The Signal Tower took pride in being a provider.
For the Broadcast.
For the Pale City.
For the Viewers.
But most importantly, for the Thin Man and little Mono.
The Signal Tower could still remember the first Mono to fall into their Core, such a fragile little creature he was, so afraid, so confused, so betrayed, surrounded and lost within the Core of the Signal Tower.
That first Mono saw what the Signal Tower truly was, the shape they truly inhabited, built from the thousands of minds of the Pale City.
But despite seeing the Signal Tower as it was, despite being so lost and afraid and confused, all that first Mono wanted was to sit and rest…
The Signal Tower obliged.
Creating a small chair for the little creature, made of meat and bone, disguised as wood and resin.
The first Mono sat, curling in on himself, tucking his knees to his chest as he began to tremble and sob… Wishing the meat and eyes would go away.
And who was the Signal Tower to deny such a small creature such a simple request?
The Signal Tower crafted that Mono a room, a simple room, four walls, a floor and a ceiling with a small light, all made of meat and bones and sinew, painted a dull mauve cast with soft pink light.
And that Mono sat and sat and sat...
Since then, since the very first Mono, the Signal Tower played the part of happy provider, doting over the inhabitants within.
The Signal Tower watched the first Mono grow, locked within the little room they had created, as his confusion and fear bled into hate and wrath…
And then a door appeared…
And a new Mono appeared…
And years of coldness, loneliness, pain and hate and sorrow grew silent as confusion bled through, followed by desperation and a vicious, violent longing, the first Mono rose from his chair and he gave chase to the new Mono.
The Signal Tower could only watch, enraptured and horrified as the new little Mono ran and ran and ran away, straight to the girl.
And then the confusion the first Mono felt ignited into agonizing fury once again and he took her.
And all he could think about upon his return to the Signal Tower was how to make her hurt, how to make her fear, how to make her rage and cry as he had for all those lonely, lonely years…
And the Signal Tower provided.
Hoping that the first Mono would be satisfied, happy even, his revenge fulfilled at long, long last…
But then the little Mono, the new Mono came… He came in all of his small, naïve might to free the girl.
The first Mono, the no longer little boy the Signal Tower had watched over the years couldn't face the new Mono, couldn't stand the thought of snuffing out the timid life that was once himself.
And the Signal Tower watched… Watched as the new Mono tore through Their Mono, splicing static and disturbing the signal with childish desperation.
Their Mono, unable or unwilling to defend himself against the new Mono, conceited, retreating back into the Signal Tower for comfort and safety, wishing desperately for some sort of comfort, which the Signal Tower provided in the form of a bedroom.
While their Mono rested, the Signal Tower watched as the new Mono braved their interior, climbing higher and higher until he finally found the girl…
And then they ran, ran and ran. The illusion broke, meat and eyes, many many eyes watched, watched and followed as the girl once again dropped the little Mono into their Core…
And once again, the Signal Tower watched as the little Mono limped and sobbed and wished for a chair and a room…
The second Mono however, was quick to wish for something soft once his tears dried and he became tired of crying, while the first Mono had spent his whole life content to warm himself with his rage in that singular room.
Regardless, the Signal Tower was quick to allow the second Mono access to the first Mono's new room.
The first interactions between the two Monos were marred with fear and confusion from both sides.
The second Mono was terrified by the first, while the first was beyond confused by the sudden appearance of the second. But the fear and confusion soon gave way to companionship.
And all the while, the Signal Tower watched, and watched, and watched.
Years passed, the second Mono grew while the first Mono grew old.
And when the first Mono finally slipped through the Signal Tower's fingers, beyond where they could reach, the second Mono was left alone…
Until a door appeared… Until a new Mono, the third Mono appeared…
And the cycle began anew…
Oh, but with each new cycle, each new Mono. The Signal Tower grew and grew as their charge's became more and more clever.
What was once nothing more than a single room with a single chair, became a sprawling home, full of rooms and lights and warmth and whatever else the inhabitants could think to wish for.
The Signal Tower provided.
The Signal Tower had yet to lose track of how many cycles they had witnessed, how many cycles the Monos had endured… They doted over their charges diligently with every incarnation, treasuring their creativity and subtle individuality.
One Mono liked to paint, so the Signal Tower crafted for them a lovely studio where he would spend hours upon hours smearing gore disguised as paint over thinly stretched swaths of skin and bone. Many of that Mono's paintings hung along the halls of the Signal Tower.
Another Mono had a green thumb, and what began as a few potted plants quickly grew into a sprawling greenhouse, filled to the brim with ferns and flowers and all the trees that Mono could desire. The Signal Tower did what it could to keep the plants from growing too wild without the constant care the long dead Mono provided while he was alive, but truthfully, the greenhouse had become a jungle some time ago, not that the Signal Tower would ever dare think to remove it…
The most recent Mono to fall into the Core of the Signal Tower was a soft soul.
Still shaken by his fall, still afraid of everything, including his own shadow, he was a silent ghost within the halls, and the most the Thin Man, the Broadcast and the Signal Tower had seen him do was timidly ask for a bedtime story from the Thin Man.
That became a routine very quickly, with the Thin Man all too happy to indulge his new ward.
Perhaps he would become a writer? Or maybe just a reader?
There were however, some nights where the Broadcast called the Thin Man away to take care of some issue within the Pale City, leaving the newest Mono with only the signal Tower for company.
Neither of them minded all that much, the little Mono, despite his timidness, was quite self-sufficient and more than capable of entertaining himself for a few hours.
But always around the time when his eyes would start to droop did problems arise…
Without the Thin Man there to soothe him to sleep with some soft story, the Signal Tower often found little Mono tossing and turning well into the early hours of the morning, sleep being an elusive thing he could never quite catch.
Luckily, the Thin Man was rarely absent around little Mono's bedtime, maybe once or twice every few weeks.
Or at least, that used to be the case.
As of late, the Broadcast was requesting the Thin Man's time more and more, sending him out into the Pale City to clear out any festering vermin the Viewers happened to stumble across during their meanderings.
Neither the Signal Tower, the Thin Man or little Mono liked the change, but the Signal Tower knew it was necessary.
The vermin the Broadcast asked the Thin Man to dispose of were so unlike little Mono, so unkempt and wild as most children were, with grimy hands and feet, untamed hair and starved eyes.
If the Signal Tower could dream, It would have had more than a few nightmares about the vermin skulking about the underbelly of the Pale City.
So in the end, while none of them were particularly happy about the arrangement, they didn't contest it, little Mono because he couldn't bring himself to stand against the Broadcast, being the sweet, timid soul he was, and the other two because they recognized the importance of such a duty.
However, said duty was certainly taking a toll on the little Mono, and after the fifth day where the Thin Man found himself tied up with the Broadcasts' business, the young boy looked just about ready to collapse.
:Mono?:
The Signal Tower cooed into the little boy's head as he lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above him… Sleepless, but so very tired.
Still, he made a small, exhausted sound at the back of his throat in acknowledgment, his eyes not straying from the blank point on the ceiling that had captivated him.
The Signal Tower didn't offer to read Mono a story, story time was his and Thin Man's time, a thing that only they did together, it was special for them, and after the first time Mono softly rejected the Signal Tower's offer of a story, the Signal Tower didn't ask again.
:Can I get you anything Mono?:
The Signal Tower asked through a soft hum of static.
It was late, Mono was small and young and sleepless and it had been five days since Mono had slept, and the Signal Tower, who naturally always worried about the residences living within Its walls, was nearly panicked over the state of Its youngest ward.
:Tea? Warm milk? A glass of water?:
The Signal Tower suggested as It began listing off various means previous Mono's used to lull themselves to sleep.
There was once a Mono who drank coffee before bed, claiming that it helped calm him, this Mono was far too young for coffee however, and the Signal Tower doubted that coffee would have such 'calming effects' on this Mono.
:We could watch the Tv for a while?:
When the current Thin Man was a young, small Mono, he used to like to sit in the lap of his Thin Man and watch the screens, sometimes he would fall asleep while watching.
And while this Mono had yet to show much interest in doing so, it couldn't hurt to ask…
The little Mono slowly shook his head, and the Signal Tower sighed.
:Please…:
The Signal Tower pleaded through the static.
:There has to be something I can do to help?:
Mono blinked then, eyes re-focusing slightly as he turned his small head away from the ceiling.
"̵C̴a̵n̶ ̵y̶o̵u̵ ̴s̷i̷n̷g̵ ̵f̶o̴r̸ ̸m̸e̶?̵"̶
The request was simple and softly spoken, the static clinging to his words dulled by exhaustion. His lips didn't even move as he spoke.
But it was something, something the Signal Tower could easily do, they were a signal tower after all, with a simple tuning of the Transmission, a soft, appropriate melody began to play through unseen speakers, filling the room with a gentle, soothing song.
"̷N̶o̴.̵.̵.̷"̸ Mono sighed quietly, and the room fell silent once more.
:Mono?:
The Signal Tower asked nervously. Had It done something wrong? Did he not like the music It had found?
"̸C̷a̵n̵.̷.̷.̸ ̴C̶a̶n̶ ̴y̵o̸u̷ ̵s̶i̶n̸g̷?̶ ̷P̷l̶e̴a̶s̴e̶?̷"̷ He asked again.
Oh… Oh…
:Yes. Of course.:
Rather than simply tuning the Transmission to find music to play, the Signal Tower tuned the Transmission to quickly learn, memorize and recite a song for the young boy in bed.
The Signal Tower picked a different song than what they had initially chosen, that song relied far too heavily on instruments to make for a good lullaby consisting of just a voice.
The new song the fund was just as soft and gentle however, sweet and kind were the words.
The Signal Tower could only hope it would be enough.
And when the Signal Tower began to sing, It sang directly into Mono's head, It's words accompanied by a static melody, humming along to the lyrics gently.
The song itself was nonsensical, full of imaginary things that couldn't be… But that hardly mattered as the Signal Tower watched Mono's eyes begin to droop, his head begin to nod…
He was out like a light before the Signal Tower even got to the second chorus.
The Signal Tower continued to sing however, sing until the lyrics ran out and the room returned to silence…
The Signal Tower didn't reach out to Mono once the song was over… It didn't want to risk accidentally waking the boy…
So It simply watched him, dutifully, making sure that nothing disturbed his much needed slumber.
All the while basking in the contentment of knowing It provided for It's ward.