Mono walked around aimlessly in the dark after separating from Six, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Knowing her, she was going to run and not stop running, so he was doing the same. Well, to be honest, after a while he got scared and started moving kind of slowly. Like usual, he took comfort in talking to himself because he was very used to being alone.
"Hm...ngh... I'm not gonna think about how dark it is. Six, where are you? You could intimidate the monsters if you were here..." He frowned and held his arms securely, wishing he had his coat but not regretting giving it to Six. With a sigh, he shook his head and clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out any negative thoughts about his situation. "There...was a crooked man...and he walked-" he attempted to distract himself with poetry his father read to him when he was younger, but he heard groaning noises in the distance, and it made him freeze up. He was shaking, too, and didn't know if he could make it through by himself. "And he walked...a crooked mile. He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile." After finishing the verse, he felt slightly more relaxed, and he continued walking momentarily.
When he had made some considerable distance in the drenched, murmuring halls, he had gotten so focused on surviving that he'd forgotten what he was reciting. So he began another: "Who killed Cock Robin? I, said the sparrow, with my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin." Upon getting through the first few lines, he paused because he spotted a cage that looked small enough to fit rodents in it, or maybe even children his size. "This...is definitely a trap. I should just go around it." He remarked aloud, but after walking past the cage, he thought about Six and stopped again. "Would Six fall for this? No, right? Well—" he turned around to look at the contraption, noticing the meat inside of it. "If she's really hungry...she probably will."
With a sigh, Mono put his hand on the cage door, pondering his decision for a moment. "I have a feeling she's in danger... I should just get caught so I can be with her again." In hindsight, it did seem like a pretty sound option, and without thinking anymore, he crouched and walked into the cage. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door suddenly shut violently behind him. "Okay, I change my mind—" he whimpered as he turned around to see what was carrying him; his eyes were so wide that he felt like they would pop out of his head. He was just extremely terrified of this monster with long arms.
"This was such a stupid idea... What the heck was I thinking?" He scolded himself, furrowing his eyebrows and taking a seat in the cage. Even if he did have his powers, he really did think this was his only chance at finding Six again, so he chose not to fight back. Eventually, he became so complacent that his eyes started to close, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
____
Mono snapped awake all of a sudden when he heard a loud bang and some scraping sounds. He panted breathlessly since he felt so scared and looked around the room, noticing Riley in a cage being towed away. He wanted to shout, but he felt paralyzed. He only snapped out of it a moment later when the door closed and someone nearby waved him over. He didn't realize until he saw that menacing face that it was Six.
"Six! Are you okay?" He rammed into the side of his cage and knocked it off of the surface he was on, then breaking free from a hole in the top. He was about to go assist the girl in escaping, but she followed his lead without question. He didn't hesitate to run over to her and hug her, holding her tightly in his arms, securely.
He wouldn't let her leave his sight again. She was too fragile, too numb to go at these things alone. He worried that, if she witnessed much more, she would turn into a different person. "I missed you. I was so scared I would never see you again." He couldn't stop smothering her with love. She deserved every bit of it.
Hesitantly, Six reached her trembling arms up and returned the hug, resting her head on his shoulder to feel closer to him. She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help feeling so broken. If only Mono knew how scared she had been, too. "I...missed you too. We can't stay here, though. We have to keep moving and rescue him." She pulled away slowly, starting to drag him to the hanging lever in the room. Before she could get too far, he tugged away from her and frowned, glancing back at the kids in cages.
"Six, I... I want to save them. I can do something about this...not like in the Pale City. I want to be a better person." He said this determinedly, taking a deep breath and turning around. He started using his powers to break all of the kids out. But unfortunately, he could only save two kids before collapsing on the ground, blood spilling from his nose. He breathed heavily, trembling and conforming to those radio waves.
Instead of rushing over to him, Six slowly approached Mono and knelt next to him, sighing through her nostrils. "You're too nice. I don't understand how you can put yourself in danger for the sake of others. I've always been so focused on my own survival..." She admitted this quietly, feeling even more guilty than the first time this had happened to him.
Mono eventually was able to lift himself up enough to look at Six's face. He moved closer to her and managed a weak smile to try and reassure her. She was right, and this was proving it. Even now, when he was suffering, he was more worried about her. "That's because you're strong, Six. You're stronger than me... I'm so weak. And you're gonna live a long life. I just know it."
He didn't mean to sound so grim, but honestly, he had figured out a very hard truth while they were separated. He was the reason her soul was disconnected, and her hunger wouldn't be satisfied until he...stopped existing. So, to be frank, she was quite literally better off without him, but he didn't want her to know that he would put his life on the line for her and it be for such a crazy reason.
"What are you talking about?" Six stared at him with a somewhat cold expression, hoping to dismiss his pessimism. "Mono, I... I don't want to go anywhere without you. I don't want to do anything unless you're by my side. I want you to stop talking like that. I don't care what reason you have." She scolded him gently, but after realizing what all she had just said, she was a nervous mess; her flushed cheeks definitely expressed that.
"Six...you're so...sweet. After everything I've put you through...you'd still rather be with me than be happy?" He asked this with half-lidded eyes. He was on the urge of passing out from overexertion, but he didn't want her to be scared, so he fought it with everything he had in him.
"I...um... I think that my happiness and you being with me go hand-in-hand. I was never happy about anything before I met you." She admitted her feelings sheepishly, refusing to look away from Mono despite her shyness. She put her hand on his shoulder, massaging ever so slightly. "You're the first person who is special to me. I'm pretty sure I...I like..." She began, but her voice trailed off into nothing when the boy suddenly lost consciousness. "Yeah, of course you would pass out..." Although she was annoyed, she pulled him into her arms, mostly so he wasn't cold or anything. The blood from his nose got all over her shirt, but she didn't even think about it or care for that matter.
After a moment, Six furrowed her brows and laid Mono down gently, then proceeding to break the rest of the kids out of their cages. It took a little longer than she'd expected, but all that mattered was that they were free now. She was out of breath from all of the climbing around, and she didn't have much arm strength to begin with, so she was slightly sore from using so much of it. By the time she was hovering over Mono again, he was finally stirring from his unconscious state. She knelt next to him and gently tapped on his cheek, eventually getting him to open his eyes.
When he could see his surroundings again, he slowly lifted himself up, almost bumping his head into Six's since she was so close. "How long was I asleep? Are you okay?" He asked quickly, causing the girl to tense up.
"Not that long. And...shouldn't I be asking you that?" Six replied sternly, folding her arms across her chest to imply her discontentment.
"Me...? I-I'm fine, really. No need to worry." Mono smiled weakly, a faint blush covering his pale face because of how concerned Six was for him. "Maybe we should keep moving. Wouldn't want to be here when that Roger guy gets back." He stood up as he spoke, pointing to a lever hanging from the ceiling after looking around. "That probably opens the door. I'll boost you?" He suggested, and Six nodded affirmatively in response, walking over to it with him.
Once he boosted her up, she held onto the lever firmly and waited for Mono to pass through the door, then swinging herself back and forth to get enough momentum to join him. They looked around and couldn't find a straightforward path, so they climbed up and entered another room, being quiet since they heard sounds in the distance. They stayed close to one another as they approached the noise, eventually coming upon Roger yet again. They cautiously sneaked through the room on the rugs, getting through without alerting him.
Six put the lever into the slot and pointed to the door in the floor, instructing Mono to go ahead of her. She whispered, "Don't worry about me. I'll be right behind you," and then she took a deep breath, turning the lever repeatedly to open the door. Mono jumped down as soon as there was space and Roger scurried into the room, causing Six to sweat and speed up. After calling it close, she ran to the opening and jumped in, falling down a vent system and crawling nearby to join Mono. "Told you so." She managed a playful smile, wanting to keep the mood light.
"You're so brave. I would have panicked..." Mono praised her and let out a sigh of relief, grabbing her hand and leading her through the vents. Eventually, they came out into a room full of shoes...it was disturbing for him, but not so much for her. As Six tried to jump into the pool of shoes, he pulled her back, feeling uneasy about it. "Wait, I can sense something in here with us." He moved in front of Six and picked up a shoe from the pool, throwing it as far as he could. He tensed up when he saw the rustling and movement, but didn't freeze; he used his powers to suspend the shoe monster in the air and strangle it to death, dropping it when he had killed it. He panted since he had exerted a lot of energy, but he was still standing.
"You okay? Need to sit down?" Six gently placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him towards her, catching sight of two streams of blood dripping down his face and onto the suitcase. "You aren't tired?" She frowned when he wouldn't answer, but she realized why when she noticed his body glitching violently like earlier. Needless to say, she let go of him and gave him some space.
Mono was silent for a minute, but eventually the light returned to his eyes and he could move again. "Six, there's a strong signal nearby. If we get to it, I might be able to redirect it." He explained his sudden blackout, wiping his nose with his sleeve to get the blood off, even though it was still coming out.
Six nodded affirmatively upon hearing Mono's plan, figuring it was their best bet to escape the depths. She stood on the edge of the suitcase, feeling determined to seize her destiny. "Then what are we waiting for?"
(A/N: i'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I've been very busy and also uninspired. I finally know where I want to take the story so you guys won't have to wait nearly as long for the next part. Thank you for being patient. Love you all (˘̩̩̩ε˘̩ƪ))