Hey guys.
This is the last chapter of Stay. I'm sorry for taking so long to update, I forgot...
This fanfic may have a continuation, but for now, this is it only. I hope you like it!
DISCLAIMER: Little Nightmares does NOT belong to me, nor the image I'm using for the fanfic.
X:
Bond
Mono recognized her.
It was the glitch that remained form Six when she was kidnapped by the Thin Man. He even saw her during his journey to rescue Six. What was it? He had seen glitching remains of children before, and he had an idea of what they were, but Six was alive, then…
The shadow giggled and walked away from them.
"Wait!"
"Mono!"
Mono followed the dark figure of his friend as the girl followed right behind him. First, she was obviously surprised at seeing something (or someone? She didn't know) so similar to her, but Mono's reaction was what confused her the most. They came back to the room where they stayed, and saw the shadow dancing around, waiting patiently for them. Out of instinct, Six grabbed Mono's hand, and he squeezed back. He doubted the shadow was going to cause any harm. Still, if holding Six's hand made her feel better, he'd do it.
"I'd seen her before."
"Uh?" She uttered as they kept watching her play around the room, as if she was ignoring them, though Mono doubted it.
"When you were taken… something was left behind, like a glitch or something, then it turned into… her."
Six frowned, looking at the figure near them. It was a dark replica of her, but the wide and cynical smile in her lips irked her to no end. It felt like she was mocking them of some joke she only understood, and they didn't. She tried to process Mono's explanation, but it didn't make sense to her. The only time she felt different was when they got out of the TV, when they were safe after…
"… I… don't remember much of the Tower… what's in there?" She whispered.
"It's a place… full of doors, and it feels like it's suspended in time." He briefly glanced at his damaged arm. "I was hurt pretty bad, but when I entered, the pain stopped." He turned to look at Six dark red eyes. "… I think I know what it is."
"You do?"
"Do you remember the times that I encountered some glitching kids along the way?"
Six widened her eyes. She did, they were very similar to her dark self over there.
"I thought they were… ghosts or something like that, but now I don't think they were anymore." He frowned. "First, you're alive, Six." He gently caressed her hand. "They may be… the remains of themselves, like a piece of their hearts!"
She didn't say anything. In a way, it sounded completely absurd. But then, what other explanation could she give? She had been thinking about the ravenous hunger that hurt her insides since she got out.
"… I was… hungry."
Mono blinked, and the shadow stopped moving and the smile in her face dropped.
"Uh?"
"Since we escaped, this hunger I've been feeling… isn't normal." She struggled with her words. It wasn't like she was hungry all the time; but it blurred her mind, it felt like her own insides tried to fill themselves with her own flesh. Not even when she was starving in the last months she felt something as raw as this desire of fulfill that emptiness in her stomach.
They looked back at the shadow, and Six tensed as the look she was giving her. It was cold, dangerous, as a predator. She moved her foot to push a paper towards them. Mono stepped forward and picked it up. It was a pamphlet of something. He recognized that form and the place, but he couldn't remember the name.
Y̵͗͜ó̭̹ū̷̶̡̞̥̊̅ͅd̶͈̩̓̓ọ̴͆͂ṋ̵̹́̑'t̶̶͉̝̏̇ẁ̶̡̹̈́a̴̦͚̅͝nt̵̵̼͉̬̂̏̚t̵̬̄ò̶̶̙͉̥̼͘͝e̴̫̼̅͆ả̶̫͋t̷̰̿̉ḩ̵͎̇i̴͍͆͝m̵̟̐͠,̴̴̢͍͕͎̎͌̌ṟ̴̀̾i̷͓̓̕g̴͓̓̊ht̴̮̎̆?̴͔̓
Six flinched at hearing her own voice echoing in her mind, but then, she realized it was her shadow that was talking to her.
"… Of course I don't." She weakly protested.
How? How did she know that she…?!
"Six?" Mono called, confused at her abrupt sentence. Six must've figured he couldn't hear her shadow talking into her own mind.
Shadow Six's glare deepened towards her.
O̵̱̔h,̶̵̝̝̜̌̄̿͠r̷̝̺̀e̶͗̀ͅa̷͈͖̐͛l̷̘͇͛͝l̴̦̹̃̔y̴̜̮̔?̴̴̹͇̪̞͑̎̓Ś̷̹̻ĕ̵̲͂è̷͙̀ͅm̷̼͈͑s̷̴̡̘̦̟͊͌̓͝t̶͉̊̅͜o̵̴̫̗̐͑̈m̷̪̰͛ey̴̞̻͠oṵ̶̷̞̰̮̔̎͛en̶͌͜͝j̵̰͖̾̉o̶̝̕y̴̡̅̔ẹ̵̀d̷̦̄t̴̮̽̈́as̶̹̬̾͝t̶̙̽ỉ̖̌n̴̥̄͆ǵ̶̘͒h̷͍͑͘ị̶̄͘ş̶̷̯̽̇b̵̞͈͗l̷̖̈ò̶̧͖ô̶̟ḏ̷̶͓̩̀́͝á̶̴̰̺̈͝͝lī̴̲͆ṭ̶̚t̵̟͓̎̆l̷̥̘̓e̵̛͙̝͗t̶̳̰̕ȯ̴͕̋ỏ̵̧̾m̺̱̃u̶̘̱̿͗c̷̪̚h̵͎͖͝.̴̼͝.̶͋̕ͅ.̵̪͊
"Th-That was…"
"Six?"
D̵͙̰̓̂ỏ̵͙ỹ̵̟̥oü̶̩̱̈́w̴̨̹͆ȁ̶̰̠ṋ̶͓̆̊t̴̵̞̘͐̈́̾̄ͅh̷̞͛ȉ̴͖͙͝m̴̶͚̟͉͈̈́ḇ̵̝̐̈́y̴̵̥̣̬̒́̀́y̵̛͔ͅo̷̳̍͂ur̷̵͚̺̽̓s̷͌͝ͅǐ̵̝̥̈́d̶̼͝e̴̺͊̅?̷̹̀
She gulped.
"… Yes." She was a little disturbed, but she knew what she wanted.
And she wanted Mono.
Forever.
For͉̃ë̶̼́̍v̴͎̖͋̋er,̵̷̙̤̭̹̊̀͝͝ư̵̧͇h̶̤̘͝?̵̤̈́
When Shadow Six's gaze turned towards Mono, Six noticed her features soften, staring at him with adoration. She extended her hand towards him. The boy didn't know what the shadow really wanted. She offered them that paper maybe giving them a clue about something, but he didn't understand its meaning behind it. If she was offering her hand, maybe she knew how to come back to Six's body? Maybe that was the reason she was hungry, there was something missing inside of her.
"̷͚̏C̷̖̾o̵̻͑̓mȅ̷̗͎̀ ̵̭́̌he̶͎̓rḛ̷͈͂̚,̵͉̰̽͑ ̵̩̱̊M̷̡̳̓̇ö̵͖ṅ̷͇͉͂o̵̹͇͗͗.̷̟̊.̶̜̩̊̌.̴̡̦̈́"̵̥̽̈́
Her voice sounded just like Six's. Slowly, he let go of Six's hand to take Shadow's. When their fingers touched, Mono swore it felt like a normal person, but suddenly, Shadow Six grabbed him by the wrist towards her and hugged him tightly to herself.
Six held her breath, and Shadow, noticing the girl looking at them, smiled satisfied at her.
H̷̡͋̒e̵̺͒'̶̛̗̞̃s̶̶̩̱͌̋͜͝ͅo̷͓̓̚ͅu̷̳͝r̷̦̄̽s̷͎̦̍͛ņ̶͋̽o̵̺̓̆w̷̛̱
Then, her glitching self was consumed by Mono's power. He let out a gasp of pain and fell to his knees. Six blinked as she came back to reality and ran to his side.
"Mono?"
He was panting, and looked at her with great regret in his eyes.
"Six… Six, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry! I didn't…! I didn't know this…!" His eyes welled up with tears and suppressed a sob. "I-I don't know how to return that part of yourself to you! I don't… Please, forgive me!"
Six narrowed her eyes at seeing him in such a state. She should be the one apologizing, her shadow had seen right through her; right through her deepest desires, and she let her fulfill them without thinking about Mono's feelings.
"… I don't mind…"
"But, Six…!" He protested as a few tears were rolling down his cheeks.
She shook her head, and grabbed his head to rest it on her chest, hugging him close. He didn't move, fearing he may upset her; that, somehow, made her heart ache for him, but, at the same time, melt in how much she adored him.
"Mono… if there's someone I'd trust to have a piece of myself… that would be you." She whispered as she rested her cheek in his head.
The boy didn't know why, but he immediately believed in her words. Maybe he wanted to feel better about himself, or it was the warmth she was giving her for some reason. Six never was this affectionate during their journey, but he wasn't going to complain. He appreciated his friend's understanding.
Ẅ̴̨͂
̶̀̓͜o̴̝̐
ù̵̗̼
ḽ̶̏͛
d̷͉̲͠
He blinked. Did he hear her talk? No, he felt the corner of her mouth touching his head, and he didn't feel the vibration or breath leaving her lips against his hair.
Y̶̥̺̔
̶̥͆̌o̵̠͌
̵͖̟̏u
It sounded right at the back of his head, whispering inside his mind.
Ḧ̶͜
ṵ̵̫͠
̵̣̘͂g̷̤͗
̵̙̱͑-̵̾͜
̶̛͚͔̒M
̷̀͋͜ê̴̕ͅ
̶̡̦͋B
̶͝ͅa̵͖͗
̴̳̅̅c
k̴̨̺̽
?̷̣̈́̚
Timidly, he raised his arms to embrace the torso of his friend. Feeling her relax under his touch, he relaxed too.
He wasn't sure what kind of bond he just formed with Six, since a part of her, maybe a piece of her soul, was living inside of him. But he'd take care of it with all his might. He promised that to himself.
A few hours later, Six and Mono got out of the building they were in to see what state the city was in since they escaped from the Tower. Both of them tensed at realizing how dark the place was without the Tower's light. Yes, the Signal Tower's light was off, becoming silent at the viewers constant protests. The creatures were violent before, but now that the TVs weren't working anymore, they were out of control. They even were hostile against each other, ripping apart every moving thing they saw.
The children walked holding hands all the way through, fearing they may lose sight of each other if they let go; they couldn't speak either, the viewers could hear them. Mono wondered what really happened inside the Signal Tower. He remembered entering, going through the stairs, through doors, following…
Following… a melody.
The rest was all blurred, and that made him believe the Tower wasn't done yet. They could've weakened its power, but it was still tall and proud, refusing to crumble to pieces.
One thing was sure, they needed to get out of the city now that they had the chance.
But they needed to be prepared.
He wanted to find a store, some place that had food, but he found instead a clothing store. Mono suggested Six she could clean herself and her clothes while she covered in the other clothes inside the place while he searched for food. Six wanted to protest, but the ache in her stomach was coming back, and she didn't have the energy to come with him.
Six was able to find a lantern while she went to the bathroom. First, she cleaned her clothes, then she washed herself. The water quickly turned darker since she was covered in dirt for the most days, but finally feeling clean felt nice, even if the water was freezing cold. She immediately felt better as she grabbed a coat similar to Mono's and buttoned it tightly. She sat close to the lantern, searching for its warmth while she waited for her friend. She tried to drink the water to fill her stomach, but it didn't do much.
"Hey, Six! I found food!"
He looked really proud of his job. He was able to grab some weird wrappers, along some cans of soda and two cans of tuna. Finally, she saw some bread. He brought all that in a weird bigger can.
"I ate a carrot along the way, since you don't like vegetables…" he laughed a little. "I don't know if you're a fan of fish but… anyway, I brought you candy!"
She widened her eyes.
"Candy?"
"Yeah! You told me you never tried it, right? Here!" He extended her a little bar that had written Sahne-Nuss. "It's chocolate!"
"… Is it the only one left?" He nodded. "But… don't you want it? It's your favorite."
"I want you to try it! It may not taste like it used to taste, but…" he slowly grew silent.
And so did Six.
They were staring at each other in shock.
I don't remember telling her chocolate was my favorite candy, he thought.
I don't… remember telling him I hated vegetables, thought the girl.
How did they know that? Neither of them could remember where or when they got that information. Still, they were sure of their words. It was a little weird, but they decided to drop the situation for now.
She silently munched the brown candy. She was a little surprised it had nuts inside. She wasn't a fan of them, but the fact that they were mixed with this weird sweet, made it tolerable. Like Mono said before, it didn't taste like heaven, but she still could taste the sweetness of it.
"… It's good." She broke the bar in two pieces. She extended the smallest to Mono, knowing he'd refuse if she gave him the biggest.
He stared at her a few seconds, then smiled at her, accepting her treat.
With little light, she still could see his eyes.
Pretty, precious dark blue eyes.
Pale City was always covered in clouds, it always rained… it was a miserable place. She saw in some books that the sky could be blue. She didn't know that. She wondered how it would like to stare at a starry nocturne blue sky. There was just one time when she was able to appreciate it… and it was that moment where she stopped to take a breath after running for so long from the hunter.
… It was that moment when she glanced up, and noticed a figure of a child surrounded by the moonlight.
And that child was, right now, in front of her.
And as she kept looking at his eyes, she realized she had her own starry sky right in front of her.
There were some cracks, but they refused them to let them break apart.
The tower could NOT fall.
They wondered in what moment they let their guard down and the boy took advantage of it.
Their power was turning weaker… or he was getting stronger.
The thing about the loop was not only conserving their power, but strengthening it too. The boy was a powerful source, but as his soul kept breaking, his mind, even corrupted, would turn wiser.
That was the reason the Flesh walls stole the children's memories about their past lives together when they got out. They wouldn't remember, and they'd believe they'd only lived no other life than this one. They'd keep this source to keep themselves together.
But while they did that, they needed to bring the boy back.
Even if his soul was healing since they tore away his past lives, he had learnt how to use his power.
And they needed him.
No matter how much it took them.
They'd bring him back.
Even if it cost more than one piece of him.
Nightmares will affect us in ways we can't even begin to explain,
and yet… we may not even remember them.
But they will remember yö̴̹̠́̐ù̶͎̇͜
Á̡n̵͋ͅd̴̶̖͊̅͜t̵̤̚h̷͠ͅe̵̎ͅỷ̷̴͖̜̅w̶̲̐i̴̹̚l̶̼̆l̷̢̑r̴̭͊e̴̻̍t̶͈̉u̴̥̅r̷̟͛n.̷̮͋
Good night.
And sleep tight.
Soooooo...
Here it is.
Shadow Six now is inside Mono. I always wanted to explore his power and how he'd interact with this glitchy self of Six.
Thank you so much for reading until the end.
Read ya soon.
Rossana~
Reviews?