The rain falls hard on the Pale City never ending. The Tower above watches above the eye of the storm ever watchful. Always searching high and low for the next lamb to absorb. Currently its focus is upon an empty alleyway recently the place of an attempted murder. A bloodied hacksaw lays on the ground crimson ichor slowly being rinsed of in the downpour. A small puddle of blood pools on the ground slowly trailing into the streets. Only a single object remains: a severed arm now pale as the city it lay in. The Tower knows the boy is long gone but it knows not where they have gone or how long they have till they leave this plane of existence. From the pool of blood are a series of bloody streak marks upon the streets leading away from the plaza.

A massive man is seen crawling away down the road. There is haste in his stride as he clutches on a recently injured child. His feet have long since failed him thanks to his mutation or transformation. As a man of medical history, he knows not yet of what the Tower or Transmission does to people. He's yet to figure it out and his mind is not currently on that. Keeping tight pressure on the boy's stump he quickly puts the boy's chest to his ear.

It's still beating, thank god, but if he doesn't hurry the boy will die.

He witnessed the scene earlier while he was searching for more people to possibly treat and cure of this infernal infection. He watched as the man took the saw while the woman held him down. He wept a few tears when the child started screaming. He dared not approach seeing what the Viewers, as he called them, do against another aggressor. Some form of monstrous scream like from a mythical creature he read about when he was younger. He waited until they were long gone before grabbing the boy hurrying to the hospital where he could fix the boy.

Or at the very least to the best of his ability. Quickly crawling down the streets he saw his building out in the distance. The red cross next to the building being more and more visible as he approached. He quickly pushed the doors open. Small traces of light entering the lobby of a forgotten building.

Now within his element he quickly grabs onto the ceiling placing the boy in his pocket. Quickly clambering across the ceiling, the Doctor hurries to the inner chambers of the hospital. Entering the emergency room, the Doctor pulls on a lever illuminating the room with lights all over the ceiling. Save for a few open areas where the Doctor forcible tore down lights to make climbing room. Setting the boy on a small table in the middle of the room he elevated the arm to help reduce blood flow.

"Okay, he's losing blood but not as quickly," the Doctor mumbles to himself as he gathers equipment. From his position he grabs a heart monitor pulling the sensors close looking at the boy.

"Sorry about this lad." The Doctor pulls the boy's school uniform open tearing both buttons and seams before getting rid of the shirt entirely. Placing the sensors on the boy and turning the machine on. The boy still has a pulse but it is slow and the blood pressure was normal.

With that done the next step was to attach an IV. Pulling a nearby stand close he quickly attaches it to his patients right arm. The Doctor then quickly goes over to his supplies a series of cabinets and compartments. Opening all sorts of doors, he shuffles through the different shelves grabbing all manner of medications, fabric, gauze, tools, and a few clean syringes. Proportioning the required amount, the Doctor first injects Mono with an anesthetic. The boy was already out cold most likely due to shock but he didn't want the boy to wake up with a large amount of pain. He watches as the heartrate slows even more. Pulling out a tourniquet the Doctor wraps it around the boy's arm tightly. Satisfied the Doctor truly begins his work.

With a pair of forceps and tweezers the Doctor closely inspects the arteries. Hoping for the best despite how difficult this is for him. Not any strange desire to cut open the boy or anything like what affected the rest of the city. His large stature along with his hands were making things extremely difficult to work on the small child. Looking closely the Doctor smiles, in spite of the grizzled cut the areas around the arteries were cleanly cut. So much so that the boy's own survival instinct caused his own arteries to close on their own a small bit. The Doctor though wasn't willing to wait for the boy to fix himself. Pulling out a pair of hemostats the Doctor subsequently clamped every single artery and vein and tied them up individually. That helped curb the blood from leaving his patient's body. The Doctor washed his hands before moving onto the bones.

As they were now the Doctor could just stitch up the muscle and move on. However, that could cause a lot of discomfort later on. Very gently the Doctor begins to smooth out the rough edges of the bone. Going in a little deeper he grinds and smooths out the bone to accommodate for a later prosthetic. The Doctor paused for a second having a thought enter his head.

Life has seemingly gifted him a person in serious need of a new arm. His recent research could be beneficial for his new patient, and if it works, he might have a way to stop the Broadcast entirely.

Changing his mind about just closing the would the Doctor then shuffles through the different crates. He throws all manner of prosthetic limbs aside. Hands, wrists, legs, arms, a couple of makeshift heads. Finally reaching down in the bottom of the crate he pulls out an old project of his.

He once theorized that if he could somehow connect the nerves of the human tissue and bone to inanimate human shaped limbs, he could get them to move. A matter of actually feeling the prosthetic move while the brain takes care of the rest.

In his hands is a tiny anchor point for the arm this was meant to go inside the wound. It is small spherical device surrounded in open pipes. Inside the sphere looking through the open pipes was a small spool. Like one of thread but completely empty.

Pulling out a pair of tweezers the Doctor begins pulling nerve endings from the bone into the bottom end of the anchor. It is very difficult work but the Doctor pulls through. Using a small hand crank the Doctor winds the bone ulnar nerves around the spool while at the same time adjusting the anchor so it's aligned with the bone. Next the Doctor then begins sticking the nerves of the arm into the anchor as well. The boy winces as small bit as the sensitive nerves are touched as well. Colliding with one another wasn't exactly pleasant to either of them. The Doctor starts to reconsider but still continues to go on anyway knowing that the benefit is so much better. For the boy to be able to use two arms again the Doctor continues the procedure.

With the anchor securely in place and the boy no longer bleeding the Doctor begins cleaning the wound. The Doctor pulls out a bottle of antiseptic and salt water along with a small cloth. Dipping the cloth in salt water first he dabs the cloth around the wound in an attempt to clean.

Mono hisses in pain as he's unconscious with the Doctor silently cheering him knowing he'll pull through.

The Doctor makes a few more rounds before dabbing with the antiseptic so it can't be irritated. The Doctor then pulls out a pair of wire and a needle. Ever so carefully the Doctor stitches the wound up the boy making small winces of pain. A small nub of metal pokes out as the Doctor finally bandages up the wound. The boy is clearly unconscious the Doctor is unsure when he will wake up but he knows he will.

Wiping his head once more the Doctor lifts Mono from the operation table. And leaves the room with Mono in his pocket. Clambering down the hallways of the hospital and using one of the elevators to ascend the hospital floors. Far higher than any of the Doctor's other occupants to keep him safe. The Doctor enters an abandoned bedroom with a view of the forest beyond. In the possibility the Tower could affect the boy the Doctor closes the curtain. Pulling the boy out of his pocket he places them in the bed. Hooking him up to an IV the Doctor then takes a few more measurements of his arm and then go to inspect how his other patients have pulled through.

March 3rd 20XX

"GET BACK HERE BOY!"

Mono is seen running down an endless hallway. He's running for his life as he looks back seeing his parents. Maniacally smiling and holding an axe both of them continuously chase him down as he runs for his life. He finally exits the hallway he's in to find himself in a forest instead. He keeps moving as his parents get closer. His parents burst through the door as well only to fall on one knee as Stan gets his foot caught in a bear trap while Martha gets strung up with a rope trap.

Mono doesn't look back as he keeps moving hoping to disappear in the trees. The bellows of his father roaring from behind him as they get quieter and quieter. He sees a light in the distance and holds out hope for shelter in a place he's never been before. Coming across a shack in the woods with a window slightly ajar Mono quickly clambers in. He smells something cooking but it's not natural or pleasant whatever it is. Looking back outside Mono sees the lantern light of someone's far out. Mono hurries inside leaving the kitchen behind entering a hallway… and then he hears it.

The sound of a music box.

Mono starts to follow the sound of the music box leading towards the basement. However, when he opens the door, he is grabbed by a massive hand and then pulled inside.

The Doctor enters the room to check the vitals of who he considers his most important patient. He's holding another IV only to almost drop it on the floor. The boy is twisting and turning in his sleep while his heartbeat is irregular. The Doctor hurries over to him dangling from the ceiling. Checking his temperature only to see that he's fine in that regard. The blood pressure was fine too. The Doctor didn't understand why the boy's heartbeat was irregular. He wasn't sick so maybe.

The Doctor gently picked up the boy holding him in his arms. Relying on his legs to keep him up the Doctor began swaying from the ceiling. Rocking the boy gently back and forth in his arms doing his best to coax the boy back to more peaceful sleep. The Doctor also starts humming all small tune he remembered from his own childhood. It felt like hours to the Doctor but he didn't care. Unlike his other patients the boy seemed to be improving the most. Whatever he could do to help that procedure move along, he would most certainly do so.

The boy stopped thrashing in his arms most likely due to the rocking despite how usual unconscious people reacted. Mainly people in a coma can neither detect or sense sound or touch. The Doctor places the boy under the sheets and gets ready to leave before pausing. Looking back at the boy sleeping peacefully on the bed before considering something. Exploring the other hospital rooms, the Doctor finds a small teddy bear laying in one of the other rooms. Picking it up the Doctor quickly climbs back to the boy's room and tucks the teddy bear under his right arm. He didn't want the boy to go under shock just after getting out of it.

Giving the boy one last look the Doctor quickly goes back into his workshop. It's taken him a few days but he's finally gotten his design completed. Now all that's left is to perfect the actual prototype. Most of his patients are grown up reaching their maximum height. Making a replacement limb for them was typically easier than it would be for a child. Not only that but if his idea worked, he would either need to teach the boy how to make a prosthetic himself or the boy would need to come back again.

The Doctor paused in his work for a minute rubbing his temple. The buzzing headache in his mind wouldn't go away no matter what he did. He was well aware that his actions now, what with climbing on the ceiling, was not standard behavior. If time went on and he couldn't find a way to treat this sickness that was affecting him and the other Patients in his hospital, he would need to bar himself and the hospital from the rest of the world.

Shaking his mind free of those thoughts he continued whittling down the wood he would need to make his masterful prototype.

The Tower in the Pale City ever watchful for the citizens to be consumed. While a pudgy man sat in a throne smiling in the darkness.

March 10th 20XX

Mono is a very large room after having been blasted away by something. He curls both of his hands to feel they are both still there. There's darkness only for a couple of seconds. Small flitters of light reveal to him the contents of the room. He sees a hunk of metal laying on the floor in front of him he can't tell what it is. In front of him sits another person, possibly another child. From what he can tell the person appears to be wearing a yellow raincoat. They quickly rise to their feet and face Mono in a very threatening way. Almost glowering at him but for what? Mono doesn't know.

Both of them are distracted only for a moment when a wave of flesh starts pouring down into the stone hallway. The person in the raincoat starts running with Mono following slowly behind. He feels exhausted yet doesn't know why. The hallways crack and crumble as more flesh bulges in, multiple eyes staring directly at him. Not even with malice more of morbid curiosity.

Mono runs through an open doorway seeing a light up ahead. A static screen like a TV awaits him from across a bridge. He knows he doesn't like the TVs but he runs feeling like that's his ticket out of there. The person in the raincoat is already there as he just starts running. The bridge crumbles leaving a gap Mono needs to jump or he'll be trapped.

He leaps and the person in the raincoat catches him. Happiness filling his heart with fleeting hope for a future with this person, whoever they were. Only to realize and wonder why they weren't pulling him up. He stares at the figure unable to see anything other than a concealed face. Suddenly his grip is loosened and he's falling.

Time seems to slow down for him as the darkness overcomes him.

Mono suddenly lurches up from the bed he's lying in. Sweat dripping from his face as he wipes his face over and over again. There's many questions going through his head but the most prominent one going through his mind as he looks around is.

"Where am I?"

Looking around he deems he's inside a hospital room. Last thing he remembers other than the dream was his father cutting off his arm and leaving him to die. With the number of nightmares, he went through he closes his eyes and tries to curl his fingers.

Thank God, he can hear the rustling of sheets where his left arm is. He can't feel his arm but he chalks it up to his arm being asleep. He starts thinking with hope.

Maybe it was all just a bad dream. Maybe he just overdosed on sugar during his birthday and went into a coma. Perhaps his loving parents took him to the hospital so he'd be better cared for. Maybe the city wasn't actually dying from with, maybe the school didn't turn into a madhouse with a psychopathic stretchy-necked teacher. Ollie and him, would have to meet with each other the next time he went to school. Maybe his parents didn't actually take his arm from him. Maybe his parents loved him after all.

At least that's what he thought until he felt the pain. It starts as a tingle before an extreme heat. Still looking up to the ceiling in pain and he goes to hold his left wrist.

Only to find what he's touching isn't his own arm. It moves with clicks and creaks as he flexes the fingers. Shocked and very afraid he hears the beeps from a nearby machine get faster and faster as he looks down.

His left arm is gone and it's just a painful reminder of everything that's happened actually occurred. In place of his arm was an odd-looking contraption. It looked like a bony arm, sort of like what you'd see in a classroom skeleton diagram. The hand looked like a mannequin's, not as bony more flesh-like in appearance. All of it was held together by a series of strings and metal bands. Wait a minute.

Mono instinctively tried curling the fingers on his left hand. The prosthetic behaved accordingly so which was incredibly odd. Mono remembered reading about prosthetics back in school however he knew one thing for certain about them. They don't move they're just wood, the best functionality one could get from a prosthetic arm is if it were hooked. So why?

Why was this one able to act like his own hand?

His thoughts were interrupted when the door was pushed open. His fear raising as a massive man crawled through the door having to squeeze himself through. That wasn't the oddest bit though, the man was crawling on the ceiling. He quickly attempted to get out of the bed only to find that his legs were asleep and couldn't move much. He stopped when the man called out to him.

"Ah good you're finally awake. I was beginning to worry my work might have been for nothing."

The Doctor started hanging from the end of the bed pulling out a clipboard and a pen.

"You may as well get comfortable seeing as you're still on the recovery end of things. I have a few questions for you and I have a feeling you have a few for me. First things first my name is Dr. Canker, I found you bleeding on the sidewalk when I was returning back to my hospital, I had seen what those people did to you and couldn't stand what they did to you. I fixed your wound as best as I could but unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to reattach limbs like that. Instead, you have that."

Doctor Canker gestured with his pen towards the prosthetic attached to Mono. Mono stared down at it again before asking Dr. Canker.

"Why can it move?"

The Doctor smiled, "Normally they aren't supposed to but with this recent ailment brought up by the Tower I've been searching for a solution. One such idea I had was prosthetic limbs that could move autonomously. A preposterous one for sure but I was inspired during one of my outings. A porcelain doll attacked me one day and I shattered it without hesitation. Only to find a cruel truth inside the doll lay a still beating human heart. I was inspired to find a way to improve on the design so people could still retain their humanity. That prosthetic on your arm is a prototype connecting your nerves to the woodwork. Your nerves control the arm but the arm doesn't feel pain. It is just as good as your old arm if not better."

Mono looked down at the arm again before looking at the Doctor.

"Now I have a few questions for you. First things first, what's your name?"

"My name is Mono."

"Mono…?"

"I don't have a last name anymore. My parents made it apparent that I'm not part of the family anymore."

"I… see, that was your parents then that night. I'm sorry I couldn't do much as it seems that this affliction on the city causes people to turn very violent with powers of the supernatural. One I can subdue no problem but multiple people can be a problem."

"What was your life before the rise of the Tower?"

"Loving family, average school life, and good friends."

The Doctor continuously writing down notes.

"And life after the rise of the Tower?"

Mono took notice that the Doctor was looking for the cause of the issue rather than just his own.

"A deep descent, every night I tried to keep my parents from the TV but any attempt earned me harsh glares that promised more violent endings if I continued, I had to be careful with how I did it, one night I placed the remote on my dad's legs. It only descended further into violence until that fateful night."

The Doctor looked down at him a questioning look on his face.

"And what happened that night?"

"My parents were being swallowed into the TV. A massive eye and an outstretched palm. I tried doing everything I could to turn off the TV. Then in one of my attempts to turn the dial off my arm started glowing and the TV exploded."

"Wait… your arm started glowing? Which arm?"

"My left one, which was the one my parents blamed for the loss of their TV. They chased me from our home into the alleyways. They finally found me and sawed my arm off. Next thing I know I'm right here."

"May I see your arm again?"

Mono tentatively held out his arm for Dr. Canker to look at. Slowly the Doctor crawls forward reaching his hand out. With a twist on the prosthetic, it slides out of its locked position and comes off. The Doctor then slowly pokes the end of the boy stump gently as to not irritate it as much. The Doctor feels closely and there is a faint thrumming. Not just the boy's heartbeat but something else very similar to the static from the TVs.

"Hmmm." The Doctor looks back at the boy's prosthetic thinking about something.

"I may have a proposition for you, Mono. At this moment in time, I'm at a loss of where my research should go to reversing this mess, we're all in. It seems that the TVs have affected you in a different way. I may need to borrow your prosthetic but I may be able to bring back the ability to control your power again. It'll take some time most likely the till the end of your recovery. Then I would like your help conducting some experiments with me. If you help me with this Mono, we might be able to fix everything."

The Doctor looks back at Mono with hopeful eyes awaiting his answer. Mono looks down at his stump seeing the rift opened between his parents and him. There's no going back for him. He didn't care much for any other families that could be affected. He could refuse but then he looked at the Doctor. Right now, he was in a very precarious position that if he said or did anything this Doctor didn't like he could be very easily taken out. So, with that mind process he said.

"Alright, I'm in."

So if anyone was wondering what Mono's prosthetic actually looks like or resembles. Imagine the prosthetic arm from Sekiro and that may also give some spoilers what I have planned for that arm. Please Review I enjoy the critique.