Work Text:
Curling up on the chair, memories flew through his mind.
From the first moment he saved her to the moment she let him fall — every look, every word, every hand caught mid-fall replayed in his head, looping endlessly.
It all led to one single all-consuming thought.
Why?
Did he do something wrong? Was it because he took off his mask? She didn't seem to have a problem with him before everything. Sure, they had a bumpy start — he wasn't denying that. He’d broken down the door she was trapped behind, then walked in like nothing was wrong.
So yeah, he understood it wasn't the best first impression, but saving her from that guy out there had to have counted for something, right?
After they opened the attic together, she seemed fine. She stuck close to him, helped show him where to go and even had an almost instinctive understanding of when to move and when to stay still. She'd never just... left him before.
Not like this.
Staring up at her face, shadowed by her hood as he hung in the air. Connected only by her hand in his, holding tight as she simply... looked at him. No disgust, no hatred, nothing that seemed directed at him.
Nothing at all. Just a blank face, empty eyes and a shockingly cold hand.
Then she let go, and he fell.
Mono hugs himself tighter, legs pulled close as he buries his face into them. Were there signs he should've seen? Maybe when she destroyed that doll with her bare hands at the school? When he came back in the hospital to see her breaking fingers on the mannequins' hand? Maybe...
No matter what, he only came to one question.
Why?
...
...
Something moves.
Mono almost couldn't tell from the shifting already around him, the flesh that makes up the room moving and constantly watching him, always staring. It was subtle, barely even there, but so different from what was already surrounding him that he couldn't help but look up.
His first thought was one of hope.
She came back for me!
Six didn't leave him behind, it was all part of a bigger plan, one he just didn't understand. She's here again, she came to save him just like he had initially saved her.
The hope only made the realization hit all the harder.
No yellow raincoat. No soft footsteps. Just black, staticky lines shaped like a person. He'd seen so many of them before, scattered about the city, even all the way out in the woods. He wasn't really sure what they were, only that they stayed in one spot, glitching and not doing anything until he touched them. He'd be infused with some feeling connected to their action, sometimes even a flash of a memory.
He never understood it, but he knew one thing for certain. This remnant of Six can't help him, as he turned away from it, he only really felt taunted by its presence. Like it was telling him that she'd not only left but wanted to twist the knife just that bit deeper by giving him some hope he didn't realize he still had.
"Go away." He strangled out, throat burning from using it after so long. He'd talked a bit here and there with Six before, but however long he spent down here was spent in silence with only sorrow to keep him company.
The remnant didn't listen, stepping closer and climbing onto the chair with him, silently watching him.
"Go Away!" He repeats, stronger this time as he vents his frustration. "You left me! You could have saved me, pulled me up. We could have escaped together!" His voice cracked at the word, glaring at the remnant of Six, a depressing laugh escaping him as he dropped his head into his hands, tears welling up as his throat closes.
"Did-" He manages to get through the tears. "Did you ever care? Were we ever..." He can't finish the thought.
Friends.
Yeah right. His current predicament told him exactly what she thought of him.
"Just-just go away." He whispers, curling back up into himself. "You're good at that."
Silence encompassed them, nothing more needed to be said, could be said anymore.
Mono most certainly wasn't expecting the brush against his shoulder, small and hesitant.
He snapped his gaze back to her, flinching away from the contact as he just... stares.
She was closer now, though still holding back a bit. He couldn't help but remember back to the small moments of comfort on their journey, when they'd hold hands to know they weren't alone, or even just to feel warm for a minute. Before they found her raincoat, Mono tried his best to rush through the rain with her, trying his best to protect her from it.
His voice comes out small, unsure. "...Six?" He asks, questioning everything he thought he knew.
She moved closer. Her hand lifted — hesitant and trembling. He flinched at the contact, but she only held his hand tighter.
In an instant, everything became crystal clear.
The instant her hand met his, warmth surged through the static. Memories that weren’t his flickered behind his eyes, a journey from a different viewpoint altogether. He finally understood.
Why she let him fall.
It wasn't Six.
This was Six.
Mono reached out to her, hand trembling as he touched her shoulder. Solid. Real. "Six." He smiles, tears flowing freely again.
His friend hadn't abandoned him, she followed. She wanted to help him even in this terrible place, following him down into the dark underbelly of the city.
He wrapped her in a hug, shuddering with each breath as the tears wouldn't stop.
She hugged back, comforting and warm, refusing to let go.
His friend.
...
Unfortunately, nothing good lasted in this world.
Mono could feel her presence already slipping, whether she was too far from her body, too close to the Tower, whatever the cause—
She couldn't stay with him.
He held her tighter, as close as he could to almost try and prevent the inevitable.
Six patted him gently on the back, comforting him even now.
He pulls back for a second, blurry vision as he looks at Six for undoubtedly the final time.
She smiles.
It's simple, warm and an attempt at comfort. Almost as if saying that she wasn't truly leaving, that they'd see each other again.
Then her form disappeared, vanishing like all the other ones he had found on the way. Becoming another part of him, the Static and Transmission under his skin.
He calmly sits in the chair, smile on his face even as the tears fell freely again.
He'd see her again.
He'd meet his friend again.
No matter how long it took.