't ignore it. There was only one thing he knew for certain about the girl, and it was that she did not like to talk unless there was no choice in the matter, so for her to start a conversation meant that this was important to her. With that in mind, Mono got up groggily from under the table, leaving the rat hat under it.

"...Yeah?" he said so quietly even he had trouble hearing it. With a shake of his head he tried to wake himself up before he tried again. "What's up?"

She moved her head to the side so as not to look his way. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"...That?" Mono asked, confused. He instantly realized that was the wrong answer when she whipped her head to snarl in his face.

"That door!" she shouted while stomping a foot. "Why do you keep trying to open it!"

'Oh...right...that...' thought the little boy. He opened his mouth to answer, but then he paused. It had been a long time since he asked himself that question.

Trying to open that door came as naturally as breathing to him. The very thought of not doing so made him shudder. But though you could tell someone that you breathe because you had to, he knew that saying that about the door would just upset her, more than he already had. So he racked his brain for a better answer.

"I think…" Mono began, a fragment of his older memory coming back to him. He was staring at himself in a puddle, trying to talk himself into running away from the door till he woke up. "I think I'm just scared."

"You think?!" she hissed, making Mono flinch. "If you know there's a monster behind that door then how about leaving it closed!"

"You don't k…" he began to defend himself but stopped. Whatever was behind that door, monster or not, he knew it was better off left alone. He shook his head, more for himself than for the girl, before he spoke again. "It's not the monster I'm scared of."

He could feel her frown from under the hood as she crossed her arms. "Then what?"

"I'm afraid that door will stay closed forever."

Her fingers clenched around the shoulders of the raincoat as silence filled the room. It was honestly making it harder for him to stay awake, and he leaned on the table for support. He wasn't sure if there was anything else that needed to be said, but he decided to let her be the judge of that.

"...Why?" She said eventually, a hint of frustration in her voice. "What does that even mean?"

"I feel...trapped I guess. Whenever I'm in that place. That...the only way out is through that door. I know its stupid, I'm here right now right?" he paused to look around him for a blue light. "But when I'm there...even when I remember to go the other way for a while, I get so scared I can't control myself and just...turn around eventually."

"Well, you're right about one thing, it's a trap," she said with no small amount of annoyance, a slight tremor in her voice. "You're going to open the door and whatever is on the other side is going to...eat you or something!"

Mono clenched his fist and looked away in frustration. It was one thing to think about the possibilities and another thing to be told. This felt more certain, more finite. The girl in the yellow raincoat looked away as well, not happy about his reaction but even less happy about the situation."You better not expect me to try and save you just because you're weak."

"I don't," Mono replied with certainty, noticing her tense from the corner of his eyes. "If I get caught, it's my fault. I don't want you to get hurt because I can't control myself."

He looked her way to make sure she didn't think this was a joke. "So, just find a place to hide and stay safe when that happens."

The girl in the yellow raincoat began to shake. She managed to let go of one shoulder only to ball her fist in Mono's direction. With a growl she hammered thin air before stomping her way out of the room. "IDIOT!"

As the sound of her steps faded away, Mono gave a sigh and quietly made his way back under the table, being careful not to squash his new hat. The one she gave him. Frustratingly, the sleep he yearned for was not coming as quickly as it had before, instead replaced with an ache in his chest.

'Nothing I can do about it...' he tried to reason with himself.

That door will be opened. He didn't know when and he didn't know if it will be by his hands. But nonetheless, that door will be opened, and that fact was frustrating her as much as it used to frustrate him. Mono opened his eyes and rolled on his back, staring blankly at the table that was offering him protection. A sudden thought struck him as he remembered what was on it.

It would be a meaningless gesture. What she wanted was not something he could fix. For all the dangers that he faced and monsters that he fought, he couldn't control his own mind. Still, he had nothing better to do now that he couldn't sleep.

She hadn't gone far, thankfully. She was curled up under one of the tables in the next room, in the corner with the black papers on the wall. The sound of something scraping alerted her that Mono was getting close, and she tilted her head enough to glare at him.

Not that Mono could tell for certain, between her bags and the raincoat. But he could feel daggers being glared his way, so he put the big stuffed bear between them as a shield while he waddled his way towards her, stopping a couple feet away from her. Worried that whatever he would say would upset her more, he opted for a quiet apology as he put the bear down and quietly made his way back to the playroom.

"The duck was cuter," the girl grumbled before Mono could make it to the door.

He held back a groan, half of him happy she didn't sound mad, the other half frustrated at the prospect of another trip. He yawned, the ache in his chest beginning to fade as he went into the room and, after a quick look around, spotted a duck with wheels. It didn't look that cute to him, but that may have had something to do with a trap he had to dodge while they were in the school.

Mono approached her again, and this time her head was raised and she wasn't glaring, or at the very least Mono didn't feel like using the duck as a shield. This gave him the confidence to get close and pass her the toy directly.

Wordlessly she took it and played a bit with it, testing the wheels to see if it worked. "You should sleep."

Mono breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to fully relax. It felt good to patch things up, especially after everything they've been through so far. His worries gone, his sleepiness returned in full force, and he turned around to head to the playroom for hopefully the final time.

"You can use the bear if you want," she said before he could take a step. "I'll wake you up if there's trouble."

Mono paused and turned his head to look at the stuffed bear that failed at its job. He was a bit miffed with it for that reason, but it was big, it was fluffy, and it was right next to him. Another yawn sealed the deal, and Mono lazily tackled the stuffed toy to the ground and closed his eyes.

He fell on the floor of an empty blue corridor, and he felt scared.

AN: Thank you all for your time, and have a nice day.