A/N: I'm super sorry for the long wait. I had really bad writer's block and wasn't sure how I wanted a couple scenes to play out, but hopefully the next couple chapters can be a bit more regularly published.

Leora wasn't sure how exactly she had convinced the others (mostly just Triple) to come with them. It had taken more effort than she put into most things, but this was worth it. She never would have thought she would find Six of all people roaming The Pale City, but if living in a world like this taught her anything, it was to expect the unexpected. And this was certainly unexpected.

"We're almost there!" She called out to her three companions. "Oh, you are going to love The Haven!"

"We'd better." Okay, Leora understood that Triple was just trying to protect her friends, can't be too careful in this world or whatever, but hadn't she made it clear enough to her that she wasn't a threat? But she decided not to comment on this as she knew it would only make the situation worse.

"Oh, you will. There are tons of other spellcasters living there; some of them are around your age. We just had a watercaster and a necromancercome in a couple weeks ago."

Mono stopped in his tracks, causing Six who was holding his hand at the moment to stumble. "Wait, necromancers are actually real?"

"Of course, though they're a bit rare nowadays. The one in town right now is super nice, if a bit bratty sometimes. But it's not really my business to say much more."

It seemed as though Six was going to try and get some more information about her, when she got distracted by something. Leora followed her widening eyes' gaze, and her stomach dropped.

A couple of Viewers were ambling down the road, they never do that! And were they having a conversation? If they weren't, it certainly looked like it. Did they develop a new language during all those endless days of binge watching who knows what?

Thinking quickly, Leora motions for the others to follow her into a nearby alleyway, and thankfully they do so without question. they wait there, hearts pounding, waiting for the odd group to pass. And they do. They don't even look in the alleyway's direction, too busy making those weird noises at each other and shambling along like drunk zombies.

"Well, that was weird." Leora remarked after they had crept out of hiding. "I wonder what got them to stop staring at the screens and go outside? I'm sure my mom would love to know the answer to that,' She joked, trying to get rid of the weird vibe that had fallen over them with that strange sighting.

"the Signal Tower is gone." Triple said, matter-of-fact, as though she were giving a weather report instead of saying that the thing that put an entire city into a weird trance thing and turned them into abominations up and disappeared. "they have nothing to watch anymore."

Leora wanted to laugh. There was no way that the thing they were trying to figure out how to shut down for years could be gone just like that. But still, she gazed in its direction, as the thing was so big you could see it from everywhere and… It was gone.

"Holy Ey—"

"Don't say that!" The shadow girl snapped so forcefully that they all jumped.

"Triple?" Six asked in a small voice.

Unfortunately Triple was stopped from explaining herself by a nearby drug store's walls beginning to ripple as though they were made out of water. Oh yeah, the city was falling. Guess she knew why, now.

She began running, hoping the others would follow. They did, and the lightcaster began making her way towards the edge of the city, where the hidden entrance of The Haven was located. It was a good thing they had decided on putting it there, as it would undoubtedly be destroyed right now otherwise. As wonderful a place The Haven was, it would suck to get trapped there. Or to be unable to let anyone else in.

Finally she saw what she was looking for. To anyone else, it looked like an ordinary sewer grate, but she knew better. Humming the unlock code to herself, she dug her fingernails underneath and lifted it out from the concrete.

"Seriously? You want us to go in there?"

Leora sighs, she knew by now that it was Triple who would object, outwardly at least. "I know it seems nasty but that's just a coverup. Now please hurry, I really don't want to be crushed by a dumpster or something."

Six wasn't sure about this. She didn't see how crawling through a sewer would get them to a haven of any kind, but it beat staying in the city, right? Fortunately she could skip the falling part, as Triple picked them both up and slowly descended, probably ready to bring them back up if she didn't like what she saw.

Fortunately, things didn't seem so bad. Yeah there was a lot of disgusting liquid underneath them. But a railed metal bridge had been built several feet above it, and it shone as though someone cleaned it very often. Leora was also standing on the bridge, her body putting off a golden yellow glow which aluminated the place enough for them to see. "See? It's not so bad. There's even a spell around this path to keep you from gagging."

And it was true. Six found that when she breathed through her nose, there was no horrendous odor like she would expect from a sewer. "C'mon, we're almost there!"

The three followed Leora down the bridge with only the sounds of their footsteps and the occasional drip of water to be heard, and the muffled rumbling from above of The Pale City's destruction. Triple still seemed tense, but she was noticeably a bit more relaxed now that she saw Leora was telling the truth about the sewer not being a horrible way to travel. And Mono… Oh no, what's wrong with him?

He had turned white as a ghost and took each step as though he were walking on a balance beam, clinging to the railing for dear life. Six turns to walk towards him, not really knowing what to do but desperately wanting to assist her friend in any way she could. "Hey. Mono, are you okay?" Even though she was talking quietly, her voice echoed a lot in the vast sewer system. Ugh, I hope there aren't any leaches down here. I know we'd probably be safe from them but I'd rather not see them again.

"I-I" Mono was holding onto the rail so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "W-we're up so high… I am up so high." He's scared of heights? Six wondered confusedly. He's never had any problems with them before…

Leora had stopped too and had headed back towards them, her violet eyes filled with concern. "Don't worry. This bridge is extremely sturdy." She demonstrated by jumping up and down, not making any effort to land softly. the metal vibrated beneath them, but it held firm. "See?"

Rather than calming Mono down, the boy just huddled even closer to the railing, trembling.

"Could you not?" Triple grumbled in annoyance.

"I was trying to help."

Six ignored the both of them, and reached out towards mono. "We can walk together. How does that sound?: Mono hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, taking her hand. "…Okay."

They began moving, slowly, but they were moving. Mono still seemed scared, but he was walking, so now they would hopefully be off this bridge soon. "Put one foot in front of the other, and don't look down," Six advised.

Mono looked straight into Six's eyes, his black gaze was intense. "Please," He said, barely above a whisper. "Don't let go, Six. Don't let me fall."

Six wasn't quite sure what he meant; it wasn't like he was going to fall if she let go, there was a rail keeping him from that fate. But the girl decided that it would be best to agree for now and ask him about it when he was in a calmer state of mind.

She squeezed his hand, looking at him with a (hopefully) equally intense gaze. "I won't. I promise."

Mono smiled shakily, and let go of the railing.

Finally they made it to yet another grating, and Leora motioned for them to stop underneath it. She climbed up the latter to it and pressed her hand against it, humming a similar tune she had used to open the first one. She was then able to push it open and climb through, motioning for the others to do the same. They did, and Six couldn't believe where they ended up.

They found themselves in yet another city, but it was a lot different than the one they'd apparently left behind. The concrete they stood on was populated with sparkling golden specs, and there seemed to be a large dome over the whole town, giving the sky an odd but beautiful magenta hue. The buildings were a mixture of large and small, most of them Six wasn't sure what they were but she could recognize a school, and a grocery store. Across from the sidewalk they stood on, and the street with oddly silvery asphalt, there was a park with seemingly new playground equipment! and there were kids playing on it! But they were clean and well kept, like Leora had been. They squealed and laughed without a care in the world, under the watchful eyes of normal sized adults. There were a couple giants lumbering around the streets here and there, but they seemed to give the rambunctious kids no mind, just going about their business.

"Welcome to The Haven, friends!" Leora said cheerfully, spreading her arms wide. "Oh, and don't worry about them." She pointed to a giant man with unnaturally long and sharp fingernails. He grumbled at the noise the children on the playground were making, but did not go after them. He simply continued on his way. "We're really careful about who we let in. Some people still have corrupted bodies, but their minds are almost back to normal. So don't bother them and they won't bother you. Now, I should probably let Mom know you're here… Come on, we'll go to my house. That's probably where she is."