(w/n) = wrong name
-
mono's pov
oh no.
what happened to them?
their long arms reaching for the music box, dragging it as their large body covered the music box in an attempt to protect what was theirs.
the music box seemed to be playing on its own, playing the same tune of when (name) and i first met.
i attempted walking towards them, but they just shielded the music box as if their life depended on it.
suddenly, i had an idea.
(name)'s usually curious, aren't they?
i decided to grab a doll with it levitating in the middle of the room, a coincidence to have been in the spotlight.
(name) crawled towards the floating doll, still covering the music box.
they had left a spot open, and there was a hammer.
i tried to do something with it, but (name) just pushed me away like a fly attempting to suck the blood out of them.
i'd cry out the word 'eureka' if i knew what it meant, but i get it now.
if they want the music box to keep playing on and on for days, months, years, then i'd probably leave them be if they were a viewer with an addiction to music boxes.
but no, this was (name).
the child that's been my friend since the hunter's house and the said hunter.
the school, the teacher, the hospital, the doctor, pale city itself, although they weren't exactly there during the viewers.
we've already encountered dangers that could possibly kill us when they had the chance to. hell, maybe even eat us!
i wouldn't let a human that's been turned into.. this, be left all alone in the dark with no help.
i wouldn't even want that for anyone.
and so i dragged the hammer, and smashed the music box.
BANG
CRASH
zzzzzzzzzzz
the music box was, well, i wouldnt say destroyed, but harmed- and a wave of static went past my ears.
as if the music box had a power to set (name) free if they took the risk, a door opened after i opened my own eyes.
suddenly, there was a loud roar.
the place was crashing down, and (name) started chasing me.
i sprinted away, going into a purple light and being transported farther away from (name) before they could catch me.
i jumped over a few broken floorboards, nothing personal, except for the fact that i destroyed their music box.
BANG
BANG
BANG
(name) screeched loudly as i jumped through a hole into another room, practically escaping them.
they had hit the wall, and i'm pretty sure those punches were personal.
i crouched under a table, a board covering me from their sight as they went to a hole in the wall and looked from there.
they were searching for me, throwing everything and anything just to find and probably kill me.
after a moment, blinded by their own rage, (name) had not checked under the table and destoyed the door for me. how nice.
oh, i love using humor to cope through the jack shit that i was thrown into.
i moved forward, having to break down another door using an axe.
and there they were, covering the almost-destroyed music box behind their long arms. a trip down memory lane, you'd say..
i was almost tackled down by the large figure of (name) before i went through the glowing purple light and was transported to the other side of the room.
and there, i was able to break the music box yet another time.
CRACK
ZZZZZZZzzzzzz
another wave of static went through me, and now i was in a dark place.
eventually, i found myself a hammer stuck to the door. and again i used it to break it down.
i was back in a room, back with the monstrous form of (name). but now, there were four doors i was able to use to go to either sides.
i dragged the hammer and sprinted to the top door on the left side as fast as i could before (name) could have pounded me to the ground.
i grunted, using my strength and slamming the hammer down to the music box, damaging it yet again.
...
you know the drill.
grab, pull, smash, enter, run and break.
but this one, this one, i'm pretty sure, was the last.
i pulled out an axe stuck from the ground with a grunt.
it let out some sort of.. energy that it made (name) let go of the music box.
sooner than later, i've noticed that i could, well, yell at them.
"hey!"
(name) cowered back, momentarily letting go of the music box.
and in that moment, i smashed it.
CRACK
CLANG
...
i flew back after slamming the axe into the music box. it had some sort of an effect on (name), since they were reverting to their real size.
it had almost worked, since they were almost back to my size.
i grunted, breaking the music box once and for all.
i fell on the ground, a purple light glowing brightly in front of me.
(name).
i spotted them, standing in the path. it looked like they were surprised, but was on the verge of crying.
the ground shook, and the walls started breaking up. there was flesh coming out of the walls, and we were back on track.
(name) seemed to have only cared for themselves ever since we were separated since they immediately ran away.
i followed, of course, but so did the pile of flesh that was hunting for us.
i've had to jump over the flesh, and might i include that stepping on an eye feels.. weirder than burning a doctor in their own hospital.
the eyes were staring at me, like they were hungry and craved for my fear.
i tripped on the only way to the exit. i swear, it's the small feet that betray you last second terrifies me more than the monsters chasing us.
"(name)!" i called out, but they ran away to the bright light at the end of the path.
i pulled myself up and sprinted, the path crumbling to pieces behind me.
eventually, there had to be a part where i jump and hold (name)'s hand to get out of this hell hole.
i ran, putting my trust in (name) once again.
they've saved me a lot these days; what's another risk that i take gonna do?
i took a running start and jumped.
(name) just watched, but they immediately held my hand.
i was just dangling over the edge, and (name) hadn't pulled me up yet.
"hey!" i yelled, scared of what would come for me down there.
(name) was just staring at me, as if they had realized something. "(name), pull me up!" i tried to hold onto the path so i can pull myself up as well as it started cracking.
(name) could just have not much strength to pull me up, so i-
...
the feeling of a hand slipping away came to me. i snapped my head to the child above me, and they were watching me fall into the void as they jerked their hand away.
"(name).."
i mumbled, reaching for them.
it wasn't unintentional.
it felt as though... it was on purpose.
i watched as i fell to the darkness below me, (name) stood up and took a last glance before they walked away.
the fall seemed to last a lifetime. i pondered on the reason why they would do this. why the one i put my trust into would let me quite literally fall right into danger.
but this felt normal to me. as if i have experienced it already; which was odd. i don't recall ever being betrayed and my trust heavily damaged when my only friend slips their hand out of mine.
the air rushed past me, and i felt.. calm, but scared?
i just stared at the child leaving me behind. they covered their eyes, presumably shielding it from the blinding light of the portal. or maybe it was one of regret, remorse...? only they would know anyway.
the light faded away, and my vision turned black.
.. what?
i'm supposed to be dead.
where am i?
oh look at you, alone and scared.
your 'best' friend had abandoned you. won't that spark something up in you, mono?
what the hell?
i looked around, and i was in the dark. if i had the choice to wake up on a hard floor than a pile of meat, i'd probably choose the floor.
i stood up, running anywhere and everywhere.
just to get out.
ooh, someone's desperate.
i wonder what would happen if i told you what happened to your best friend?
get the hell out.
imagine this; your friend is on their merry way, out of the signal tower where there won't ever, ever, ever! be a monster that tries to kill them!
set free from your magnetic attraction to danger.
shut up.
they won't ever have to run from monsters and carry you on their back, keeping you safe like a mama bear with her cub.
but you're still worried about them. we don't like that, y'know.
we won't tolerate it.
go away.
the faint laughter of the voice inside my head faded into piano keys.
i gulped, finding a chair with the light shined directly on it. the flesh was holding it, like a throne awaiting a new ruler.
we'll meet again,
damn it.
don't know where,
i stood on the chair, hopeless.
don't know when!
i sighed, sitting on the chair as the walls of flesh caved in.
eventually they stopped, and i just.. sat there, for how long as a door with no handle appeared.
the walls of flesh turned into stone walls, and i just waited. dying to starvation sucks, but remembering (name)..
i sighed.
it sparked a light inside me, one that made me determined to keep living..
and though (name) had made the decision to leave me here to rot, i can't help feeling that i hadn't broken this... nightmarish loop.
(name) truly was a friend to me. we didn't communicate much, it's as though we already read each other's mind.
something has to be done. if this truly is a nightmarish loop, then i must find some way to break this harsh reality.
but... i'll have to wait. confined and isolated within these walls, i've only a chair to sit on. with a piano and its song echoing in mind, i'm forced to wait until hopefully, something-or someone-will break me out of here.
-
XXXX, the time where the thin man had perished
i walked toward the little boy.
he no longer had his paper bag with two holes that were cut open for his eyes to see through.
the bag floated from his small body and off to nowhere.
i remember doing the same action. i remember this same exact scenario.
i struggled to push through his power, though i knew how it all would end up.
faced against a determined young version of myself, i was not strong enough. i'd been transformed into a creature by the signal tower, losing hope in the process.
that was it.
as i crumbled into the ground, overpowered, i thought about how i was unable to stop them. stop the time loop. in the end, it seems that life was truly unfair.
i held strong regrets for not having spoken. my throat was dry from dehydration, so i couldn't have done so. i tried to stop it.
it sucks that i was this big-hearted fool. i only wanted a companion, and... (w/n) couldn't have done that.
i wanted a peaceful ending for them. although transformed by the curse, they had their music box. i remember that it kept them calm inside the hunter's house.
i remember when they were twisting and turning the lever, and the music would play. though they left that behind the moment i broke down the door that held them hostage.
i remember.
shooting the hunter, roaming the city, finding the school... escaping the long-necked teacher, (w/n) getting a yellow raincoat, the doctor. the viewers.
... (name).
but i know we'll meet again,
i see. i remember now.
my name is mono, and my friend is (name).
some sunny day.
and this little nightmare will never end.