(Artwork by HezuNeutral)
Her shoulders slouched as she leaned her head forward, obstructing her vision. She felt lifeless, with no motivation to go on, no will to survive. Six lost the person who completed her, and she wasn't going to get him back ever again. Regret and guilt overwhelmed her as tears dripped from her eyelids, soaking into her yellow raincoat.
"Haha..."
Her head instantly shot up, her bloodshot eyes glancing around the room for whatever made the noise. The quiet giggle she had once heard did not announce another return, the sound of the mechanisms of the elevator being the only thing audible, other than her own sobs and whimpers.
"Who... who's there!?"
She could barely speak as her uneven breathing made her stumble over her words. Six desperately traced the interiors of the elevator, her instincts kicking in for a moment. But after a while of looking around, she slumped her head back down.
"Just do it... kill me..."
Six mumbled, closing her eyes and hugging her knees even tighter. She awaited whatever was watching her to attack, balling her fists and accepting the inevitable fate that would befall her.
"IT'S OKAY, SIX!! I GOT IT!"
His final words began to play back in her mind, only causing more distress for her. She brought her hands over her ears, trying to block out the sounds of the cruel, merciless world so she could listen to his calm, soothing voice.
"SIX... YOU CAN BEAT HER! I KNOW YOU CAN!!"
Her eyes widened, a newfound motivation building up inside of her. Six raised her head from her knees, a permanent glare scarring her face. He had died for her, for if he didn't sacrifice his life, they both would have perished. Now she realized that she still had one last thing to do before she died, and she knew that Mono's soul wouldn't be at rest until she did so.
"He wouldn't want this... no... he didn't die for this... I have to do it for him."
She got onto her feet, her arms hanging down at her sides as the elevator slowed down to a halt, a familiar dinging sound resonating off the walls as the doors opened up for her.
"I can't let her live."
Six stepped out of the elevator and into the darkness of the lady's quarters, the familiar purple walls making her feel sick to her stomach. The elevator behind her slammed shut, getting sent back up to whatever disgusting creature had called it. She took out her lighter, flicking it on and holding it out by her side. She struggled to walk, her stomach churning with every step she took, the sight of Mono being crushed by the weight of the guests replaying in her mind endlessly, torturing her to no end. Six took a deep breath in and exhaled, bringing her arm up to her eyes and wiping the remaining tears that formed in them.
She now had a singular goal in mind, find the mirror before her time ran out. Six held her lighter out in front of her, the flame lighting the way as she proceeded through the hallway, the wooden floorboards creaking under her shakey feet as she continued to recover from the traumatizing incident, a recovery that would last a lifetime.
"Alone..."
Six gasped, immediately turning around and facing the open doorway to her left that was connected to the hallway. She waved the lighter around, taking a few steps back as a child-like voice began to whisper to her.
"You have lost everything..."
The dark figure stepped out of the shadows, its outline being traced by the flame of her lighter. She tried to steady her breathing as the shadow took a step toward her, its arms dangling by its sides.
"Yet you still persist..."
Six's face contorted into a snarl as she squeezed the metal handle of her lighter, this time taking a step toward the figure instead of cowering away like she was used to doing. The shadow moved away from her, raising a hand up to its obscured face in an attempt to block out the light that entered its transparent body. She persisted, taking long steps toward it, letting out her bottled-up anger and distress on the poor creature. It let out a shriek before dissipating into the air, Six catching her breath as she looked around, holding the lighter out and waving it around.
She wanted to kill another, for it relieved her greatly. The fear that once brewed inside of Six was now gone, for she realized now that she had nothing left to lose.
"Come on out..."
Six was lured in by a light that rapidly flickered in the very next room. She turned off her own light source and placed it back into the pocket of her yellow raincoat, blinking as her eyes began to water from how long she kept them open as she gazed into the bright light. As she entered the room, she looked over to her left and noticed an elevator, a warm, yellow light protruding from the inside of it.
"I'm all the way back here..."
A slight smile formed on her lips as she glanced over to her right, her suspicions being confirmed as she looked along the floor, three rows of footprints of various sizes led to the elevator. She continued down the hallway, making her way to the end and peering around the corner. Several books were scattered near the entrance to a doorway that was off to the side, the rest of the room being composed of nothing but pure darkness.
She quickly made her way through the nearby doorway, stepping over the dispersed pages that littered the floor from the encounter they had with the lady before.
There it was, lying before her in the center of the room. The key to salvation. The mirror.
"I win."
Six grinned, quietly laughing to herself as her crazed eyes fell on the mirror. Her lover's sacrifice would not be in vain any longer.
The immense power she felt as she lifted the mirror up from off of the floor was indescribable. She slowly turned around, anxious to finally encounter the woman who had taken the one thing she cared about and loved away from her.
"You wield the mirror..."
She flinched as a shadowy, child-like figure emerged from the darkness emitting from the hall. It raised a thin finger up to her, before immediately turning around and disappearing back into the black mist. Six watched for a moment, expecting the shadow to reappear, but it didn't. She looked down, surprised to see that she had taken out her lighter instinctively.
Six put the mirror that was about her size under her arm, flicking the lighter on and exiting the destroyed library. She glared as the shadow she had seen approach her before stood before her.
"You wish to find her..."
The figure gestured for her to follow it, but Six kept her distance. She resisted the urge to run up to it and kill it right there and then as it continued to speak to her in a raspy, glitchy tone.
"Set us free..."
She froze as a faint hum was heard in the distance. A hallway that was connected to the dark area she stood in presently was lit up completely as if the world was guiding her. As she turned to face the shadow kid once again, she realized that it had already left. Her lighter dimmed as she buried it into her pocket, getting the mirror out in front of her and stepping toward the doorway.
She peered around the corner, and her eyes lit up with hatred. Her nemesis stood in the center of a dark, large room. A mechanical eye beamed a ray of light down on the tall figure of the lady. The two made eye contact as Six stepped out from hiding, the mirror secluded behind her back.
"There you are."
Six's grip on the mirror behind her tightened as an overwhelming sense of anger eliminated any kind of fear she would've felt before.
"I've been looking everywhere for you... but you have made my job a lot easier."
Six began to quickly walk toward the lady, adrenaline coursing through her veins. The tall woman merely mocked her, unaware of the imminent danger that was approaching her.
"Where are all your friends? Did they leave you behind?"
She laughed, shaking her head and raising her hand up to her face, taunting the raincoat girl.
"You poor little thing..."
Six raised the mirror up to the lady, causing her to immediately scream in pain, her flesh beginning to burn upon the sight of her reflection. She trembled as she shielded her eyes, disappearing into the darkness behind her while Six steadied her breathing. The light cast by the eye on the ceiling disappeared and reappeared, this time in a different spot. Six put the mirror under her arm and ran for the light, not wanting to be caught in the darkness. The lady's weakness was obvious, but she wouldn't go down easily.
"You'll... regret that..."
Six's ears perked up, her attention immediately averting over to the side where she saw the lady grasping the other half of her mask, which appeared to be broken. She held the mirror out in front of her at the tall woman, but she disappeared by the time Six lowered it to check if it was affecting her.
Suddenly, from out of the darkness came shadows that began to approach Six. They limped toward her, holding their arms out in front of them and whispering indecipherable words to her. She recoiled, dropping the mirror and getting out her lighter. Flicking it on, she guarded the mirror and stood near the center of the spotlight as they quickly surrounded her. She waved the lighter around with great desperation as the lady slowly made her way toward Six, a piece of the upper corner of her mask being destroyed, her right eye being visible.
Six clenched her teeth, lunging forward at the shadow in front of her. It was caught off guard, disintegrating instantaneously as Six placed the flame of her lighter through its torso. Then another fell as she drove the fire through its soul and another. Soon enough, they were all gone, and as the lady charged up a cast of dark energy, Six already had the mirror in her hands.
"No... NO!!"
The lady shrieked as Six was knocked backward by the blowback from the mirror as the woman retreated into the shadows, wounded once again. Six could hear her whimpers and gasps for air as she struggled to breathe, and Six couldn't have been any more satisfied. The lady began to float around Six, keeping a hand up to her face, keeping her mask from falling off of her head. Six merely waited, getting the mirror ready by her side.
"DIE!"
The lady teleported behind her, but Six immediately turned around and held the mirror straight up at her. The woman held her hands up to her eyes, screaming out in agony as she tried to get away from the little girl, but Six persisted, chasing after her with the mirror.
"AAAHHH!!"
Six winced, getting knocked to the floor as the mirror cracked, the lady letting out a haunting cry as she collapsed onto the floor, a wave of dark energy dispersing from her body, the light protruding from the ceiling beginning to flicker on and off.
The girl in the yellow raincoat shook her head, getting onto her feet and tensing up. Before her, the lady was seen, lying on the floor. Her face was exposed as her white porcelain mask lay off to the side, out of reach. Six grabbed the edge of the mirror, sliding it across the ground toward her prey.
"Please..."
The lady choked, coughing as she raised a hand up to Six, who stopped moving toward her.
"Don't... do this..."
She lowered her hand, flattening it on the wooden floor as she raised her other hand. Six lowered her head as a giant door on the other side of the room opened, light flooding into the once pitch-black room.
"See... you can... leave..."
Guests on the other side of the opening door peered around their tables, their eyes widening as they saw the leader of the Maw defeated on the floor.
"Just... let me live... please..!"
The woman was pleading for her life. Six looked out at the now open door, spotting a large staircase on the other end of the line of guests that led upwards, a bright orange ray of light beaming from the top of the staircase. She then looked down at her victim, and began to walk toward her, the mirror screeching along the floor as she made her way to the lady's side.
"Wait... what are you doing... STAY AWAY! NO!!"
Six slid the mirror under the lady's face, releasing a high-pitched scream from the defenseless woman. She kicked and squirmed, trying to grab Six who backed away, a demented smile forming on her face as she watched her helpless victim thrash around. She looked up at the guests who all had their eyes on the two, her smile turning into a grimace as she stepped around the lady, who was now lying motionless on the floor.
As Six stepped out of the doorway she looked around at all of the guests who were watching the tiny girl very closely. She began to walk toward the staircase as the giants all turned around and scrambled in the opposite direction, running away from her. Six softly hummed to herself as the giants pressed their bodies up against the corners of the rooms, trying to hide from the little girl in the raincoat.
She didn't feel any emotion as she continued to walk toward the staircase. As she made her way to the bottom of it, she looked up at the ray of sunshine that shone on her face. Her eyes shifted back down as she began to ascend, not spending a second looking behind her.
Reaching the top of the staircase, she lowered the hood of her raincoat as the wind blew through her short, black hair. The ocean stretched out for miles as she took in the scenery, looking up at the seagulls who flew through the air. The ground beneath her gently swayed back and forth as the waves crashed against the rock surface of the front of the Maw.
"Hey!"
She didn't even notice somebody calling out to her until they touched her arm. Six flinched, backing away from the person who tried grabbing them.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to frighten you."
A girl with long brown hair stood before her, a red hairband connected to the end of her braided hair. She wore a brown sweater over herself to keep warm from the cold wind that whistled through the air as she gestured toward the wooden boat that was docked behind her.
"We need to get out of here, alright?"
She tried to reason with Six who stood there motionless, not even reacting to what she had said to her.
"I have a boat right over here, we can just-"
"I made it out..?"
Six raised her eyes from off of the sandy floor, looking at the girl with nice hair directly for the first time.
"Um... yes, you did."
"I... made it out..."
Six swallowed, blinking back tears as the girl looked at her with a confused expression.
"We really need to get going, miss..."
"No... he's still..."
She couldn't hold it back anymore, breaking down crying once again, dropping onto her knees and beating the sand. The satisfaction Six had once felt was gone.
"Hey... it's alright..."
The girl quickly knelt by Six's side, gently rubbing her back as tears fell from her eyes, dripping onto the sand.
"You've been through a lot... come on, let's get you out of here."
Six was lifted onto her feet by the girl, her arm going over her shoulder as she carried her over to the boat.
She buried her face in the girl's shoulder, self-hatred and guilt now beginning to set in. The girl rubbed the back of her head as she set Six in the boat. Pushing it off into the water, she climbed on, grabbing onto a paddle and beginning to row out into the ocean.
"It should've been me..."
Six hid her face in her arms, sobbing into her sleeve as they drifted away from the Maw, the waves carrying them farther out into the endless ocean.
Word Count: 2743