Or-lan-do626: XD Yeah! But RK's a sweet child at heart, keep that noted!
airdrink27: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! I sure am having fun writing it myself. And- oh look! Another chapter! :D
I hope ya'll have had a nice weekend. I took mine with a bit of a break, cleaned some stuff, and thought about some future events of planning when it comes to notebook edition. Up to about Chapter 14 there with some exciting stuff getting ready to commence!
Anyways, let's get back to our regularly tuned schedule, shall we?
Favorites and Follows are thanked. Reviews are encouraged!
(Also, don't be afraid to ask questions whether confused or curious!)
Mono released a low breath when that terrifying monster with the long arms left. He should've expected monsters would inhabit a big ship like this, but at the same time the Ferryman told him and Six nothing about strange monsters other than bewaring the Lady. She was the only person, so Mono was left with no worries.
It was only when the Ferryman had shoved them in that suitcase of his own and delivered them onto the ship without a goodbye. Six hadn't been surprised by his betrayal, but she definitely did not enjoy being trapped in a dark confined area with herself unwillingly intertwined with Mono. Mono himself didn't mind the physical contact too much even if it did feel a little too uncomfortable. And way too intimate for either of their liking. Maybe it was only an hour or thirty minutes later when he considered blowing up the case, if his powers could do that.
Luckily, he didn't have to try. Both the children perked up when they heard the case's locks click open and a sliver of light beaming at them. Six was quick, pushing the top open with her feet (as she was laying on her back the whole time and Mono his side). At once they were greeted with about six odd creatures with cone heads looking at them. Once the children began moving out of the suitcase, the strange creatures darted this way and that and disappeared into some hiding spots.
He rolled his shoulder, a knick already forming. Mono's bag had seemingly fallen off his face when they fell asleep on the little rowboat. Before they were shoved in a cage and practically handed over to the Lady.
"Ugh it's all wet!" Six groaned. She fixed her hair and was trying to avoid any of the puddles that spotted the floor.
Mono put the bag back over his head, where it rightfully belonged. "Hm. It looked like we're far down below the deck." A small light from above flickered. "Way below."
"The Maw doesn't have a deck," she sneered. "It wasn't in the poster."
"Maybe the poster was made before everything happened to the world. It might be outdated. It could actually be outdated for all we know."
Six faced him and Mono tried to give her his best nonchalant shrug.
"You sure like making assumptions."
"They aren't assumptions," Mono said, "they're theories. And honestly, I'm just guessing. We never actually got to see the Maw from the outside because... Uhm..." They walked over to a vent too tall for them to reach. Six went into her familiar lifting position- knees bent, hands cupped and ready to give Mono a push.
She gave him a small grunt as a reply as she lifted him up, giving Mono the leverage he needed to grab a hold of the edge of the vent to climb inside. On his hands and knees he crawled over to the other side. A hallway was waiting for him, a few more flickering swaying lamps above giving him only enough light to see what little the hallway had.
"Looks pretty empty," Mono reported to Six in a hushed voice.
"Is there any way for me to get over there?"
"Doesn't look like it."
He heard an exasperated sigh from her as he jumped down from the vent. The wall was thin enough for her voice to still be pretty audible. "Then just try to make a hole with your antimatter magic or something."
Mono couldn't help the amused chuckle that came from his mouth. Although they both didn't know how to describe Mono's abilities in two words or less, "antimatter magic" was definitely a name he would not give it. He wasn't actually sure he could even bust a hole in the wall. It was worth a try in the end.
The hall gave away a slight echo as Mono took a closer look around. Maybe there was some form of entry hidden with the darker parts of the hall where the lights didn't shine. His search ended up being useless, so now it was time to make a hole in a wall. Mono didn't know if he could as he placed his hands on the flat metal. A wave of cold made him shiver. Doubts poured in his mind- what if he couldn't do it? He shoved those pesky thoughts aside. He would try.
He waited for a second. Would something happen? Was... Was he supposed to feel something?
Mono looked at his hands. When he had used his powers before, normally black particles would come across his skin, temporarily deteriorating his physique. Space would wrap and blur around his fingers. He's seen it first hand so many times, but he realized just now that the instances he's usually used them was when he was filled with a rush of adrenaline. Or perhaps when he was filled with overwhelming emotions.
Mono tried to raise something within him, maybe cause his heart to ache with sorrow or anger, but he was so calm. Giving up on that, he instead focused on something breaking, maybe the wall bending into itself. Maybe imagery was the key here. The wall would force itself to fracture, the pressure causing the metal to crumble enough and snap and form a hole.
A lightbulb shattered overhead. Mono groaned, bag crunching as he laid his head on the wall.
Six must have been paying attention to the entire event of failure. "Nevermind that," she said, voice full of sympathy. "See if you can find another way in."
"I could try to find one of those holes. The hiding spots of those tiny creatures."
Speaking of one, a cone shaped head peeked out from the hole in a corner. Plants of wood had been boarded up to cover what Mono presumed to be a larger section of the hole. He took a step towards it and immediately the creature ducked back into its hideaway. Instantly Mono was on the wood, using raw strength to rip the plants off their makeshift hinges. The first one fell off easily, causing Mono to stumble back in surprise, the wood falling from his hands and clattering to the floor. He tried to rip off the other one, but no luck. It was stuck tight. No worries though. Crouching low to the ground, Mono was able to squeeze through the hole, reentering the room Six and the suitcase stayed.
The lamp above had died out and the only source of light he could see was the lighter flicked open in Six's hand. The light did not travel very far, but it was enough to catch the yellow of her coat and the small smile on her face. She trapped them in darkness for a while, crawling through the little hole. Mono followed her, yellow coat his torch until they both emerged in the empty hallway. Two swaying lights above were left to keep the shadows away.
Mono had guessed they were further below any sort of docks the Maw had before, but it turned out they were even further down than he predicted. He wondered briefly how the Ferryman was able to get the case that far down, but his thoughts were cut when the sound of metal clanked loudly over their heads.
Both of them dipped quickly behind the black casted by a few crates. They kept close to the ground, ready to bolt or fight. Listening for anymore sounds, Mono hunted down anything to tune into. There was the monster above them and two energies a bit further down a doorway to their left. Then a third, the newest energy was the drawing force of a television, the feeling of its gate opening so familiar at this point.
Just as the television turned on, not even a minute later did its force flicker out of existence. A loud screech rang through the walls, stabbing needles into his ever compassionate heart with that cry of pain. The cry faded, and at the same time Mono could not tune into that source. Its force flickered out of existence just like the television.
The remaining of the two came closer to Six and Mono, almost passing them. Tuning into this person showed Mono they were human. Utterly human!
He almost didn't think. He lurched forwards and grabbed the back of the stranger's shirt. The fabric was sopping wet and the human looked shocked as Mono dragged them into the shadows. Then annoyed when Six hushed them as their mouth opened, about to speak. Mono hoped they got the clue, but nope. The stranger was stubborn and pulled out a flashlight, clicking the switch on the side. A bright beam of light spread out on the wall. Hastily, Mono waved a hand, the flashlight flashing off. The stranger's expression showed they thought the light was dead. They tried again to talk and this time Mono took the situation in his own hands, quite literally, and placed his hand over their mouth. He felt the movements of their lips and then the feeling of wetness all over his palm.
Oh... Fantastic. Mono kept himself from pulling his hand away, but couldn't stop himself from wincing.
The creature that hung above lowered itself down from the ship's poles and landed on the ground. It made the most horrible sounds of sniffing and heavy breathing mixed together. Out of all the monsters Mono's seen, this one gave him flashbacks to the equally disturbing Teacher. This creature had too short legs and arms that were too long with hands too large. It wore dirty clothes stained with dots of mysterious stains and had a black hat sitting upon its head. In his grasp, the stranger stopped struggling and seemed to stiffen with fear.
Its jaw made an unsettling cracking sound before it hung itself up back into the Maw's dangling metals. Using its long arms, it pulled itself back to wherever it came from. Eventually, tuning into it became unsuccessful as the monster moved further and further away.
In the stranger's hand, the flashlight's beam of light came back. They looked confused for a split second before quickly flashing the light at both Six and Mono, who in return flinched at the sudden brightness in their eyes.
The stranger looked surprised to see two kids, especially given they appeared to be a kid themself.
"From the dorms...? No." The kid, a young boy by the sound of his voice, moved the torch at Mono and Six individually for a while. "You two don't look familiar. I don't recognize your clothes. Who are you?"
Mono was the first to respond, wiping his wet palm on the side of his trenchcoat. "Look, we mean no harm-" The light flashed back to him. He winced. "-B-but we have to get... We need help!"
The kid's voice was thick with suspicion. "Do you?"
Six scoffed. This earned her a turn in the spotlight, which she returned with a hiss. The kid took a very generous step back.
"I can't trust you. I know they're looking for me. The Janitor had a cage. A cage!" His voice raised with fear before going back down in volume. "How do I know you both aren't lackeys of the Lady?"
"We've only known of this Lady since yesterday," Mono replied.
"...I know you aren't from the Maw though. You would be wearing rags if that were the case." He motioned to Mono's trenchcoat and Six's raincoat. They were in a noticeable better condition than the kid's plain blue sweater and simple pants. Both were equally wet but drying quickly. "Where'd you come from?"
What was it with people asking others that question? "The Pale City."
"Both of you?"
Mono looked at Six. He didn't actually know where she came from and she would probably rather not talk about it. She simply looked at Mono and nodded that his answer would now be for the both of them. He turned back to the kid, "Yeah."
Mono saw that flinch. "The... The-the-the Pale City!? Then you two- you're monsters!"
A sharp laugh came from Six. "Okay buddy. Sure. Yeah, if we were truly monsters you would be dead on the spot."
The kid seemed to consider that. "Fine. But... Why wouldn't you kill me even if you weren't monsters?"
"Why would we need to kill you?" Mono asked, genuinely confused.
A shrug. "Survival of the fittest?"
This earned another laugh from Six. "Listen. I'm not against killing you if I wanted to. Even if it was for no reason at all. But my friend here would definitely not approve of that. Besides, despite his looks and pacifistic thoughts, my friend is very powerful. Isn't that right Mono?"
That was true. Mono however frowned. He didn't really want to randomly announce to every entity he met that he had some magical abilities that rivaled the Thin Man's and could probably rival the Lady's.
"Um, yeah. But I'd rather sort things without violence. Oh- speaking of that- sorry for being... Harsh?" Where was Mono's confidence when he needed it?
It was a while before the kid responded, almost like he was trying to figure out what Mono was referring to. A look of recondition appeared on his face. "That? No, you're fine."
Mono was certain the previous seething anger and the wetness that covered his palm at that exact moment said otherwise. Nonetheless, he was willing to have an at least somewhat good relationship with someone who knew how to navigate through the Maw.
"A-anyways," Mono began, gesturing to himself and his companion. "I'm Mono, and this is Six. She might seem rash but she's actually very nice. Trust me."
"I do." The kid turned off the flashlight and put it in his pocket. "The name's RK."
"Does that stand for anything?" Six asked.
"Well, some people called me 'Runaway Kid' and thought that's what it stood for, but no. That's my actual name." Six let out a rather disinterested "huh" before RK leaned closer to Mono. He gestured to Six with a nod of his head. "She intimidates me."
Mono smiled. "She tends to do that."
"I can hear you both." Speak of the devil. "And you shouldn't worry if I bite. I don't. Well," she gave RK a toothy grin, "not purposefully."
RK gave a concerning look, sharing it with Mono. But Mono wasn't paying attention, his eyes watching one of those strange cone-headed creatures. It shuffled through the darkness, grey skin not being very good camouflage, but that wasn't the newest thing he noticed about them. It was about time Mono tried tuning into one, to learn a small bit about them. But all that came up was nothing, as if those creatures were an empty void.
Mono's tuning snapped out of focus at the sound of RK's voice. "We should probably get going. It would really be a sachem if the Janitor came back."
"Such a shame," Six muttered. Mono ignored her, turning to the new addition to their group. "Who's the Janitor?" he asked.
RK turned the light back on and flashed it around, mostly on the ceiling. "The monster that came from above. He watched the children here in the Maw and is our caretaker for the majority of the time."
"I thought they would eat anything human they came across."
"Not if the Lady says no," said RK. "Nobody disobeys the Lady."
Mono was certain he meant the rule applied only for the monsters underneath the Lady's control. Every mention of this Lady made Mono feel like he was slowly learning more and more about her.
"What about that?" Six asked, pointed at the cone-headed creature that walked more in the room with its wonky gait.
RK smiled when he saw it. "That's a Nome." He let out his hand towards it. The Nome made what sounded like a happy noise, running over to him and placed its hand in RK's palm. "They're skittish but otherwise completely harmless. I don't really know much about them, but they've told me they used to be children once."
"Used to be children once" got Mono's attention immediately. "Did the Transmission change them?"
"The Transmission?" RK repeated back, confused. The Nome made a sound that almost sounded like a no to Mono's question.
"The Transmission was the source of power in the Pale City. Before the city was destroyed," Six explain.
"I'm guessing no more Pale City means no more monsters?"
Mono could've said no, the Transmission was still existing. It circled his veins and curled around his fingers and allowed him to do things a child shouldn't be able to do. That probably included turning more innocent people into monsters. Maybe also the reverse, but that was unheard of. Simply, Mono nodded.
At the same time, the Nome smitten with RK pulled its hand away from his and ran down the other direction, passing through the hallway. RK faced Six and Mono. "The Nomes know the Maw better than anyone I bet. They can't talk, but I've been following them. I think they want to show me something."
"Parting so soon?" Six teased.
"You can come with if you want. Normally they would run away from people or monsters, but this one seemed fine. I think they want someone to find the ship's secrets..." RK whispered that last part.
Six looked at Mono. He nodded, the paper bag moving with the motion. There wasn't a reason why they wouldn't tag along, especially considering they knew little to nothing about this ship. A boy and his Nome friends would be good guides. Besides, maybe Mono could learn more about the Lady and maybe Six's reason to come here...
The three then began their trip deeper into the depths.