Hey guys.
Welcome back for another chapter of Stay! Things will take a sudden turn now!
Let's start!
DISCLAIMER: Little Nightmares does NOT belong to me, nor the image I'm using for the fanfic.
VIII:
Cursed togetherness
Mono had started to walk around the room more often. The static inside his head was painful, but he preferred to do something about it, instead of giving up to it. He sensed that him spacing out was the Tower's doing and, of course, it was the culprit of Six's fear. He turned to look at the giant figure hiding in the corner. Six hadn't moved from there for quite a while. He tried to ask her what was wrong and why she was so terrified, but she kept herself silent.
Still, he wanted to keep himself sharp. If the Flesh walls were trying another tactic to get to him, they knew it'd be easy if they messed with Six. He frowned, trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't involve that music box near him. Even Six hadn't touched it, Mono didn't want to destroy it, it would ruin everything he had worked for. He had come so far…
AŃ͙̆Ḓ̴͕̾̆̈́F̴̖͊Ó̷͔͉R̷̠̒̐̂W̴̗̞̊HAT̴͉͈̘̋?̴̢̣͛̔
He flinched. He didn't want to keep hearing that in his head. Those words were the ones that distracted him and made Six feel vulnerable.
A̶̧͙͋͝R̵͇͐́͜͠E̵̢̧̽̄̽Ÿ̶̢͖̗́͂̽O̴̺̎̏U̷̶̠̩̱̭̇̔̅̂͆͘S̵̛̼̫̯͒͐TIL̴̹͝Ḽ̶̫̈C̴̦̬̃͐̂A̴̡͍̓R̴̳̳̖̕͝͝I̴̻̾̐̕N̴̡̝͎̑G̴̨͙̃͂̌?̶̫͕̞̃͆WH̶̰̻̤͛̿͒Ý̝̥̅?̶͕̒͑
SH̶̛̟̩̏͝Ë̵̗́́WĨ̛̻LḺ̴̶̜͐̈́̃͋̕͜B̴̭̗̿̒É͇̦̟̊T̵̼̱̹͂Ṙ̵̻̪͂͠A̵̼̔̊Ý̶̡̲͋Ŷ̵̜O̴̢̙̿͗͘U̴̼̜̬͗
̴͇͉̩̓J̴̹̩̀U̷̯̼̓͑͌S̴͉̱̿Ţ̷̵̲̜͇͉̾̓̀̔͝Lİ̷̟͇Ḳ̵̑̕͝E̴̴͉̘̤̜̻̔̈́̑͝S̴͎͔̒̄͌H̷̲̆̄͘͜E̵̴̝̠͍̖͚̘̋̌͊̉͝HA̶̙̥̘͋̈́̕D̵̫͌̑Ḓ̢͓̀O̶̞̲͙͛N̶̳͉͂Ë̷̷̻͚̻̫͈́̍̽A̵̭͕͆̒LLO̵̙̣̿́VȆ̵̛͉̏͜ͅR̴̵̝̖̖̈́̔̀͂̂̀͜Ả̙ͅG̴̲͕̅̈́͝A̵̡̝̣̓̒͝Ȉ̴̦͔̂Ņ̴̙͆̊̀͜
ṢH̶͈̻͎͛͊EH̷̭͋̅́À̶̗̘͈͝T̵̠̈̽̆͜È̷̮͖͘S̷̯̦̤̕Ỳ̷ͅO̶͍̰͆̈͘Ṳ̷̮̊̂͘
̷͖̎ͅY̶̧̛͖̭͒OU̷̷͍͈̖͑̂̏̐͘D̳̲̹̉O̷̞̪̥̔́Ǹ̷̢̹͝'̷̺͖̺̈̂̚T̵̷͎͔͚͐̒͜͜M̴͈̻̻̍̄̆Ȁ̵͇̱̍͘T̴̟̞͛T̴̢̜̏E̷̮̞̝̎͗̚Ŗ̶̾
̶̼͓̱̉̈́T̶̻̆Õ̵̬̥̜H̶̦̽́Ẽ̵̠̍R̶͈̻͖̄̂̉.̶̤́̒̓ͅ
Twitching, he shook his head and decided to approach his friend.
"Six? Do you want to play?"
No response.
He let out a long sigh and sat, pressing his small back against the monster's. She flinched, but didn't back away from his touch. There were so many things they needed to talk about, but he knew they weren't ready. When he asked her about her betrayal, he couldn't prevent it, the voices inside his head persuaded him constantly, until he gave up. He was even ready to be killed by her if he made her mad, but she didn't.
He still hoped Six would change something that condemned them both in this horrible endless fate.
He had faith.
He could remember the times her eyes would soften when they'd stare at each other. She'd squeeze his hand, sometimes for his or her own comfort. They'd share food, and they'd rest together, trusting that they'd keep each other safe.
She cared once.
So… he wanted to have faith in her.
Unaware of his internal conflict, Six visibly relaxed as she felt the body's warmth pressing her. He was so small, but feeling his heartbeat was clear and so soothing… she moved a little to turn and look at the boy's face.
She missed his old eyes.
Six knew Mono's eyes changed whenever he used his power or not; now that he had a really shiny light blue color in his irises and dark, almost black eyeballs, the fact that he could become the Thin Man made it almost real and scary. She remembered the man's eyes. They were just like Mono's, and that made her so sad.
It wasn't like she didn't like his eyes. His eyes were unique and she adored them no matter what, changing because of his power or not. But she missed Mono's dark blue eyes full of curiosity, bravery and affection. In this moment, not only Mono looked even more similar to his future self, but his eyes looked old as well.
Those eyes looked dull, exhausted and broken.
He remembered everything; endless years and cycles were going to destroy him soon. She was sure.
… How was it?
She didn't have doubts about him not surviving the fall after she dropped him, she knew he survived. The Flesh… those terrifying eyes… she wondered how he struggled with that monster for so long. She was scared to death by it, and Mono had to deal with it for years. How did he deal with the heartbreak, the horror and insanity of this place?
H̷̢̭̝͊̍ḙ̶̴̻̱̠̀͘w̶̮̐̃̐a̷̠̙͌̂͋n̛̟̉t̶̨̃͝ed̶̘̲̊͂̄r̴̥̯͖͠e̷͔̥̪̔͒v̵̛͓̎ê̷͚̞̜̐ń̶̞g̶̦͔̼̔͠é̶͖̯͙̆̒,̶̛̮͈̋̇i̵̡̖͚͘s̶͙͠n̷̹̝̠͋'̷̻͇͔̕t̴̶̙̲͓̜͑̀̊̎͊ͅt̴͓͔̝͗h̴̨͉̪̑ã̴̡͘ṫ̶̫̬̯̚ö̶͕̪̘̆̈b̻́v̶͉͍͙͛i̴͚̫̞̅̈́̑o̵̳̯͒͠u̷̙͈͆s̷͙̲̫̆?̴̵̺̬̦̝͚̾̀
A voice; her own voice sounded at the back of her head.
Y̴̺̜̽̑o̶̪̦̿̚ṳ̴̺͓̎͆̃k̶̛̯̒̚n̶̝͔̯̋͋͛ò̹̟̙ẉ̴̒̉h̷͇͚̓͌ē̵̷͍̫̼̼͗d̴̬̉̆͛iḑ̶̤̦͂͌n̷̪̺̂͛͌'̵̲͉̀̉̈t̶̗̭̥́̀̏͒d̷̮͇͉͂̄ǒ̵͙͎̞ḁ̵̦͗̓͠nỵ̵̓̅t̶̻͌̈̄ḧ̴̘͗͝ị̴̈́ǹ̶͇͐͠g̶̤͎̈́͂ŵ̴̢̺͗̕ͅr̷̂̕ͅõ̟̖ͅn̴̫͠g̶͎̠̥͛̊.̶̷̭̗̠͎̦̤̄͆̕W̷̦̫̦̌hÿ̷̵̡̟̯͖́̀͝a̴̤̔̿̈r̵̨̥͑̒̑ē̷̦͛ÿ̷̧̝́ơ̴̥͎͋̀ū̴̵͈̟̑̌̿̇ͅr̷̤͍͂̈es̶͚̀i̵͚̞̹͛̄s̵͚̲̐͠ṫ̶̮i̴̠̭͈̇ń̷͎̘̻̈́ǧ̴̵̨̦̩̝͙̦͒̌͆̀͐of̴̴̜͔̤̍̿̕͠ĥ̷̫í̴̡̯̥́͠m̴̷͉̬̉̐́͗͝mȧ̵̜̰͐k̵̩̿i̵͉̼͋n̵̜̮̿̋͘ğ̷̵̫̠̠͌̐ͅj̶̻͔͌̈́̚u̶̖͎̟͒̈́̋s̷̛͎͎̗t̶̘͙͂͠i̴̫̟͂̅c̶̡͚̹̎ē̷͔͛̀?̷̷̼̖͈̦̎̎͊̈́Yỏ̷̻̳͋̎ǔ̷̧̦̎d̵̺̈́e̴̼̼͉͊seȓ̷͉̤͔v̴̦̼͝ẽ̵̶̝̼̲͑͆̔̂̓i̵͎͊t̵͍͓̪̎͊̊.̴̧̡̰̓
Did she?
She closed her eyes for a moment, and froze.
She could see her.
Inside of that darkness, where she wanted to hide, she saw a dark-glitchy version of herself. The figure smiled evilly at her.
Yoú̼̮͔̋̕č̵͎͈͖̋ǫ̴͔̟͆̍w̴̘͙̲̽̒̏a̷̫͂̽͘r̷̬͔̤̋͠d.
The girl with the braid… with the yellow raincoat… falling to her death.
Yoú̼̮͔̋̕č̵͎͈͖̋ǫ̴͔̟͆̍w̴̘͙̲̽̒̏a̷̫͂̽͘r̷̬͔̤̋͠d.
Mono, his eyes wide, contorted in horror and hurt after she dropped him.
Yoú̼̮͔̋̕č̵͎͈͖̋ǫ̴͔̟͆̍w̴̘͙̲̽̒̏a̷̫͂̽͘r̷̬͔̤̋͠d.
A… creature… a gnome? It was offering food to her… then it was suddenly launched violently to the ground, to be brutally eaten, leaving little remains of what it was at the beginning.
Yoú̼̮͔̋̕č̵͎͈͖̋ǫ̴͔̟͆̍w̴̘͙̲̽̒̏a̷̫͂̽͘r̷̬͔̤̋͠d.
A woman.
A woman with a white mask… that mask falling to the ground… the woman gasping for air…
And her neck looked appetizing.
Yoú̼̮͔̋̕č̵͎͈͖̋ǫ̴͔̟͆̍-
"Six."
She gasped, noticing she had been breathing too hard, loudly. Mono was staring at her.
"Are you okay?"
Before she could reply, the whole room started to shake violently. Mono got up and both looked in horror how the walls started to collapse as the Flesh started to make its way through. Six looked at the door, but it was blocked bby it too. The own ground started to break, as countless of eyes started to stare deeply at the Tower's successor.
Mono.
His eyes started glitching, and his whole body felt numb.
His knees gave out.
Six roared at the monster as it dared to succumb her dear friend in that state in front of her. She was scared, but… but…
She launched at the juicy matter and bit it, her pointy and sharp teeth squeezing, tearing the flesh as she munched eagerly. Before she could even taste blood in her mouth, the matter pieced back together and pushed her back as the heavy flesh crushed her. She growled at it, but the Flesh seemed unfaced by her behavior.
"Hmmm… hmmm… hm̴̺̚mm… hm̴̺̚ m̴̺̚m… hm̴̺̚m̴̺̚m̴̺̚… h̶̭͚͛͌̐m̴̺̚mm̶̛̹̭͂̆…"
Six moved her head to the side as she noticed the melody slipping from the boy's mouth. He had an absent look in his eyes as he kept humming lazily the melody through his lips. His eyes, still glitching, were shining; the irises looked like a TV screen with lost signal.
"Hmmm… hm-m̷͉̀m̷͇̏ … h̴̠̔m̷͎͊—̴̠͝m̷͉̀m̷͇̏ … hm̷̝̊mm̴̗̏ … hm̷̪̾-̶͐ͅm̵̭̔-̵̰̊m…̵̭͝ ̶̡̐ḩ̷͋ṁ̶̮…̴̭̏ m̵̩̂… ̶̜͐m̵͍̓…̴̈͜"
Why was he humming her music box's melody in that state? He should be running, away from here!
But he promised he'd stay with her forever if that was what she wanted.
But, did she want that?
Why did you drop me?
He would never understand her reasons; her feelings.
She hated him.
She hated him so much the first time he dared to destroy her precious treasure. That music box represented her sanity, her control. She had trusted him and presented to it, and he destroyed it. How could he? Why did he do that? And he had that man's eyes; the Thin Man's eyes and face. She was sure he'd come for her and kill her.
He had destroyed her trust, and she was already safe.
She didn't need him anymore.
So, she dropped him, hoping he'd die.
He didn't.
And the cycle began.
Committing the same mistakes, all over again, without knowing it. And when they realized it, it was too late.
Her resentment stayed with her for a while, she didn't want to forgive him, but she wasn't able to bring herself to not caring about him. His gestures, his actions, his hand taking gently hers, his determination to save her and protect her…
Everything was genuine… she came to understand that over the loops.
But she couldn't bring herself to stop this.
She used to blame the loop and the Signal Tower's doing; trying to put the blame on them since it made her forget what was important and how to prevent it. But, deep down, she didn't want to stop the loop. Because she knew she'd lose him if they ever broke it. Knowing what would happen in the future, she could hurt him, kill him… devour him. She was going to access to great power if she consumed that woman's flesh. And she was pretty sure that she'd have the power to release Mono from his prison inside the Tower. But that wouldn't change the great grudge and hate he'd feel towards her. She couldn't deal with that.
So, instead of saving him… she preferred this endless nightmare. She preferred having him all over again, with his gentle eyes and touch, only for her, everything he did was for her. She only wanted Mono to herself. And if she needed to continue this loop for it, she was determined to do just that.
But, finally, Mono made something that took her by surprise.
He cared so much, that he was able to break the loop for her, because he wanted to be with her, even if she was a monster, he wanted her to be his friend. He didn't want to hurt her anymore, he wanted what was best for her… even if it did cost his own heart and mind.
After everything she did, he still cared.
And finally, it made sense.
She needed Mono, only Mono.
She growled and pushed the heavy meat back, trying to get out of her trapped state. She kicked and pushed the flesh away, to be able to roll the side, free of its grasp. Her red eyes stared at the tiny figure sitting on the floor, unaware of his surroundings.
Mono was her safe place.
He always was.
She couldn't understand how she didn't realize this earlier.
He was precious.
He needed to be saved.
Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't shed none of them.
She owed him.
The Flesh walls wailed in alarm as Six grabbed her music box, it was winding. But she could barely hear it, its melody became so irrelevant at this point that she forgot it was here in the first place; it was the reason of them being here. This used to be her treasure, her safe place. But not anymore.
She placed it hard on the ground, to smash it with her big and deformed palm.
Her body arched in pain, and she let out a broken scream as everything turned dark.
Everything was silent.
Six finally realized that Mono is more important than being safe in a place that could kill them any second. However, how much will this affect their relationship?
I hope you guys liked it!
Rossana~