-and not long after, Seven and Graham had arrived near the entrance to the corridor Six and Mono were at, and when they saw Six pinning Mono down, the former gasped and got ready to yell out of instinct, though before he could, Graham crouched down and slapped his hand over his mouth.

"MmMMhm?!" proclaimed Seven in shock, only to have Graham shush him as he pointed towards the duo they were chasing, and at that, the Shonen blinked and did as he was gestured to, and his eyes widened a little when he saw… Six slowly getting off Mono, with her holding onto the slightly oversized sausage Mono had given her. Mono himself seemed rather awkward as he sat back up, though he didn't really mind as he watched her rip into the chunk of meat with little remorse.

Upon seeing this, Seven ended up pouting a little in envy as he realized that nothing good in this damn universe would come to him, though he eventually let out a resigned sigh as Graham released his hand from his mouth.

"It would seem as though they have made peace, in a way," commented Graham quietly as he knelt down beside Seven and smiled. The child didn't seem too happy about how Mono got the better end of the stick, though he kept that thought to himself as he nodded and offered a small smile. Thereafter, Graham, not wishing to intrude on this moment, opted to pull Seven off to the side while the Shonen and Shoujo reconnected with one another.

With one last, decisive chomp, Six finished the sausage offered to her before she rubbed her stomach in satisfaction. With that, Mono leaned forward and offered her a kind smile, one that made Six's stomach flop a little all the while.

"Better…?" asked Mono awkwardly, to which Six nodded as she avoided direct eye contact with her apparent friend. This didn't gel well with the hat loving child, however, as he leaned forward and gently held both her hands in his. That got her attention right away as the raincoated girl tensed and turned to look at her friend from behind her messy mop of hair. "Six… are you alright? Your hunger pain seems to be gone… but you don't seem well…"

"No. I'm not alright," was his reluctant response from Six as she grimaced a little at Mono. It was enough to make the guy wince a little as she finally managed to look him directly in the eyes, and the Shonen felt himself wincing at its intensity. Though covered by her hair, he felt a strong wave of emotions being sent his way via Six's glare. A mixture of anger, sadness, confusion… guilt… happiness. The girl was a walking contradiction back in the day, and though it was strange to say… Mono was glad to see that even now, she was still a contradiction. That was what made her so endearing to him…

"Well… you can always tell me what's wrong. I'll listen," assured Mono as he gently squeezed Six's hands in his. He winced when he felt just how rough her hands were. They weren't this rough back when they traversed the Pale City, he realized, and he would know, as he would always hold her hand in his, if only to make sure that she would remain safe. Upon hearing his question, however, the girl sharpened her gaze and forcefully pulled her hands from his, prompting him to blink in surprise.

"What's wrong? What's wrong… is you!" proclaimed Six, grimacing as she glared at Mono. The boy appeared taken aback by her words, though he remained silent as she continued. "Y-Y-You… you should be dead…! I… I dropped you, but… but you survived! H-How?!"

"It… i-it was the Signal Tower. It… made it so that I survived the fall," explained Mono meekly as he tapped his fingers together. Well, alright then, that was one question answered, and though Mono could be considered many things, Six knew that a liar was not one of them. But still…

"But how did you escape? The… the time loop… it makes it so that you can only escape after you free yourself! And… who is he? That powerful guy! What was that… time stop thing?! And…" listed off Six, with her voice getting louder and louder as time went on, and as she reached her boiling point, the raincoat girl grimaced as she seized the boy by his shoulders and grabbed on tightly. Mono winced a little at that as he looked Six directly in the eye, and in spite of her hair shielding them from being seen completely, the boy could see just enough to notice the tears that were stinging the corners of her eyes as she glared at him.

"And… why… WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME?!"

And at that, silence ensued as Mono took a moment to process that final demand. Vice versa, Six lowered her head shamefully as her shoulders shuddered from time to time. A few strings of tears began to fall from Six's eyes as she shut them, staining her yellow raincoat all the while as she impatiently waited for Mono's answer.

It took awhile, but Mono eventually found himself opening his mouth briefly to give a verbal response, though before he could do so, he closed it. No… a verbal response wouldn't do much to convey how he felt towards the girl. Words could only go so far in this world, and as both himself and Six had shown on numerous occasions, actions always spoke louder than words.

So, with that in mind, Mono found himself gently removing Six's hands from his shoulders, a gesture that, quite frankly, frightened her for a brief few seconds, though almost immediately after, she felt his arms wrap around her smaller body and pull her into a gentle hug. An arm wrapped around her shoulders while the other found its way around her waist, pulling her close to Mono all the while, and before long, the Shoujo found her body pressed against the Shonen's as he embraced her gently.

The girl gasped in shock as she felt him hug her, in such a gentle manner no less. She would've expected him to have hugged her to death in a literal sense after what she had done to him, not… a genuine, friendly hug. Even so, this wasn't all bad, she reckoned, and though she was hesitant at first, Six eventually found herself returning the gesture after some time, with her wrapping both her arms around Mono's waist, before she began silently weeping into her friend's shoulder.

"I don't hate you Six. That's because… that's because you're my friend, alright? I… I won't hold this against you. In fact… I forgive you," muttered Mono gently as he patted Six's back as he felt his shoulder get a little soaked. He didn't mind it, however, as he continued. The raincoated girl was noticeably shocked by his words, though she remained silent as she listened to him continue. "It… hurt a little when you dropped me… ok dammit nevermind it hurt a lot… but I can't exactly blame you entirely for it. I… abandoned you to the Thin Man back then, so I guess we're even now…?"

"But if the time loop wasn't broken, you would've probably still been stuck in the Signal Tower right now," pointed out Six meekly, sounding very un-Six, if that was even a term, as she rested her chin on her friend's shoulder. Mono didn't like that… it felt almost as though the revelation of the time loop and her learning that she's done so much harm to him and so many others had broken her spirit in more ways than one, though despite all this, the Shonen kept himself as optimistic as ever as he chuckled gently and broke their hug. Six didn't exactly like that, though she let him do it either way.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm no longer stuck in there now, hm?" quipt Mono lightheartedly as he slid his hand under her raincoat's hood and brushed aside some of Six's bangs to look her directly in the eyes. That act was more than enough to make the raincoated girl blush quite a tiny bit as she averted her gaze for a short while, and likewise, Mono's face lit up a tiny bit as well as he chuckled awkwardly, though he did find himself wincing a little when he saw just how red Six's eyes were, with dark rings encircling them, making him wonder just how long it has been since she last slept properly. Even so, the Shonen opted to not bring that topic up for now as he offered a small, comforting smile to his friend and retract his hand. "G-Graham… a-a-and the Thin Man-"

"The Thin Man… yourself? Your older self helped?" muttered Six in confusion, to which the Shonen nodded as he inhaled awkwardly and slapped his palms against one another. He never was one to tell stories, but even so, there was always a first for everything!

"Y-Yeah… it's a long story. Just… let me finish first, please?" muttered Mono, and when Six nodded, he continued. "Graham and the Thin Man… they… erm… they kinda destroyed the Signal Tower."

"So they did it, huh?" was Mono's immediate response from Six as she widened her eyes in apprehension, and thereafter, the Shonen chuckled awkwardly and began to explain himself.

"Well, it kinda began with an awkward knock on door…"

Meanwhile

"Have you a story to tell, Seven?"

Perking up a little at that, Seven glanced up at Graham as he sat on his thigh, with the child holding onto Graham's Solbrave Badge all the while. Some time ago, the soldier had removed the Solbrave Badge on his shoulder and offered it to the child to have a look at. He seemed to be enamored by it after all, and for the past few minutes, he had been staring at it intently. He only looked away from the badge after he was asked that strange question, prompting him to stare at Aker in confusion under his massive mop of hair.

"Story…?" muttered Seven in confusion, to which Graham chuckled as he nodded.

"Indeed. All of us have a story to tell, and seeing as how we will be here a while, and that we don't have much to do to pass the time, perhaps you could share your experiences within The Maw?" insisted Graham, smiling gently as he spoke. Honestly speaking, the real reason as to why he was asking this was to help the kid ease some tension. For the past few minutes, he had been subtly shaking non stop as he sat on Graham's thigh, seeming shaken up by events that went unseen by the soldier, and at the very least, Aker reckoned that he could offer a listening ear to help the child unwind. "I shan't push the topic if you are uncomfortable with sharing, but-"

"W-Well… I kinda want to talk about it anyways, so…" cut off Seven a little as he returned the Solbrave Badge to the soldier. Graham accepted it back with little fanfare as he attached it onto his upper arm once more, and thereafter, as with Mono, Seven began telling Graham everything.

He told him of The Granny and how he had to evade her in the depths before electrocuting her with a television, a feat that impressed Graham to say the least, how he had teamed up with the Nomes to escape the Hideaway, all whilst evading The Janitor who was just… vibing down there Seven supposed(?), and finally, how he infiltrated The Lady's Residence and killed several Shadow Children and somehow managed to escape her magical grasp thanks to a well timed tremor (Graham has to cover up a mild snicker at that one). Graham, as per usual, remained solemnly silent as he listened, though he did noticeably perk up at two noticeable instances.

The first was in regards to this… Lady. According to Seven's words, this Lady was able to tap into the occult, and by all means, this made her quite the threat… a threat that wasn't exactly that significant as he doubted that she was on par with the Signal Tower, but still a threat nonetheless. Another thought that came to mind, however… was the time loop. The time loop that had been broken had preordained the destiny of Mono, and by all means, the soldier had no reason to believe that Six's destiny had been preordained by it as well. And with that in mind…

'There's a slim chance that Six and this Lady character that Seven keeps bringing up… they could very well be one in the same,' thought Graham as Seven reached the end of his story. He would shelf that thought for now, he reckoned, as he did have something else to worry about.

"... and that's about it," finished Seven as Graham nodded thoughtfully, and not a second later, he grimaced and spoke up.

"The lower levels. You spoke of them and how… children were being held hostage? Trapped children?" asked Graham, sounding the most serious Seven had heard him in the past few minutes. Instinctively, the child found himself shuddering a little as he nodded weakly, to which Aker grimaced and gnashed his teeth together intensely, though he kept himself professionally composed as he listened to Seven speak.

"Well… y-yeah… it's not too bad, though. Down in the nursery, we're fed and cared for, and as long as we don't get too close to the electrical bars-" began Seven, only to be shushed when Graham nearly exploded upon hearing the words electrical bars.

"You speak of it as a nursery, but to me, what you have described is but a prison!" bellowed Graham as he slammed his fist into the side of a wall. Not only did the wall break, but the air pressure from the strike had also broken two more walls behind it, shocking Seven with his strength as he grimaced.

"B-But i-i-it's n-not too bad…!" assured Seven in a feeble attempt to calm Graham down. As one would expect, it did little to calm him down as he stared at Seven with lowered brows of apprehension.

"But you ran away, did you not?" asked Graham with a raised brow, and not long after, Seven looked away awkwardly as the Solbrave Commander gnashed his teeth together. "So I was right. It truly is a prison…"

"Y-Yeah… it is," confirmed Seven as Graham slammed the bottom of his fist against the palm of his hand.

"Such evil! I cannot stand idly by while this happens!" growled Graham angrily as Seven stared up at him with a mixture of confusion and fear. He had never seen anyone so angry before… Hell not even The Lady had been so pissed off when he had seen her face…

"W-What do you mean by that, Graham?" asked the child meekly as he watched Graham pick him up and off his lap and place him on the ground. Dropping onto his feet, the child shuddered a little as he took note of that powerful purple aura that was now surrounding Graham as he glared off into the distance, though before long, the aura dissipated as he exhaled sharply.

"I shall free every one of your friends and cohorts from that prison, even if it is the last thing I do!" proclaimed Graham confidently as he held a fist up to his chest. Seven seemed incredibly apprehensive at his claim, considering how laughable it sounded… though something about what he had just said told the runaway kid that he was not joking, prompting him to widen his eyes in shock.

"J-Jeez… you're… not kidding, now aren't you? But… for as nice as that is… erm… how are you going to do that…? How are you going to get so many children out of here…?" asked Seven in confusion, and as if on cue, the two of them heard the not-so-distant sound of a ship horn, prompting Graham to raise his brows victoriously while Seven blinked in surprise. "Well… that was convenient, huh?"

"Indeed. That seems to be our answer, Shonen," quipt Graham with a small wink as Seven chuckled awkwardly.

"Well… what about The Janitor?" asked Seven, with him being reminded of the blind, long armed monster that chased him through the hideout. His response from Graham was for the soldier to clench his fist tightly, causing a purple aura to surround his fist all the while. That was enough to answer Seven's question as he closed his eyes and scratched the back of his neck. "A-Alright then… that answers that."

"Never underestimate the power of a determined man's heart and soul, Shonen," advised Graham lightheartedly as he allowed the aura around his fist to dissipate, and thereafter the child nodded quickly as the man chuckled and stood upright.

After dusting off his pants, the Solbrave Commander found himself glancing over towards the corridor that Mono and Six were at. The two of them seemed to be having a pretty good time speaking to one another now that they had made up, as evident by how the raincoated girl was giggling a little as she watched Mono, who was standing, hold both his hands out in front of himself with his palms facing away from him.

"And then I just started blasting, and I defeated my older self with my signal powers!" proclaimed Mono, with Six giggling at his adorable antics. Graham too found himself chuckling gently at their antics as well. How strange… this was certainly not how the Thin Man had described the Shoujo back when they were still in the Brave's cockpit. Of course, the Thin Man really didn't have a high opinion of Six thanks to her actions against him during his younger days… but still, this wasn't exactly what he had expected from the child…

He had expected a cold hearted young lady who held little to no care towards Mono, someone who wasn't worth saving, someone who was just as inhumane as the Innovades were… and yet, what he got was none of the above.

No, what he got was just a girl… a survivor who was forced into doing things against her better judgement amidst a cruel time loop. Take the loop away, and the Shoujo was not much different from Mono or Seven… she was just a child…

And though it was rather mean-spirited of him to even think this, Graham found himself glad that the Thin Man's comments on Six were incorrect. This Shoujo was truly one worth saving…

"Hehe… nice…" commented Six as she held a hand up to her mouth to cover up a small snicker. That in itself was rather adorable, all things considered, though as he watched the small smile on Mono's face, that small, victorious smile that was present on his face… Graham realized that there was probably more going on between the two of them than he was led to believe… and though it was rather odd to say, he was interested to see where this would lead to in the foreseeable future.

'It would seem as though the bond between Mono and Six does indeed transcend both love and hatred!' thought Graham enthusiastically as he closed his eyes and exhaled gently. Seven appeared confused at the soldier's sudden change in mood, though he didn't think too much about it as he watched him chuckle a little before rubbing his cheek thoughtfully. 'As a Sentimental Virgo I cannot help but think that their meeting during the start of the time loop was not a coincidence, but truly a construct of destiny!'

And at that, Graham found himself smiling from ear to ear as he motioned for Seven to follow him.

"Come, Seven, let us be on our way!" urged Graham as he lowered his arm to the boy in question's side. Seven blinked a little at that, still confused with Graham's sudden shift in mood, though he didn't dwell on the issue for too long as he jumped up onto the soldier's palm, allowing him to raise him up to sit on his shoulder, and not long after, he, somewhat regretfully, walked in on Mono and Six's little conversation. Upon noticing him enter, Mono appeared noticeably embarrassed as he stopped his antics while Six seemed rather irritated, though she didn't comment much on it as she watched Graham crouch down and extend a hand, his right hand specifically, towards the two of them. "I regret to walk in on such a tender moment between the two of you, but we must leave now. You may continue this conversation after you are in a safe location!"

With little hesitation, Mono jumped onto Graham's opened palm and motioned for Six to do the same. The raincoat girl was, understandably, unsure on if she should do so, though she trusted Mono enough to leap up onto the adult's hand and position herself in a comfortable manner beside her friend before he raised them up to chest level.

"I see that the two of you have made up in a respectable manner," observed Graham as he began to retrace the steps he and Mono had taken to get here. Seven pouted a little as he heard this. He never had any friendships that were as unbreakable as Six and Mono's, and that made him all pissy. Vice versa, Six simply shrugged indifferently despite being happy at being able to set things straight with Mono while the aforementioned boy simply chuckled awkwardly.

"You could say that," replied Mono, still seeming a little embarrassed at how he had been caught trying to show off to Six. Even so, he didn't exactly regret his childish antics as Six seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, which made it all worth it…

And for a brief few seconds, things were rather quiet as Graham attempted to retrace their steps. As he did so, Six took note of how there were a handful of dead Guest bodies littering the general area, and though she was surprised and confused at first, she found herself quickly remembering who was carrying her (a person who could literally banish people to the nth dimension with a single punch(!)) as she turned towards Graham with a raised brow.

"Hey, you're called… Graham Aker, right?" asked Six as the soldier in question blinked and glanced over at the raincoat girl. The child noticeably flinched under his gaze, though she calmed down quite a bit when he smiled at her. Something about that smile… it seemed to reflect no small amount of warmth as the girl felt herself relax a little as he spoke.

"The one and only, Shoujo!" replied Graham with a strong smirk. At that, the girl rolled her eyes before she continued to speak.

"I'd like to know about how you destroyed the Signal Tower," insisted Six, and upon hearing that, the soldier's already massive smirk widened further. Meanwhile, Mono pouted a little as he believed that his description of events didn't satisfy her, though he kept that thought to himself as the soldier brushed his nose with his free hand and nodded.

"Well, it began with a powerful knock of the door-"

They're back together! :D