Mono + Six Afterstory || Little Nightmares II

Sixteen

"Speaking of being brave, what are you guys doing away from the hideout?" He was curious how they all mustered enough courage to get this far, but maybe he was missing something.

The brunette girl glanced at the others and then gave her attention to Mono again, having already explained her story to the campfire kids. "My mother sent me away because she knew it wouldn't be safe for me here, but my hot-air-balloon crashed, and that's where I met Pretty and Six for the first time." She put her hands on her hips to accentuate her confidence. "I have to see my mom again. So that's why I'm here... That's why we left the hideout. I'm sure if I just talk to her, then..." She trailed off, furrowing her brows and sighing heavily. It seems even she could only lie to herself so much with that optimism of hers.

"Wait—your mother is..." Mono blinked in shock, putting two and two together all of a sudden. "Riley didn't meet up with you? What if he gets to her before us?" He was stressing out over someone he'd only known for a few hours, but then again, he did get attached to people very quickly.

     "She's not as bad as you think. She uses her powers to turn children into Nomes, but other than that..." Veronica admitted to The Lady's secret business on the submarine, and Mono grew angry at her delusions.

     "Don't forget that she forces Roger to raise kids only to have them butchered by the Twin Chefs and fed to the Guests." Ray suddenly chimed in, equally as upset as Mono. "He's right, Veronica. If we don't get to Riley, he could be in danger."

     The brunette girl was frozen, stunned by the information that was just dumped on her. "My mom is doing all of that...?" She teared up just imagining those horrible details. "I won't believe it! I have to see her!"

     Before any of them could stop her, she was running away to what Mono assumed was her mother's sleeping quarters. Even Pericia stayed behind with them, probably because she didn't want to get involved in Veronica's family drama.
Mono felt bad for Veronica, but he couldn't afford to waste any time, not if it meant he might lose another friend. "I'm going to find him. I'll meet up with you guys later. Just stay hidden, okay?" He demanded coolly, pointing to a crack in the wall nearby that had plenty of space inside; it was likely a hiding place for the Nomes. He waited for them to be out of sight and then set off on his mission, feeling more headstrong than ever.
     He walked around the Lady's residence cautiously, staying in the shadows to avoid being caught. After wandering around 'The Residence' for thirty minutes, he heard a ruckus in the distance, so he rushed over just in time to see the Lady levitating Riley in the air. Without even thinking, Mono used his power to squeeze around the woman's neck. "Let my friend go, or else I'll kill you!" He shouted at her threateningly, not letting up until she collapsed to her knees and dropped Riley.
     He quickly rushed over to him and caught him right in the nick of time. "Are you hurt?" He looked sorrowfully into Riley's eyes, gently putting him down once he had fully recovered from the woman's powerful sorcery.

     "I'm okay, Ghost Kid. Thanks for saving me." Riley smiled adoringly and clung to Mono, unable to refrain from hugging him. It was much needed after the day he'd had.

     Although Mono was glad to return the hug, he instinctively moved Riley behind him when the Lady started standing back up. To his surprise, she wasn't hurting them; instead, she walked close and knelt down, holding her hand out palm-up to show her submission. He was so puzzled by this that he couldn't move his legs.

     Eventually, the Lady retracted her hand, visibly as uncomfortable as him. "Are you...Mono?" She racked her brain, going back a long time in her memories to pose this question.

     "...Yes, I am. How do you know my name?" The lanky boy hesitantly answered her, relaxing his posture slightly since there was no threat in the moment.

     "I do regret dropping you in the Signal Tower... Well, that wasn't you, I suppose. That was the old Mono." When she was done ranting on about her past with him, something clicked inside of Mono; if it weren't for a certain someone's theorizing, he would have no idea who this woman was.

     "Six...?" He gaped, though, for some reason, he felt an explosive rage welling up inside of him. This woman might have been his friend in another life, but also a backstabber, and not to mention all of the horrible things she was enforcing here at The Maw. "How dare you act so familiar with me? You're not the kind, loving, funny girl that I call my best friend. You're a monster." He lifted his hand up and pushed her away with his telekinesis, causing her to fall onto her back and groan out in pain.

     "Mom!" Suddenly a voice overpowered the room, and it belonged to Veronica, who was rushing to the Lady's side. "Mommy, are you okay?"

     Riley shook Mono out of his obsessive anger fit and tried to get him to stop focusing on Veronica. "Come on, Ghost Kid! Just let them be for now. We should get away!"

     Mono glared at the scene momentarily before finally giving in to Riley's frantic behavior. He turned away from those two and grabbed Riley's hand, running with him out of the room. He didn't watch where he was going, however, and ended up colliding with another kid pretty hard and falling to the ground.

     "Ow, jeez. Watch where you're going, stupid." The voice spoke harshly once its owner sat back up, and after a moment, Mono lifted himself off the floor only to see that the voice came from Six, which was surprising but also somehow not at the same time. All he could manage to do was cling to her tightly, just as Riley had done to him. "Ugh, why are you acting like such a baby? We've only been away from each other for like, an hour."
     Though she was annoyed at his lack of respect for her boundaries, she huffed out a sigh and wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head to her collarbone. "It's okay, seriously. God, you're so embarrassing..." She comforted him reluctantly, slowly pulling away and looking into his dull eyes. "I heard you talking to her, you know. Is that really how you feel?" She changed the subject sheepishly, her cheeks flushed red to accentuate how truly shy she was.

     Mono tensed up when Six called him out on his recent outburst, awkwardly smiling and scratching behind his neck. "Yeah, of course it is. You're awesome." He replied boldly, even despite how nervous he was.

     To his surprise, Six let out a cute little giggle and playfully punched his shoulder; she seemed much more warmed up to him than other times. "No way. You're awesomer. And that was pretty cool how you stood up to her... But it's my turn now." Her smile transformed into a somewhat menacing expression after she spoke, and she walked towards the room where Veronica and The Lady were 'peacefully' conversing. "You guys go on ahead. I have some business to take care of."

     Riley watched Six walk away with concerned eyes, then grabbing Mono's hand again. "Your friend is very...scary sometimes." He admitted to his slight fear, though Mono appeared to be completely stricken with feelings of love.

     "I know... She's the best, isn't she?" He exasperated out of pure satisfaction and pulled the brunette boy along, leading him back to where the other kids were hiding. For some reason, he wasn't worried about Six at all; he had only happy thoughts about her, in contrast to her future self who was ugly on the inside and outside.