et-reader97: I haven't really done mentions before in stories, so thank you for reviewing! And yeah, Mono is trying to stay confident with his abilities, but there's also to be noted he doesn't really want to end up how he does as the Thin Man. Poor powerful Mono. :'0 When I was researching Little Nightmares stuff after the second game threw me in the rabbit hole, I found the comics on the fandom wiki and kinda just kept those in mind. Really the only characters I used from there was the Ferryman, but I mentioned the group of human children not liking Six. And yes, the idea of two different sorts of people affected and unaffected in a monstrous ways makes you think. Thankfully, there's more where that came from as Mono ends up thinking and theorizing more!

Alright, so introducing the shortest chapter so far! I just wanted there to be a filler chapter so I don't jump straight into the Maw, so now you have this. It's mostly just dialogue, like Chapter Four, but this time you get more of Six talking. I thought that would be clever considering it's uhm... Chapter... Six... *cough*

Anyways, enjoy!

Favorites and Follows are thanked. Reviews are encouraged!

Fomes of white erupted from the blue waters as an oar was pulled out, then plunged back down with a gentle splash. Mono watched the rhythmic rowing from his side of the boat, hands holding onto the side. The gentle ocean breeze lifted the trail of his trenchcoat every so often. Between the misty cloud, the moon shone with a graceful silver before vanishing.

All of a sudden, the boat stopped moving, drifting with the currents. Creaking of the lantern filled the silence momentarily.

But Six was the one to break it officially. "Why are we stopping?"

The Ferryman slid the drenched paddles into the boat. Slivers of water rushed down onto the bottom, forming a thin layer. Mono did not mind as much, but Six curled in her leg to her chest, arms wrapped around them.

"Why are we stopping?" she asked again, irritation leaking out through her voice. Many times throughout their dangerous trek to the Signal Tower, Mono had heard Six's remark to her dislike of being wet. That loathing seemed to persist when they traveled through a screen to a village that rested nearby the ocean.

And now they were right on the trails to the devastating ship called the Maw. The two didn't know much about it other than it was home to a dangerous force known as the Lady. She was said to be the splitting image perfectly placed morning dew. Whatever that meant...

"Yee exp'ctin' me 'ta 'e rowin' all 'n 'ay 'er?" The Ferryman spread out on his post, body relaxing.

Mouth widening, Six was about to say something in response. Probably a "Yes, I do because this is something that is of high importance and we're IN A RUSH!". That would've been a very Six thing to say, if not maybe in those exact words. But whatever she considered saying, she didn't. Maybe she predicted the Ferryman would easily throw them overboard if he decided they were wasting his time and such.

Mono looked back out into the ocean. Small blurry shapes of a fluorescent cyan circled the boat, looking like the water's own shooting stars. How pretty.

Currents brushed against the side of the boat repeatedly. Never large enough to become treacherous waves, but there was a gentle rocking once or twice.

The Ferryman looked up at the sky above. Mono could not see his expression and wished not to tune into him without some sort of consent, so he naturally followed his gaze upwards. The clouds were dotted with splotches of dark, dark black. Some looked like someone had tried pulling it down from the sky, but failed, leaving smudges across the horizon.

"'M. Figures."

"Is something wrong?" Mono asked.

"Nutin'. Eh just 'n sky turn' all 'ark. Ain't good weat'er fo' h'ntin' eh Maw, ey?"

He frowned slightly, "I guess not?"

The Ferryman suddenly shook with a thundering bout of laughter. The boat teetered this way and that. Six released a high pitched gasp at the thin layer of water that splashed inside the bottom.

After a while, he stopped laughing. Water from the ocean seeped over the edges as the Ferryman readjusted himself. Legs placed themselves firmly onto the floor, one hand gripping his seat, the other with his elbow placed upon his knee, covered face rested in the palm of his hand.

"Yee be curious 'orts," their captain began, "comin' outta 'vision w'th Tansmerion f'ickin at ya fing'rs. Comin' 'aying yee need 'n sail 'or eh Maw." His face turned to Mono. "'Peat 'er yee 'rum again?"

The reply was almost automatic. "The Pale City."

"Aye. Aye 'eard of 'n place. Us'd ta be 'n place 'o 'naced tecks. 'Aid once 'm city 'er g'and 'fore it came 'n turned innercent folks ta m'nstas."

Mono nodded. He heard the tales. He heard the theories. He made the theories. But what he hadn't heard was the story from someone else who didn't seem to live there.

Oh, that was a good question to ask! "Have you been there?"

Ferryman grunted. "Folks call yee...?"

It took Mono a while to realize that was a question. A question about his identity.

"U-uh oh! It's Mono. L-like monochromatic or mononucleosis or mono... tune..." His voice drifted slowly into a hushed silence. He was rambling. The silence matched the Ferryman's own. Mono sat up a little taller. "It means one."

"Aye. Mono... Hm?" Arms shifted and so did the boat. "W're yee 'roy Mono?"

"...Huh?"

Six spoke instead. "He's asking what your story is, dumbass."

The remark didn't phase him. Mono looked out at the ocean, catching the brief reflection of the moon on the water before it vanished again behind dark clouds. Mono tried to think about his story, his past. Who were his parents? He didn't know. Or maybe he did and just forgot. Where did he live? Everywhere it seemed, but mostly that unforgivable city. When he tried to think about specific events, all he could think about was when he couldn't save all those children when flames roared in hatred around them. And oh the screams...

The Ferryman must have noticed Mono's slice was one of a person who would rather not talk about. Or rather who didn't know how to. He tuend to Six.

"Oh great. My turn." Six scowled, adjusting her hood, moving herself to a more comfortable position with her legs crossed. Those little white shorts of hers peeked out from the gap, but she did not seem to care about decency. "I would start at the beginning- blah blah blah- but that's all boring stuff. The real fun began when I awoke as a prisoner in a huge mansion that balanced on a spire of an island. They call it the Nest."

The Nest. Mono'd heard of that place. Just like Six described, it was a large mansion that rested on an island that shot up into the sky. It was said that one did not simply come across the Nest, but instead found themselves there suddenly. And not randomly. Other than that, Mono didn't know much about it.

"I don't remember how I got there. All I remember was this girl that wore a yellow raincoat." She shifted uncomfortably. "She was keen on escaping, like me. She always tried to help me though, like you Mono. But when I tried to help her once, she-"

Six stopped, and didn't need to continue. The Ferryman didn't press her, and Mono didn't either. The ending to the story was an easy one that tested Six's capabilities to grow close to others.

That girl in the yellow raincoat had died.